Buy or build a new computer?

[tommerbob]

I'm looking to get a new computer in the next few weeks. I'm still using a 2 year old Acer laptop, it has served me well, but I've outgrown it.

I'll use it mostly for gaming, such as Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, SW:ToR, etc. And other general computer stuff.

My budget is probably between 600-900. I won't cut any corners on spending, I'm fairly flexible; but I also want to save as much as I can.

My question to you is, should I build one from scratch, or just buy a manufactured OEM computer from my local Bestbuy or other store?

I've come up with the following list from NewEgg, please tell me what you think.

Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 1055T

Motherboard: Asroc 970 Extreme3 AM3+

Hard Drive: Western Digital RE4 500 GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA

Video: GeForce GTX 560 Ti

Power Supply: Corsair 80 Plus 750W

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaw 8 GB DDR3 1600

Case: Antec 900 Mid Tower

Total: $970

I still need a monitor and of course Windows. I'd like to go a bit cheaper than that, if possible, without skimping on anything, if you know what I mean. Any suggestions?

 

[Slapshot136]

not from best buy, but if you can score a good XPS system from dell's outlet, then I would consider it - those are really the only decent pre-built systems for the price

do you have a microcenter near you?

this ram is much better for the same price

the hard drive is meant for like business raid applications, it is overkill, and pretty much all HDD prices are really high, have you considered just getting a SSD? they are close to $1/gb right now

the power supply is more then you need, this would be fine unless you plan on adding a 2nd graphics card for SLI (which your motherboard doesn't support, so unlikely)

for the CPU I would suggest you just go with the new generation of CPU's

maybe consider a slightly better motherboard, to let you use SLI and 1600 ram without needing to OC

for windows, if your in college, see if the college has any discounts, if not try and use a $25 off 74 or $30 off 100 coupon at staples, since windows is unlikely to be discounted anywhere that is legit

here's a decent monitor

also you can fit all this in a smaller case and save some money there

 

[tommerbob]

- The memory you suggested is only 1333, so I wouldn't need to upgrade my mobo anyway. Why is the 1333 ram better than the 1600?

- Yeah I considered buying a SSD for my games, but I would also need to buy an HDD anyway for all my other stuff. If I can save a few bucks in other areas, I might consider getting a SSD. Do you have any suggested for an SSD?

- Besides the fact that your CPU is newer, whats better about it over the Phenom II X6? The reason I selected the Phenom II was of the very high reviews it has.

Thanks for the tip about Windows. For the monitor, I was thinking this.

Anyway, thanks for the advice. Any other recommendations or advice feel free to post. I've never built a computer before (I helped someone do it once), so I'm a total noob here.

 

[Slapshot136]

- The memory you suggested is only 1333, so I wouldn't need to upgrade my mobo anyway. Why is the 1333 ram better than the 1600?

first, because your motherboard doesn't support 1600 without OC, so they would both run at 1333
second, because the 1600 ram is cas 9, while the 1333 ram is cas 7 (lower is better) - to make things simple, take the speed and divide by the cas rating to get the relative performance

for SSD's personally I like intel ones, so either the 320 or 510 series, but really any that support trim and sata 3 should be good

for the CPU, they are the same price, but the newer one is 500 mhz faster, has double the cache (6mb vs 3mb), uses less power (95 W vs 125 W), therefore generates less heat, and is a newer architecture, so it is faster clock-for-clock - I can't see any reason to go with the old one, and it's not like the new one has bad reviews (71% 5-star, 19% 4-star, 100+ reviews on newegg), and most of the bad reviews are probably because of people not having the correct AM3+ motherboards rather then anything wrong with the CPU itself

 

[tommerbob]

**Update:

Okay after doing some shopping/thinking, I've updated my list:

Processor: AMD FX-6100 ($160)
Motherboard: Asroc 970 Extreme3 AM3+ ($90) -or- Gigabyte AM3+ AMD 990X ($140)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaw 8gb DDR3 1333 ($50)
Video card: MSI Cyclone Radeon HD 6850 ($165) -or- EVGA GeForce 560 Ti ($250)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Green 750gb Intellipower 64mb cache ($130)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional HX650 650W ($120)
Case: Antec 300 Illusion ($60)

Total: $775 up to $910. Add another $280 for the SSD.

If I add an SSD: Intel 510 Series 120gb Sata 3 (Add $280)

- I read up on the SSD, and at this point, I don't think its worth the extra money. Maybe in a few months when the prices hopefully come down, I might go for one. But at this point, an extra couple hundred bucks isnt worth faster boot times. I could go with a cheaper SSD, because the Intel ones seem the most pricey (what a surprise), but if I'm going all out for one, I might as well get a good one.

