Rob_Impreza99

iTrader: (3)

Ive got an old pc upstairs that i just use for web browsing and downloading etc, its slowly dying and won`t last much longer.

You always seem to read about people building theor own pc`s and saying how much you save etc plus you get a pc to the exact spec you want to suit your requirements.

How easy is it for someone with no experience to build one, i aint got a clue with desktops as i`m more of a laptop person. I wouldn`t have a clue as to what case to buy, what the correct types of motherboards and PSU`s you need etc etc.

Some good links or videos or any type of advice would be appreciated, i just think it would be a great buzz to build a pc knowing that what your using was built by yourself etc.

jura11

iTrader: (7)

Hi matey building PC is quiet easy
If you are going building PC from scratch,you will need budget(Home PC will be OK around 400£-500£ or Gaming PC will be OK around 700£-1000£) and from this will depend price of components and configuration.
Look at this(these PC are barebone,which don't include HDD(in some cases,but 1TB cost around 50£),GPU(Graphic card at these times are cheap) and OS(You can use own Windows or MacOSX) and after this just plug HDD(usually SATA + Power Sata from PSU) and GPU,install OS and enjoy) http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/barebones.html

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

Computers are easy to put together, I have been making mine for years. Just be carefull adding the heatsink to the cpu incase you smash the board

jpor

iTrader: (1)

If your after a small form factor type I would recommend a Shuttle barebones system. Pretty much everything there apart from CPU, RAM, HDD, DVD Drive. But you can get on-board graphics and sound cards built on the the Motherboard.

www.shuttle.com

badcompany

http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/pc-help/#5

brendy76

iTrader: (6)

I used to do this (16 years or so) but in the end, buying something like a mid range dell then firing the specific graphics card you want and more ram you wont go wrong, plus you have a proper warranty.

bighead

iTrader: (1)

[QUOTE=Rob_Impreza99;9725541]You always seem to read about people building theor own pc`s and saying how much you save etc plus you get a pc to the exact spec you want to suit your requirements.

QUOTE]

yes you will get the exact spec that you want be you will not really save any cash as once you buy componemt individually they always cost more than one a built one from the manufacturer.
also you tend to put the best component in the build anyway so will always cost you more as the manufacturer have huge buying power because of the amounts that they buy .

having said that i always build mine own

Rob_Impreza99

iTrader: (3)

Someone is selling this desktop with the following spec, they built it themselves approx 3 months ago.

I`m not an expert in desktop specs so firstly how good is the spec and what price would you value it at ?

Antec 902 gaming case with 2 blue 12inch CCFL tubes

Corsair 550watt PSU

Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R v2 Motherboard with USB 3.0
Core i7 930 2.8 quad core processor with standard heatsink and cooling

6gb of Corsair Dominatior 1600mhz triple channel RAM (3X2GB Modules)

XFX ATI 5770 1GB video card - HDMI - DVI

Sony DVD +- DVD RW

Samsung 7200rpm 1TB HHD

Built in wireless card

jura11

iTrader: (7)

Ok here is how much this guy pay last time when built PC

Gigabyte £140,CPU at good days around £190,Antec around £90,Corsair PSU around £65,Corsair Dominator around £110,Ati 5770 around £100,1TB HDD around £50,DVD around £20
i think fair price for this PC will be around 450-500£,yep is 3 months old,but is used....

Littleted

ive been building my own also for years, most faffy is the Jumpers for power switch etc, all rest is quite easy.

processor is easy also just make sure u have artic silver and dont over tighten fan and youll be ok.

I normally use Overclockers for bundles or CCL in Bradford.

This year though i bought 2 new ones, as i was fed up

Chillblast and Yoyotech both been bulletproof.

only downside to building ya own, if something does go wrong ie pc Hangs Freezes etc, it starts to get annoying.

So for people like my dad i always give them dell so dell can take the brunt of the calls

Rob_Impreza99

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for the replies and very useful info

Ive just been looking at the CCL site, it looks excellent and seems to be geared up for this type of thing.

I like the idea of a barebone system, it seems to be a practical and safer way of putting a foot into the self build world. This system took my eye, i would change the case though for something a bit sleeker.

http://www.cclonline.com/product-inf...urer_id=0&tid=

I know about the i7 and the 930 seems to be right up there as a decent processor, what about the rest of the spec, is the motherboard a decent one ?

jura11

iTrader: (7)

This motherboard in barebone unit is decent(i have ASUS P6T),you will need HDD and GPU(because X58 motherboards don't have/support? onboard graphic card)
6GB is good enough,if you are(or will run) running W7 64bit,Corsair PSU are good,Antec cases are good(but for these money look for Coolermaster case,which are superb)

JAutos

iTrader: (5)

Ive also used CCL and they are very good, i saves a few hundred building last Pc through them, my sony laptop is annoying me at the miunte and may go for another build again soon

tarmac terror

iTrader: (2)

I think the advice give is a little skewed, in that it is from individuals who know or claim to know what they are doing.

There are numerous pitfalls - which are obvious when you know what you are doing, but as a complete novice, they will trip you up.

There is a haynes manual for building your own pc, I don't know if it has been updated, but I would go hoking about for an ebook that guides you through the process, read that and go from there.

Rob_Impreza99

iTrader: (3)

Cheers Tarmac

I`ll probably go for a barebones system which means i`ll just have to add things like the HDD, Optical drive and possibly RAM etc. Better i learn to walk before i can run so to speak.

Littleted

the system is a good one.

Its prob using tri channel memory so an extra 150 quid gets u 12 gig ram

get a fewe Samsung Spinpoint F1s or faster if you have the budget the sammys are good.

a pioneer writer pref a blu ray reader dual layer writer,
VGA card work up to either a GTX from Nvidia or an ATI 5850/5870 or the newer 6000 range.

then you will have a beast

I run an I7 clocked to 3.8 with all the above plus solid state drives, its never missed a beat and plays everything maxed out.

running a 5870 as i fell out with Nvidia and ****e drivers long ago

My Ram is Gskills Ripjaw stuff

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Its pretty easy but would suggest you perhaps get an old one, take it apart and then put it back together to get experience of how it all hangs together before practising on brand new expensive hardware.

JAutos

iTrader: (5)

well CCl do a motherboard bundle which is ready to go

Rob_Impreza99

iTrader: (3)

Good point, this old desktop is on its last legs now so i`ll probably move onto the laptop and strip this down to try and get an idea of how things work, it won`t matter if i make a right horlicks of sticking it back together. I can practice doing the thermal paste on this processor as well which ive read is an important thing to get right for temps.

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

building them is like lego it really is easy, things tend to only go in a certain way.

However depending on what you want to use it for, you will probably find it cheaper getting a prebuilt machine that has full warranty and software included etc

jura11

iTrader: (7)

Just for thermal paste,buy CPU heatsink/cooler with pre-applied thermal paste(Arctic Cooling are good,Thermaltake,Coolermaster are also good,beware before OEM are very noisy,very hot and no very good for overclocking,due have old design),and again for thermal paste these are good AC MX-3 or MX-4(or any from AC-Arctic Cooling),if you have good thermal paste temps are much better than with OEM,here is review
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/review...rformance.html