Where to go to get quality PCs built if you can't build them yourself

[Pluto1618]

New member here. Is CyberPower the favored online builder of this community? Is that why there is a CyberPower sub-forum here? Or is it simply because they are sponsoring it as an advertiser?

Here is my issue: I wish I had the wherewithal to build my own machines, but I don't. I ain't a whippersnapper like you youngun's here. :> Actually, it isn't my age but my health that constrains me from being able to build PCs myself.

So... if I want to get the best quality and value for individual components that I can, plus have someone else build for me, where do I go? CyberPower? Digital Storm Online? Wal-Mart? </snark>

Any advice appreciated.

P

 

[tecmo34]

Welcome to Toms

Cyberpower is a Sponsor, which is why they have a sub-forum. As for on-line builders, I would go with them or Digital Storm for your "custom build" feel for your PC. Other options is seek someone to build it for you. A local PC shop is a good starting point or check places like Craig's List or your Classifieds. You can find many listings were people are willing to build PC's for reasonable price. There are members here within the Tom's community wiling to build PC's for members, as well.

 

[Pluto1618]

Thanks, tecmo34. I appreciate your input.

 

[cmcghee358]

If you're in Phoenix AZ I'll build it for you free of charge and teach you how as well.

 

[Atotalnoob]

Also Ibuypower is another Company like Cyberpower.....
What is your budget?

 

[eloric]

^+1 to cmcghee358 I am in Atlanta, and make the same offer.

 

[Atotalnoob]

lol I'm in the UK (manchester) but, +1 to cmcghee said =D and make the same offer tooo!

 

[cmcghee358]

I swear this is the best forum ever...

 

[Atotalnoob]

lol yes it is... Best one I've been on.

 

[eloric]

Eventually someone from the right town will make the offer!

 

[Atotalnoob]

lol =D.....

 

[tecmo34]

I can helpout in the South-West Ohio area...

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Nottingham Uk
(notice how We're all offering to build it for you rather than let you go to cybershower? )
Moto

 

[kingnoobe]

I'm in FOB Sharana, Afghan and I make the same offer =P.

 

[Pluto1618]

You guys are absolutely wonderful--and hilarious!

I'm in the Orlando, Florida, USA, area. I truly appreciate the offers of assistance. You guys are amazing.

And I take it from the comments that you don't think it's wise to buy from an online commercial builder? Is that because of the extra cost? Or because of some implied lack of quality control? Or given our sponsor here, are those comments something better left unsaid?

Thanks again for all the offers!!

P

 

[tecmo34]

Commercial builders have a tendency to skimp in areas to help drive down cost... PSU, Memory, Hard Drive... Etc. They give you a name brand CPU, GPU & MOBO and skimp every where else... IMO.

Building is the best option but on the flip side, I do know many people that love their Cyberpower PC's and haven't had issuses with them... Meaning, it is an option.

 

[Atotalnoob]

My work buys from just about everyone online (somehow they get them to ship to the UK....). I've never had problems with them.... my boss doesn't want me building them =/.

 

[Pluto1618]

Thanks, guys, for your comments.

OK, here's what I am looking for...

I need two machines. My budget is $3-5K for the two.

The first is for me. I am a futures trader. I need a high performance machine with the following qualities:

- Extremely stable and reliable; IOW, you could run it for a year and it would never present you with a BSOD.
- Extremely fast CPU.
- The faster a machine can process a strategy's signal and send an order to the exchange, the more likely I am to minimize slippage (slippage is essentially the difference between the price that you think you should get and the price you DO get).
- The faster the machine is, the quicker I can do extensive backtesting and optimization runs.
- Windows 7 Professional (or Ultimate?) 64-bit OS.
- 64 bit much faster for running long optimizations.
- Graphics. I need decent, but not necessarily top of the line capability. I will not be playing games on this machine, so I don't require tons of high-powered graphics processing. But I will be looking at futures charts, so I do need decent graphics.
- UPS. The machine needs to be able to run for a couple of minutes--at the least--on UPS battery power. We have a lot of lightning storms here in Florida and power can be iffy at best.
- RAM. I'm not sure about this but I would imagine that it would be helpful to have 12-16GB of RAM to help with backtesting/optimization processing.
- Cooling. I would prefer to avoid liquid cooling as it sounds like a pain in the neck. Unless it becomes mandatory with my configuration.
- Hard drives. I would prefer to have the OS and apps reside on a solid state drive. For the data drives I like a LOT of space.