- Is the case large enough? Will it be cramped? Should I spend a little more and get a larger case?

- I'm not a tech guru, so I can't see the big difference between the two Video cards, even though one is $85 more?

Add another $250-300 for a monitor, Windows, and DVD drive. I checked at my college about getting a discount for Windows, and its a no-go. They only give discounts for upgrading Windows.

Anything I'm missing?

Another option is purchasing a pre-built computer from Newegg. I wouldn't get quite the quality, but I would likely save at least a couple hundred bucks. It looks like CyberPowerPC has the most. Anyone know anything about their products? I don't think there are any Dell stores around where I live, or I would check out an XPS system as you suggested.

Thoughts? Thanks for your time.

 

[MrBrooks]

Build your own > buying pre-made.

The different between the graphics cards are the memory clocks and chipset; both with different core and shader clocks, different support features, etc. Also the Nvidia card is newer so that's a factor to take in to consideration about the price. The 560 Ti is also one of the fastest high end cards, without going over board and spending thousands on limited edition super OC'd cards. It's your choice on what card to go for. I'd preferably go for the 6850.

High End GPU benchmark: Find the GeForce GTX 560 Ti and the Radeon HD 6850. http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html
560Ti score: 2,977
6850 score: 2,738

So they're both close, depends on what you want to do; save money or slightly higher performance.

Processor is fine.
Motherboard: I'd go for the Gigabyte AM3+ AMD 990X - Why? Supports up to 1866 RAM without OC (so you can buy the 1600 or even go for 1866 RAM if you want). Also you get more expansion slots, more rear I/O options, an extra 6GB/sec SATA storage device.
Memory: Corsair 8GB (2x4GB) Vengance 1600Mhz or Patriot Viper 8GB (2x4GB) 1866Mhz
Video card: I recommend the 6850, but you decide what you want.
Hard disk drive is fine.
Power supply unit is fine.
Case: Here's a comparison of 4 computer cases on Newegg. The first case is the one you selected, the other three are one's I've selected, which is another mid tower and two full towers.

 

[Slapshot136]

Another option is purchasing a pre-built computer from Newegg. I wouldn't get quite the quality, but I would likely save at least a couple hundred bucks. It looks like CyberPowerPC has the most. Anyone know anything about their products? I don't think there are any Dell stores around where I live, or I would check out an XPS system as you suggested.

Thoughts? Thanks for your time.

I don't see any comparable pre-built systems on newegg, care to post a link? (all of them seem to have a weak graphics card paired with a no-name PSU, which would make upgrading it a pain)

some SSD's go down under $1/GB every now and then or close, so for $250 you should be able to get a 240gb SSD (replace the HDD with the SSD, so net increase of $40, but you get a MUCH faster drive, and only half the storage)

you missed the sale on the ram and CPU

for the graphics card, look here

 

[tommerbob]

I don't see any comparable pre-built systems on newegg, care to post a link? (all of them seem to have a weak graphics card paired with a no-name PSU, which would make upgrading it a pain)

Maybe something like this?

some SSD's go down under $1/GB every now and then or close, so for $250 you should be able to get a 240gb SSD (replace the HDD with the SSD, so net increase of $40, but you get a MUCH faster drive, and only half the storage)

Yeah, I'm considering the SSD. The biggest worry I have about that is just the wear and tear on it. I've heard they wear out a lot faster than HDD's. Plus spending the extra money. :/

 

[MrBrooks]

Maybe something like this?



Yeah, I'm considering the SSD. The biggest worry I have about that is just the wear and tear on it. I've heard they wear out a lot faster than HDD's. Plus spending the extra money. :/

If I remember correctly writing to SSD's will wear them out, but once a program is written to it and cached, it won't need any more writing. It'll then only be used for reading, which doesn't wear out the SSD. I would only get an 120GB SSD for software and then enough for caching, etc. Only use SSD's for reading, not writing.

 

[tommerbob]

So get a smaller, 120g one for the OS and the main programs I run, like games, and then get a HDD for everything else?

 

[Slapshot136]

So get a smaller, 120g one for the OS and the main programs I run, like games, and then get a HDD for everything else?

