Why do I have to have such an expensive interest?

JohnJSal

JohnJSal

Active Member
Well, I still haven't had a chance to build a PC yet, because I'm looking for a new job and want to save my money. I expect my build will be around $1500.

I was wondering, is there any way that I could get some hands-on experience with this type of stuff without having to buy all the parts myself? Any kind of place to go to where I can experiment, or something like that?

It seems like a lot of fun, but it's definitely not like buying a cheap model airplane to put together. :)
 
Go to computer conventions. You wouldn't get as much hands on experience but you'll get to see first hand at what people do and do don't, and what tricks/shortcuts there are.
 
The question you ask in the title of this thread is one I've often asked myself. The reason I've spent so much money on my rig is because I want to work with the best components. I'm relatively inexperience and, since joining this forum, I've realized that I don't necessarily need everything I have. Stepping up to the Ultras from the GTXes is a good example. I've found that the GTXes actually performed better than the Ultras.

For me, this is a hobby. I know people that spend considerably more on golfing (believe it or not), and their cars. So, in that sense, I don't really have a problem with the money I've spent. The rest of my (wifes :P) money goes toward my daughter, home, and investments. I'm looking forward to graduating this year so that I can have a good job, and spend more money on computers. :D

I apologize if I've gone incredibly off-topic. :P

JohnJSal said:
I was wondering, is there any way that I could get some hands-on experience with this type of stuff without having to buy all the parts myself? Any kind of place to go to where I can experiment, or something like that?
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If you're willing to spend the money, you could take Oscar's advice and buy a cheap rig to mess around with. You could also take a look at the return policy from that store in NYC. Maybe you could buy all the components, put something together, then take it apart and send it all back for a refund. :P

JohnJSal said:
It seems like a lot of fun
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Yes sir, it is.

JohnJSal said:
but it's definitely not like buying a cheap model airplane to put together. :)
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No sir, it isn't. :)
 
mep916 said:
The question you ask in the title of this thread is one I've often asked myself. The reason I've spent so much money on my rig is because I want to work with the best components. I'm relatively inexperience and, since joining this forum, I've realized that I don't necessarily need everything I have. Stepping up to the Ultras from the GTXes is a good example. I've found that the GTXes actually performed better than the Ultras.
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Yeah, I'm kind of that way too, but I'm learning (in advance!) that I don't need the latest and greatest. I'll probably stick with the 8800GT no matter what comes out this year, and I'm waiting for the Wolfdale CPUs, but they don't seem to be much more expensive than the current Conroe anyway. I've decided if I keep waiting for the next best thing, I'll never get it done at all!

The tricky thing about my situation is that I consider myself a gamer, but not nearly in the sense that I think "gamer" is usually meant when building a PC. I'm not the kind of gamer who uses headsets and spends all day online playing FPSs. (I don't even play FPSs!) So I have to strike a weird balance of the "best" gaming components, but at the same time realizing that I don't need the high-end stuff at all, because those things are designed for much more intense people than me. Right now, Oblivion is the most intense game I want to play, and given that it's already a year or two old, anything I build now should definitely suffice. I just want to make sure I'm prepared for the future, but not overly prepared. :)
 
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JohnJSal said:
Yeah, I'm kind of that way too, but I'm learning (in advance!) that I don't need the latest and greatest. I'll probably stick with the 8800GT no matter what comes out this year, and I'm waiting for the Wolfdale CPUs, but they don't seem to be much more expensive than the current Conroe anyway. I've decided if I keep waiting for the next best thing, I'll never get it done at all!
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That's an excellent approach. The 8800 GT is great and the Q9450, for example, is supposed to be priced in the $300 range; although some believe the initial release price could be well over $400. We'll see...

JohnJSal said:
The tricky thing about my situation is that I consider myself a gamer, but not nearly in the sense that I think "gamer" is usually meant when building a PC. I'm not the kind of gamer who uses headsets and spends all day online playing FPSs. (I don't even play FPSs!) So I have to strike a weird balance of the "best" gaming components, but at the same time realizing that I don't need the high-end stuff at all, because those things are designed for much more intense people than me. Right now, Oblivion is the most intense game I want to play, and given that it's already a year or two old, anything I build now should definitely suffice. I just want to make sure I'm prepared for the future, but not overly prepared. :)
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Right. Exactly. My gaming habits are similar to yours. I like FPS games such as CounterStrike and COD4, but I don't have the time to play as much as I'd like, and wouldn't really want to play for hours anyway. In addition to the GT, you can get a 45nm Quad and consider yourself set in the GFX area for at least a year - the CPU will last you much longer. Get a PSU ≥ to 700W and you'll good in the power area for awhile. :)
 
mep916 said:
Right. Exactly. My gaming habits are similar to yours. I like FPS games such as CounterStrike and COD4, but I don't have the time to play as much as I'd like, and wouldn't really want to play for hours anyway. In addition to the GT, you can get a 45nm Quad and consider yourself set in the GFX area for at least a year - the CPU will last you much longer. Get a PSU ≥ to 700W and you'll good in the power area for awhile. :)
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Yeah, 700W was what I was shooting for. As for the CPU, I was thinking of going dual core. I'm not sure if I really need a quad core processor. I get the feeling, after a few things I've read, that unless something really takes advantage of the four cores, they aren't much faster (and maybe slower?) than a dual core. Not really sure. I had the new 45nm 3ghz dual core CPU in mind.
 
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