To build or not to build, that is the question?.....

[andyman]

ok, ive just bought vcm suite, and im thinking i might stimulate the economy with my 900 bucks and give it to china lol....

anyway im thinking ill retire my 4 year old laptop which has served me well and just use it primarily for vcm suite and power dvd for when i go on trips (dvd in the car), nothing wrong with the computer but just getting slow with all my shit on it nowadays, vista isnt helping,


so i have had built computers in the past and dont have a problem with still building them now, but havn't kept up with the times so im a bit out of date too.

now i dont know if i should build, or buy - will most likely be dell,

few things im after

-4-6gb ram
-750gb hdd primary,
-sound card with optical output
-512mb video card with video outputs
-HD tv card

im not up to date with processor and mother boards, so if someone can give advice there that would be good, i prefer intel


on the other hand i can buy a dell xps system for 1699 which comes with (depending on current deal) at the present it comes with this

-Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad Processor Q8200 (2.33GHz, 1333FSB, 4MB)
-Pre-loaded Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
-3gb ram
-500gb hdd
-512MB ATI® Radeon™ HD 4670 Graphics Card
-dvd burner
-2-Years XPS™ Premier Service Support with 1-Year CompleteCover™
-23 inch full hd widescreen


this comes with optical output with the optinal sound blaster sound card, at 70 bucks and dvb-t at 80 bucks


so this is up to 1800 ish with out the $99 postage, and isnt quite what im after, and a bit more than i want to spend, but i like dells warrenty and good product quality, + i have an invoice to claim depreciation as i can do it legitamently now

what do you guys reckon, how much of a better system could i get for 1500 in building it myself, i have vista home premium and office 2007, all on disc so thats an extra cost i dont have to incurr,


and help from the up-to date builder out there would be much appreciated


but as ive pointed out, im thinking of warrenty on parts may be a pain if i buy stuff from markets, and how do you go about claiming depreciation on something without a legit invoice

[Zuicider]

vista only can use up to 4 gigg of ram, sound card is incorperated into the m/b, most soft ware has a year warrenty anyway

[andyman]

vista only can use up to 4 gigg of ram, sound card is incorperated into the m/b, most soft ware has a year warrenty anyway

so how is dell using 4-8gb of ram in the vista equipped computers now?, and can you get inbuilt sound cards with optical nowadays,?

[bezz]

if you can, build it. Look at either the intel core i7 processors for a more expensive system, or the amd phenom II's for a midrange system. Better technology and better price than the intel EXXXX and QXXXX series nowadays.

Vista can use more than 4gb of ram if you use vista x64. As for your other question, yes a lot of motherboards now have optical out to connect to an amp or whatever.

[danja]

My 2c would be:

1) Don't bother with DDR3 ram (unless for some other reason you have no option) - it's quite a bit more expensive, and although it is technically faster, RAM speed is never the bottleneck in a desktop, to upgrading to DDR3 has next to no real-world difference. Either way, get at least 4gb.

2) With desktop HDD's, just go for cost per GB, and get 500/750/1000gb drives accordingly, you can always partition them in whatever configuration you want.

3) If you already have an operating system, you can try and get a naked computer with no OS preloaded, and save come $$$ here. You may also choose to obtain your OS via other means than the hardware supplier...

4) With support and warranty, support is generally aimed at complete luddites, if you you know how to plug it into the wall all by yourself, you're probably wasting money on this. The internet is the best support line out there for computers. Warranty is worth considering, but remember that in a few years your system will be out of date anyway, so don't waste too much money on it, especially on a cheap system.

5) If you're in for high-end gaming, can't hurt to throw a bigger graphics card in

[andyman]

if you can, build it. Look at either the intel core i7 processors for a more expensive system, or the amd phenom II's for a midrange system. Better technology and better price than the intel EXXXX and QXXXX series nowadays.

Vista can use more than 4gb of ram if you use vista x64. As for your other question, yes a lot of motherboards now have optical out to connect to an amp or whatever.

ok cool, 4gb ram it is

[andyman]

ok so whats the difference between ati and nvidia, i thought they were brands, but all different companies seem to be making them ????

[Rufus®]

Build your own:

-Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad Processor Q8200 (2.33GHz, 1333FSB, 4MB) $278
-Motherboard ASUS P5Q-SE $169
-4G Kit-800(2x2G DDR2) Adata $72
-Seagate SATA 500G $89
-1GB ATI® Radeon™ HD 4670 Graphics Card (Gigabyte) $158
-DVD burner Dual Layer Pioneer 216 $31

-23.6” Asus VH-242H-Full HD 5ms DVI WS SPK HDMI $389
-Case Coolermaster CAC-T05 $112
-Creative X-FI Xtreme Audio $72
-Leadtech DVR3200H $100

-total $1470

Don't think I've missed anything.... All from MSY, who will ship through Fastway i believe.

