Build or buy a pc?
 

Its either i build my own pc or buy a manufactuer pc. I would rather save the money and build my own, but i like the peace of mind you get with good technical support. Also, it seems that Dell has a bad rep on here and every1 says they suck. But my friend has a very good pc and has absolutely 0 problems with it and he loves it. It has 2 gigs of RAM a 9800 xt and I can't remember the other specs. So I could either save like 200 bucks and build my own pc or spend teh extra money on tech support. Also I don't know how to build a pc :(. Im sure its not that hard but i feel as if i would fu*k up and buy something that is uncompatible with something else. Also the first time you start a computer up that you have just built how do you install the drivers for everything because you are probably prompted by like 3 different things to do so, so is it 1 at a time or seperately?

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

Build.

Build. Build. Build.

BUILD.

At the very least, find a nice little B&M shop locally, buy the parts there and have them assemble it for you. It'll cost a little extra ($50 or so), it's worth it if you're worried about not putting everything together right. They can also give you advice about complimentary components and the like.

As for drivers and other installables, most OSes will recognise what class a piece of hardware is and often have rudimentary drivers for it (soundcards generally play sounds, video cards generally display video, etc), but it's all very basic. If Window$ is your OS of choice, it'll whine about the low resolution the first time you boot up. Once your OS loads though, you simply load the driver's installer and follow the instructions.

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

what does b & m mean? Buy and make? idk. But where could i find such a place, but that definently seems like a very very very good idea, thanks for the tip. But they can help you with advice and all that and build the pc for you for only an extra 50$ or so, seems like a good deal. lol know of any shops like that in reno, nevada? I dought i could find anything thru yahoo but ill try.

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

Brick and Mortar. A lot of people often don't consider them as an option, what with outfits like Newegg.
The nice thing about doing business with one is that you basically get a prebuilt machine, but you get to handpick what goes into it and they support it to an extent. Plus, you're not locked in with some of the stupid things companies like Dell do (like rewire the ATX connector on the motherboard so that only Dell power supplies work with Dell mobos).

I live in Oregon, so I can't tell you much about Reno's pickings. Check your local phone book, though. Pay the various shops a visit, see what they have for selection and what they're willing to order in for you, etc. I don't know how much they'll charge you to build it, but a friend of mine has a shop and only charge $25 or so to assemble the system if you buy it all from him.

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

Does Brick and Mortar have a website to look into?? Hmm, but i've never heard of these places before but I will try to find one. Sounds like a very good idea though, thanks for the tip. AND 25$ is awesome. I would buy from your friend but i want someone local that I can trust.

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

Build one, you can get it cheaper and with far more power and you know exactly what goes into your system that way.

Edit: I think by brick and mortar he meant it literally, as in a shop that is made out of brick and mortar, in a real building rather than on the web

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

wow that was confusing, but i wanna build my own pc. But what he was talking about was, you go to a shop that orders and builds your computer for you, and you tell them what you want for a charge of liek 50$ So they give you technical advice and tell what is compatible and what isn't and put it all together which is cool for me.

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

build, for sure, i built my comp a few days ago, saved alot. building isnt too hard, just dont fry the parts with static (happened to me before:mad: ) if you feel uncomfortable, then get the store to build it for you as c38368 said, it wont cost too much more on top of your parts.

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

hey maybe you could teach me all of that, like everything i need to buy and where the best prices are. I wanna make a AMD Athlon 64 computer.

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

Before you buy the parts ask yourself some questions.


1. What do I want to do for this computer
2. What am I willing to spend
3. How long do I plan to keep this computer
4. What options do I want
5. What will I do with this computer

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

I'm gonna upgrade my RAM tomorrow and just wanna know if this RAM is compatible with the system i have now. I contacted hp and they said RAM (standard) 512/2100 DDR (2x256) is what i have. So could i buy this RAM? here is link.

http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...224&pfp=BROWSE


also what about this 1?


http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...440&pfp=BROWSE

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

I bought a Dell, it sucked, i took almost all parts + some new ones and built a great gaming pc.........so my advice BUILD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and u will save 100++++

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

but could someone answer my RAM question?

