The 'Build Me A PC' Thread

[Segoris]

That's exactly what I'm doing, is Mwave.com, as for everything they do I just figure the mail-in rebates pay for all testing, install, etc. Prices are comparable with newegg, some higher some lower but Newegg and Mwave are generally within about 5% of each other on a new build. I just found this service worth it since I don't know many people around me who have the parts I upgrade to which makes finding out what was DOA annoying, not to mention RMAs after figuring it out.

Last comp was the first one I haven't build in a long time, and I've been perfectly happy with what I received. The packaging is really well done as I was woried about the heatsink & fan on the cpu during shipping, but they make sure that is truly secure and the wire job they did was better than I would have bothered doing

link to the service

List of services for $80:
 

[March]

Brilliant... much obliged Trippy and Segoris.  Configuring now.

Edit: Question... if my home office (in the attic) has higher than average air temps that are causing me issues now even with a good CPU cooler... would a liquid cooled system mitigate that?... or is that purely for overclocking and no help to my room being just too hot?

[Ingmar]

I used ibuypower.com for my last machine and it seemed pretty good. I didn't do a lot of price comparisons, though. I was in a hurry and the rush build thing they do was what I needed.

[March]

Ok... the results of my social studies/science projects for non-technical enthusiasts.

Constraints: Comparing Newegg to hybrid configure-to-build sites... so not every possible option is necessarily available (e.g. ASRock not an option on some sites).  So, as a result, might not be able to get the leanest most perfect optimal build.  OS = Windows 7 Home Premium.

Question: Are there any howlers in the build below?

Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 - $229
GIGABYTE GA-Z77-D3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX - $119
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO - $34
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE - $89
CORSAIR Vengeance LP 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 - $119
EVGA 012-P3-2066-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 448 Cores FTW 1280MB - $269
Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III - $104
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s - $89
LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Model iHAS124-04 - $16
NZXT H2 H2-001-BK Black Steel / Plastic Classic Silent ATX Mid Tower Chassis - $99

NewEgg Benchmark price: $1,276 (-$40 rebate cards)
MWave (with build $79 line item): $1,293 (*lesser Video card and not LP RAM)
AVADirect (with build included in price): $1,372

Boutiques:
Falcon: $1705
Velocity: $1600 or $1900 (either over or under specced compared to above)
iBuypower: $1351 (liquid cooled)

Mainstream:
Dell: $1900 (with poor options, forced upgrades, no idea what components)
HP: $1800 (again, simultaneously overbuilt and underbuilt in various areas, like 500GB SSD but only 8GB RAM)

Conclusions for Newbs... Mainstream sites are overpriced crap-shoot; Boutiques are easy to use, sexy, show (most of) the component brands and are fairly well zeroed in on what you might want... but at a boutique premium.  MWave wins on price and selection, but requires that you know exactly what you want to buy...component by component...not necessarily a true assumption for some of us - in fact the over abundance of choices (even when using fairly detailed templates from upthread) makes me nervous of mis-matches and presents large margin of error.  AVADirect (and NCIX for Canadians) offer a sort of bumper-car-build service... lots of choices, but (theoretically) scoped to work with your build, so you can bump along looking for price/spec/options with reasonable expectations that you are going to end up with a workable build (even if not the most most perfectest build).  

I haven't decided on MWave vs. AVADirect, yet... I'm hoping for comments on the components, and might even have the endurance to configure another build if someone recommends a site with a good newbie interface like AVADirect or NCIX.

Edit: configured iBuypower per Ingmar... I'd categorize it as a "value" boutique.  Very easy to use configurator, pretty good selection of options (but some options are purely spec, not brand), but choices are very limited compared to MWave and the like.

[MisterNoisy]

Looks like the first GTX660ti review is up

It's hard to fault NVIDIA's upcoming GEFORCE GTX 660 Ti and for good reason. You're talking about a video card that is rumored to hit at the mid-$200 range yet performs like a video card priced $100 more. In this case we're talking about the HD 7950 specifically. You could argue that it can be compared against the more expensive HD 7970 at times, too.

[Sheepherder]

I've had good experiences with NCIX so far.

[Salamok]

Looks like the first GTX660ti review is up

It's hard to fault NVIDIA's upcoming GEFORCE GTX 660 Ti and for good reason. You're talking about a video card that is rumored to hit at the mid-$200 range yet performs like a video card priced $100 more. In this case we're talking about the HD 7950 specifically. You could argue that it can be compared against the more expensive HD 7970 at times, too.

