QOTD: How Much Did You Spend on Your PC?

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We're all computer and hardware enthusiasts. We all love building, tweaking, and upgrading our systems for the most performance.

I remember buying a stick of 32 MB of EDO DRAM way back when, for $300! Those times are gone now. After I moved on to a more powerful system, the 32 MB of EDO was still useful, in my Sound Blaster AWE 32--yep, it took memory modules.

The question of the day is: How much have you spent on your entire PC?

Include things like speakers, etc. What's the most costly part of your computer?

Was it all worth it?

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152 Comments Comment from the forums
  • matchboxmatt
    I spent $1200 on my Dell in 2005. Then it exploded.

    I built a new computer for $350 and took the CPU, GPU, and HDDs from the dead Dell and put it in here. It's just been a series of upgrades since.
    Reply
  • My latest component upgrades cost $650, but $1700 over the life of the oldest component has been spent, Spent the most on HD4870 then Asus P5Q Mobo and have not looked back
    Reply
  • pjmelect
    I spend absolutely zero on my PC, my computer is built up from parts I manage to scrounge from various places including out of tips skips etc. My current main system is an Athlon 3000 with 1 gig of RAM and a 120 Gig hard drive and a Ti4200 graphics card. I may not have the fastest system but in only a few years I will manage to scrounge the most powerful computer available today.
    Reply
  • pjmelect
    I spend absolutely zero on my PC, my computer is built up from parts I manage to scrounge from various places including out of tips skips etc. My current main system is an Athlon 3000 with 1 gig of RAM and a 120 Gig hard drive and a Ti4200 graphics card. I may not have the fastest system but in only a few years I will manage to scrounge the most powerful computer available today.
    Reply
  • mrndn1
    I usually spend about $1,500 each time I build a PC. On that budget, I'm consistently able to put together a nice gaming machine with good hardware and a nice new case. I usually use Shuttle cases because they're small, easy to store, and able turn into ok-looking media center computers once their lifespan as a gaming rig comes to an end. Is it worth it to do this every 1-3 years? It's worth every penny. I love building and owning a new custom PC.
    Reply
  • starryman
    1992 I bought my first PC. 386DX 40 processor. 16 MB ram (that was about $600 - remember not GIG but MB). 60MB hard drive (again not gig but MB). 2MB video card. 14" color monitor. Ran Windows 3.1. My total price with 1.44 floppy drive was I believe $2,300.

    My beater computer today CoreDuo 2, 4Gig ram, 1Gig Ram Video Card, two 640Gig HD, 2 dvd burners, blah blah... $850.
    Reply
  • avericia
    I built my first system last November q9550@3.2 on a 780iftw with sli gtx260 core 216 SC, corsair 1000w, and a 24in benQ and I spent around $2200 total. It was worth every penny. I never thought a comp could be this fast and never bog down or crash...... for now lol
    O ya and I will never buy a $500 dell junk box ever again!!
    And a Big thanks to tomshardware for helping me to build and OC my rig
    Reply
  • anamaniac
    The first computer I bought (though I had a few before it) was $800. I still have it. 1.8ghz amd64, 512mb ram, onboard graphics.

    The current was $700 initially. pentium D at 2.8ghz, 1gig ram, nvidia 7500LE 256mb graphics, 80gig hdd.
    I immediately added a 250gig hdd for $120. I just added a $90 ati 4670 512mb.
    The keyboard came with the rig. The mouse was $60 4 years back. The speakers cost $20. The 17" LCD cost $450 3.5 years back (ripoff). A second LCD for free.
    I bought everything locally.
    Total setup is about $1500 if I include AV software (foolish of me).

    Its been worth every penny. Except the LCD which viewsonic won't fix even though it has power issues. About to spent a few hundred more, slowly on mobo, psu, ram, then hdd.

    All pricing is in Canadian. I;d say $1200 USD ;)
    Reply
  • tiredwolf
    Never more than 1000$ but usually around that price range, lasts a long time with minor upgrades like more ram and possibrly a VGA swap. But I don't need to upgrade the monitor I have a 22 in and hardly see a differnce in the new HD monitors so don't feel a need to upgrade.
    Reply
  • The_Blood_Raven
    $250 for i7 920, $300 for MSI Eclipse, $150 for 6GB DDR3, 1 $550 4870 X2 and 1 $400 4870 X2, $120 1TB HDD, $220 1000w Enermax PSU, $300 for TJ07, $250 for blu-ray burner, $180 Asus D2X, and about $950 worth of watercooling equipment. About $3700 which is a lot, but then again I make $15 and hour and only have a car payment, gas, and insurance to pay so I'm hoping this will last me through college.
    Reply