I'm planning to buy a custom-built PC within the next couple days. I already know what I want, but not where to buy it from.

At first I was considering IBuyPower.com, as they seem to have the best prices and a huge selection of options. However, I've read so many negative reviews that I'm not sure I want to take a chance with them.

I don't have the cash or desire to buy from Alienware or one of the more expensive companies.

Where would be a good place to go for a combination of quality/reliability and price? Any previous experiences with IBuyPower or other sites would be greatly appreciated.

12/12/2007 6:44:02 PM

http://www.intrex.com/?

You can pick it up at one of the local stores when it's ready and if something goes wrong you know where they are.

[Edited on December 12, 2007 at 6:49 PM. Reason : still more expensive than building your own]

12/12/2007 6:47:33 PM

Why don't you but all the parts and put it together yourself? Or if you don't feel like it buy all the parts and pay someone on TWW like $20 to do it for you.

12/12/2007 6:56:29 PM

^What he said.

You will be able to get a lot more bang for your buck.

12/12/2007 7:04:06 PM

Newegg + build it yourself

it's not hard at all, you'll save tons of cash over those shitpiles like alienware, and you'll have a little pride in it

and hell you might actually learn your way around a computer a little bit

[Edited on December 12, 2007 at 7:49 PM. Reason : ]

12/12/2007 7:48:34 PM

i'll build one for you for cheaper than intrex/other places... PM me.

12/12/2007 8:19:25 PM

okey dokey

12/12/2007 8:45:30 PM

i think im going to build a new one when those new intel cores come out next year

12/12/2007 10:11:41 PM

Thanks for the responses everyone.

^^^^
I think I'll do that. After adding everything to my cart (+ an additional HD) the total is $60 less than it would have been at IBuyPower.


Do any of you see any problems with this potential configuration:

AMD Phenom 9600 Agena 2.3GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Quad-Core Processor
CORSAIR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
x2 ASUS EN8600GT SILENT/HTDP/512M GeForce 8600GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported
ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS 750GB 7200 RPM
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM

Anything that should be upgraded/changed to suit the other parts?

[Edited on December 13, 2007 at 2:00 PM. Reason : .]

12/13/2007 2:00:10 PM

How much did /\ config run you?

I have put built my last 2 myself, and its about time to start the next one. (Usually about a 3 year lifespan.

I dont "follow" PC upgrades until I am ready to buy one though and right now I am confused as hell about the new processor speeds (ie X2, hypertrhreading ) all that crap.

My PC now is a 3000+, but now the numbers are lower sometimes for better computers. So whats a good processor speed to look for now?

12/13/2007 2:11:00 PM

Quote :

"AMD Phenom 9600 Agena 2.3GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Quad-Core Processor"

how much are you saving using AMD rather than intel?

Quote :

"x2 ASUS EN8600GT SILENT/HTDP/512M GeForce 8600GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported"

i don't know how much difference this will make via SLI, but consider the GTS...the difference is worth the performance bump, IMO...and 1gb of video? what are you doing with it? consider 1 8800 instead

Quote :

"Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS 750GB 7200 RPM"

i don't trust anyone but seagate (and, these days, maxtor if the deal is really good since it's owned by seagate now)

Quote :

"Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM"

look for a .11 series instead...i don't think they really cost more, but i (personally) would rather have the 2nd generation of perpendicular recording

12/13/2007 2:34:39 PM

^^^

What in god's name do you plan on doing that takes 1tb of storage?



Holy hell. You'd better be using that computer to produce and edit full length films to warrant that kind of space.

[Edited on December 13, 2007 at 2:38 PM. Reason : or stealing a truckload of dvds and not compressing them.]

12/13/2007 2:37:49 PM

Quote :

" Quote : "Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS 750GB 7200 RPM" i don't trust anyone but seagate (and, these days, maxtor if the deal is really good since it's owned by seagate now)"

I think Hitachi is better.

