Anyone Build Computers?

n8bachelor

n8bachelor

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I have been wanting to build my own for a while now. Pretty much got it nailed down what I want. Take a look and give me your opinions.

My price point was under $1000. But I wanted to have a good quality build with the ability to upgrade major components (RAM, processor, video card, hard drives, etc) over the next couple years as the price on these items drops. I did choose a power supply and video card that would last a bit longer if necessary. But the mother board had to have enough room for expansion to update the system. I'm sick of off-the-shelf computers that are obsolete after 3 years with no room for meaningfull upgrades.

Motherboard
ASUS P5Q-E (DDR2-1200Mhz up to 16GB, dual ethernet, esata, 2-PCI express 16x2.0, FSB up to 1600Mhz) - $160

Processor

Intel Core2 Quad 6600 (2.4Ghz, 1066Mhz FSB, 8MB L2 cache) - $190

Power Supply
Corsair TX 750 (750watt, single 12v rail (60amp), ample connectors) - $130

Video Card
EVGA GeForce 9800GT (512Mb GDDR3, 256-bit, 1800Mhz) - $130

RAM
2GB OCZ DDR2-8500 1066Mhz - $74

Hard Drive
Seagate 7200.11 (500GB, 7200rpm, 32MB cache) - $75

Case
Cooler Master Centurion 590 (mid-tower, PS on bottom, tons of fans) - $65

Monitor
KDS (19" widescreen 800:1 contrast, 1440x900 resolution, DVI input) - $160

I plan to re-use the dvd burner, keyboard, and mouse, and Windows XP from my existing PC. And probably the media card reader too.

Total of $984 (all prices from www.newegg.com)
 
IMO for the price,.. thats not to bad.
 
Seems like a decent setup. 2 things i would recomend. Different cooler for the intel and maybe a pair of 250g hard drives in raid zero to double the data performance. For under 1000 your doing alright.
 
ground_zero298 said:
Seems like a decent setup. 2 things i would recomend. Different cooler for the intel and maybe a pair of 250g hard drives in raid zero to double the data performance. For under 1000 your doing alright.
Click to expand...

Yeah I have thought about putting another $25 into a good CPU cooler, such as the Freezer 7 from Artic Cooling. Definately will if I ever think about overclocking the CPU.

The ultimate goal for the hard disk situation is a 300GB 10k rpm drive for the OS and a RAID 5 setup using the seagate 500GB from the initial purchase (and at least 2 identical drives) for secure storage. Unfortunately Seagate does not make a SATA 10k drive, so I would have to go with the Western Digital Raptor.

As I mentioned the bottom dollar had to be under $1000, with room to improve.
 
I hate to disagree but you can buy a nice one for less then that. Computer are pretty cheap now. But if you must check this out . can save you a lot of money. Also they sale complete units.Danny

http://www.geeks.com/
 
Glorywagon said:
I hate to disagree but you can buy a nice one for less then that. Computer are pretty cheap now. But if you must check this out . can save you a lot of money. Also they sale complete units.Danny

http://www.geeks.com/
Click to expand...

"nice" is a very relative term. It all depends on what you intend to do with it. I do not dispute that I could buy a suitable internet surfing machine for around $350. I could also spend over $5000 on a top of the line gaming machine (box only). Neither were my intent.

The computer sound good.

What are you planing to do with your computer?(like gamimg)
Click to expand...

My intent was to build a machine capable of some minor gaming, video editing/rendering, 3D CAD, and able to be upgraded in a couple years to run more demanding tasks. Possibly adding a digital tuner and Blue-ray drive for my future media needs. The major component of that was the choice for the motherboard. I know DDR3 ram is up-and-comming. But it is still too expensive and the motherboards supporting it are very limited (in both selection and maximum speed).

