To buy and upgrade? or just build?

**Aristocrat** · February 10, 2005, 10:28 PM

Topic says it all, just wondering what people would recommend, would it be better to build a computer from scratch (obviously I don't mean making the actual components myself), and get exactly what I want...or would it be better to buy a pre-built system and upgrade parts (nameley video and sound cards as most sellers only sell poor video cards and most no sound cards).

What do you's recommend as the cheaper option (Ive got the money, but university starts again soon and I really wanna spend it before then....I'd prefer to have my computer and be scrambling to pay bills rather than paying fees and watching my hard-earned cash dwindle away).

**Clibby** · February 10, 2005, 10:50 PM

Well it is always cheaper to build your own just the way you like it. That way it was built just for you by you, with noone in the middle trying to make money. But if you are short on time it might be quicker to upgrade, but I always recomend building your own. Its cheaper, better, and alot cooler.

**Aristocrat** · February 11, 2005, 06:31 AM

Thats what I figured, unfortunately I'm one of those people who wants 'the best' of everything, so I just gotta keep myself to buying within a budget (meaning an 1grand cpu and a 1 grand video card just wont happen.....probaly). :erm

**j4k3** · February 11, 2005, 06:45 AM

building your own is the way to go. it's actually pretty easy if you don't know how to do this. i've saved up a bunch of urls of websites that teaches you this (about 9 diff. sites) and i'll post them if you like.

also, buying your own parts are not only cheaper (eBay is the way) but also you can choose which components you like in your pc.

**Aristocrat** · February 11, 2005, 07:24 AM

Yeh, I'd be grateful...I can never be too prepared when Im dealing with a few grands worth of components, and Ive looked around ebay but havent taken a good look at components for sale yet...nows probaly a good time.

**j4k3** · February 11, 2005, 11:01 PM

one note about eBay - check the seller's feedback rating! make sure that the seller doesn't have MANY negative feedbacks! and don't worry about getting ripped-off. always use paypal when paying for ANYTHING on eBay so in case the item that you bought arrives defective or whatever, just go to paypal's security center, file a complaint and within 10 days you'll either get your replacement part(s) or you FULL payment.

**Aristocrat** · February 12, 2005, 12:00 AM

thnx for that.....just another quick question...what would you reccomend a p4 3.4ghz 1mb cache, or a AMDathlon64 3500????

Atm i'm leaning towards p4 because Iknow the Mobo Im getting is set up for SLI setups in the future. (not now because I dont have the money to bother with an SLI setup, I'll just get Nvidea 6800GT AGP....)

**Byzantium** · February 12, 2005, 02:19 AM

Out of those two i'd go for the AMD 64 3500 without a doubt.

A couple of choices for you if you do go this route:

AMD 64 3500 Socket 939: Choice of Newcastle and Winchester Core.

Go for the Winchester if possible as it is replacing the Newcastle and is only a few £'s different in price.

Also getting the expensive TwinX style RAM to run in dual channel with these chips isnt worth the extra cost and nor in my opinion is dual channel RAM required with them.These chips are not as bandwidth reliant as their Intel counterpart due to the on-die memory controller on the chip which handles the RAM more efficiently.Some people on here may disagree with that statement but its true nonetheless.

Good luck on your new system.

**Aristocrat** · February 12, 2005, 10:06 PM

Thanks, yeah I've decided to go the Athlon64 3500, in fact if it the banks were opoen today i'd be buildinbg my new computer right now (the bast*rds), as it is Ive got to wait another 2 weeks for another computer fair (cheapest way to get new warrantied computer parts in Australia...well cheapest that I've found anyway).

and Ive settled (I think) on this for a system

AMD Athlon 64 3500
2gbytes Ram
ATI Radeon X800 Pro 256mb AGP
2 120 gb Western Digital SATA Hard drives
DVD/CD burner drive (If anyone knows a really good one for this id be happy to hear it, atm I'm not fussed...as as it doesn't crash, explode or sound an airplane its good)
Creative ZS Audigy gamer soundcard (not the newest one, but it gives digital sound so it'll do)

Plus the other stuff like a case, PSU (500watts), monitor (not sure whther CRT or LCD, probaly LCD as i'll have more money in 2 weeks), OS, Keyboard and mouse, etc.

