Main Area and Open Discussion > Living Room

Article: A Woman's Primer for Building Her Own Computer

<< < (3/4) > >>

laughinglizard:
nah, building your own computer can be enjoyed more in that, you can pick out the exact parts you want, and end up making a computer that is several times better than one you buy that is pre-built.

--- End quote ---

I think you're right on target there nite_monkey.

I've spent the last few days comparing the two.
I used the specs from a Dell desktop mid range setup (as much as they will give you) and compared them to similar components from newegg.com.

I chose Dell because they use decent hardware in their machines for the most part. Usually nothing proprietary, and often what I would call solid but low range components. You can usually replace anything on a Dell desktop and some laptops with the same thing from several manufacturers.

The conclusion I came to after running a few figures is that if you built a computer using the same type of parts that Dell does, you come out roughly even to somewhat more expensive since the price of memory and processors tends to go up and down and the quality of the hardware is unknown - that figures in the price considerably.
As I don't have manufacturers on Dell components, I was comparing things like a 250 watt power supply that's in a Dell to a decent one of the same wattage.

So why build a computer? It started out with me replacing hardware when it would die. If you have a computer long enough every single component on it will go out eventually. I started replacing and upgrading. Then I started building them from the hardware I wanted. Then friends wanted me to build them because it was less expensive. Before I knew it several systems had gone out the door and I got to enjoying that rush when you've put a system together and you turn the power button on for the first time and everything powers up smooth as silk.
Then you get to play with the software! Best of both worlds.

I've been thinking of upgrading and wanted to see how buying a computer compared to building or upgrading, which is why I've been looking.

I've decided to upgrade because I can put together a system with the best hardware (yeah, I'm picky) with bigger, better, faster, more features for not much more than the mid-range Dell.
That was if I putting together a whole system, which I'm not.

Dell's are good computers - but I would never have a 250 watt power supply in my computer. Like nite_monkey says, you end up with a computer that is several times better than one pre-built. (unless of course you are buying a computer from alienware or custom built)

Hardware compatibility is not much of an issue these days, the vendors decided to play nice apparently.

I'm not a guy, and I'm not much of a gamer, though it is useful to be able to go anywhere that sells or repairs computers and be able to discern with a few questions whether they are competent or not.

I buy online but I have friends in other states, and when their computers go down, I look up computer repair places in their local yellow pages and start making phone calls.  ;D

I would guess its like you coders - you have your own vocabulary, and it can't be faked. You either know it, or you don't; it quickly becomes obvious either way.

One very good thing about knowing something about the insides of your computer, is that when something goes out, you can get another one and put it in. You don't have to take it to a shop or get another one. You can get a bigger/better/faster replacement. Saves lots of money. Everything inside that case is replaceable. Including the case.

Carol Haynes:
I'd get much better value for money building one.
--- End quote ---
just a warning: my experience has been that this is *not* the case.  i would highly recommend you try to build a pc for one and only one reason: because you enjoy the process.  My belief is that currently building your own will cost you more in parts, is MUCH more risky in terms of something going wrong, and puts you in a much more precarious situation should your computer need repair.

in summary: building a pc on your own can be fun -- but that's the only reason you should try it.
-mouser (August 01, 2007, 12:41 PM)
--- End quote ---

Just to add my 2p - I agree with Mouser ... building a computer is fun and you get what you want. What you don't get is a cheap computer.

The reason Dell and Co. can produce rock bottom prices is because they have a large sales capacity and small profit margin. Plus because they buy components and software in bulk they get huge discounts, add to that they install extra crap (eg. Symantex stuff) which brings in advertising/promotional revenue from the crap producers.

