Custom Building A Pc

[Xelotath]

Yeah, I meant reconsiering the motherboard. I don't know why i said HD..

gumbydancin could you suggest what i should swap out/replace. I will have to have this computer for the next 4 years. (last through college at least) but during that time I can upgrade if need be.

I would really like to get the cost down as much as possible. I am on a budget of 14-1500$ and I could use anything left over on other things I will need for college.

Also, do you think custum building is better than buying one from HP/Dell? or would I be better off just buying a setup from a place like googleware.com or pricewatch?

[adamp2p]

It really depends on how much time you have on your hands. To be honest with you, I personally have to do about 8 to 12 hours a day of Calculus work every day and besides that, I am a TA in economics. So you can imagine that I am pretty damn busy.

I have a goal in mind, of course; but I mentioned this once before, and that is the concept of opportunity cost. Ordering a computer from Dell is a good solution because of the bottom dollar price and high cost/performance ratio. There is simply no way to build a computer for cheaper using the same hardware. And if I was to build a computer I would be so picky about every element that I would spend hours upon hours thinking and thinking and plotting before I even knickered down to building it, which, besides installing operating systems and configuring BIOS, etc, that I would have to, to remain realistic about the "real" cost of the computer, have to add $20 an hour that I spend plotting and thinking about this master machine I would build. Thus, adding to the costs of shipping the hardware, each accruing a separate cost, and the stress associated with possibly recieving a faulty part, I would need to add the value of time lost to other productive activities I could be engaging in.

Thus, I buy a computer from Dell becuause I can get it for so damn cheap and get a great computer for a bottom dollar price. And besides that, if I don't like what they send me, I can send it back, as I have done before and recived a replacement. Plus Dell always integrates high performance solutions into their mainstream products, such as Dimension 8300, which I have; which features the Intel i875P chipset, Dual Channel DDR 400, of course, the RAID option, PAT enabled, and support for Hyperthreading. And from Dell you can get a system cheap enough to where you get the performance you need without any crazy watercooling or overclocking. Etc, etc, just my old Dell rant again, I am sorry, they sold me, I am sold, I am I guess not hardcore in your opinion, I don't apologize for that, I hope you find a computer that satisifies your needs without crippling your wallet.

Enjoy B) B)

oh, and EDIT: never buy a new system from Dell. ALWAYS look at the "refurbished" systems...a good pal of mine who works for Dell swore that like 99% of what is called refurbished has never been shipped out at all, but the price is lowered by 10-20% just becuause someone ordered a system and the deal fell through for whatever reason...you should always buy one with the highest processor and chipset and the lowest amount of RAM, software, and video card possible, becuase they are always cheaper after market...and of course, be patient and wait for the deal to come round...I just checked their webpage and all the $900 P4s @ 3.0 GHz are gone!

[Xelotath]

Thanks for the shpeal. why would I not consider you "hardcore" if you do 8 hours of calculous every day? Thats crazy. Like i said in my original post. Personal opinion is welcomed. I like to hear what every person likes and why they do. I will look into Dell and see if I can get a good system for a decent price. If I can't I will go back to my original plan. Thanks again.

[metalrebelzz]

dude, you're NOT gettin a Dell!!!! unless u expect lots of trouble...in my experience...dell are good for servers, and not much more....

i built mine from buying separate parts at a computer show from a vendor i know and trust...9 months ago for $650 and its still one nice fast baby.....lol

dont remember the exact prices, but ill list my comp specs for ya...
AMD Athlon XP 2000+ @ 1.8 Ghz
Nvidia GeForce 4 MX 64MB(yeah i know, i need to upgrade it now lol)
512MB DDR
17" Viewsonic
60GB HDD
52x/32x/24x burner

then ive added a few things since then... new network card, Creative sound card (haha i dont even know the model), and Cambridge Soundworks system.....

planning on upgrading my GPU in another 2 months...waiting for ATI Radeon 9700/9800 prices to go down....

anyways, my point is...go to a local computer show and scope things out...i can guarantee you better prices there than anywhere else....


also, if u wanna know more about current prices on things and what you should be paying, as well a lots of tech news and tech help, go to Toms hardware.....pretty sure the website is just www.tomshardware.com

[Xelotath]

Thanks. I think I will downgrade alot of my specs that I posted above. I don't think I have a need for a top of the line computer. I will check that site out too. Thanks.

[adamp2p]

Originally posted by metalrebelzz@16 July 2003 - 03:18
dude, you're NOT gettin a Dell!!!! unless u expect lots of trouble...in my experience...dell are good for servers, and not much more....

i built mine from buying separate parts at a computer show from a vendor i know and trust...9 months ago for $650 and its still one nice fast baby.....lol

dont remember the exact prices, but ill list my comp specs for ya...
AMD Athlon XP 2000+ @ 1.8 Ghz
Nvidia GeForce 4 MX 64MB(yeah i know, i need to upgrade it now lol)
512MB DDR
17" Viewsonic
60GB HDD
52x/32x/24x burner

then ive added a few things since then... new network card, Creative sound card (haha i dont even know the model), and Cambridge Soundworks system.....

planning on upgrading my GPU in another 2 months...waiting for ATI Radeon 9700/9800 prices to go down....

anyways, my point is...go to a local computer show and scope things out...i can guarantee you better prices there than anywhere else....


also, if u wanna know more about current prices on things and what you should be paying, as well a lots of tech news and tech help, go to Toms hardware.....pretty sure the website is just www.tomshardware.com

Dell has not only the highest customer satisfaction in the entire computer industry, but the lowest prices. Even in the rather, shall I say, dismal economic past couple of years, Dell has posted positive growth every succesive quarter.

