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Specs for new pc?

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Innuendo:
I had a bit of a hard time locating it because I wasn't sure what to look for. Hint: Look for the New Egg logo.-Deozaan (June 06, 2010, 10:50 PM)
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Or you could have saved some time and just followed the link in my reply above, Deozaan.  ;D

Innuendo:
Why bother building it for those simple needs? You're not going to save much money (especially if you include your time in the equation) vs. a system builder.-JavaJones (June 07, 2010, 01:06 AM)
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If you build it yourself you have complete control over what goes into the PC. With a system builder you have to deal with what they think is best...and even worse, deal with what they think is acceptable to cut corners on.

Take, for example, ATI graphics cards. There are many brands out there - Gigabyte, Asus, Sapphire, etc. All the prices are very similar. However, the smart shopper will buy one made by XFX. You won't spend anymore, but you'll get a double lifetime warranty instead of a warranty as short as a year.

daddydave:
If you build it yourself you have complete control over what goes into the PC. With a system builder you have to deal with what they think is best...and even worse, deal with what they think is acceptable to cut corners on.
-Innuendo (June 07, 2010, 08:23 PM)
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Amen to that. You may not save any money making your own sausage, but you know what goes in it.

Cutting corners on memory is my peeve.  I will cut corners myself, but even then I have control over what I cut corners on.

Thanks for the tip about XFX cards.

daddydave:

FWIW, it's also not too difficult to get rid of that junk. It's certainly less work than loading a fresh copy of Windows, installing updates, loading drivers (and doing that in the correct sequence), updating those, installing recovery software, building recovery disks, running a...well...you get the picture.
-40hz (June 07, 2010, 07:34 AM)
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Actually I don't. Surely the easiest way to get rid of crapware is not to install it in the first place, is it not? On my own systems, I haven't had an issue with drivers having to be installed in the correct sequence since Windows 98 at the latest.  What recovery software are you referring to? I do have a curated list of software that gets installed on a new system, but if I had an off the shelf system, I would additionally have to have a curated list of software that gets uninstalled.

I'm glad there's less crapware on a standard install than there used to be. Guess how much crapware I would like. Also I don't have a lot of experience with choosing a vendor that bundles the fewest unwanted apps, but I do have a lot of experience installing and tweaking Windows from a bare install. A lot of it is about leveraging existing skill sets.

But I agree with a lot of what you say, nowadays it is not so much saving money or time as having control. And my thinking evolved in the formative years of the PC industry, where you had to think like a hobbyist, for me personally it is hard to give up that control. Kind of the same reason I don't want a Mac. (I guess Linux advocates would say the same about Windows.)

daddydave:
You can almost always get a better deal either going directly to the manufacturer or one of the reputable mail order suppliers.
-40hz (June 07, 2010, 07:34 AM)
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Do you mean ordering from HP or Dell directly, is there a specific vendor you recommend?

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