Just one example - if you buy Windows Vista OEM version for own build (perfectly legal) it will cost ~ £50-100 (in the UK) depending on the edition you choose. If you buy from a system builder they are probably bulk buying those licenses for a few pounds each (plus they always install the cheapest version and charge a premium for any upgrade to a more reasonable version). MS are keen for them to do this - it makes the Vista sales figures look good and encourages customers to future upgrades to Windows (at a price) - and so they give large OEMs huge discounts to promote their operating systems. If MS charged the going OEM rate Dell would simply install Linux on all their machines which is not in MS's interests (and they know Dell have the dominance to cause them damage). There are loads of such OEMs out there (Gateway etc.) so MS knows what it is doing.

The same is true for all the graphics cards and hard discs that are installed on OEM builds.

steeladept:
EDIT:  WARNING - As usual for me, a much longer than expected response....END WARNING....

As someone who does this type of thing every day, I too will side with mouser on the price.  I find Dell, HP, etc. quite a bit more expensive - usually due to warranty and support offerings that smaller integrators don't provide (though they do tend to offer more personalized experiences that allow for similar effects).  Comparing my Newegg purchases and build with a local computer shop came up with prices about the same with more "risk" associated with it.  The "risk" I speak of is in the area of incompatibilities.  However, my experiences also point to 99% of those inocompatibilities stemming from a few avoidable sources.  1) Not doing the research.  If the equipment is not brand new to the market or VERY niche, then there is almost always a good base of compatibility testing available.  Check forums and such to find if there is anyone who has had issues with it in the past.  If you don't find ANYTHING about it, it is likely okay.  That leads to 2) Don't buy anything so new to the market that no one has tested it yet.  This seems like a no brainer, but if you do buy it, you are in for headaches.  Which leads to 3) If you buy it anyway, look for firmware updates.  Firmware updates frequently fix incompatibilities with the hardware.  As the system matures, the firmware makes the hardware work nicely with other hardware. 

I learned this lesson the hard way on my first system.  I bought a new motherboard that looked great on paper (specs).  I shortlisted several video cards and found one was by the same maker as the motherboard.  Among other reasons, I chose that video card because of the likely compatibility from the same manufacturer.  Can anyone say microsoft compatibility testing? Needless to say, the motherboard was bleeding edge.  I started it up several times before I went back to the old PC to look up the website.  It was sparse, but I found WinXP pre-install drivers (who knew I needed those  :P) and more importantly, the firmware update - 4 versions newer.  With those pieces of software installed, WinXP worked like a champ.  Within 2 months, 3 newer versions came out to allow all my SATA drive connectors to work.  Apparently there was a bug in the second SATA chipset that was onboard.  Good thing I didn't try using that ;).  Anyway, I learned from this experience and my work experiences what I stated above.  If you like the bleeding edge, be prepared for that.  If not, just stick with popular hardware that meets your specifications, and do your research.

Oh, and on the article - they are right about the simplicity of it all.  It is the research to ensure compatibility that is a pain.  Once you know the system will work together, the actual construction is a breeze.  Also mouser, there is a second reason to build your own.  So you can match the specs to your needs.  Of course a local computer store that will actually listen to you could do so too, but they usually don't listen because the brands and models your research provided for you to specify are not their standard offerings...

mouser:
When you build a PC, there is a good chance everything will go fairly smoothly, and you will come out of it having had a lot of fun.  But there is also a reasonable change (25%?) that you will hit some snags and spend a day cursing out the motherboard manufacturer and trying to decipher motherboard beep codes and figure out why your system is booting.  Some people actually enjoy this experience, like playing detective.  If you are not the kind of person who enjoys this kind of thing, think twice about going down this route.

One thing that is true though, is that there is some real pride of accomplishment in putting together a pc, and it can be one of those things that gives you a closer bond between you and your pc  :-*

Deozaan:
Not sure why people think Dell is inexpensive. Every time I look at what I get for their prices I think so many times I can build my own better system for about the same amount of money or less.

For someone who doesn't know how to troubleshoot a computer, I say get a Dell with a good warranty. But if you know anything about computer hardware, build your own.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page