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Community weekly poll: Have you ever built your own computer?
- 3/23/06 1:20 PM
Build because of need
by bwr64x - 3/24/06 2:20 PM In reply to: Building a computer for your needs. by simon.manandharI built my first PC when a 100meg drive was top of the line (don't recall what year that was), and kept rebuilding/upgrading it every year or two until about 3 years ago. Why I built it? Cost! I could put together a machine for about $1000, that would cost $2K or $3K in the store. Why I don't think I will be building another one anytime soon? Cost! The cost differential has narrowed so much, it's not worth my time. For about $150, I can let Dell have the headache. Now, if I wanted a speed demon, top of the line, all the bells and whistles, then I would consider building it myself. Come to think of it, I just may sound proof the basement (I have kids now, and it's best that they not learn "PC english" at too early an age) and have a go at a top of the line in my spare time.
I can do that ?!
by miwin1000 - 3/24/06 1:26 PM In reply to: Have you ever built your own computer? by Marc Bennett
Yes folks, I have built my own computer. Actually, I have built several. Some for me, and some for others. I found it to be an exhillarating experience. I did cheat just a little though. I took a couple computer classes in college. I slam dunked the classes with flying colors and then decided to go at it with full confidence. The class I took was Upgrading and Repairing computers in which I got my first experience with uninstalling/reinstalling hardware, software, and periferals. I learned very much in that class. I pretty much took matters into my own hands from there, and used any free resources available to me, mostly from the internet, book clubs, and other people. My first experience was in tearing down an old 386 with Windows 98 that my brother had sent me. It was scarey, but by the time I got done, all fear was gone. I have since built P3's, and P4's with all the bells and whistles. Gathering parts from the 4 corners of the earth proved to be harder than putting them together. Learning to work with tech support was a real nightmare too. Now I have the confidence of a real professional, and I also teach and have taught a few people how to use their computers and operating systems. I seem to have become a real "Guru" to many people.
Have you ever built a computer.
by petzl2 - 3/24/06 4:06 PM In reply to: Have you ever built your own computer? by Marc Bennett
I have built several that I ordered barebone kits from Tiger Direct. I thought it was like putting a puzzle together. I have had to call " tech help"for help a few times but could mostly figure it out without yelling for help.
Numerous times, but be aware!
by thebay - 3/24/06 4:25 PM In reply to: Have you ever built your own computer? by Marc Bennett
I have had great fun building Computers and or upgrading components over the years. I generally keep to AMD Athlon processors as they are cheaper tah there counterparts and for general office and light gaming certainly function without bother.
I had had problems where I have "zapped" a new motherboard but primarily ensuring that you have USB/Speaker/and other cables polarised right rarely are there any problems. More often than not a cable has been reversed.
I don't think that you save a lot when building a completely new system from the case up, particularly when prices for new generic systems are so low, but it is definately more rewarding. I would encourage anyone to have a go.
Tell me, does rebuilding one count?
by whizkid - 3/24/06 7:22 PM In reply to: Have you ever built your own computer? by Marc Bennett
I rebuilt an old Dell Dimension L500r and now it works better than it ever did.
built lots from kim1 to duals
by hlee - 3/24/06 7:47 PM In reply to: Have you ever built your own computer? by Marc Bennett
i have been building computers from before there were computers (built from transisters then ttl) .. we used tiny "one board" systems like Kim1 and Sym1 to control huge processes with multitasking and lots of I/O .. what incredible fun that was .. even went into business later for PC types .. the problem was that they were not very reliable .. it would take me months to perfect a new mother board .. the thought was that i could then make lots of um and recoup my cost with a system more reliable than most .. trouble was, by the time i got a system working good, there would be a new model and all my trouble went down the drain ...the new one would almost always have new defects like time races, capacitor problems, critical areas that needed tweeked and yes software ..... well you cant make money that way .. my biggest customers were high end systems that needed reliability over all else ...
well that was a several years ago .. and now i see we are still having problems with capacitors, bugs and software ..but things are a lot better technically now ...
just built a state of the art AMD system and was thrilled that almost everything worked .. that is except XP media edition and its DRM ... that has caused me a lot of compatability problems/crashes and agravation .. no problem i just go to my old XP pro machine or better yet my Linux box and i am happy again .. heck maybe someday i will be able to do true multitasking again ...
Have you ever built your own computer?
by The Bloodman - 3/24/06 9:02 PM In reply to: Have you ever built your own computer? by Marc Bennett
My interest in building my own computers evolved from adding a new video card in order to play the original Half-Life.After that ,my son and I got into a contes of who can build a bigger , faster machine. He's ahead right now but I'm researching killer motherboards now.Plus ,my pockets are deeper than his.
