Build or buy from manufacturer?

L

lolwut

New Member
Im looking to get a computer that i can have in my bedroom to pretty much go on the internet on, keep all of my pictures, music and video on, and maybe play some light games on (like the sims 2). At the moment, my budget is only about $400 (i could go a bit higher) and i was wondering if i should build my own or buy one from dell or hp or something. Which would give me the most bang for my buck? I am leaning slightly towards buying from a manufacturer because many setups come with a monitor and i cant seem to match their setups with parts i find on newegg for the price. Suggestions?
Thanks in advance.

(i also have a 19" hdtv in my room, but it doesnt seem to have a standard monitor connection available. Is there any way i could work this into my setup to save money on a monitor? Thanks again.)
 
You could most certainly do a build for 400 but look around for some manufacutres that throw in a monitor deal. Those normally are pretty good deals. IF your tv has an hdmi they offer vga or dvi to hdmi converters that would work.
 
2048 has the key to it all. I was really scared to build mine at first, but if your willing to LEARN it is well worth it. Not only that but you found one of the most helpful and informative forums that possible exists on the subject and people here will be more than willing to help you every step of the way.

It is not difficult at all to put a computer together. The only hard part I would say is the processor heatsink, but even that is just a matter of taking your time and using patience.
 
One subject they don't talk to much about on these forums is electro static shock.

Only 10 volts of electro static discharge can damage computer components. Walking across a carpet can generate up to 12,000 volts of ESD (electro static discharge). Electro static discharge is especially a problem in dry and cold climates.

Electro Static Discharge can cause two types of damage in an electronic component: catastrophic failure and or upset failure. Catastrophic failure destroys a component beyond use. An upset failure damages the component so that is does not perform well even though it may function to some degree.

Avoid touching chips or traces on any computer chips as you handle them. There is danger of electro static discharge damage.

Before handling any computer components be sure to touch the back of your computer case so will not damage any of your components with electro static discharge.
 
im pretty comfortable building one, i researched it quite a bit awhile back so i know all of the stuff that i would need. Ive never actually built one but i have a good idea of how it all works from when i used to mod and repair my old xboxes. I just would need a little help picking out all of the things that I would need at good prices. Full setup lists would be appreciated, but if you dont really feel like it, ill just try to make some setup lists of my own and ill have you guys check them out tomorrow.
 
thanks for the help so far! I just wanted to let you all know that ill probably post again in the morning but will be gone for bbqs and whatnot tomorrow. Just wanted to make sure you wouldnt think that i was being ungrateful or something :P
 
Tuffie said:
Yeah man, build your own, it's so easy, and you get more for your money.
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Agree!

2048Megabytes said:
How much experience do you have with building computers? How comfortable do you feel with learning?
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lolwut said:
im pretty comfortable building one, i researched it quite a bit awhile back so i know all of the stuff that i would need. Ive never actually built one but i have a good idea of how it all works from when i used to mod and repair my old xboxes. I just would need a little help picking out all of the things that I would need at good prices. Full setup lists would be appreciated, but if you dont really feel like it, ill just try to make some setup lists of my own and ill have you guys check them out tomorrow.
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There is a thread on this forum, and you can follow that on how to build your PC.

lolwut said:
thanks for the help so far! I just wanted to let you all know that ill probably post again in the morning but will be gone for bbqs and whatnot tomorrow. Just wanted to make sure you wouldnt think that i was being ungrateful or something :P
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Post back soon :P, good luck
 
As far as the electrostatic shock, I almost always wear an anti-static wristband and haven't had any problems but if you buy from places like newegg there's no problems with returning these items for exchanges if something like that was to happen so I wouldn't really worry about it too much when building a new computer. Just take a few precautions and you're fine.
 
heres what i have so far-
DVD Drive- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106228

Case- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068

Hard Drive- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148261

Memory- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231170

Motherboard- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138111

Power Supply- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153023

CPU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103037

Monitor (might buy CRT)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254018

All of this comes out to a little under $430 and i have a few questions-
Are there any compatibility issues?
Can i lower the cost at all or increase the performance for about the same price?
What windows OS package should i buy? I was looking at xp but there are a few different packages.
Does the motherboard have some sort of video card built in? Or do i have to buy a separate card?

