War.mongeR1

I just wanted to start this thread to assure pc noobs that if you are thinking about assembling your own pc, don't be scared. It's not as hard as it used to be. Do any of ya'll remember when we used to have to create an config.sys file and autoexec.bat file just to get things going. We used to have to MANUALLY configure the cache, the sound card, the video, etc., all within those files. And there wasn't internet like we have now if you have any questions. You'd have to rely on technical books. And I used to do this when I was around 7 years old. I wanted to play games on my dad's old compaq, and he didn't know what the heck to do, so I had to figure out on my own how to configure the ram properly to play certain things. Back then, different games required different boot settings...especially the LucasArts games. So if an average little kid like me could do it back in the 80's, then any one of you could easily do it today.


Nowadays, everythings color-coded, your BIOS auto-configures you're hardware to get started, you can boot off a CD to install Windows, and most devices are plug-n-play. It's sssssssoooooooo easy now, any noob can do it. If you ever need help, there's plenty of support from us and the rest of the internet. So unless you have plenty of money and just don't care, go for it! Every PC I've ever assembled has been super reliable and good for years to come. When you research what the best parts and best values are, you can build something that will blow away an average store-bought computer for the same price. Oh yeah, the store-brand's specs might look great, but so often they use cruddy motherboards, or no-name ram, onboard video, etc. So what are you waiting for PC shoppers? Hop to it!

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"Common sense is not so common." -Voltaire

Zoopy

Yup, PC building is not as hard as it seems, although it is a long and annoying process building a PC from scratch, it is a fun, and rewarding achievement. Also they tend to last long then your prebuilt Dells/Gateway/MDG computers.

Some advice for people starting to build their PCs:

1) Check to make sure your CPU heatsink doesn't need a back mount behind your motherboard before you screw the motherboard in.

2) If your case has a support bar that runs parrellel to your power supply, you might want to put your power supply in first before you put on your CPU heatsink fan.

3) Make sure you plug your CPU fan into the CPU fan plugin and not a header fan plugin.

TheFatKidDeath

I would never build a PC for two reasons:

1)My knowledge of computers ends at sending e-mails. If you had a gun at my head I could not tell you the difference between a motherboard and driver.

2)I bought a Dell for reason #1. If I have a problem I call their 800 number or a technician comes to my residence. It's awesome. I have very little down time if a problem arises I don't have to stress out contemplating what to do next.

I would rather spend time playing my computer than configuring.

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|TG-9th| TheFatKidDeath
"Born to Party, Forced to Work."
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UnDeaD77

Thats rough, I'd shoot myself in the foot before I let someone come to my house to fix my computer. I've got way to much pride lol.

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Acreo Aeneas

And I personally despise DELL computers. They used to be good, not anymore. Besides, 9 out of 10 I'm asked to fix are DELLs and usually it's because a piece of hardware failed.

I like building comps, but hate when something goes wrong and no matter what I try it isn't the solution (like my darn memory issue with my last Gigabtye motherboard).

Overall, you noobies out there, buidling your own system saves you a crap load of dollars to spend on other important things, like school and books. But tech support on how to fix it isn't included. On top of that if a part fails or goes wrong, you'll have to RMA directly with the part manufacturer which will cost you time, headaches, and some extra money. Usually if you do the proper research and you carefully pick your parts from good brands, then you won't have to RMA anything.

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BHack

The battles I had with my config sys file to get 8 megs of XMS memory for TIE fighter were LEGENDARY.

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Twisted_Firestarter

LOL EMM386 anyone? I miss all the fun I used to have trying to get expanded memory configured correctly so I could play Wing Commander.

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Twisted Firestarter
a.k.a |TG| Harkonian

War.mongeR1

Oh yeah, almost forgot about emm386. That was how I did it. Good times. Kids these days are so spoiled by being able to play games without needing different boot disks for each one. And do any of ya'll remember the cassette tape drives they had on the Tandys? I remember Hangman would take like half an hour to load, you'd lose and it would have to reload again. Those were the days, huh?

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"Common sense is not so common." -Voltaire

SmokingTarpan

Oh, I remember having to write .bat files so I could get games to run, and having to configure things manually. One big PITA. We've come a long way, thankfully.

Hehe, you might thing otherwise if you had my job. I had several dead printers at my facilities for over a month, and had to threaten several of my Dell reps (and their bosses) with a quote for printers from HP before they leapt into action. They also kept sending me a part that was wired incorrectly and unusable; after a month of complaining they figured out that it was being engineered wrong at the factory.

By the way, do NOT trust that a Dell tech is going to be able to fix your machine. I'm a Dell certified tech and ran into a few problems I didn't know how to fix, so I requested a second-level tech to come out. Each time the tech that was sent out was nice, but knew less than I did and I ended up doing all the work and figuring out the problem myself. One of them even told me when he arrived that he'd never worked on this type of machine before, haha.

Now, all that being said, I'd still overall recommend Dell for your normal user that doesn't know what's what with computers and just wants something that will let him do his normal thing.

This isn't true anymore. Companies like Dell and HP have really cut down on production costs, and you can customize with enough options to still have a pretty solid rig. Unless someone is a tech or enthusiast like myself, I'm hard-pressed to recommend custom-building your own system. Of course, I still think that anyone who is a "serious" gamer should be knowledgeable about parts and routine repairs/upgrades.

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[squadl]
"I am the prettiest african-american, vietnamese..cong..person." -SugarNCamo

Sawviper

Yeah I can still remember having 6 or so boot disks for different games. Nowadays you hear, man I have to add another 1GB of ram to run this game? Heck back then we were stuck manipulating 640k that you had no choice but to work with.

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aeroripper

Hah! That brings back memories for me as well... I remember installing an old Terminator game off 11 floppies, then fighting like hell to get it to work with sound. Also, duke3d was the coolest DOS game ever :P

=Sarc=

Reason #2 is a very good point. Some people don't have the time to troubleshoot a problem. It's often easier to have tech support that can fix the problem with minimal thinking on the owner's part.

Other than that, building your own PC is very fun. One can learn a lot when one knows what's inside the case. Consider this: changing your video card is not as messy as changing your oil!

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JO Guides & Tutorials
Team Element - It's who you game with.

kin3

YOU'RE supposed to change the oil!

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The Old Guy
kin3

Wimpinator

The money saved by rolling your own machine is not nearly as significant as it used to be. When you add in things like tech support and shipping parts then it is actually cheaper to buy a prebuilt machine.

I also want to point out that I ALWAYS build my own computers. I haven't bought a prebuilt machine in many years. Building my own allows me to "tweak" the hardware that goes into the box and allows me to desgn in the exact performance that I want. I also enjoy building my machines. Unless someone is in the exact same shape as me then I always recommend buying prebuilt.

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|TG-6th|Wimpinator

Lorax74

Heh... In the older days of building and rebuilding machines you had to content with all of the sharp, unrounded edges in the case which were sure to leave a blood trail behind from scraped knuckles, scratches to the backs of you hands and fingers, ripped attire (I lost so many ties to ALR cases that I began to wear collarless shirts to work), etc. Not to mention the array of tools needed to open the case and move parts around, or how about EISA config *shudder*. Then along came the tool-less cases, making things like bloody hands, shredded clothes and star keys obsolete... I don't miss the old days at all.

These days I do let Dell build my rig. I still maintain and upgrade it - but when a part starts to fail, I don't have to figure out where I got if from, what if any warranties remain, etc. Sure, you may not get all of the top-notch parts right off the bat, but you still have a solid foundation to build upon.

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TG-9th Lorax74