$2450 AUD (Australian) for this was the best price I was able to get without being thrown out for harrassing everyone.

Anyhow, anyone see things I should change or improve?

**napoleonic** · February 13, 2005, 02:40 AM

what will be your motherboard?

also what memory did you take? I think 2gb is unecessary...

do you really need 240gb storage?

**ferres** · February 13, 2005, 06:32 AM

Originally posted by napoleonic@Feb 13 2005, 03:40 AM
what will be your motherboard?

also what memory did you take? I think 2gb is unecessary...

do you really need 240gb storage?

If he's doing a lot of 'graphics' work he'll need those.

Pompey, do you have a decent AV reciever and speakers? If so you can use that instead of getting a souncard. :grin

**Aristocrat** · February 13, 2005, 08:03 AM

Motherboard is 1 of the nforce3 250 chipset, forgot which one, but it did allow for a future pci-express SLI setup.

Memory...if i can get a deal with 2gig which is cheaper to buy all now than add more later (read: in a few months when next wave of 'next generation games comes out&#39

240gb storage....120gb hard drives represent best value for money atm.....and when I do get into the decently complex stuff at uni I'll need that space.

Sound card is essential, I didn't buy the new Logitech 5500z speakers (read: the newest ones that shattered a window cause I'm an idiot) just so I could use em for movies and console games.
Yous are right I could save money if I really wanted to, and I may even see if theres smaller faster better quality hard rives for the same space, given that if I really need space I can burn stuff onto DVDs.

Note: Unfortunately I suffer from a rare disease that requires me to get every part I want Or probaly will want for the next year, at once, it's called being pedantic and annoying, not only to other people but myself. (I just can't stand not having 'the best', but when the 'best computer' would cost 4grand ((At least)) to build I become mysteriously cured).

Oh and thanks, I'd like to know some opinions on the video card, like if the X800 XT pro would be worth spending on compared to X800 pro etc?

**napoleonic** · February 13, 2005, 09:05 AM

there is NO NFROCE 3 WITH PCI EXPRESS...

and you said you will buy an agp vga, right?

isn't it contradiction?

**Aristocrat** · February 13, 2005, 06:30 PM

lol, yeah your right of course, I wasn't thinking properly when I wrote that (im getting a 939 pin cpu anyway so what use is a 774 one), sorry bout that, guess 4 days with 3 hours sleep isn't exactly healthy for the human brain.

As it stands I'm intending to get the newest AMD based motherboard, or the second newest if it does the same job and has the same features (mostly).

**Portuguese Rebel** · February 14, 2005, 06:04 AM

The next generation of games still won't need 2g of Ram, maybe 2 generations from now :cool

**Aristocrat** · February 14, 2005, 06:15 AM

Originally posted by Portuguese Rebel@Feb 14 2005, 06:04 AM
The next generation of games still won't need 2g of Ram, maybe 2 generations from now :cool

you mean the ones coming out 2 weeks from now as opposed to 1 week (slight exaggeration I know) :whistle

I would like to know what manufacturers (sp?) people recommend for parts. The obvious choice being Asus but I would like to know of any cheaper alternatives that still offer same performance (or similiar) and aren't (too) likely to explode for no apparent reason....what brandnames do people like?
(I ask because 'Top of the line' brands like Asus can be 300 to 400 dollars more expensive for the same part, is there a brand that offers a happy medium between quality and price?)

**OTZ** · February 14, 2005, 07:28 AM

for the s-939, the GIGABYTE GA-K8NS ULTRA, is an excellent deal with excellent performance and reviews.

**ferres** · February 14, 2005, 01:59 PM

When you say 2 gig, is that 2 stick of 1gig or 4 sticks of 512mb? Most boards have issues with memory of this size. With large memory, I can only recommend Asus since they seem to tinker the board for stability. Msi always has issues with 2gig and up. I don't know about the others. :sad