- Nov 20, 2007
- 48
- 0
- 18,530
About a month ago I decided to get a new pc because my old one was 5+ years and counting. Plus I really wanted get back into computer games, Oblivion and recently CoD 4. I was pretty settled on getting another Dell and started communicating with them about the parts that go into it (I know much more about pc components than I did 6 years ago). The first paper build I had worked with Dell was an Inspiron 530, or whichever has the intel chip. The cpu was an E6550 and it came with an 8600 GT card, a 250w psu and everything else was basically an unknown (even the Dell reps don't know cause they swap out brands all the time). With a 4 year total warranty and 3 years McAfee the total was 1250 after tax/free shipping, windows, no monitor or extras. Well the psu set off warning bells because I have previously upgraded a graphics card for my old pc and had to buy a new psu in the process (same 250w back then). I decided to investigate what I could get with the same money if I built my own desktop with choice parts. I just got online and started picking out parts and adding up the cost with a basic budget of 1200. I caught on very quickly that I could build, theoretically, a superior system with my price range. In the beginning I had considered building my own; but it seemed risky and fraught with peril for an amateur like myself. But looking at the difference in components and the kind of system I could get it was easy to see I'd be foolish not to build my own.
So here it is- it took a lot of research (a steady 2 weeks actually) to come up with the following build. It's already built and moving along quite nicely:
* e6750 Intel duocore, 2.66 Ghz 1333
* Asus motherboard, P5K P35 1333/1033
* Western Digital Caviar 160 GB SATA II, 7200 rpm
* Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX 800 DDR II (2x1GB)
* Cooler Master Centurion 5 ATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119077
* eVGA 8800 GTS 320 mb 500 Mhz
* Corsair HX520w psu
The total price for this system was about 1070, after the rebates (haven't gotten yet) it will be 950. Still need to buy some new speakers. I didn't have to buy a new OS (windows xp in this case) either, which saved me a nice amount of money. HOWEVER, I am a student and I got the software for free. I have heard Dell OS systems will only work with the Dell computer it comes with.
This is a significantly better system than what I would have gotten elsewhere. Dell had a crappy 100 dollar card with a 250w psu. Worse, if I decided later on I would wanted to upgrade that card I'd have to buy a decent psu and have a certified tech do the install to keep my warranty valid. That was actually what pushed me to build my own. The other cool thing about building is that you learn a lot of new stuff about your computer. I really know my machine inside and out and quite a bit more now. On the flip side it wasn't all that easy, either. I had to make a number of phone calls and do a fair amount of troubleshooting to get it in working order. But that was one time deal- the next time will be far easier now that I know. There is quite a bit you should/need to know before attempting to build your own PC. I can only recommend a lot of patience and a lot of homework. Take your time because it will be very worth the effort. Plus I was pretty proud of myself
You can't brag here (big whoopie-welcome to the club), but you can brag elsewhere that you built your own computer. Not everyone can do that.
So here it is- it took a lot of research (a steady 2 weeks actually) to come up with the following build. It's already built and moving along quite nicely:
* e6750 Intel duocore, 2.66 Ghz 1333
* Asus motherboard, P5K P35 1333/1033
* Western Digital Caviar 160 GB SATA II, 7200 rpm
* Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX 800 DDR II (2x1GB)
* Cooler Master Centurion 5 ATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119077
* eVGA 8800 GTS 320 mb 500 Mhz
* Corsair HX520w psu
The total price for this system was about 1070, after the rebates (haven't gotten yet) it will be 950. Still need to buy some new speakers. I didn't have to buy a new OS (windows xp in this case) either, which saved me a nice amount of money. HOWEVER, I am a student and I got the software for free. I have heard Dell OS systems will only work with the Dell computer it comes with.
This is a significantly better system than what I would have gotten elsewhere. Dell had a crappy 100 dollar card with a 250w psu. Worse, if I decided later on I would wanted to upgrade that card I'd have to buy a decent psu and have a certified tech do the install to keep my warranty valid. That was actually what pushed me to build my own. The other cool thing about building is that you learn a lot of new stuff about your computer. I really know my machine inside and out and quite a bit more now. On the flip side it wasn't all that easy, either. I had to make a number of phone calls and do a fair amount of troubleshooting to get it in working order. But that was one time deal- the next time will be far easier now that I know. There is quite a bit you should/need to know before attempting to build your own PC. I can only recommend a lot of patience and a lot of homework. Take your time because it will be very worth the effort. Plus I was pretty proud of myself
You can't brag here (big whoopie-welcome to the club), but you can brag elsewhere that you built your own computer. Not everyone can do that.
I've learned a lot the last few years, but I'm not sure I'm tech savy enough to put one together.. I'm know all the plug and play things are simple, but I know nothing about putting the chip into the motherboard and using the thermal paste, that I always here about 
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