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how much would it cost to build a compputer


Mike356

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i want to save up money to bulid my own so i need an estimate on how much i am gonna have to spend

It depends on your budget and your purpose - whenever you only want to spend 500 bucks on an entry-level to mid end PC, (Celeron, Pentium IV/D, AMD Sempron), or a souped-up, ultra-fast, high-performance gaming rig (AMD Dual Core 64, Core2Duo, Xeon, etc.) for 700-2000 bucks. Two questions: What kind of apps/games do you intend to install in your future machine, and what operating system do you choose to run? Windows XP, Vista or Linux? I don't think Vista is the way to go, since it's too much of a resource hog to me...

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Best option is to find one cheap and ready made on eBay - they sell for almost nothing second hand, really ridiculous prices, you could pick up a core2duo system for well under £500 (US $1000).

Building your own is always a bit more expensive - i would only build my own if I were going for a top-spec system (as i normally do), so I can choose each individual component myself, plus you always need contingency money incase you put in the wrong PSU, melt the CPU, and then scratch the motherboard to death trying to get the heatsink off the CPU (yes, I've done that before - a very expensive mistake!)

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Best option is to find one cheap and ready made on eBay - they sell for almost nothing second hand, really ridiculous prices, you could pick up a core2duo system for well under £500 (US $1000).

Building your own is always a bit more expensive - i would only build my own if I were going for a top-spec system (as i normally do), so I can choose each individual component myself, plus you always need contingency money incase you put in the wrong PSU, melt the CPU, and then scratch the motherboard to death trying to get the heatsink off the CPU (yes, I've done that before - a very expensive mistake!)

Yeah, be careful dtuf like this doesn't happen, see, manufactures get lazy and leave the edges of motherboards sharp (hands bleed), so unless you're entirely confident your up to the job (motherboard connections are always a drag) then you should be fine to build it. TIP of the day: dont lose the jumper plugs you use to determine master/slave drives, the are so small and an absolute bastard to find when dropped.

But if you don't want the hassle, get it manufactured.

(Currently looking at PC's to spend my first paychecks on)

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The sharpest things are the metal parts of the case - they rarely finish them properly. Metal splinters as well, man they suck.

And there's the anti-static precautions you gotta take, not touching anything metal on the motherboard and cards or underneath of hard drive, getting the right jumpers on power, reset switches, etc etc - it's a learning curve, but so long as you got the money to buy your components again, then it should be fine.

Just make sure you've got another computer with internet access so you can ask people when it all goes horribly wrong and you don't know how to fix it ;)

Edited by Alistair
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You can get a good mid-range PC for 1200 EUR (1560 USD). Before building you should unload yourself.

ultra-fast, high-performance gaming rig (AMD Dual Core 64, Core2Duo,

Conroe isn't high-end. Just good mid-range.

If you want, I can configure a good PC for you. Just tell me what's your budget and what you're mainly going to use it for.

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The sharpest things are the metal parts of the case - they rarely finish them properly. Metal splinters as well, man they suck.

And there's the anti-static precautions you gotta take, not touching anything metal on the motherboard and cards or underneath of hard drive, getting the right jumpers on power, reset switches, etc etc - it's a learning curve, but so long as you got the money to buy your components again, then it should be fine.

Just make sure you've got another computer with internet access so you can ask people when it all goes horribly wrong and you don't know how to fix it ;)

Actually, unless you're a complete fucking retard and get IDE hard drives, you really don't have to worry about jumpers. Basically the motherboard manual has a diagram of the motherboard and where you plug all the wires coming out of the power supply.

And I built my computer without static protection or anything.

DON'T GET VISTA. IT SUCKS, IT'S FAILING, DON'T GET IT. Also, get 2GB of RAM. It's the perfect amount for today's applications and is the max Windows XP supports in dual-channel mode.

Best option is to find one cheap and ready made on eBay - they sell for almost nothing second hand, really ridiculous prices, you could pick up a core2duo system for well under £500 (US $1000).

What? That's stupid, sellers sometimes leave out important information and if the PC breaks, you'll be shit out of luck. Just build a PC, that way all your parts have guaranteed warranties and you'll know how to fix problems, replace parts, etc...

Conroe isn't high-end. Just good mid-range.

Excuse me? The Conroe is one of the best gaming processors available right now. It saved Intel, and until the AMD K-10s are released, it's one of the best you can get.

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Best in it's price range. Yeah, a E6700 is high end, but I wouldn't yet call it ultra-fast.

I think you'd agree that a Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 isn't yet high-end, but a good/fast mid-range.

I actually thought a E4300 was a Conroe too, but apparently I was wrong. It's a Allendale..

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chris82, "Actually, unless you're a complete f***ing retard and get IDE hard drives, you really don't have to worry about jumpers." - I was talking about the jumpers where you connect the power switch, reset switch, power LED, and HDD led to the motherboard, actually.

"And I built my computer without static protection or anything." - so did I, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't consider it.

"What? That's stupid, sellers sometimes leave out important information and if the PC breaks, you'll be shit out of luck. Just build a PC, that way all your parts have guaranteed warranties and you'll know how to fix problems, replace parts, etc..." - That's why you need to be smart when looking at what they offer, but just the same, components usually break AFTER warranty and can you honestly say you've kept all the important documentation of warranty for the parts you've put in your PC? Let's face it, when a part breaks, it's an excuse to sell it on ebay and upgrade your PC. But like I said, if he wants to save money, buying a full-made system from ebay is the option, you'll pay twice as much buying components and building it yourself.

Edited by Alistair
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