Parents don't trust self-building a computer

maelstrom10 · Aug 16, 2017

So I'm going off to university, and I've got a total budget of $2500 for a really nice computer for modelling/gaming/etc, without peripherals. My parents don't trust me to build it myself, and want me to go with a custom builder, such as CyberPower, etc, despite the fact that I've told them repeatedly that this runs more risk and costs me more performance/dollar. Any suggestions on how to convince them otherwise?

M04D18 · Aug 16, 2017

You can buy the parts and have a local store build it for you for a small amount .

USAFRet · Aug 16, 2017

"how to convince" differs significantly between the typical 13-14 year old we see with this question, and you...presumably 17-18.

Is this your money or theirs?
Have you ever built or highly modified a PC before?

LudazTV · Aug 16, 2017

Ummmm

Order parts, hide them in your bedroom, build PC :lol:

jimmyEatWord · Aug 16, 2017

Tell your mother , hey mom i gotta build it myself ! i wanna be your man

J_E_D_70 · Aug 16, 2017

"Parents just don't understand" - Fresh Prince

maelstrom10 · Aug 17, 2017

USAFRet :

It's money from my college fund explicitly set aside for a PC, so it is directly under my control,however I would not prefer to spend it without their approval, especially if they've explicitly set themselves against this decision (They're not very techy).

I personally have not built/highly modified a PC before,but I have a couple friends who have built theirs from scratch, and I understand most of the theory behind building one.

USAFRet · Aug 17, 2017

maelstrom10 :

If this is your first time, I sort of agree with them.
It's not hard at all, but 'in practice' is different than 'in theory'.

And there's little we out here could do to convince "them".

Maybe take $500 of other money, and build a demo machine. Low $$$ risk, and you show them that you can do it.

TJ Hooker · Aug 17, 2017

Do you really need a $2500 machine though? That's well into the realm of diminishing returns. You could build a very powerful PC for ~$1000 less. Maybe a lower price tag would assuage your parents fears a bit.

James Mason · Aug 17, 2017

A high end system will still run like 2k+ though.
If he wants to be well setup for modeling, he'll need a few "extravagant" parts

If you want to convince them how easy it is, just have them sit down with you for an hour and watch this video about building a PC.
https://youtu.be/IhX0fOUYd8Q?t=50s

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1800X 3.6GHz 8-Core Processor ($418.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - MasterLiquid 240 66.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($87.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - X370 KILLER SLI/ac ATX AM4 Motherboard ($153.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($274.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 275GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($99.84 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 275GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($99.84 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.73 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB FTW3 GAMING iCX Video Card ($769.00 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT - S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - PRIME Platinum 650W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($124.09 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home Full - USB 32/64-bit ($102.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $2286.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-17 10:50 EDT-0400

TJ Hooker · Aug 17, 2017

@OP what are you going to be studying, do you know what sort of modelling software you'll be using at school?

jaslion · Aug 17, 2017

maelstrom10 :

Just go on your local used site and get a cheap old pc. Make sure it works, take it apart and rebuild it in front of them. This way you showed that you can do it and this will set you back maybe 15$.

g-unit1111 · Aug 17, 2017

James Mason :

That plus tell them you'll get a much better system than anything you could buy prebuilt, and it's the only way to get a clean installation of Windows. I would build something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-7820X 3.6GHz 8-Core Processor ($599.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H115i 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock - X299 Taichi ATX LGA2066 Motherboard ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($339.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($127.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital - BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($118.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB SC Black Edition Video Card ($724.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT - S340 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($112.93 @ Amazon)
Total: $2524.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-17 12:29 EDT-0400

jaslion · Aug 17, 2017

g-unit1111 :

James Mason :

That plus tell them you'll get a much better system than anything you could buy prebuilt, and it's the only way to get a clean installation of Windows. I would build something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-7820X 3.6GHz 8-Core Processor ($599.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H115i 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock - X299 Taichi ATX LGA2066 Motherboard ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($339.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($127.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital - BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($118.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB SC Black Edition Video Card ($724.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT - S340 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($112.93 @ Amazon)
Total: $2524.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-17 12:29 EDT-0400

I would swap the i7 for a ryzen 8 core and then get with the saved money a 500gb ssd.

g-unit1111 · Aug 17, 2017

jaslion :

Why? There's no performance benefit gained from doing that other than you increase your SSD storage.

James Mason · Aug 17, 2017

The multiple SSDs was actually for like a "scratch" disk that some rendering programs need. Also... I have a feeling OP will need a monitor/keyboard/mouse so i didn't go full 2500 budget... even though he said he wouldn't.

I don't feel good about the ROI on G-units full $2500 build. It is all kinda higher quality stuff but.... not sure if the value is worth it.

g-unit1111 · Aug 17, 2017

James Mason :

The OP said "without peripherals". So I would assume that does not need monitor / keyboard / mouse etc. If you wanted to go cheaper I would do something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700X 3.4GHz 8-Core Processor ($337.59 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H115i 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock - X370 Taichi ATX AM4 Motherboard ($183.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($127.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital - BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($118.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB SC Black Edition Video Card ($724.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT - S340 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($112.93 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($89.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $2086.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-17 13:57 EDT-0400

James Mason · Aug 17, 2017

g-unit1111 :

Yeah, they always say that, but when you have a 1070 or better GPU, you'll probably want a good IPS monitor or something to go with it. And OP probably thinks his old HP 768p monitor or something will work.

derekullo · Aug 17, 2017

I do agree with buying the parts, which ever ones you choose, and sending it a local computer shop and having them build it.

You get the parts you want and your parents get the assurance their son won't die a slow painful death from touching a psu.

maelstrom10 · Aug 17, 2017

For peripherals I have an Acer 1440p IPS 27" @ 60hz, along with a K550 keyboard from Logitech and a Proteus Spectrum, so peripherals are all covered. And as per the PC specs themselves, I was looking along the lines of g-unit, with the 7820, but with only Corsair G-skill 3000MHz RAM, to compensate for a SC2 Hybrid 1080 ti. And while M.2 SSDs can be used as scratch disks for Solidworks, Gadget-2, etc. I do have a WD M.2 that's in my old system that I'll add in to compensate for that

g-unit1111 · Aug 17, 2017

maelstrom10 :

Keep in mind that if you're going with X299 that there's heating problems associated with high overclocks. Hopefully the problems have been fixed by now but just take precautions when you actually get the system setup:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/-intel-skylake-x-overclocking-thermal-issues,5117.html

maelstrom10 · Aug 17, 2017

Yeah, I just wanted the performance overhead that Skylake-X has over Ryzen 7, as well as the (current) advantage in optimization Intel chips have over AMD ones, especially in some of the specific programs I'll be using, due to AMD's years of noncompetitive CPUs in HEDT applications. I might OC a bit, and will probably end up with a 240-280mil AIO to compensate for that, but for the most part will be trying to not tax it too much.

g-unit1111 · Aug 17, 2017

maelstrom10 :

Yeah I wouldn't get anything less than an AIO or dual tower fan.

Parents don't trust self-building a computer

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