Is nVidia planning on anything similar to eyefinity?  I used to think eyefinity was useless feature candy but as I journey deeper into the linux I find that it is pretty much the only reasonable way to get more than 2 displays working.

[Trippy]

NVIDIA has 3D Vision but that only supports 3 monitors.

[Sky]

Nvidia calls it Surround. 3D Vision is the stereoscopic thing.

[DeathInABottle]

My workplace is offering me up to $1000 to buy a new computer.  This is good news, obviously.  They initially tried to talk me into ordering from Dell, but I politely declined, saying that I could probably find something a little better.  Hence you fine people.

As to the purpose: I could probably make do with something cheaper, to be honest.  I'll generally be word processing and surfing the net.  That said, I'll occasionally need to do some video and photo editing, and I'll probably install Minecraft and a few other time killers, so I'd prefer to close in on the $1000 mark.  Windows 7 and Office need to be included in the overall cost.

Two caveats: I'm ordering in Canada, and I know very little about hardware.  It seems like I could get by with 8GB RAM, but might benefit from 16.  I don't think I need a $250 videocard.  500 GB of storage should be plenty.  I don't know the first thing about what distinguishes one processor from another.  All of this means that I can't really tell the difference between similarly priced machines like this, this, or this.

I'd love some general advice about how to make a selection, or some suggestions about what you would buy.

[Trippy]

Which of the 8 versions of Office do you need? Also if your company is big enough to have an IT person/group you'll almost certainly want Windows 7 Professional and not Home.

[Chimpy]

Depending on which version of 7 and which Office version you need, you are quite possibly looking at a little over $500 to budget for hardware after buying those.

[cmlancas]

Since we're discussing software needs for the office, quite a few universities offer massive discounts to students for software that has a transferrable license after you stop being a student.

You might be amazed how far your $500 for a university course might go when you consider purchasing Adobe Master Suite for $600.  I want to say I paid $100 for Windows 7 Ultimate and $20 for MS Office 07.

[DeathInABottle]

I'm working for a University, and its IT people only offer technical support for machines purchased through Dell.  I'd be managing my own hardware and software, and dealing with any problems when they arose.  That means that I can go for Windows Home or Professional, and select whichever version of Office I prefer.  The three machines that I linked to all come with Home, so I think that I'd only have to shell out $120 for Office, or less if I could find a university deal.  If I built the machine from scratch, I'd have to add on the $230-$330 for the operating system, I guess.  Anyway, assuming that I didn't do that, my budget for hardware is around $850, conservatively.

[Salamok]

Also, the office home use program s pretty sweet, Office pro for $10.  Of course you are supposed to uninstall it if you ever leave your sponsoring employer.

[Sky]

Dude. Get a Dell.

[DeathInABottle]

It's an option.  Here's what it comes with, for $635:

Windows 7 Home Premium, Media, 32 or 64 bit
Intel Core i3-2120 processor (3.3GHz, 3M) - upgradable to an i5 ($97) or i7 ($187)
OptiPlex 790 Desktop Base PSU
4GB DDR3,Non-ECC,1333MHz Dual Channel SDRAM,2x2GB
250GB 7,200 RPM 3.5" SATA, 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive with 8MB Cache - upgradable to 500GB ($30) or 1TB ($52)
USB 3.0 Controller Card
16X DVD+/-RW SATA, Roxio Creator CyberlinkPowerDVD
Integrated Video, Intel HD Graphics 2000 (1DP & 1 VGA) - upgradable to a 512MB AMD RADEON HD 6350 ($60)
Heat Sink, Mainstream, Desktop
Keyboard, mouse, internal speakers

Not knowing much, my main irritation is that I can't upgrade to 8GB RAM.  And I'm not sure if it's worth upgrading the processor from an i3 to an i5 or i7.

[Salamok]

I would bump to the core i5, leave the ram as is and if after getting it you feel you need more then you can get an 8gb kit to replace the 4gb for a tad over $40.  That assuming there are only 2 ram slots on the board if there are 4 then you can pick up a 4gb kit to add on for like $25.

[DeathInABottle]

I was thinking the same.  There's unfortunately no information on the motherboard listed, but I can't imagine that it would be limited to 2x2, or that the IT people wouldn't permit an upgrade.

[Trippy]

I'm working for a University, and its IT people only offer technical support for machines purchased through Dell.  I'd be managing my own hardware and software, and dealing with any problems when they arose.  That means that I can go for Windows Home or Professional, and select whichever version of Office I prefer.

You are still probably going to want Windows 7 Professional unless you don't need to connect to the campus office network.