12/13/2007 2:40:29 PM

better than wd or better than seagate or better than both?

if you're saying better than seagate, that's heresy and i'm gonna have to break your kneecaps

12/13/2007 2:42:44 PM

Quote :

"i don't know how much difference this will make via SLI, but consider the GTS...the difference is worth the performance bump, IMO...and 1gb of video? what are you doing with it? consider 1 8800 instead"

what?

12/13/2007 2:54:41 PM

a terabyte?

damn that's a lot of pr0n man

but unless you're saving a lot over an Intel Core 2 Duo (or quad) processor I'd go with one of those instead of amd

[Edited on December 13, 2007 at 3:16 PM. Reason : ]

12/13/2007 3:02:30 PM

Quote :

"AMD Phenom 9600 Agena 2.3GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Quad-Core Processor "

Something is wrong here. For some reason it says AMD instead of Intel.

12/13/2007 3:02:40 PM

^^^ i've never used SLI, so i don't know if the performance increase would be worth the extra money, but i'm suggesting he go with 2 8600gts cards instead of 2 8600gt's...i've seen gts' on sale (on a regular basis) for all of $5-10 more than gt's, and i think that's well worth the performance bump...i just don't know if there would be any difference when using SLI

12/13/2007 3:17:15 PM

How much will your current config cost you?

I don't have any advice, I'm just curious.

[Edited on December 13, 2007 at 3:37 PM. Reason : .]

12/13/2007 3:36:37 PM

nah my question is about the 8800 GT vs the 8800 GTS....

12/13/2007 4:19:44 PM

Quote :

"AMD Phenom 9600 Agena 2.3GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Quad-Core Processor "

Do not get AMD right now. Go with a core 2 duo.

Quote :

"x2 ASUS EN8600GT SILENT/HTDP/512M GeForce 8600GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 "

Sorry for being so blunt, but this is probably the stupidest thing anyone could do right now in regard to putting together a computer. Buying 2 8600gts is completely retarted. For the exact same price you can buy a single 8800gts 512, or 8800gt and it'll be waaaaaaaaay faster than 2 8600gt. Then later on you can get a second 8800.

For example, the 8600GT runs for 139$ (Newegg). 2 of these would be 280$. For less than 280$ you could buy a 8800gt, or an 8800gts and a single one of those will still be waaaay faster than 2 8600GTs.

Quote :

"i've never used SLI, so i don't know if the performance increase would be worth the extra money, but i'm suggesting he go with 2 8600gts cards instead of 2 8600gt's...i've seen gts' on sale (on a regular basis) for all of $5-10 more than gt's, and i think that's well worth the performance bump...i just don't know if there would be any difference when using SLI"

Still a horrible choice. Go here:
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_sli2007.html
and look at the scores for 2 8600gts.

Then go here:
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html
and look at the scores for a single 8800gt.

Now take into consideration that tom's hardware has yet to post the bench marks for the new 8800gts 512 which benches a little lower than a GTX for about 240-250$.

So conclusion, DO NOT buy 2 8600gt/gts. Instead buy a single 8800gt/gts and spend less money, and it'll be waaay faster.

[Edited on December 13, 2007 at 5:46 PM. Reason : .]

12/13/2007 5:30:56 PM

I agree, getting two 8600gt's is a bad idea. Only consider getting an 8600GT if you wanted it for a Home Media PC, but as for gaming, get an actual gaming card.

Btw, 1TB of space isn't outlandish these days. It took me about 6 months to fill my 320GB hard drive and it's only filled with pictures. Just bought 3 500GB drives and plan on getting a 4th 500GB for raid, plus 1-2 extra 1TB drives in the future.

12/13/2007 5:56:59 PM

It depends what you're doing on your computer. I mean if you're storing media it's rather easy to fill up a terabyte in a few weeks or even a day if you're editing uncompressed HD.

[Edited on December 13, 2007 at 6:09 PM. Reason : .]