Always home built!
by Clydar - 3/24/06 9:47 PM In reply to: Have you ever built your own computer? by Marc Bennett
I'll never forget my first foray into upgrading - putting a sound card into a 286 system that I had bought second-hand. I was asking one of the guys I worked with at the time if he could come over and help me do it. His reply - "Why don't you put it in yourself?" Then he proceeded to tell me how. That was the making of the monster...after that, I never even considered buying another machine that was already built. My present setup is a 1.7 gig Intel setup, but am planning on upgrading this weekend to an Athlon 64 setup and re-assembling the 1.7 into another case for my son to use for music files. I still have a hard time believing that I can do everything that needs to be done to build and repair systems. I have some trouble with the newer stuff, as I've been out of the loop for a while, but I'm catching up pretty well.
And just for statistical analysis sake, I'm a 51-year-old single female.
I had to build my own to get what I wanted
by mister k - 3/25/06 12:02 AM In reply to: Have you ever built your own computer? by Marc Bennett
I did a couple months of research on the various components I wanted and needed, and the compatibility issues I might face, based on my choices. Once I knew which processor I wanted to go with (the AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+), that pretty much immediately eliminated the possibility of getting it (even customized) from the usual sources.
I tried foregoing my first preference and customizing a system on several different mfr sites. The price just about gave me a nosebleed! I wanted the power, but no way could I pay thousands upon thousands to have it.
The solution was creating a spreadsheet of all the components I would need (so I wouldn't miss anything), then researching the market for about six weeks until I found the lowest possible prices on each component.
The end result: I got my $5,000 dream machine for a total of $1200. It took me less than half a day to put the whole thing together, and BOOM! Dual 21" flatscreens, 4GB memory, and all the goodies I wished for right down to my Kensington trackball.
My advice would be read everything you can on CNET. Watch the how-to videos. Read what techies have to say on their web sites. Make ample use of eBay and Froogle, and know what you want and what you're willing to pay for it. Above all, be willing to be patient. You may have to wait a few weeks for all the components to arrive, but for me, it was well worth the wait.
Great fun when you don't know what you're doing...
by im2nic2 - 3/25/06 1:49 AM In reply to: Have you ever built your own computer? by Marc Bennett
...and a nightmare when you do.
I am writing this from the first computer I built from scratch. All the parts bought on the internet. I am still mad at myself for not getting one already built. I love the components I built into it but it cost me more than I would have spent otherwise and it still isn't stable. Every time I leave it on overnight to download a TV show I missed, it crashes the next day when I start using it again (and I still don't have any idea why [maybe the power supply?]). I have found that when you build the machine yourself, there are probably going to be gremlins you have to remove before the experience can be enjoyable (and often they are very unexpected). The good news is that there is someone out there that encountered the same problems and can help you fix them, but the bad news is that when there are instructions to help you they are often misleading, incomplete and hard to follow. If you know the components you want, find a custom built shop that offers those parts. If you don't, either spend the necessary time to do the research or buy a pre-built PC and save a little dough.
Completely agree
by percussiveness - 5/2/06 11:02 PM In reply to: Great fun when you don't know what you're doing... by im2nic2I also built my own computer, with good components that suited my needs well. However, it is so inexplicably unstable that I have to rely on my Dell laptop for anything important. I cannot trust the desktop system for anything important, because I never know how long I have until it crashes again. It almost seems like it's a matter of luck if everything works properly.
Leave the critical stuff to experts, and all will be fine.
by Gonenuhts - 3/25/06 5:41 AM In reply to: Have you ever built your own computer? by Marc Bennett
I built my own PC, but key components like CPU, its fan, and motherboard, were put together inside the case, right in front of me, in the store´s counter. They even had surgical gloves available, so they could apply thermal paste on the CPU/heatsink. They assembled the PSU, video card and memory too, just to boot the machine, and check if everything was alright. So, we removed the PSU, and video card, for transportation safety, and packed them back in their boxes. I chose to remove the PSU only because I wanted all those cables neatly tugged inside the case, not just dangling around. I finished the assembly at home, as usual.
