Newegg DIY Combos - Any good?

[benman123]

Hello,

Me: First time pc builder, capable of snapping parts, screwing screws, and plugging plugs.

-No experience with installing windows on a fresh machine.

-Overwhelmed with parts available to choose from.

-Low budget

I would rather buy a sufficient pc already put together, but everything that I read suggests building one gets you a better pc in the end.

Confidence vs. quality.

So, newegg.com has a few DIY combos--a selected set of parts that you save money on by building it yourself. http://www.newegg.com/Store/MasterComboStore.aspx?StoreID=7&name=DIY-PC-Combos

There are not many to choose from, but just comparing these to the pre-built sets tells me that these parts are indeed better. Funny thing is that the fine print says that newegg.com does not guarantee the compatibility of these parts.

Ultimately, I want a set of good, compatible parts (tower only for now) that is less than $700 (assuming another $100 for windows 7). Website suggestions welcome or an actual parts list. Thanks!

 

[crewton]

Generally, newegg does a good job at DIY combos. They provide 50ish dollars off from buying the parts individually. They do sometimes come with a crappy psu option that comes with the case or a low end motherboard.

What are you building the machine for? Gaming? office use?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.644166 would be my pick of the lot for a solid base but you'd need to buy a graphics card. or http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.755265 if you wanted the z68 mobo but it costs $50 more and still no graphics card.

 

[benman123]

Use: Casual gaming. I have my eye on Skyrim & Diablo 3 (assuming it ever comes out!)

I would also be willing to buy a pre-built if the parts/price trade off was worth it. One less thing to do you know...but I like the idea of putting it together myself. The odds of my melting it all into a ball of plastic and metal are higher than I would like. jk.

I like your suggestions. Keep them coming. Thanks

 

[DelroyMonjo]

crewton offers 2 good combos. The first is limited to 1 video card whereas the 2nd combo allows 2 video cards if you decide to do that now or in the future. An up to date video card will be about another $225-$300 and a perfectly adequate video card can be had in the $150-$200 range. It just depends on what games you want to play and at what resolutions.
I looked at some other combos but found them wanting, mostly because they came with a cheezy case with a cheezy power supply.
So, to come in at under $700 you can get a Radeon 6750 or 6770 or something like a GTX 550Ti Nvidia card. The closer to $200 the better though.

 

[benman123]

Good thoughts. Here is the link to newegg's desktop pcs: http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=10&name=Desktop-PCs

That may or may not take you to their gaming PCs below $800.

This one, for example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227370



I had bookmarked this one from their catalog, but it went out of stock all of a sudden.

Is there any merit to keeping an eye on the open-box buys? Or is the risk of getting a problematic box not worth it? roll the dice...

I appreciate getting your opinions on these machines. Thanks.

 

[slhpss]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.759542

pretty good combo. includes everything (careful when looking some of the combos are sans video cards) 575 w/o windows

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.759913

nice system, but 792 w/o windows

 

[benman123]

crewton offers 2 good combos. The first is limited to 1 video card whereas the 2nd combo allows 2 video cards if you decide to do that now or in the future. An up to date video card will be about another $225-$300 and a perfectly adequate video card can be had in the $150-$200 range. It just depends on what games you want to play and at what resolutions.
I looked at some other combos but found them wanting, mostly because they came with a cheezy case with a cheezy power supply.
So, to come in at under $700 you can get a Radeon 6750 or 6770 or something like a GTX 550Ti Nvidia card. The closer to $200 the better though.

Forgive my ignorant question here.

When I search for Radeon 6770 video cards, there are 24 results, the primary differences being the brand name. Most of them appear to have the same description and relatively the same prices. So, what are the differences? Are they all ultimately the same? The same goes for the nVidia cards

Thanks in advance.

 

[benman123]

Also, the combo comes with 4GB of RAM. Assuming it can take more, can I simply add 4 more GBs?


My dumb questions ... leading me ever closer to buying a pre-built.

 

[slhpss]

Also, the combo comes with 4GB of RAM. Assuming it can take more, can I simply add 4 more GBs?


My dumb questions ... leading me ever closer to buying a pre-built.

yes 6770's are pretty much all the same... just little tweaks different manufactures provide and level of customer service... I like gigabyte and a lot of people sware by sapphire... for the ram yes but I would say if it comes with 2 x 2 gb ram to buy another 2 x 2gb kit because it's dual channel so it's more beneficial to match sticks.

don't give up man... you can do it

 

[benman123]

Best answer selected by benman123.