question on building

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evo274

New Member
I don't know a whole lot about computers and I've been reading threads and it seems that building one is the most cost-effecient way to go, correct?

Anyways, I don't really want to have to put my computer together in fear of doing something wrong lol. So if I know someone who is a "computer person" how difficult would it be for him to actually put it together if I gave him all the parts. From what I've been reading it sounds like a 10minute task but I was just wondering. Or if anyone knows, what would be an estimate for putting a computer together?

Also, can you buy cases for building a computer that aren't the average plain little box. For example, I think Alienware's cases are badass but I'm not paying an extra $500 for the brand name on my computer which is what seems to be the case with Alienware. If they have just the cases for sale that would be cool or is there any other place that sells interesting cases?

PS I'm going for a ~$1500 computer.
 
Welcome to Computer Forum; Be sure to check out the Official Welcome Thread. Yes, building would be the most bang for your buck computer. It's not a 10 min deal. I wouldn't know how long to say but my best guess is 30-45 mins if you've done it before. I'm sure it took me over an hour when I did mine. It's a good learning experience; you will never want to buy a pre-built one afterwards. That's how I feel anyway. When I built my current pc in sig, I knew absolutely nothing about putting together a pc but it was actually rather cake. Reading the motherboard instructions will pretty much guide you through how to connect everything; anything else people here will surely be glad to help. There are lots of "gaming cases" which look really cool; the most popular gaming case being the Antec Nine Hundred. You can build A VERY NICE GAMING RIG for 1,500 USD. I hope I answered questions thoroughly.
 
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Thanks very much for the reply and I really like the fact that I can build a very nice rig for 1500;). Right now I'm looking into the Computer Specs 101 $1400 set up
$1400
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 [Conroe, 2.40, 4MB, 1066, BX80557E6600] ($308.00)
eVGA 122-CK-NF63-TR [nForce 680i] ($169.99 after $20.00 MIR)
Sumsung SpinPoint T-Series HD501LJ (500GB, 7200, 16MB, SATA3.0, NCQ) ($129.99)
Tuniq Tower 120 (35db) ($52.99)
NEC 7170A-0B ($30.99)
Foxconn FV-N88SMBD2-ONOC GeForce 8800GTS 640MB ($359.99 after $40.00 MIR)
Corsair XMS2 2GB PC2-6400 [2x1GB, [email protected]] ($151.00 after $50.00 MIR)
Spire SwordFin SP-9007B Case ($54.99)
OCz GameXStream OCZ700GXSLI [700W, 12V@18+18+18+18, 20+4] ($124.99 after $25.00 MIR)
$1382.93
The extra allocation here goes to an upgraded CPU cooler, bringing the harddrive back to 500GB as well as a new motherboard (and also switching to RAM that generally works better with that board) and a significant PSU upgrade.
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I really like the look of the Antec Nine Hundred you mentioned and I'll want to go for somethign like that if not that one instead of picking one like the cheaper Spire one shown above. I don't know how to tell if certain things are compatable with each other so would something like the Tuniq Tower 120 cooling unit still be compatible with the Nine Hundred or not?

One other question, I'm not sure where to put this so I'll just add it in now. I noticed that in Praetor's guide he said he couldn't use Newegg for the Canadian products. Is Newegg exclusively American or would I still be able to buy them and have them shipped or what?
 
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evo274 said:
Thanks very much for the reply and I really like the fact that I can build a very nice rig for 1500;). Right now I'm looking into the Computer Specs 101 $1400 set up

I really like the look of the Antec Nine Hundred you mentioned and I'll want to go for somethign like that if not that one instead of picking one like the cheaper Spire one shown above. I don't understant how to know if certain things are compatable with each other so would something like the Tuniq Tower 120 cooling unit still be compatible with the Nine Hundred or not?

One other question, I'm not sure where to put this so I'll just add it in now. I noticed that in Praetor's guide he said he couldn't use Newegg for the Canadian products. Is Newegg exclusively American or would I still be able to buy them and have them shipped or what?
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For 1,500 you can get the best dual core on the market the E6850 and 8800 GTX instead of GTS. By compatible for things such as heatsink and fans like the Tuniq 120 people are talking about the actual dimension sizes of the component. I would have no doubt that a Tuniq would fit into Antec 900. Yes, Newegg is exclusively America. If you knew someone here they could buy from newegg and ship it to you. Where are you located?
 
Be advised that the prices in the computer 101 section have changed, that $1400 system is probably around $1200 now.
 
Well, it's actually a bit less than 1500 because I was thinking in Canadian dollars since I'll still need speakers and an OS. I live in Edmonton. I put everything onto Newegg and with the extra 50bucks into the better case it came out to 1300ish after the mail in rebates.

On a side note is the GTX really $150 or w/e it is better than the GTS? What is the difference between them?

Edit: Forgot one thing. Even though Newegg is only available to Americans would the parts still be available in Canada from different retailers?
 
evo274 said:
Well, it's actually a bit less than 1500 because I was thinking in Canadian dollars since I'll still need speakers and an OS. I live in Edmonton. I put everything onto Newegg and with the extra 50bucks into the better case it came out to 1300ish after the mail in rebates.

On a side note is the GTX really $150 or w/e it is better than the GTS? What is the difference between them?