I first bought an installed system, then....
by merchContractor - 3/25/06 8:05 AM In reply to: Have you ever built your own computer? by Marc Bennett
...had some system problems (bad Windows XP CD), but the computer store where I bought the entire system arranged for a new Windows XP install CD - luckily it didn't cost me any further $$. Then about a year ago, my motherboard (system board), shut down on me; got the ''blue screen of death'', found out it was a chip or some other systemboard malfunction, and was told by a professional friend of mine (no cost to me to find the problem) that I needed a new motherboard. After considerations and finding another motherboard, and since I have an educated background on PCs, I decided to install the whole thing myself. I also purchased another hard drive - 40gig type - and installed that myself, also. I already had the monitor and since its still working fine I didn't need another one; also still had my LexMark all-in-one printer, so didn't need a new one either. All that had to be hooked up was the motherboard, which wasn't all that hard to do; 4 screws and its in; hook up the 2 hard drive cables into the PC slots, connect the motherboard's jumper settings (small pins from the power supply connecting to the motherboard's panel - the booklet tells you how to do it) and then connect all the hardware devices: printer, monitor, speakers, mouse, keyboard -which is very simple since the connectors are very simple to determine which go where - and also the network plugs (for the Internet; phone line or cable modem which are also easy to locate and plug in). The motherboard's booklet also explain how to set up the BIOS settings once the system is installed, of course. Install the PC's system with the CD install program(Windows XP or whatever type of system you have) first so that you can get to the BIOS, settings. Then check each BIOS settings to insure compatability issues are resolved: Date/time, floppy drives (Drive A usually - installing a floppy drive is even easier once the hardware is installed into the place where you access the floppy drive, then connect the cable from the floppy drive to the motherboard's disk drive connector - again, the booklet for the motherboard will show you how to do that); the BIOS also usually has Advanced setup - Quick boot is usually ''enabled'', then check which boot device you want to start first in order which the BIOS and the motherboard booklet shows you how to do that, too - i.e. 1st boot device shows IDE-0 means that your hard drive will be the first device the computer boots from which is where your system is installed, so usually users want to have that first since its the fastest one to boot from, then your 2d can be either the floppy or your CD ROM, and the 3rd is either the floppy or CD ROM. Power management can be accessed also in the BIOS by getting to the Power Management Setup page and where it has ''Keyboard Power On'' the user can either use ''disabled'' or choose ''Any key'' which when the computer is powered off correctly, it can be restarted again by hitting any key on the keyboard. This works for me since I don't want to keep pushing the start button on the tower case all the time, so hitting any key on my keyboard starts up my computer whenever I've shut down previously. It's just one of those easy things to do to keep you happy when all you have to do is ''Hit any key'' to start your computer up in the morning. Once all of that is done, your system is ready and willing to do what you want it to do.
You can do anything if you have a book in front of you and can read and understand what it tells you to do.
One thing I need to mention here: before you do any type of hardware issues on your PC, make sure everything is unplugged first, then wear some type of wrist strap (a ground bracelet) that snaps to a grounded mat plugged to a wall outlet or snap onto the computer case. This is a must to prevent ESD (ElectroStatic Discharge) which if not prevented, can harm your whole system and components. This is when a static charge can build up from ungrounded conductors (like scuffing your hard sole shoes onto a carpet and then touching a metal object, like a door handle and you feel a spark - this is ESD). Place the computer case onto a plastic mat or wood table/desk and use one of these grounding straps that wrap around your wrist and has a snap connector that you can attach to the case. If you feel a charge (if not doing this prevention), then you released 3,000 volts of static electricity; if you hear a charge, you released 6,000 volts of electricity and if you see a spark, you just released 8,000 volts of electricity!
It only takes less than 3,000 volts of static electricity to damage your entire computer system, so BEWARE of this!
I built my new PC
by bazzini - 3/25/06 2:41 PM In reply to: Have you ever built your own computer? by Marc Bennett
I loved it a 939 mother brd. 2 amd3800 pres. & 2 g of ram. It is fast on my dsl Mike of KY
Build, Rebuild, or Buy
by Doug_Iford - 3/25/06 2:55 PM In reply to: Have you ever built your own computer? by Marc Bennett
Having been involved with computers since my Radio Shack TRS-80 Model III in the early '80s, I've several times rebuilt or added to systems, but never from ''scratch;'' i.e., get a case, power supply, motherboard, and various components and put it all together, although I wouldn't be worried about doing so. However, with the price of computers continuously coming down, I've found that buying a ready-made system with as much of what I am looking for installed as I can find at the time and then possibly adding some components is generally as economical if not more so than going the ''from scratch'' route. If one wants to learn how computers go together, however, go for it. A good class at a local junior college or other facility that offers such training is probably a good idea, unless you're really good at picking such things up on your own. As far as rebuilding an old computer from the motherboard up, it seems to me that by the time you're ready for that exercise most of the components (drives, interfaces, etc.) are probably pretty much obsolete anyhow. Also, an off-the-shelf system at least gives you a starting place to add to that someone has at least integrated so the original components probably work well together, and if not there is usually a warranty that you wouldn't have with a self-built system.
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