When building a new computer: How do you do it?

[Ouroboros0977]

Build it myself, I'm an electronic engineer, I would be severely disappointed with myself if I couldn't

I thought likewise. Then i had this nasty case of broken RAM modules and sellers that insisted that it was my fault. Never more. Never...

Ok, let me clarify, I could build computers before I became CEng Electronic Engineer and now that I actually understand the whole thing fully I am totally sure that I am able to now (current laptop is made out of around about 5 different ones cobbled together out of the best bits).

 

[WarDialler]

Build it myself, I'm an electronic engineer, I would be severely disappointed with myself if I couldn't

I spy a Blood Ravens drop-pod avatar. Clearly you are no Electronic Engineer, you are a Tech-Marine, Brother!

 

[Wieke]

I build it myself. Used to ask my dad (he is an electrical engineer) for help, but now I am the friend that gets asked to help out.

I used to do a lot of research in order to find good price/performance parts (usually end up with AMD/ATI). But now I just start out with Tweakers.net [www.tweakers.net]'s best buy guide [http://tweakers.net/archieven/tag/best+buy+guide/], save a lot of time and I usually would have ended up with the same thing.

Btw, advise for the Dutch speaking escapist, Tweakers.net rules (but you probably already know about it).

 

[JesterRaiin]

Build it myself, I'm an electronic engineer, I would be severely disappointed with myself if I couldn't

I thought likewise. Then i had this nasty case of broken RAM modules and sellers that insisted that it was my fault. Never more. Never...

Ok, let me clarify, I could build computers before I became CEng Electronic Engineer and now that I actually understand the whole thing fully I am totally sure that I am able to now (current laptop is made out of around about 5 different ones cobbled together out of the best bits).

Good for you ! However that doesn't change my mind a bit.

 

[krychek57]

I used to go to RE-PC [http://www.repc.com/] and found what works and assemble but that was years ago.

Now I Establish budget, establish intent, read hardware review sites and hit up Newegg.com
When it all comes in I assemble, it's not rocket science.

 

[ultimateownage]

I order the parts and then put it together myself. Saves a massive amount of money, which I can use to make a much better PC than I would be able to otherwise.

 

[Skratt]

build it myself. hours of research is involved to find the right balance of money & hardware.

m, over 30

 

[mikey7339]

I just got done building one this weekend. I built it myself after buying the parts from new-egg. The only time I went out for assistance (see the advice forum) was when I was having issues I couldn't figure out by looking through the net.

The last one I built lasted 7 years and I like knowing for a fact that I'm getting what I pay for and that it is going to be well built.

EDIT:

[START] -> Determine purpose of computer -> Determine available amount of money -> Check the Net + check some forums -> Try to find middle ground -> Talk with friends "soooooo, anything new in the department of xyz ?" -> Find shop -> NEVER, EVER BELIEVE SHOP OWNERS/SELLERS LIES -> Buy computer or parts -> Assemble parts + install OS + install drivers + install applications + configure and tweak OS a little -> backup whole system partition -> play Skyrim -> [STOP]

That back-up partition step would have saved a mornings worth of un-needed work if I had done that. Anyone who doesn't do this or is planning on building a comp in the future, do this.

 

[DoomyMcDoom]

I look for parts, I look for testing results, find a combination of parts that to my knowledge won't bugger eachother up and cause incompatability problems, and slap it together from individually purchased parts over the course of a month or so using sales on Ncix.com to build a decent rig, then I upgrade it periodically with more parts I get on sale for ridiculously cheap, and maybe build a new rig like I did the last one when the motherboard/ram/cpu needs a refit...
Currently I'm male, I'm 25 and have been building computers for 11 years, I went from a Tandy 1000 to an IBM Aptiva with a gaming gfx card and expanded ram(those upgrades were totally nonstandard, and I borked the warrantee putting them in, but I didn't care!) to a complete custom rig when I was 14 built it from the ground up from parts I ordered online, put a system together for around $700 that would have cost me well over $2200 retail, and felt so damn proud of myself doing it.

 

[gee666]

I use scan...ALOT

The deal of the day part is very usefull most of the parts i want come up on there
They also do very good bundles of MOBO procesor or evrything unasembled.

