Yet another build critique. Hooray!

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bornon5

New Member
Hello, all. After an awful Newegg experience, I went to the local computer store and a guy there offered to put together a computer for me (free labor), and he gave me a pretty good discount on parts. Here's what I'm considering:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.4 GHz - 4MB L2 Cache - 1066 MHz FSB - Socket 775)

Motherboard: Asus P5N-E SLI LGA775 Socket Intel Quad-Core, FSB1333/1

RAM: Buffalo 2 GB PC2-6400 FireStix Dual Pack 4-4-4 (2x1GB) K2G 2.1V

PSU: 550 Watt, Dual 12V, Dual Fan, SATA, 24/20/8 pin

Graphics Card: GeForce 8500 GT (PCI Express x16 - 256 MB DDR2 - VGA/DVI - HDTV Out)

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 320 GB Sata II 3GB/s

This, plus a DVD +/- RW, plus a generic decent case, for $960. In addition to whether it's a good deal, do you guys have any suggestions for different parts, maybe more compatible or logical combinations? Keep in mind I'm not ordering from Newegg or anywhere online - I'm doing it all through this place. (Milwaukee PC, www.milwaukeepc.com)
 
Well, when adding up those parts (or similar ones) on Newegg, the price gets to 681, without o/s or case. The build itself seems fine, I'd just have a look into that PSU to be sure it is a quality one. The 8500GT is a poor GPU, barely better than integrated one, so it is cheap, but don't plan on playing recent (a year old) games with that, let alone new games. This brings me back to the PSU, if you are going with that GPU and won't change it to a more powerful one, you could easily go for lower wattage, if a good 520 watt will power a similar system with a much more power hungry GPU, I assume that 450 would probably be enough...

What are you planning to do with this computer ?
 
Not worth it, you can get a better pc from ibuypower, including all the guy mentioned, but with a E6550 a 7900gs, btw is was just bad luck that your components from newegg were bad it doesn't mean everything you buy it'll have the same thing
 
Hmm. I want a fast, fast computer (don't we all). GPU is very important. I do 3D animation, video editing, some gaming, etc. So am I getting completely ripped off with this build from this store? I just couldn't stand if I tried Newegg again and got more defective parts and had do go through that nightmare again.

Any suggestions?
 
I posted without seeing that last thing. In this case (no pun intended), let me ask: is Ibuypower trustworthy? Do they use quality parts, or do people complain about them like they do about Dell and HP? Why are their prices so low?

Thanks.
 
bornon5 said:
I posted without seeing that last thing. In this case (no pun intended), let me ask: is Ibuypower trustworthy? Do they use quality parts, or do people complain about them like they do about Dell and HP? Why are their prices so low?

Thanks.
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Ibuypower builds customs computers, you can pick out what parts you want. From everything i have heard they have realy good reviews... prices are not too bad of course you gotta pay a little somthing to get it built for ya. If you feel comfortable just build your own, now was it actually newegg or was it a part that failed? I and many others buy from newegg without problems and that is realy the only place i trust..
 
It was a part that failed, although it was so hard to test for it because it fried everything else. I think it was the case which fried the motherboard, but either way, after two months of talking to them constantly, I finally returned everything for a refund, but I'm down $100.

I know they're reputable, but I'd just hate to go through that again. It's frustrating, because I know that if I did try them again, it would probably work fine.
 
bornon5 said:
It was a part that failed, although it was so hard to test for it because it fried everything else. I think it was the case which fried the motherboard, but either way, after two months of talking to them constantly, I finally returned everything for a refund, but I'm down $100.

I know they're reputable, but I'd just hate to go through that again. It's frustrating, because I know that if I did try them again, it would probably work fine.
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Did you bought a case with a psu? if that was teh case isn't a surprise that it fried a your system, those power supply that comes with a case are cheaply made and aren't even powerful enough to power a low end system, Ibuypower is trustworthy the only con is i see on them is that they don't give you a pre-installed os, you have to pay them to put it there otherwise you'll receive a machine without os
 
bornon5 said:
It was a part that failed, although it was so hard to test for it because it fried everything else. I think it was the case which fried the motherboard, but either way, after two months of talking to them constantly, I finally returned everything for a refund, but I'm down $100.

I know they're reputable, but I'd just hate to go through that again. It's frustrating, because I know that if I did try them again, it would probably work fine.
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Thier return policy seems rather fair to me, did it take you more than a month to fry the computer?
 
No, it was a Cooler Master Centurion 5 case, and a separate, 500W PSU (I saw all these parts recommended at Ars Technologia or something). What happened was I put the stuff together, then mistakenly identified it as a bad motherboard, so I returned everything EXCEPT THE CASE AND POWER SUPPLY, and got new stuff. That didn't work either, obviously, so when it came time to return everything, the original 30 days had already elapsed. After a lot of arguing, I managed to make them see that when you send someone new stuff, there should be a new 30-day warranty period.

Although it was a horrible experience, I've got nothing personal against Newegg. If I were just getting a hard drive or something, I'd go with them (cause if it's defective, I just return it). I'm just worried about getting a whole shipment of parts, because if something's defective, it's hard to pin down right away, and then it might damage other stuff.
 
Oh and I looked at a bunch of reviews of Ibuypower on www.resellerratings.com. The happy people are very happy, but there are a number of reviews that say that they received physically damaged parts, or computers with PSUs that fried after a few days. I read one where a person ended up returning everything and losing $200, which is vaguely where I am with Newegg, and I don't want to end up there again.

Anybody know anything about this?
 
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