Hey, you 'puter experts. How hard is it to build a computer and how cost effective is it versus say purchasing a new one such as an emachine? It seems I see tons of "white box" 'puters for sale on ebay and was wondering if I could muster up a few gray cells and build my own. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Jennifer
Cost and expertise to build a computer
- Thread starter Iamswamee
- Start date
Iamswamee said:
i always build mine own., If your good at putting things together, ie screwdriver and plugging stuff in and waiting to install the software, it's pretty easy and can be cost effective and very personalized. I like building my own cause i put in better or faster components than store bought, but if you don't care about having the fastest and greatest than any no-name [from a good seller of course] may be a good route as well.
a lot of those "white box" machines you see use cheap components or integrated components. They can seem cheaper (cost wise) than building your own machine, and yet they sound comparable to the average person that doesn't know much about computers. It may say it's an intel 2.4 GHz, but then you find out that it's a celeron style cpu and it doesn't have cache built in, so it's actually slower than a real 2.4 cpu. It could say that it has 64 meg of video ram, but then you find out the video is on the mainboard instead of a separate card, and the 64 meg it uses is shared with your system memory... so if it says 128 meg of ram, but the video is stealing 64 meg of that, then you're left with 64 meg of ram... They may also use "old stock" like older or slower hard drives, which can make the machine slower...
White Box machines cut a lot of corners to keep costs down... Depending on what you are using the machine for, this may not matter.. but it can also be a pain if you want to upgrade or change anything in the system..
I like to build my own so I know what's in it, it may cost $100 more (or even more depending what you want in it) but I find it to be worthwhile.. My sister just bought a white box 2.4 GHz machine because it was way more power than she'll need for a few years, but it seems sluggish compared to my 2000+ (which actually runs at 1.6 GHz) athlon, and to build my machine wouldn't be much more expensive in proportion to the performance difference..
White Box machines cut a lot of corners to keep costs down... Depending on what you are using the machine for, this may not matter.. but it can also be a pain if you want to upgrade or change anything in the system..
I like to build my own so I know what's in it, it may cost $100 more (or even more depending what you want in it) but I find it to be worthwhile.. My sister just bought a white box 2.4 GHz machine because it was way more power than she'll need for a few years, but it seems sluggish compared to my 2000+ (which actually runs at 1.6 GHz) athlon, and to build my machine wouldn't be much more expensive in proportion to the performance difference..
Iamswamee said:
Jennifer, check this out http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/ or Google "build computer" for more info.
Thanks for the input
I think I will be biting off more than I can chew by trying to build another 'puter. I don't mind using tools or plugging thing in. I like working with my hands, but I think it will take way too much time to decide on components. Etc. Thanks for all your input and links. It is very appreciated.
Jennifer
I think I will be biting off more than I can chew by trying to build another 'puter. I don't mind using tools or plugging thing in. I like working with my hands, but I think it will take way too much time to decide on components. Etc. Thanks for all your input and links. It is very appreciated.
Jennifer