No other computer manufacturer has been able to turn the economic downturn in to profit, respectively; HP relies on printer related items for revenue, and their merger with Compaq has turned into a huge loss for Compaq's and HP's investors. The United States is a capitalistic country; we know intrinsic value and can distinguish quality as it is determined in the market system.

Thus Dell is successful based on such a premise; Dell's buisness model is hyperefficient and unmatched throughout the computer manufacturing industry. They can offer the lowest prices because they have feather light overhead (no retail sales, thus you cut out ALL middlemen, which can be as much as 33%). Dell controls all aspects of the manufacturing, sales, and marketing.

Read Dell's earnings statement and you tell me that somehow their sales are increasing because their product is faulty, and I call you straight wrong.

EDIT: I wanted to include the the best and fastest systems are built by your good friend the computer know it all. See the only downside of buying a Dell is the fact that you are limited in BIOS to what Dell has appropriated.

But that is okay with me. When I can afford it, I will build my own dream system; I just am out of luck in the time department. I do anticipate the future holding a system that I would have many excellent BIOS options, but for now, I have to stay humble and watch my spending because besides having to pay for a University, plus expenses, I need to save for a rainy day...

Thanks for reading... B)

[Xelotath]

while I don't want this thread to turn into an arguement. I Agree that Dell is a great company. I am still not sure If I will be custom building or buying from Dell. I would like to custom build it however, I need to consider cost and time. I leave for college in a month. nad I need to order my computer in the next 3 weeks. If I custom Built it I would need to order all the parts sooner han that to make sure I get them all in time to build it. If I go with a Dell I can just have it all shipped to my dorm room.

I want to customize, but it may have to wait. I need a good computer soon. Right now I am running a P3 700Mhz, 256mb SD ram, Gforce 2 mx440. I have considered just upgrading this Pc, but I do not know what motherboard I have and without that knowledge I cannot find out what I can upgrade too. I may just buy a new motherboard and processor and go from there. but then I would be paying 250-400$ which doesnt seem worth it. I need a new monitor as well so I think it is worth it to get a Dell.

well Thanks alot for your help everyone.

[adamp2p]

I would strongly recommend, if you are going this route, to do what I did, which is buy a high end processor, as you mentioned in your first post, from Dell, but buy it from their Outlet. You can get a real deal there. The way to save money is to get a high end processor, the i875P chipset, which includes dual channel DDR 400, an 800 MHz front side bus. Here is an example of a pretty good deal:

Dimension 8300 (System Identifier 09DRTDGT)
Dell Dimension 8300 Mini-Tower: Pentium® 4 Processor at 3.0GHz with 800MHz front side bus
System Price $1,374.00
Promotion Discount ($225.00)
Discounted Price $1,149.00
Memory: 1 GB DDR 400MHz SDRAM (2 DIMMs)
Floppy Drive: No Floppy Drive
Hard Disk Drive: 60 GB EIDE Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Video: 64MB GeForce4 MX 420 with TV-Out
Modem: 56Kbps Data/Fax Modem
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows XP Home
CD Read-Write Drive: 48X CD-RW Drive
DVD Drive: 16X DVD-ROM
Logitech PS2 Mouse
QuietKey Keyboard

This is a pretty good deal, but you still would need a monitor, but as far as RAM goes, you would be set! That Gforce card sucks, so you would have to upgrade that too...just check out the refurbished prices over the next few weeks, and you might even be able to find a P4 at 3.2 GHz for a reasonable price. Just make sure you get the Dimension 8300 and not the other variations.

See Here

This one looks like a steal:




SYSTEM SPECIFICATION
Dimension 8300 (System Identifier EJ8WHEMT)
Dell Dimension 8300 Mini-Tower: Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.8GHz with 800MHz front side bus
System Price $1,104.00
Promotion Discount ($225.00)
Discounted Price $879.00
Memory: 256 MB DDR 400MHz SDRAM (2 DIMMs)
Floppy Drive: 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive
Hard Disk Drive: 60 GB EIDE Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Video: 64MB ATI All-in-Wonder® 9000 Pro
Modem: 56Kbps Data/Fax Modem
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows XP Home
DVD Drive: 16X DVD-ROM
4X DVD+RW/+R with CD-RW
Logitech PS2 Mouse
QuietKey Keyboard

[ilw]

if u've got the time build it yourself do it, if u don't, go for the dell is what i reckon. I dont think it would take u too long to pick parts as u seem to have a good idea of whats going on in the hardware world at the moment and building it is a days work. Also I think that most people really benefit from having built a computer from scratch, its a good learning experience. Theres no difference in price, as i said somewehre else, dell will charge u less for the parts and more for the software, overall it balances out and if u build it yourself u get exactly what u want.