I started brousing BestBuy and other shops looking for an upgrade to my computer. Of course what I wanted was out of my price range. I have known people to build their own computers and always wanted to give it a try. I started pricing the things in the off-the-shelf computers and found significant price gaps in the sum-of-the-parts analysis vs. selling price. I picked a price point of what I was willing to spend ($1000), researched into components and compatability, looked for pieces I could re-use, and thought hard about future upgrades, and finally came to my chosen pieces. I have since taken this list and chipped away at it a little more to find the "bottom dollar" price. Re-using my hard drive (with OS) and 17" CRT monitor; choosing a lesser processor, video card, and ram; keeping the power supply, motherboard, and case I was able to bring my build down to $600. There are obvious sacrafices there. With a build-your-own box you are able to focus your money on items you want (high priority), and leave out the things you dont want (limited time software, phone modems, HP's "expansion" bays).

I checked out the "geek" site you posted. Seems very similar to Newegg.... but with mostly older products. For instance there are only 4 quad-core processors listed at the geek site... newegg has 10. Newegg is about $10-$25 cheaper on the 4 that are listed on the geek site.
One other thing to note, the user interface on Newegg is phenominal! I am all about saving money, and www.tigerdirrect.com has some great deals as well. But their interface is not as good as the egg.

Get This Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
Worth the money.
Keep the CPU cool.
Click to expand...

I could really use some of that silver now. I had to take apart the GF's machine to replace the ram (HP sure crams stuff in their boxes) and I want to be sure the heat sink firmly connected. Does it have a shelf-life? I'd hate to buy it now and "waste" half the tube waiting to build my machine.
 
yep that stuff lasts forever. CPU is rated in hours so the cooler you can run it the longer it will last. I run 2 raptorX 150's in my machine at raid zero which gives me 120mb a sec transfer rate. But mines set up for gaming.


Those off the shelf systems are built for price, not quality. If you want the most bang for your buck you got to ebay one, or build it.
 
ground_zero298 said:
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=37264&highlight=gaming

That one ran about 4k for everything in the picture. And a half day work assemblin. But at the end of the day it's worth it.
Click to expand...

I remember seeing that post last year. I recall thinking "damn, what a beast". I bet that plexi case cost you a pretty penny.

$4k is a lot to put into a computer. like mentioned before, they are a money pit. You could probably build that same box today (sans the plexi case, and bose speakers) for around $1200. I sure will enjoy building mine though. Any pointers or recommendations on my parts?
 
Looking good. I build computers for people every now and again.

Are you building this as a gaming PC?

That mobo is damn good, I have the asus p5b deluxe ap-wifi and I love it.

That motherboard is built for overclocking, the asus jumperfree cpu config is a breeze to use. My Intel e6300 dual core (first ever made) came factory at 1.83ghz. No one on here will believe me, but I've gotten it to 2.72 ghz and ran it through the half-life 2 lost cost video stress test, brought down 57fps everything maxxed. CPU didn't go over 38 degrees celcius either. I have since scooped up a q6600, and I don't bother overclocking anymore, don't play the games.

Lose the monitor, it says 800:1 then it says 1000:1, which is it? Also they're advertising 2ms grey to grey response time to fool people. Don't skimp here, pick up something in the 3000:1 range, I have a SICK 22" LG with 2ms and 3000:1, took months before I decided though.

Ditch the cooler that comes with the intel, it does a good job, and will allow for moderate overclocking. Like said, grab some arctic silver 5, and look up the big typhoon by thermaltake, the heatsink is an absolute monster, make sure you get a full tower atx case. It was like 60 bucks and allows for all the overclocking I'll ever need.

Screw geeks.com. Newegg is by far the best online retailer (ever have to rma something? Flawless) Buy it on monday, its here wednesday with their standard shipping.

n8 you can get a good computer for the price you're looking at. Are you planning of ever moving to vista? Then you may get to use more than 2gb of ram haha.

Have fun building it. Definitely look up the big typhoon, its huge!
 
Been there, built it, on it

Untitled-1-13.jpg
 
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