Edit: Forgot one thing. Even though Newegg is only available to Americans would the parts still be available in Canada from different retailers?
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So you're actually looking to spend 1,300 with rebates? With GTS you would probably play games on medium setting as where a GTX you would play with settings on high. Instead of newegg, you could use tigerdirect.ca or another canadian online retailer. I'm not really familiar with them but I'm sure some other CF members from canada know.
 
evo274 said:
On a side note is the GTX really $150 or w/e it is better than the GTS? What is the difference between them?

Edit: Forgot one thing. Even though Newegg is only available to Americans would the parts still be available in Canada from different retailers?
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Yes, the parts are available through different stores. Look around tigerdirect.ca, ncix.com, and canadacomputers.com.

The GTX will deliver noticable improvements over a GTS, mainly in FPS while playing games on high settings. If you're not a huge gamer, a GTS will be fine.

Also, I'd suggest a Q6600 over the E6850. For one, the Q6600 is cheaper. It's also more future-proof, and as more applications start to utilize four cores the Q6600 will outperform the E6850.
 
computermaineack said:
Yes, the parts are available through different stores. Look around tigerdirect.ca, ncix.com, and canadacomputers.com.

Also, I'd suggest a Q6600 over the E6850. For one, the Q6600 is cheaper. It's also more future-proof, and as more applications start to utilize four cores the Q6600 will outperform the E6850.
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Actually the E6850 will perform better for games because games out right don't utilize quad core technology and actually run better with dual core. As for future-proof? That can be scratched out too as 45 nm cpu processors will be coming out in the near future along with 8 core technology. I wouldn't call a Q6600 so future proof.
 
agreed i would get the Q6600 for the price, and after a while if you get comfortable you can overclock it. Like they said, the 640mb 8800GTS delivers very good performance for the price but if you have it the GTX is a more solid performer
 
Okay here's all the things I found on tigerdirect: http://s116.photobucket.com/albums/o7/Kevo27427/?action=view&current=untitled.jpg
First of all, are they all compatable with each other? I swapped for the 8800GTX but $750 seems a little overpriced; I'll probably stick with the GTS. I left E6850 because I'm not sure what Q6600 to search for. Now the price has jumped to $2000 and that's not even everything I need. Are computer components a lot more expensive here or are they upgraded parts because some seem to say different things than the ones I looked at on Newegg.

I can't pay 2grand for these so any suggestions as what to replace?
 
Firstly, tigerdirect tends not to be the cheapest place around. Ncix and canadacomputers are generally cheaper. Also, when saying that the prices were cheaper on Newegg, keep in mind that those prices were in USD, these prices are in CAD.

To lower the price, bump the 8800GTX down to a 8800GTS 640mb. It will still deliver excellent graphics.

I'm also not quite sure what you mean when you say "I didn't know what Q6600 to search for"...there's only one Q6600...the Q6600.
 
Yeah the price should be only about 10% different and it was more but I forgot that my Newegg price was w/o the 8800GTX.

I'm confused about the Q6600 because you said it's cheaper than the E6850 but the one I thought matched the best was more expensive.
 
evo274 said:
I'm confused about the Q6600 because you said it's cheaper than the E6850 but the one I thought matched the best was more expensive.
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The one you selected was the E6600. It's a moderate CPU. Then there's the E6850 and Q6600. The Q6600 can be bought for about $290 USD.
 
Okay I'm gonna try to get parts in mind for my computer. Here's what I've got so far:

Mobo: EVGA 122-CK-NF68-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor

HD: SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Video Card: Foxconn FV-N88SMBD2-ONOC GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

PSU: OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 - 240 V

Disk: Sony NEC Optiarc Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache E-IDE / ATAPI DVD Burner

Cooling Unit: Tuniq T-120 CPU Cooler

Case: Antec Nine Hundred

So far, this looks like it will end up at about $1800CAN. How could I shave a couple hundred bucks off this price? I want to keep most of the things but are there cheaper alternatives to the power supply or cooling unit? How much would I save dropping 100GB of HD space?

Edit: Sorry I missed this
evo, you are in canada correct?
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Yes I am.
 
evo274 said:
Okay I'm gonna try to get parts in mind for my computer. Here's what I've got so far:

Mobo: EVGA 122-CK-NF68-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor

HD: SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Video Card: Foxconn FV-N88SMBD2-ONOC GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

PSU: OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 - 240 V

Disk: Sony NEC Optiarc Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache E-IDE / ATAPI DVD Burner

Cooling Unit: Tuniq T-120 CPU Cooler

Case: Antec Nine Hundred

So far, this looks like it will end up at about $1800CAN. How could I shave a couple hundred bucks off this price? I want to keep most of the things but are there cheaper alternatives to the power supply or cooling unit? How much would I save dropping 100GB of HD space?

Edit: Sorry I missed this

Yes I am.
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I'm still confused...most of those links lead to Newegg which (a) doesn't ship to canada and (b) has prices listed in USD, so it would be $1800USD, not CAN.
 
Yeah I'm not sure where I'm going to get the components from yet and I'm not in a huge rush to build it yet anyways. My friend is a self-employed "computer geek" as he puts it ;) so I'll end up asking him where to get the best deals. I used Newegg because that seems to be the staple around here and, as for the price, I added it up using the lowest prices I could find on tiger and ncix.
 
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