12/13/2007 6:07:05 PM

No one in their right fucking mind would fill up a TB in a day

12/13/2007 6:42:36 PM

only way i can see that possible is if you have like 500gb of porn and a ton of music

12/13/2007 6:48:00 PM

^^are you kidding me? Uncompressed HD is like 300-400 GB per hour. If you shoot a few hours of vid in one day, you could easily fill up a terabyte. I used to have an internship at a local tv station and we used Fire/Smoke to edit our shit on unix boxes and HD video takes massive amounts of storage to edit. Now that HD cams are getting more mainstream, more people will need bigger harddrives. A terabyte is almost standard now for consumer video editing.

[Edited on December 13, 2007 at 6:52 PM. Reason : .]

12/13/2007 6:49:22 PM

When the fuck did he say he had a HD cam and planned on using it?

Quite the leap were making here.

12/13/2007 7:18:19 PM

^But you said:

Quote :

"No one in their right fucking mind "

So I guess I read it wrong. When you said "no one" you meant no one like him? Or did you mean "no one"? You have to specify when you make a broad statement like that.

Saying "no one" will use a terabyte of space is silly, because that's completely not the case.

So you should have said, "No one (in the same position as outsider...etc..etc...). Just remember to clarify next time.

[Edited on December 13, 2007 at 7:28 PM. Reason : .]

12/13/2007 7:24:17 PM

its only a terabyte...

I've got 2TB of network attached storage, 750GB in my desktop, 500GB of hard drives sitting on top of my desk, a 300GB hard drive in an xbox, and a bunch of smaller drives littered around...

(I also have an hd camcorder, and take a crap-ton of pictures pretty much everywhere i go.)

12/13/2007 7:49:17 PM

Thanks for the info on the 8800GT. I hadn't realized that one of those would outperform 2 of the 8600s, but I can certainly see that now.

The price of an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 is only a few dollars more than the AMD Phenom 9600, so cost isn't an issue there. I just hadn't discovered any obvious reasons to choose Intel over AMD.


For those who asked, the previously mentioned configuration (+case, DVD burner, power supply, floppy drive/media reader) totalled $1250.02 shipped on Newegg.

I'll be using this for 3D Modeling in Maya, 3DS Max, etc. + Photoshop and gaming.


And I guess I should ask this:

Do I really need to worry about having a high-wattage power supply? I've seen a lot of conflicting information on this subject. I guess I just need to know the minimum wattage I'll need for this type of system.

12/13/2007 8:09:42 PM

My bad

Anyway, we totally ninja'd this kid's thread. Back on topic. I suggest you get 5gb of RAM.

12/13/2007 8:22:10 PM

High-Efficiency 500W should do just fine

CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001
(84% efficiency, Active PFC, SLI, Modular Cabling, 120mm quiet fan, 5yr warranty)

ENERMAX Liberty ELT500AWT ATX12V 500W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194003
(80% efficiency, 17ms Hold-Up, Active PFC, SLI, Modular Cabling, 120mm quiet fan, 3yr warranty)

12/13/2007 8:25:08 PM

Quote :

"The price of an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 is only a few dollars more than the AMD Phenom 9600, so cost isn't an issue there. I just hadn't discovered any obvious reasons to choose Intel over AMD."

The intel q6600 is faster, and it's intel. Right now there's almost no reason to go AMD. Plus it's funny cause the q6600 is last generation, intel is coming out with new cpus soon, and the new AMD Phenom is a new card. It's just sad that the last generation q6600 still beats the AMD 9600 Phenom and they're about the same price.

12/13/2007 8:28:05 PM

750Watt Cooler Master Power Supply for $50 After Rebate. I have a 550 version and it's nice, not to mention at a very good price. I would pick this up for my next computer build, but I already spent money for another 550. its also has an 80% efficiency rating.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10006237

[Edited on December 13, 2007 at 8:30 PM. Reason : Linky]

12/13/2007 8:28:47 PM

Quote :

"Where would be a good place to go for a combination of quality/reliability and price? "

do you need a monitor?

if you're not gonna build it yourself (aka buy from newegg), whats wrong with ordering a dell?

