I didn't build it, but I've upgraded so much of it I might as well have. I think about the only thing left is the case.
Poll: Did you build your own computer?
- Thread starter Saulkar
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I've been building my own machines since 1996. Built machines for several other people too. Most recently I did one for my ex-wife. That was niffty little machine. Things were harder back in the day. Modern machines are way easier to slap together. Still, I much prefer it to a factory machine.
I bought a meh pre-built and have built it up since. My goal was to replace the parts one-by-one as a way to slowly learn to build my own from scratch one day. I've replaced the GPU and my GPU's thermal paste. I've installed RAM, I've replaced all my case fans. I've upgraded my CPU, I've installed a new HDD. So, I learned it's not nearly as hard as I thought, and could have probably built my own from scratch with the help of the internet. You just have to take it slow and be cautious.
Not-sure-is-joke-thread-or-not
In all seriousness though, yes I did build my PC. It was one of the first i7s when they came out. 3 years and one dead video card later(I cannibalized it from the last PC) my PC is as top-tier as I could ask for. I know the new i5s outclass it significantly, but this baby is running just about everything at max settings at 1080p. Metro 2033 is the only exception at this point.
It also was the third PC I built. The last was a Pentium D dual core, preceded by a Pentium 4 HT. My first PC was a Hewlett-Packard Pentium III 900MHZ. I've come a long way.
I also have an AMD Phenom something or other as my server PC. I built it last year with a 8TB (6 usable) RAID5 to store my shit. It's got enough juice to game on if I have a guest over, so I'm pretty happy with it. I didn't want to build it at first because I had been using my Pentium D as my server, but when the HDD died on it, I wanted the ultimate replacement. Sadly, the RAID controller on the board wouldn't support volumes over 2TB, so I had to build a whole new PC.
In all seriousness though, yes I did build my PC. It was one of the first i7s when they came out. 3 years and one dead video card later(I cannibalized it from the last PC) my PC is as top-tier as I could ask for. I know the new i5s outclass it significantly, but this baby is running just about everything at max settings at 1080p. Metro 2033 is the only exception at this point.
It also was the third PC I built. The last was a Pentium D dual core, preceded by a Pentium 4 HT. My first PC was a Hewlett-Packard Pentium III 900MHZ. I've come a long way.
I also have an AMD Phenom something or other as my server PC. I built it last year with a 8TB (6 usable) RAID5 to store my shit. It's got enough juice to game on if I have a guest over, so I'm pretty happy with it. I didn't want to build it at first because I had been using my Pentium D as my server, but when the HDD died on it, I wanted the ultimate replacement. Sadly, the RAID controller on the board wouldn't support volumes over 2TB, so I had to build a whole new PC.
I bought my first pc myself, my brother assembled it. Then i sometimes had to do some stuff on my own, like exchanging graphic card, installing wlan card, changing harddrive, etc.
Then i decidet i wanted a new pc, i saved for it a while and build it for aroung 800 euros.
Assembled by myself this time.
Then i decidet i wanted a new pc, i saved for it a while and build it for aroung 800 euros.
Assembled by myself this time.
If I didn't build it, I don't trust it. Been building PCs since... 1994? First one was a 386DX2 40 in an old AT server case.
In my experience, pre-built systems are overpriced and underpowered, usually with a great processor, slow RAM (but plenty of it!), shitty factory-underclocked GPU, and slow HDD (with just enough storage space to look impressive!)... for about twice the price of its component parts... three times if its an Apple product.
My current rig is dated, but it works well enough for now. Built it in 2007 and have only added HDDs since (through a mashup of different hard drives, it has around 3.2TB of storage space now). I plan to keep it running as a file server when I do get around to building a better system... which won't be until I either cave and decide Windows 7 isn't as terrible as my experiences with it have been thus far, or I start getting the option for Linux-native gaming in every game I want to play.
*edit* oh right, how did the build go... no issues. Haven't made a mistake in a build since before I was legally an adult. Also, the case didn't require any metalworking, so that was nice.
As for the semantic difference between building and assembling a computer... you can assemble a motherboard, but did you etch all of that silicon by hand? Those ICs aren't your work. I suppose there's no such thing as a computer any one person "built".
In my experience, pre-built systems are overpriced and underpowered, usually with a great processor, slow RAM (but plenty of it!), shitty factory-underclocked GPU, and slow HDD (with just enough storage space to look impressive!)... for about twice the price of its component parts... three times if its an Apple product.
My current rig is dated, but it works well enough for now. Built it in 2007 and have only added HDDs since (through a mashup of different hard drives, it has around 3.2TB of storage space now). I plan to keep it running as a file server when I do get around to building a better system... which won't be until I either cave and decide Windows 7 isn't as terrible as my experiences with it have been thus far, or I start getting the option for Linux-native gaming in every game I want to play.
*edit* oh right, how did the build go... no issues. Haven't made a mistake in a build since before I was legally an adult. Also, the case didn't require any metalworking, so that was nice.
As for the semantic difference between building and assembling a computer... you can assemble a motherboard, but did you etch all of that silicon by hand? Those ICs aren't your work. I suppose there's no such thing as a computer any one person "built".
Yeah, that's called a riser card, as in it rises away from the main board, the bit in the middle is the CPU which is more or less the same as the ones now.Matthew94 said:I mean shit like this:
Like, the CPU was essentially a card from the way it looked.
It was done so that in theory it was a more secure connection, but in practice was a bit of a bottleneck.
Apple still use riser cards for memory in the big Power Mac towers, makes adding and removing ram really easy.