At first i was realy daunted but its not that hard to do, my first rig was custom made and cost a grand but after that outlay found i could have done it my self and saved about £300 yep i was gouged

My current rig plays everything current at 1920/1080 on high to ultra with at least 8 x AA easily, it only cost me about £700 and its been a gradual upgrade keeping pace with current trends the next big upgrade will be a mobo processor switch prob next year, but i'm an AMD nut so it wont come close to the cost of intel.

The Nvidia 460 is a great card and for low to med resolutions its great value to performance think you can get one for about £80 a realy good upgrade depending on what card you are using at the moment and 2 in SLI can perform better than the then flagship 480

 

[TheLastSamurai14]

snip

Damn right ! Now i can play Skyrim on max resolution, with full effects with no lag, while simultaneously watching full hd movie on second monitor. The difference is that big that i really can't believe it.

Just curious, what are your specs? I'm planning on doing a Let's Play of it, and I want to know if Fraps will record a maxed out Skyrim on my machine with no problems.

 

[StBishop]

Find what I like parts wise, run it by my brother.

Order/buy parts locally.

Assemble with brother/friends and have a good time while doing so.

Pretty easy.

21 male. Been doing this since 12 when my brother showed me how (did it for me while I watched and explained what he was doing and why) with salvaged parts from old computers from dad's work.

 

[Jaeger_CDN]

I've built my own for the past 12 years with no formal computer training (other than a couple short courses).

39/m

As for construction, depends on what I'm salvaging from a previous build otherwise:
1. determine budget
2. start scrutinising magazines/online forums/websites for parts and read reviews in both print and online
3. scout out my favourite 2 or 3 online parts suppliers for sales and price matches
4. find a quiet day when the kid is gone (and preferable the wife too) and construct

I generally tack on to an existing build until the CPU really starts to show it's age in current games before I do a full rebuild (my last build this august went from a E8400 to a i5-2500k).

 

[ryukage_sama]

I start by forging the processor in the fires of Mt. Moon with the help of an army of singing Clefairies.

But seriously, I assemble it myself usually starting from a barebone kit or processor bundle I buy online. Bundles of hardware have better sale prices for the range of hardware I'm looking for, but they rarely include the best modern hardware.

 

[Panorama]

Scan.co.uk, is about half an hour from me, which i buy all my parts, and then assemble it.

 

[Formica Archonis]

I build it myself. But then, I fix them for a living. (Age and gender? Early 30's & male.)

 

[JesterRaiin]

snip

Damn right ! Now i can play Skyrim on max resolution, with full effects with no lag, while simultaneously watching full hd movie on second monitor. The difference is that big that i really can't believe it.

Just curious, what are your specs? I'm planning on doing a Let's Play of it, and I want to know if Fraps will record a maxed out Skyrim on my machine with no problems.

Nothing really fancy.
Intel i7 2600k/Patriot DDR3 1600 Mhz 16Gb Ram/MSI Z68A-GD65 (B3) Mainboard/MSI Ge Force 560GTX Ti Hawk/WDC Sata3 2x2Tb HDD (Green series)/Chieftec 500 Watt PSU

I chose this parts because of stability, low power consumption and native Lucid Virtu support. Also it's supposedly quite good base for overclocking, but since no game beside "The Last Remnant" stressed it, i didn't even try to OC it yet.

Altogether it works surprisingly well despite the fact that i wasn't able to make those damned Patriot RAMs run on 1600 Mhz.

 

[Ouroboros0977]

Build it myself, I'm an electronic engineer, I would be severely disappointed with myself if I couldn't

I spy a Blood Ravens drop-pod avatar. Clearly you are no Electronic Engineer, you are a Tech-Marine, Brother!

That's Hello Kitty Marines thank you very much! I got bet 100 quid from differing sources to make them and basically so basically just got a free 40k army out of it. But none the less it is lead by a techmarine on a bike with a conversion beamer because the rules never disallowed that... oh and Chapter Master Cuddles.

 

[BRex21]

My first PC i built myself, but after checking prices and the like i realized that there was little savings in doing this after paying for shipping. Now I look for a package deal that one of our smaller PC retailers sell, do a little research and make the necessary modifications. I usually consider time line too, my current PC was built 3 years ago but was built with adequate power supply and motherboard to accommodate an SLI system so i could double my video output when it became economical to do so.
Incidentally I'm a 26 year old male.

 

[Thespian42]

18, Male.

I have a friend to help me out pick computer parts and actually build. I know a fair bit about computers, but I had trouble building my own by myself.