do you buy or build your gaming PC

Post by **iambowelfish** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 1:55 pm

I've never built before, I've looked into it and I could never seem to get it as cheap as the best package deals.

Where do the UKers who build buy their components?

Post by **Doombrain** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 1:57 pm

scared? wrote:actually dipshit...besides dell which yes i ownz u all...i have built on the side more than ur little mind can grasp...got it?...

lol, looks like geoff's getting upset about being fired

Post by **plained** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 1:58 pm

rofl you havent any clue have you

Post by **MKJ** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 1:59 pm

Post by **plained** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:01 pm

MKJ wrote:ffs

i know ey db starts something and you comein and complain about me

Post by **bitWISE** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:02 pm

I bought my first PC and built the rest. Today you really don't save much money building your own but I get a lot of pleasure out of doing it. One benefit though, is that you get exactly what you want and nothing you don't.

Post by **plained** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:03 pm

i buy sonys!

no proprietary hardware except mem stick

Post by **MKJ** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:05 pm

plained wrote:
MKJ wrote:ffs

i know ey db starts something and you comein and complain about me

attack me in the void plz.

Post by **horton** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:06 pm

I think the only thing that would persuade me to buy, is if there was an english speaking company close to me, that would build something with exactly the components I required, and wouldnt invalidate my warranty, if/when I took apart the PC and added parts.

I built my first PC because I had to. there were no english speaking companies that would build me what I wanted, and certainly no companies that would support an english lang OS.

I might have to get back into knowing what specs are what...I was looking at an AM2 crossfire motherboard, Athlon 5000, 8600GTS video and 2GB PC6400 and 500W PSU...all the other shit I already have.

Im gonna do it slowly...first make space on a desk for the PC..second clean my dusty old case..finally go shopping...

the only issues I have now are
1. I need a new router...i have too many PCs
2. I dont know if i will use my old 21inch CRT or splash the cash for a new screen.
3. Decide if i will use headphones or invest in a nice speaker setup, I have the feeling that just for games, headphones might be nice for late night gaming

Post by **plained** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:12 pm

MKJ wrote:
plained wrote:
MKJ wrote:ffs

i know ey db starts something and you comein and complain about me
attack me in the void plz.

:wah:

i figured i should point out ur shtick since its the 20th time youve doen it to me

Post by **obsidian** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:03 pm

Captain Mazda wrote:MDG

Mostly build, but sometimes buying can be ridiculously cheap.

About a year ago, Best Buy was clearing out some of their floor models so I picked up an AMD Athlon 64 3500+, 1GB RAM, 250GB HD for $350. Bought a GeForce 7600GT for $100 and I now have a pretty decent secondary gaming machine.

I now see X2 and Core2Duo floor models for about $500. I'm tempted to buy one and gut them for parts.

Post by **Captain** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:45 pm

Heh, yeah. MDG sickens me, but it was the best I could find at the time. At least their hardware breaking down gave me tons of chances to upgrade until the PC became fully custom-built

It's a learning experience after all

Post by **GONNAFISTYA** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:48 pm

Well...from reading all the replies it looks like it's unanimous.....buy a Dell.

Post by **AmIdYfReAk** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:14 pm

horton wrote:I think the only thing that would persuade me to buy, is if there was an english speaking company close to me, that would build something with exactly the components I required, and wouldnt invalidate my warranty, if/when I took apart the PC and added parts.

I built my first PC because I had to. there were no english speaking companies that would build me what I wanted, and certainly no companies that would support an english lang OS.

I might have to get back into knowing what specs are what...I was looking at an AM2 crossfire motherboard, Athlon 5000, 8600GTS video and 2GB PC6400 and 500W PSU...all the other shit I already have.

Im gonna do it slowly...first make space on a desk for the PC..second clean my dusty old case..finally go shopping...

the only issues I have now are
1. I need a new router...i have too many PCs
2. I dont know if i will use my old 21inch CRT or splash the cash for a new screen.
3. Decide if i will use headphones or invest in a nice speaker setup, I have the feeling that just for games, headphones might be nice for late night gaming

in your case, its obvious that you would need to build it...

these days there is little to no config work when building a computer, you just pop the hardware in and start it up.. no more dealing with dip-switches or FSB/Multi's no nothing..

its rather Fool proof to he honest.

in the end though, my vote is to build it... if you where in an area that had more English support then i would also say to Buy if you dident feel right Driving into computer parts.

p.s.
1: pick a router that is supported by DD-wrt, get it, flash it, love it!
2: that all depends on the cash flow, i.e. your choice.
3: headphones all the way man, i dont even use my 7.1 Setup anymore.

Post by **menkent** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:33 pm

build, though i haven't upgraded the desktop since late 2003 (aside from dropping in an extra hdd for a linux partition)

Post by **Lieutenant Dan** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:39 pm

Build.

Post by **Denz** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:50 pm

Build

Post by **Foo** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 6:04 pm

Build - Because I've build historically, because I have kit that carries over between PCs, and because I get fine control over the components I use.

Monitors aren't such a big deal now since even off-the-shelf PCs can be bought without the monitor. But components are still a problem. Buying an off-the-shelf 'high spec' PC is one thing, but buying that with a decent motherboard and branded ram bumps the price up a hell of a lot... and not all components with the 'same' spec are equal, especially when it comes to Drives, RAM, Motherboards, Sound Cards, Input Devices, PSUs... erm. Well, everything.

Plus it makes no sense to do away with perfectly good cases, power supplies, KB/Mouse, and other bits and pieces that you can carry over when an off-the-shelf will usually come with inferior ones to what you already own.

Post by **dzjepp** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:28 pm

The next question is - how many of you have a nerd box (a shoebox or the like crammed with extra computer hardware bits that you just don't have use for and chuck in there for possible future use)

And what do the ladies say when they see your nerd box

Post by **Denz** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:33 pm

I have lots of these boxes.

Girls? They want me to build them a computer.

Post by **Foo** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:35 pm

I have 2 pretty big boxes just full of cables and all that shit.. old drives I'll never use and even some shitty old 500Mhz laptop I dont know what to do with. I'm intent on throwing it all out in the next week, as I need to trim down my belongings once again due to moving.

Post by **4days** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:51 pm

dzjepp wrote:The next question is - how many of you have a nerd box (a shoebox or the like crammed with extra computer hardware bits that you just don't have use for and chuck in there for possible future use)

And what do the ladies say when they see your nerd box

our spare room is half full of computer crap and any old machines that'll run '98 or up.

the missus doesn't mind because the other half of the room is filled with the leftovers of the hobbies she takes up for a fortnight at a time. i should ebay some of it - there's a knitting machine in there that was a few hundred quid when she got it, and a flashy looking kiln from her near-fatal pottery phase.

Post by **R00k** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:54 pm

i've got 3 boxes full of computer shit. cables, switchboxes, hubs, ac adapters... so much shit that i hate opening any of them, so they actually deter me from using any of the junk i keep. lol

Post by **Foo** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:59 pm

You know as soon as you throw away some of that shit you'll have a use for it 1 week later.

Post by **R00k** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:02 pm

hell yea i will -- there's no way i'm getting rid of it! :icon32: