Looking for a PC

[Porn Shop Clerk]

Hey, build me this pc and save me 800$.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Factory-Refurbished+Essentio+Desktop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i7+Processor/9721708.p?id=1218159404609&skuId=9721708

Its a refurb, so I wouldn't suggest it to Dirty because if something is wrong with it when it arrives, he may not be able to fix it.

And you couldn't build him a better one for less than 1200$, not including the OS.

Course, I wouldn't buy it because it comes with Vista, and you'd have to buy an OS anyway. But I know what I'm looking for when I'm scanning for a deal.

This is purely a hardware discussion, and I want you to link those components for less than what it can be bought for.

And out of all the pcs I've owned since 1993, my hardware failures have been 0, including the ones I've built, so I'd have no problem pulling the trigger on a cheap refurb just to get the parts cheaper.

But I enjoy fixing a broken pc about as much as you enjoy building them I guess. I like the puzzle solving process of troubleshooting hardware and software issues. Its like the best game in the world to me sometimes and I get obsessed with it.

Don't buy a refurb, Dirty.

[Ranucci's Big Butt BBQ]

Are you done patting yourself on the back now?:Yawn:

[Porn Shop Clerk]

I'm not patting myself on the back. If you feel that way, that's your problem.

Are you done bragging about that 800$ you saved?

[charlotte49er]

My last 3 computers (1 Dell & 2 HP's includng a laptop.) The Dell lasted 4 years and would still be running if Duke Energy didn't send a spike through the power system and my cheapo surge protector didn't do anything to stop it! (Don't skimp on a surge protector!) Blew my wide screen monitor as well.

When I got around to hooking up the refurb HP desk top the hard drive started going bad. HP overnighted me a new hard drive with Windows 7 already installed ready to go. Now it's a good as new.

I figured I save a boat load of money buying refurbished.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

My main issue with HP is they are not upgrade friendly. If you just need a pc to internets around on and casual gaming with no intent on upgrading, then they're fine. The problem with the refurb is if they send you one with a bad power supply or mobo.

But if you look around, you can find some deals still in the package that are comparative in price to refurbs. Its just much easier to track down a refurb.

[Ranucci's Big Butt BBQ]

So how long does it take to look around the internet and find a good deal? Then look at that deal and try to figure out if what's in the PC is pretty good, especially if you don't really know much about computers. Are you able to go pick that pc up from the internet right away and boot it up or do you have to order it and then it gets shipped out in 7-14 days? Not sure why you keep talking about all these man hours to build a pc when it would take more time to do research on a "good deal" pc.

I'll post pictures of the $800 I saved later.

[DirtyMagic97]

Dirty, if you want a gaming rig then you have to build it. You cant get a prebuilt high end box as cheap and you need to know exactly whats going on under the hood.

Yea, that's what I'm going to be doing. I got in touch with an old friend who knows how to do it. He's going to help me as much as possible this summer. But I will be coming back here for 2nd opinions on stuff.

[Mesmer]

Just make sure you buy quality stuff. Don't cheap out on the manufacturer just because it's the cheapest one of the chipset you want. You'll regret it a year later.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

So how long does it take to look around the internet and find a good deal? Then look at that deal and try to figure out if what's in the PC is pretty good, especially if you don't really know much about computers. Are you able to go pick that pc up from the internet right away and boot it up or do you have to order it and then it gets shipped out in 7-14 days? Not sure why you keep talking about all these man hours to build a pc when it would take more time to do research on a "good deal" pc.

I'll post pictures of the $800 I saved later.

I found that i7 in 10 minutes for under 800 bucks. The mobo and proc alone would cost you 500$+ for the combo, and that's assuming they're the bottom of the barrel. But its Asus so its safe to assume its just an average mobo. Nothing special, nothing bad. So that leaves 300 for case, power supply, ram, dvd drive, hard drive and OS. And that's 9gigs in that machine, easily 200+ in ram. Like I said, it would be worth it to buy it just to part it out.

Too bad they already sold out cuz it wuz such an awesome deal.

Now, if you pirate your OS, you can undercut your building costs and save money.

So yeah, if I wanted it, I'd have it in 3-5 days.

[jdl]

I found that i7 in 10 minutes for under 800 bucks. The mobo and proc alone would cost you 500$+ for the combo, and that's assuming they're the bottom of the barrel. But its Asus so its safe to assume its just an average mobo. Nothing special, nothing bad. So that leaves 300 for case, power supply, ram, dvd drive, hard drive and OS. And that's 9gigs in that machine, easily 200+ in ram. Like I said, it would be worth it to buy it just to part it out.

Too bad they already sold out cuz it wuz such an awesome deal.

Now, if you pirate your OS, you can undercut your building costs and save money.

So yeah, if I wanted it, I'd have it in 3-5 days.

what i7 and what mb? the link seems to be dead now.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

Yep. They shut it down after they sold out. It had 8mb of cache and held up to 24 gb of ram (personally I'd prefer 32, that's what I'd go for if I were building my own) so it cannot be a pooty board.

This is the lowest grade of asus mobo you can get that supports the i7 and has 8mb cache:

http://www.onsale.com/p/5792128?dpno=7935610&store=onsale&source=BWBGoogleBase

And I wouldn't trust them enough to order it. Rather pay another 30 bucks and go with newegg.

[SorthNarolina]

Yea, that's what I'm going to be doing. I got in touch with an old friend who knows how to do it. He's going to help me as much as possible this summer. But I will be coming back here for 2nd opinions on stuff.

Some small rules when building your PC.

Take your time.

Order everything at once unless there is just an insane deal you can't pass up. You want to be able to get everything together so you can make sure it all works.

Newegg.com is the only place I use but Tigerdirect.com is a pretty decent site as well.

Do not skimp on the Case and PSU. A quality case will last you a very long time. Getting a cheap PSU is a good way to fry your system.

Don't overclock unless you're comfortable with voiding your warranty. Overclocking is a great way to get more bang for your buck, but have somebody help you your first time.

If this is going to be a pure gaming computer then you wont need a big HD, go for solid state drive if you can afford it.

Opt for a good headset over good speakers if you like to do a lot of online gaming.

Definitely hit up the boards on Tomshardware.com for advice.

Get a monitor with HDMI with a 1900 x 1080 resolution so you can use it for Blu-ray and xbox/PS3.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

Yep, one of the main issues with building piece by piece is if you get the mobo first, and the rest a week or 6 later, then the warranty may be expired by the time you're able to get it all together.

I wouldn't overclock unless you get a sweet heatsink/air cooler. For gaming, its best to have two hard drives to improve your load speed. Plus you can put a paging file on each hard drive to improve OS and gaming performance.

Tomshardware, I'll back that up too. Better than asking advice on a football forum.

But you could have a premade today that would suit all your gaming needs for the next 3 years for roughly the same price.

[Scrumtrilescent]

I love the way you guys are slamming Dell.

I bought 60 of them last summer and 55 of them have been running around the clock since they went online and not so much as a speaker has failed.

In my time in IT Ive signed the purchase order on or recommended thousands of Dell servers, desktops, and laptops. My clients and I have had so few problems that at this point I wouldn't dream of ordering anything else.

Is it the place to buy a high end gaming rig? no. But to act like they are somehow below E-Machines is just disingenuous.

Dirty, if you want a gaming rig then you have to build it. You cant get a prebuilt high end box as cheap and you need to know exactly whats going on under the hood.

Using one of our r910's right now to do some data runs and it's about 30% faster than any other rig on the market. Love it, hope to keep it on the lease for a bit longer.