Thanks
 
According to the specifications of that motherboard:

"Onboard Video:
Onboard Video Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce 6150"

So it's not going to be too good at all, but no on-board cards ever are.
 
I would go with Windows XP if I were you. Wish I wouldn't have bought Vista 32-bit, but I got a good deal on it for $70.

You picked a Socket 939 processor and a Socket AM2 motherboard. They are components that are not compatible. I wouldn't go with Socket 939 as it will be discontinued very soon. I just dumped my Socket 939 processor and motherboard as you can't upgrade them.

Preferably you want a motherboard that uses Socket AM2+. A Socket AM2+ motherboard is compatible with a Socket AM2 processor. But a processor that is Socket AM2+ will not work with a Socket AM2 motherboard.

Look at this Socket AM2 Athlon 4600+ Dual-Core processor as it is only $57:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103064

Regarding RAM I would definitely buy two sticks of RAM in a dual channel kit. If you put your RAM in dual channel it doubles the transfer rate of your memory. You may want two gigabytes of memory but if you are on a budget build 1 gigabyte will suffice.

Patriot Signature 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 - $24

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220066

I would also choose a different brand of motherboard if I were you. I just bought a Gigabyte brand motherboard and am quite pleased with the quality. Others on this website will also vouch for Gigabyte as they have good quality control.
 
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2048Megabytes said:
I would go with Windows XP if I were you. Wish I wouldn't have bought Vista 32-bit, but I got a good deal on it for $70.

You picked a Socket 939 processor and a Socket AM2 motherboard. They are components that are not compatible. I wouldn't go with Socket 939 as it will be discontinued very soon. I just dumped my Socket 939 processor and motherboard as you can't upgrade them.

Preferably you want a motherboard that uses Socket AM2+. A Socket AM2+ motherboard is compatible with a Socket AM2 processor. But a processor that is Socket AM2+ will not work with a Socket AM2 motherboard.

Look at this Socket AM2 Athlon 4600+ Dual-Core processor as it is only $57:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103064

Regarding RAM I would definitely buy two sticks of RAM in a dual channel kit. If you put your RAM in dual channel it doubles the transfer rate of your memory. You may want two gigabytes of memory but if you are on a budget build 1 gigabyte will suffice.

Patriot Signature 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 - $24

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220066

I would also choose a different brand of motherboard if I were you. I just bought a Gigabyte brand motherboard and am quite pleased with the quality. Others on this website will also vouch for Gigabyte as they have good quality control.
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with vista premium you have a free download from microsoft of windows XP SP2, if you really dont like it then get xp.
 
I'm usually one for building PC's, rather than buying pre-made set-ups, but for that budget, and the description of what you will use it for, having a really powerful computer is not necessary, and I say go for a pre-made tower with a monitor bundled.

If you don't know how to build a PC already, it's probably more trouble than it's worth. For you, I would recommend only building one, if you want to learn how to build one. Your budget covers your needs with pre-assembled towers, so something like a (pays penance) dell might do you, as spike said.
 
I am considering buying a dell but they all only come with vista... is there any way i can get xp to come on it or would i have to go out and buy the software?
 
Here is an Acer Veriton model VM410-UD4201P that has a dual-core processor for $417. It comes with Windows XP. But the one bad thing I noticed is that it doesn't come with a Windows XP disc.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103139

There is one other bad thing about computers that have a pre-loaded operating system on them. Many of them have garbage Advertising Software in the system that you will need to get rid of.
 
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lovely? said:
with vista premium you have a free download from microsoft of windows XP SP2, if you really dont like it then get xp.
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I didn't buy Windows Vista Premium. I bought Windows Vista Basic.

Windows Vista isn't bad if you have some decent hardware. But if you don't have a dual-core processor, a halfway decent video card and at least 1.5 gigabytes of RAM, forget it.
 
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