12/13/2007 8:35:26 PM

^dell sucks

12/13/2007 8:42:48 PM

yeah, well, you know, that just like your opinion man

12/13/2007 8:54:22 PM

JBaz, that's a great deal

12/13/2007 9:17:28 PM

dell isn't bad for mass market shit. Gaming boutique? No. Too pricey and their systems are proprietary. They do have some killer deals once in a blue moon, but don't wait for it.

Yeah, that PSU is sweet. I've built a few systems on the cheaper 550 one's and got in on the $10 after rebate deal for it last week. Not half bad, even with mine being only 70% eff. I also got a Cooler master case to match it for $20 bucks, and that's even pretty rocking with features galore.

12/14/2007 4:43:12 AM

Quote :

"if you're saying better than seagate, that's heresy and i'm gonna have to break your kneecaps "

Personally I think so.

12/14/2007 5:44:14 AM

Quote :

"Too pricey"

It all comes down to if the buyer needs a monitor or not. If they do, then they'd be stupid not to buy a dell. without relying on their crazy good deals that come along every few months, their "every deals" are hard to beat. Hell just yesterday they had a C2D system with 22" monitor for $520 and you got a $100 gift card back too. bringing the price closer to less than $450 or so after you sell the gift card.

spend $450, get a basic box and a nice monitor...then head to newegg and buy 4GB of ram, a video card and another hdd and you're in business. but if you want certain parts (like a quad core) then this isn't the best route. i built my last box since i didn't need a monitor, but there's nothing wrong with a dell unless you spend all kinds of time researching and want exact parts.

Quote :

"and their systems are proprietary. "

do tell. their power supplies USED to be proprietary (like 5 years ago), but I haven't encountered any systems recently that were. but then i don't really get my hands too dirty these days

12/14/2007 8:43:46 AM

Yea dell has been pretty much on standard hardware for the last 5 years. They also run deals where you can usually find a more bare bones dell (usually in their server line) that would be cheaper than you can build + 1 year warranty. Then you just add in your ram/gpu/etc.. from newegg.

12/14/2007 10:07:05 AM

Quote :

"Sorry for being so blunt, but this is probably the stupidest thing anyone could do right now in regard to putting together a computer."

Besides using an ATI x1300 pro? Lolz.

12/14/2007 11:11:41 AM

^lol well that's just your problem. You shoulda got a 8800gt. Guess it was still an upgrade from what you had though.

12/14/2007 11:36:08 AM

Thought they used BTX boards? When I bought a few dell desktops last year, that's all they were.

12/14/2007 6:56:10 PM

^ can't imagine what you got...we've got almost 2 dozen dell's right here, ranging from 3 years old to arriving last month and none are BTX...totally standard everything

12/17/2007 12:38:58 PM

Dimension 5000 series are the ones I bought for a few friends, I believe other models of the similar platform and year used the same format in both server and XPS boxes. Those used BTX boards. Dell was the major user of the BTX format, but I just checked and Intel dropped BTX design earlier this year so no more of that non-sense.

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/70397/dell-dimension-5000.html

12/17/2007 1:07:08 PM

Can someone give me an external link or a link to another thread that explains how to build your own PC? I've wanted to do this for a while but I have no clue what components are necessary and what the fuck to do with them once I get them.

My old roommate was going to do it for me once upon a time, but I've lost contact with him since graduating.

12/17/2007 1:19:30 PM

BTX vs ATX in an OEM computer is completely moot. If you really want to change motherboard/case you can buy btx parts. But why would anyone ever do that?

12/17/2007 1:34:06 PM

^^haha

motherboard, processor, ram, video card, hard drive(s) and optical drive(s), case, power supply, fans

too many variables to go into detail on all of it. look through some of the computer build threads and learn

12/17/2007 1:43:47 PM