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What would you do buy or build a computer? i would build a computer
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#6
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Posted 25 June 2005 - 04:56 PM
build... always!
Any windows OEM box that i know of has it's OS tailored to meet certain specs and this will likely cause the hard core user nothing but problems at some point. So, just wipe the drive and install your own OS? Good luck! I did that on my HP at work and lost support for the on-board sound. I never could figure a way to get it to work again and ended up installing a sound card i had lying around. Our work machines, all HP (about 2 yrs old) are crap IMO. 2.4 GHz, 256 MB RAM and they all run slower and take far longer to boot than an old P3 800 i have at home that i built years ago. Even my work machine, running XP Pro and tweaked pretty hard, is still slower than my old P3 box. The BIOS is a joke and so is the rest of the hardware.
Guess that's an HP rant more than anything, but you'll run into similar problems in many OEM boxs that i know of. If you're uncomfortable building your own for whatever reason, there are many on-line vendors that will build one for you to your specs.
Any windows OEM box that i know of has it's OS tailored to meet certain specs and this will likely cause the hard core user nothing but problems at some point. So, just wipe the drive and install your own OS? Good luck! I did that on my HP at work and lost support for the on-board sound. I never could figure a way to get it to work again and ended up installing a sound card i had lying around. Our work machines, all HP (about 2 yrs old) are crap IMO. 2.4 GHz, 256 MB RAM and they all run slower and take far longer to boot than an old P3 800 i have at home that i built years ago. Even my work machine, running XP Pro and tweaked pretty hard, is still slower than my old P3 box. The BIOS is a joke and so is the rest of the hardware.
Guess that's an HP rant more than anything, but you'll run into similar problems in many OEM boxs that i know of. If you're uncomfortable building your own for whatever reason, there are many on-line vendors that will build one for you to your specs.
#8
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Posted 26 June 2005 - 07:45 AM
oldwolf, on Jun 26 2005, 06:08 AM, said:
So true.
#9
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Posted 26 June 2005 - 10:18 PM
Build. They throw so much trial M$ junk and have like 20 programs running at start-up that slows even the coolest CPU to a crawl. Is a person getting their first PC going to know enough to disable in msconfig? You get cool hardware components but all the software junk you don't. Then you have to reformat when you shouldn't have to. I have slowly been replacing piece by piece of my Dell with others. We replaced our Dell AIO with a Lexmark. I replaced the keyboard with a standard 101/102 key one (no extra buttons, just the way I like it). I desperately and I mean desperately want a new case. If you saw my case, you'd punch me in the face. lol. The next PC I get is going to be AMD, baby!
#12
- Retired PC Tech.
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Posted 16 August 2005 - 01:51 PM
When you can buy a ready-made system for $299 with multiple rebates, it's not so amazing that the average user will rush down to the retail store for a new PC.
But for the Tech or at least the technically informed, building is the only way to go.
Some time back, I took a young friend of mine to a Market Pro Computer Show here in Orlando Florida. He had $500 to spend and that was all.
He came home with all the parts needed to put together a new computer.
(and enough left over for a burger and coke)
(I supplied a few small parts he didn't have,,,drive cables, screws, etc.)
I spent about an hour with him, instructing him on assembly techniques and explaining all the pitfalls. We took it slow and easy, but after an hour, he had a running PC.
The expression on his face was "Priceless"!
I know well, the pride he felt at building his own PC. I did my first one in about 1983.
It was an IBM XT-Clone, w/64K of ram and a 20 meg Seagate HD.
If you've never done it,,,,,it's worth having a GO at it.!!!!
There have been many books written on the subject and there's a lot of help available here on the internet.
Cheers,
Andromeda43
But for the Tech or at least the technically informed, building is the only way to go.
Some time back, I took a young friend of mine to a Market Pro Computer Show here in Orlando Florida. He had $500 to spend and that was all.
He came home with all the parts needed to put together a new computer.
(and enough left over for a burger and coke)
(I supplied a few small parts he didn't have,,,drive cables, screws, etc.)
I spent about an hour with him, instructing him on assembly techniques and explaining all the pitfalls. We took it slow and easy, but after an hour, he had a running PC.
The expression on his face was "Priceless"!
I know well, the pride he felt at building his own PC. I did my first one in about 1983.
It was an IBM XT-Clone, w/64K of ram and a 20 meg Seagate HD.
If you've never done it,,,,,it's worth having a GO at it.!!!!
There have been many books written on the subject and there's a lot of help available here on the internet.
Cheers,
Andromeda43
#18
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Posted 23 August 2005 - 01:13 PM
The only time I'd BUY a computer is a laptop, and only because I don't know how to build one of those. Even still, I would wipe the hard drive clean and start over without the OEM junk.
Y buy when u can build for so much cheaper (and more fun)
#20
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Posted 23 August 2005 - 02:27 PM
Build one, without a shadow of a doubt. Why? well there are so many reasons (most have already been mentioned) where's the fun in paying for something you can't have exactly the way you want? (Without paying a small fortune to companies like Dell!)
Oh and all the pre-loaded junk they force upon you which 9 times out of 10 gets re-installed when you use the recovery disc that came with your new PC. That's definitely one of my pet peeves!
I'm sure other people will agree with me when I say there's nothing better than after saving up your money to have big cardboard boxes being delivered to your door!
The building part has to be the best part of course, you always remember how much quicker your computer boots into Windows, or how much quicker your favourite game runs -- nothing better IMO.
Only time I would purchase 'off the shelf' would be a laptop, other than that custom-built all the way!
Oh and all the pre-loaded junk they force upon you which 9 times out of 10 gets re-installed when you use the recovery disc that came with your new PC. That's definitely one of my pet peeves!
I'm sure other people will agree with me when I say there's nothing better than after saving up your money to have big cardboard boxes being delivered to your door!
The building part has to be the best part of course, you always remember how much quicker your computer boots into Windows, or how much quicker your favourite game runs -- nothing better IMO.
Only time I would purchase 'off the shelf' would be a laptop, other than that custom-built all the way!