Custom pc....anygood?

[Eagle101]

Re: Custom pc....anygood?

^ Agree on that, the GTX260 is fin but arent they a tad pricey atm!?! the 4870 is under 200 quid which is perfect for a highend card that matches performance up to the GTX280.

[AlecJ32]

Re: Custom pc....anygood?

Are you still buying a prebuilt? Why not order the parts seprately, you can often get better deals and quality parts, putting a computer together really isn't that hard. It's like Legos lol, just follow the instructions that come with the mobo/graphics card/etc. :)

The problem with that is, you get no tech support, as the burden of support is placed on the system builder, and if you're the one building the system, you have to be your own tech support.

If he puts the PC together and get's it working, great. But what if one of the parts doesn't work? How does a first time builder know how to troubleshoot a problem like that and find the part that's causing the problem?

What if something breaks down the road? If you build it yourself, you have to be able to figure out the problem yourself and fix it, or you have to pay someone else to fix it.

It's not a HUGE problem, but they're just some things people should be aware of before building a PC themselves.


As a side note, I myself would not spend the cash on an expensive sound card right upfront. Wait until you've heard the onboard audio, and if it sounds good enough for you, don't bother with a sound card. However, if you find the onboard audio isn't up to par, then you can easily add in a discrete sound card. If you decide not to go with an expensive sound card, you're knocking a good $100 off the price of your PC that can be put towards a game or two to break in your new rig, or just spent elsewhere.

[=98=]

Re: Custom pc....anygood?

The problem with that is, you get no tech support, as the burden of support is placed on the system builder, and if you're the one building the system, you have to be your own tech support.

If he puts the PC together and get's it working, great. But what if one of the parts doesn't work? How does a first time builder know how to troubleshoot a problem like that and find the part that's causing the problem?

Two things. Firstly manufacturers provide tech support which is just as good as retailers. Secondly, forums. 99% of problems can be fixed with help from forums. You'll never be the first to encounter the problem and thus there will always be someone with a solution, even if it is re-formatting.

What if something breaks down the road? If you build it yourself, you have to be able to figure out the problem yourself and fix it, or you have to pay someone else to fix it.

Whilst you have to figure it out yourself, this merely consists of running a few diagnostics programs off a bootable CD. You get programs to check every piece of hardware from motherboards to hard disks.

When you find that problem, you don't have to buy new parts. Nearly all manufacturers provide 3 year warranties and a lot of them now offer lifetime. This is far better than a silly "1 year repairs warranty" from a system builder.

[Wizrdwarts]

Re: Custom pc....anygood?

All the new parts I've placed in my Dell have longer warranties than the Dell itself.

Kingston RAM: lifetime
Corsair 450VX PSU: 5 years
VisonTek HD 3650: lifetime
Samsung monitor 3 years

And I'm pretty sure Intel processors come with 3 year warranties.

[Hellsent 2.0]

Re: Custom pc....anygood?

Regarding the intel processor its 3 years if its retail bought..1 year OEM..i think...

[Eagle101]

Re: Custom pc....anygood?

Two things. Firstly manufacturers provide tech support which is just as good as retailers. Secondly, forums. 99% of problems can be fixed with help from forums. You'll never be the first to encounter the problem and thus there will always be someone with a solution, even if it is re-formatting.



Whilst you have to figure it out yourself, this merely consists of running a few diagnostics programs off a bootable CD. You get programs to check every piece of hardware from motherboards to hard disks.

When you find that problem, you don't have to buy new parts. Nearly all manufacturers provide 3 year warranties and a lot of them now offer lifetime. This is far better than a silly "1 year repairs warranty" from a system builder.

QFT!!!!!! I saved around 10 pounds here on the tech center a few days ago!