[danja]

ok so whats the difference between ati and nvidia, i thought they were brands, but all different companies seem to be making them ????

ATI and NVidia make the chipsets, companies like Gigabyte buy the chipsets, then put them into their own cards.

It's a little bit like how you can have a Dell with an Intel CPU, and an HP with an Intel CPU - they are both Intel at their heart, but are put together slightly differently.

Tom's Hardware do quite good reviews of graphics cards (and all sorts of computer bits) if you want to compare:
Tom's Hardware: Hardware News, Tests and Reviews

Personally I'd go NVidia, because it seems more and more developers are optimising their games for NVidia chipsets. Don't get me wrong, ATI make good products, but there seems to be more developer support behind NVidia (who are also good).

[andyman]

cheers danja and rufus, thats great help

[Abrowne70]

These days Nvidia seem to be on top, alot of game developers do make their games for Nvidia graphics cards like danja has said.

You will save a killing if you build it yourself and you will get it exactly the way you want it.

Defiantly 4GB of RAM - running with a 64bit version of windows is what you want.

So many graphics cards out there atm so its really up to you and what you want it for, i have a Nvidia 8800 GTS 512MB and plays all games flawlessly on high settings with high resolutions and only cost me $360 a while back, so theres many bargins to be had in the graphics department. Just shop around.

Intel has always been good to me CPU wise so i'd stick with them, google on the internet for current CPU comparisons and choose one that suits you, or even post here on one that catch's your eye and im sure we'll be able to give opinions on it.

Get a motherboard to suit the CPU you choose and many have 5.1 sound built into them which is good quality audio.

As has been said for HDD go on price per GB.

Defiantly go for a nice big LCD 22" is good but really whatever you can afford and want to pay for but 22" are very cheap aswell now.

For operating system its your choice, i personally didnt take to vista and have been using a 64bit of XP PRO for ever, pricewise i think theres a huge difference between vista and xp and even if you can still get xp, but if your use to vista fork out the $$$ for a copy.

Thats about it, any questions, ask away.

[Captain Kermit]

If you can build a PC on your own, it's almost always better to build it yourself.


Just remember, these days the pins for the CPU are on the motherboard, not the CPU itself Everything else is pretty much the same, except using different connectors. All plugs etc. on the mobo/devices are keyed so there's no way you can put them in the wrong spot without trying real hard. HDD's use SATA instead of IDE, but once again it's all keyed so you can't screw it up. Putting an i7/S775/AM2 PC together is much the same as an older socket A/478 system.

I can vouch for MSY's service, I ordered some RAM off them a year or so ago and it came just fine. You can also give ITEstate a try, I bought my mobo+CPU from them not long back.

If you're searching for the best price on a certain component of your system, try staticICE :: Australia's comprehensive computer hardware and gadget price comparison search engine and search for it. Just remember, saving $5 per item by buying it all from different shops can bite you in the arse once you calculate the postage on 10 packages vs 1 or 2.

[bezz]

This site has a few good build suggestions. I'd recommend these:

$1300 Phenom2 Gaming Box:created by Mycosys 13/1/09
(Suitable for 1920x1080 resolution and above)
CPU: PhenomII 920 2.8GHz $369
Motherboard: MA790GP-DS4H $211
RAM: 4GB DDR2 1066 (kingston) $95
HDD: Western Digital 640GB 16MB SATAII $99
GPU: Generic 512MB 4870 $339
Case: Antec Designer with Earthwatts 500 PSU $165
Optical Drive: Pioneer 216BK $31

total: $1309

$1750 High End i7 system:created by kelwynsa8 2/3/09
(Mainly for Video Encoding)
CPU: Intel Core i7 920 2.66Ghz (LGA1366)$469
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EX58-DS4 $339
RAM: Kingston 6G Kit(3x2G) DDR3 1333 $174
HDD: Western Digital 640GB 16MB SATAII $103
GPU: Inno3D GTX260+ (Core 216) $409
Case: Lian Li A09B $125
PSU: Antec NeoPower 550W $121

total: $1740


Or this one as a complete system (my pick of the lot):

$1750 Phenom2 System:
CPU: PhenomII 920 2.8GHz $429
Motherboard: MA790GP-DS4H $211 (790GX/SB750)
RAM: 4GB DDR2 1066 (kingston HyperX) $119
HDD: Western Digital 640GB 16MB SATAII $97
GPU: 512MB HD4870 $339
Case: Antec Designer with Earthwatts 500 PSU $165
Optical Drive: Pioneer 216BK $31
Monitor: 22" BenQ E2200HD
Speakers: Logitech X530 $80
K/B & Mouse: Logitech Cordless Desktop 660 $29

Total: $1735