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

it should work, if not you can have someone like a local comuter geek do it for your. Now i got my PC custom built from a guy who fixes and upgrades computers. I paied $1200 for the eqivlent of a $2000 dell or HP. Then i got free tech support for as long as he is working with computers. Even though i could have built my own PC for 1200 and get it faster it was easy and ready to run.

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

i wish i had someone to custom build my pc : (

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

If you feel confident, build your own.

i just bought a dell and it is awesome. either way you cant go wrong:D

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

there are places on the internet(do a google serch and you will find alot) that will custom build your PC with what you want for a reasonable price.

http://www.jscustompcs.com/AMD_custom_gaming.php Here is a place you will pay a bit more than dell or HP but everyting is what you want:D.

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

Build, if you have any problems take it to bestbuy...

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

I have a quick question. I have PC2100 RAM and at CompUSA this is what they have

512MB PC2100 184pin DDR DIMM Memory Module

And my computer currently has PC2100 DDR SDRAM . But i don't know what the pin thing means, can i still get that or no?

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

Build one. Nothing better than building..Unless you have money to throw away you could get an Alienware

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

can som1 plz answer my question??? im leaving soon

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

GET DUAL PENTIUM 4 PROCESSORS!!! EACH WOULD BE 3GHz FOR ONLY 188$ EACH!!! THAT WOULD BE 6GHz!!!!!

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

That's not quite true, the way a processor generally works means you would not be able to simply add the values of the two processors to get 6GHz. The simple way of saying it is that most tasks cannot run on more than one processor at once.

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

Although it could be a somewhat good idea (if it's P4 Extreme) to have dual CPUs and overclock them. Still, I think I'd go for an AMD.

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

hello plz answer me.

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

Well, if youre worried about stuffing up, take it too a computer builder and get them to build for you. Manifactured PCs suck, choose your own specs.

And go for AMD, i have and it pwns ;) I built mine, and its awesome, bought good parts, and found out i saved over $800 then i would have to buy one of equal.

AMD Athlon 64bit 3700+
1GB ADATA DDR 400Mhz
GE-CUBE RX800XT VIVO Platinum
16x DVD writer Thermal take case
120GB Western Digital HDD
Logitech mouse and keyboard
Nice 19" LCD 12ms response
Creative T7700 7.1 Speaker system
LANPATRY nF3 250GB Mainboard.

That cost me $3800NZD to build, and $4600 to buy.

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

whats your question????? how many MB of RAM does your computer have right now????if you have 256 MB , getting 512 would be smart or you could even go for 768 MB (1 256 MB stick and one 512) kingston value RAM is good or you could even go for corsaid XMS. that PC2100 is somewhat slow. i have mine running at 533 MHZ but try a PC3200 (DDR-400) which runs at 400 MHZ. it is the normal speed and will work great. hope this helps

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

Also, if youre mostly worried about stuffing up the building process, find "scredriver shop" in your area, or your country that will ship. email them, tell them what you want, and theyll build for you, for a small price. heres a list for americans:

http://www.acme.com/build_a_pc/assembly.html

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

if your buying it from a computer part retailer they will build it for you at little extra cost, their are thousands of shops near me, their should be some stors near where you live, or you could build your self like i did, not very hard. i blew up a comp a few years back, not knowing what i was doing i inserted an old fried video card (some matrox card) and i blew the mobo and all parts on it, so i wasnt too happy about that.:(

Re: Build or buy a pc?
 

buy or build.... well i would say it depends what you are after, if you want a trouble free system then i'd go with a dell pc, if your planning on gaming however then avoid dell (even their gaming machine isnt up to scratch), with a little planning you can do a much better job than any manufacturer