The 2nd PC is for my wife. She is a multi-tasker to the extreme and is constantly complaining about the slowness of her current machine. I want to get her a high performance machine that will totally satisfy her impatience. The only game she ever plays is Spider Solitaire. But she collects data like you wouldn't believe. Her directory structure is the biggest I have ever seen anywhere. She saves EVERYTHING. She loves to make directories. She's done that in Thunderbird to the point where it takes several minutes just to load all of her emails! And she likes to backup in triplicate. So she needs a LOT of space in addition to processing power.

So where I do go from here? Suggestions?

 

[Atotalnoob]

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1CT0WU ($2678) for the first one, and http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1CT0WY ($1512)

That is 4190$ for both.... =o

On the second system, I put a smaller SSD, because it sounds like she needs a little speed, she'll have to put only vital stuff on their because it is smaller.. I put a 2 TB HDD on both... SATA-3 and USB 3.0 for longeivity....

You have to choose the UPS, I don't want to recommend one and it turn out junk....

 

[Pluto1618]

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1CT0WU ($2678) for the first one, and http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1CT0WY ($1512)

That is 4190$ for both.... =o

On the second system, I put a smaller SSD, because it sounds like she needs a little speed, she'll have to put only vital stuff on their because it is smaller.. I put a 2 TB HDD on both... SATA-3 and USB 3.0 for longeivity....

You have to choose the UPS, I don't want to recommend one and it turn out junk....

Thanks for the suggestions! Something went a bit haywire with the first one, I think, because when I click through to it the price only shows as $2408, not $2678. What is missing from the configuration?

BASE_PRICE: [+835]
BLUETOOTH: None
BUNDLE: None
CAS: NZXT M59 Gaming Mid-Tower Case with See-Thru Window
CASUPGRADE: None
CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
CD2: None
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-980X Extreme Edition 3.33 GHz 12M Intel Smart Cache LGA1366 [+774]
CS_FAN: Default case fans
FA_HDD: None
FAN: CoolerMaster V6 CPU Cooler (Copper Base Double-V Heatpipe) [+6]
FLASHMEDIA: None
FLOPPY: None
GLASSES: None
HDD: * 64 GB Corsair Nova Series V64 Gaming MLC Solid State Disk [+84] (Single Hard Drive)
HDD2: 2TB (2TBx1) SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+229] (Single Hard Drive)
IEEE_CARD: None
KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
LANSURGE: None
MB_ADDON: None
MEMORY: 12GB (2GBx6) DDR3/1600MHz Triple Channel Memory Module [+144] (Corsair or Major Brand)
MONITOR: None
MONITOR2: None
MONITOR3: None
MOTHERBOARD: * (3-Way SLI Support) GigaByte GA-X58A-UD3R Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Ultra Durable™3 Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 Dolby Audio, eSATA, GbLAN, USB3.0, 2 x SATA-III RAID, IEEE1394a, 4 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI [+42]
MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
MULTIVIEW: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: None - FORMAT HARD DRIVE ONLY
OVERCLOCK: No Overclocking
POWERSUPPLY: * 750 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-750TX 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready [+109]
PRINTER: None
PRINTER_CABLE: None
RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
SPEAKERS: None
TEMP: None
TVRC: None
USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
USBFLASH: None
USBHD: None
USBX: None
VC_PHYSX: None
VIDEO: AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 16X PCIe Video Card [+185] (Major Brand Powered by AMD)
VIDEO2: None
VIDEO3: None
WNC: None
PRICE: (+2408)

<END>

 

[cmcghee358]

Most traders need multiple monitors? Do you need output to multiple monitors?

 

[Pluto1618]

Most traders need multiple monitors? Do you need output to multiple monitors?

Good question! I am a systematic trader--my strategies are programmed and automated. I am not like the discretionary traders who are making quick decisions all the time and need access to a lot of information. I'm essentially just keeping an eye on things, making sure everything is functioning properly. I can do that with one good-sized monitor.

 

[cmcghee358]

Well even if you need 2, any modern graphics card allows for 2 monitors. I know some of those other traders use 4-5 monitors so I was just checking to make sure

 

[cmcghee358]

If you want to save money, drop to a 5450 Graphics Card(Or something in the 55xx series).

Since you're not gaming these will be more than enough, because the CPU is doing the brunt of the system work(calculations/predictions)

 

[Pluto1618]

If you want to save money, drop to a 5450 Graphics Card(Or something in the 55xx series).

Since you're not gaming these will be more than enough, because the CPU is doing the brunt of the system work(calculations/predictions)

Thanks Mr. McGhee! I appreciate your input. So do you agree with Mr. Atotalnoob's choices? Anything else you would do different besides the graphics card? And would you pick CyberPower over, say, Digital Storm?

P