[Sky]

I was thinking the same.  There's unfortunately no information on the motherboard listed, but I can't imagine that it would be limited to 2x2, or that the IT people wouldn't permit an upgrade.

Use the configurator thingy at crucial.com to see what the system will support for RAM.

[Chimpy]

For builders going with 7 Home Premium, Newegg has it on sale for $79.99 this weekend with Promo code: EMCYTZT2082

Of course I had to get the email less than 12 hours after I ordered it at $99 for the machine I am building my dad :(

[Segoris]

For people buying a new copy of Windows after 6/1/12, there's an upgrade offer for Win8 for $15 for when it comes out. $40 or something like that others after the promotion and if you didn't upgrade within the special offer time frame.

[MisterNoisy]

I officially apologize for the 660ti review calling it a sub-$300 card.  It's a seriously nice piece of hardware, but it came in at pretty much $300 - even so, it's a good purchase, but once again, we're reminded that reviewers rarely pay for their product.

[Cyrrex]

I officially apologize for the 660ti review calling it a sub-$300 card.  It's a seriously nice piece of hardware, but it came in at pretty much $300 - even so, it's a good purchase, but once again, we're reminded that reviewers rarely pay for their product.

Not only that, but you have to also temper it against the fact that it is probably only barely better than a 570.  Which is barely better than a 560 which is nearly the same as a 460 (but less noisy) which is not as good as a 285 which is practically just a rebranded 9800GT, which only marginally outperformed the 8800GT.  And so on.  I know that some of you disagree with me, but the biggest advancement in video cards in the last many years has been in their marketing.

And yes, the above is exaggerated.  But sadly, not as much as I wish it were.

[Segoris]

Got the new PC, going to use the old one for media on the tv - so, any suggestions for a good wireless kb/m with a range of 10+ feet? I keep finding ones that have people saying they have issues past 5 feet

[Sky]

I've tried a ton of wireless options over the last ten years of couch gaming. Nothing has been very good. The logitech keyboards have all been awesome, but the mouse tracking just isn't communicated well. I've tried RF and BT, and now I just run a USB cable in a runner under the rug to an active USB hub under the coffee table and use a wired mouse.

[Chimpy]

Got the new PC, going to use the old one for media on the tv - so, any suggestions for a good wireless kb/m with a range of 10+ feet? I keep finding ones that have people saying they have issues past 5 feet

Are you planning on using it for anything but navigating on a computer (i.e. gaming)?

We have some we use at work for conference rooms that work pretty well. Not sure the brand/model but I can find out for you if that is what you are envisioning. (They are definitely NOT gaming mice).

[Segoris]

Strictly for using a pc for basic internet/media player functions. Just looking for decent range and hopefully good battery life

[Salamok]

IMO Logitech's unifying nano receiver beats everything else.  It is like everything bluetooth was meant to be but isn't.

[Segoris]

So basically that is the adapter for multiple wireless devices to plug into if I'm seeing this right, or is there more to it?

[Salamok]

So basically that is the adapter for multiple wireless devices to plug into if I'm seeing this right, or is there more to it?

When you buy a logitech wireless device check to make sure it comes with a nano unifying dongle.  If it does then that is what you want.  I wouldn't buy the dongle by itself as anything that uses it comes with one, one dongle can support multiple devices though so if you don't buy a KB/Mouse bundle you will probably end up with 2 (not a bad thing as you can use the spare on another computer).

[Chimpy]

Newegg has OCZ 120GB SSD on a shell shocker today gor $60 after rebate.

[Morat20]

So when I ordered parts for a new computer, I ordered a new monitor and -- stupidly -- didn't really check the specs. I haven't purchased a new monitor in, oh, 8 years? Nine?

I get it, hook it up, and the max resolution is...1600x900.

My previous monitor wasn't widescreen, but I know the resolution was 1280x1024 or something like that.

The other issue is I'm a little pissy that since I bought the PC as unit with the damn monitor, they sent the wrong freakin' cables. I have a DVI slot (only) on the video card, the monitor has a VGA and DVI port but they sent me the VGA-VGA cord. Only.

So bearing in mind I got the cheap end widescreen on purpose, is it better than my old monitor? Should I return it and use the old one?

And how the heck do I fix some of the damn icons (like the one on the lock screen) that's all...stretched out?

[Chimpy]

Didn't your card come with a DVI-VGA adapter? Every card I have bought recently that was DVI only had one. If not, they are super cheap (though a DVI cable is probably just as cheap).

Also, set the resolution to the highest recommended in Win 7. It will pick the native resolution and things should scale properly.