SSD's have evolved quickly, as far as the burn-in limit goes it would take about 10 years of 24/7 use to reach it, which means you shouldn't have any issues as far as that goes.. yes they can fail, but they are as reliable as hard drives if not more so (especially since the flood and the warranties on HDD's being reduced) - but 240GB should be enough for the OS + quite a few games

here is a nice bundle to save some money

let me price the computer you linked to:

CPU - 300
ram - $50
hdd -$50
motherboard - $100
PSU - $50
graphics card - $100
cd/dvd - $20
case - $30
windows - $100
net price to build your own: $800, and they charge $900

for a gaming machine, it's normal for the graphics card to cost 20%-50% of the computer, that CPU is overkill, and it's not very upgradeable with a no-name 600W PSU

@ MrBrooks - you picked the same motherboard as me

I still wouldn't spend $200 on a 500gb hard drive.. it's just not worth it - if you want capacity, get a large and cheap HDD, and if you want speed, get a SSD

I don't think you will notice a huge difference regardless of which ram you choose, they are all similar and prices are cheap

when I linked to the case, there was a newegg coupon code for $15 off - just wait for a sale on this stuff and grab it piece by piece as they go on sale

edit: alternate smaller SSD's to go alone with a storage HDD

intel 320 80gb for $80

ocz agility 90GB for $85

 

[MrBrooks]

Looking through this thread I'm picking the components that I suggest for a really good build. I'm going to list the product, specifications and price.

Motherboard (GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard)
Price: $139.99
Specifications:
Socket - AM3+ CPU Socket. Supports Phenom II, Athlon II, Sempron 100 Series and FX series
Memory Slots - 4 x 240 pin. Memory standards are DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1866/1600/1333/1066. Max supported memory is 32GB.
Expansion Slots - 3 PCI-E (x16, x8, x4), 2 PCI-Express x1 slot, 1 PCI slot.
Storage Devices- 6 x SATA 6GB/s
Onboard LAN - 10/100/1000Mbps
Rear I/O - 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port, 8 x USB 2.0, 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x IEEE 1394, 1 x Optical, 6 Audio Ports
Internal I/O - 2 x USB 3.0 + 6 x USB 2.0
Form Factor - ATX
Warranty - 3 years Limited

Processor (AMD FX-6100 Zambezi 3.3GHz Socket AM3+ 95W Six-Core Desktop Processor FD6100WMGUSBX)
Price: $159.99
Specifications:
Socket - AM3+
Cores - 6
Frequency - 3.3GHz
L2 Cache - 6MB
L3 Cache - 8MB
64-bit Support - Yes
Heatsink and fan included.
Warranty - 3 years

Power Supply (XFX Core Edition PRO550W (P1-550S-XXB9) 550W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply)
Price: $69.99
Specifications:
Maximum Power - 550W
Fans - 1 x 120mm
Main Connector - 20+4 pin
+12v Rails - single 12v rail
PCI-Express Connectors - 1 x 6-Pin, 1 x 6+2-Pin
SATA Power Connectors - 9
SLI Ready - Yes
Crossfire Ready - Yes
Modular - No
Connectors - 1 x Main connector (20+4Pin), 1 x 4+4 Pin ATX12V / EPS12V, 6 x Peripheral, 9 x SATA, 2 x Floppy, 2 x PCI-E
Warranty - 5 Years Limited

Memory (Patriot Viper Xtreme 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000) Desktop Memory Model PXD38G1866ELK)
Price: $59.99
Specifications:
Type - 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
Capacity - 8GB (2 x 4GB)
Speed - DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000)
Cas Latency - 9
Timing - 9-11-9-27
Voltage - 1.65v
Recommended For - High Performance or Gaming Memory
Warranty - Lifetime

Graphics card (MSI R6850 Cyclone PE Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity)
Price: $164.99
Specifications:
Chipset Manufacturer - AMD
GPU - Radeon HD 6850
Core Clock - 775MHz
Stream Processors - 960 Stream Processing Units
Interface - PCI Express 2.1 x16
Memory Clock - 1000MHz (4.0Gbps)
Memory Size - 1GB
Memory Interface - 256-bit
Memory Type - GDDR5
Ports - 1 x HDMI, 1 x Display Port, 2 x DVI (1 Single Link, 1 Dual Link)
Max Resolution - 2560 x 1600
Eyefinity Support - Yes
CrossFireX Support - Yes
Card Dimensions - 8.54" x 4.72" x 1.5"
Warranty - 3 Years Limited

Hard Disk Drive (Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive)
Price: $129.99
Specifications:
Interface - SATA 6.0Gb/s
Capacity - 500GB
RPM - 7200 RPM
Cache- 32MB
Average Latency - 4.2ms
Form Factor - 3.5"
Warranty - 5 Years Limited

Case (APEVIA X-JUPITER S-Type X-JUPITERS-BK Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case)
Price: $89.99
Specifications:
Type - ATX Full Tower
Case Material - Aluminum
Power Supply Mount - Top
Motherboard Compatibility - ATX, Micro-ATX, BABY AT
External 5.25" Drive Bays - 5
External 3.5" Drive Bays - 2
Internal 3.5" Drive Bays - 6
Expansion Slots - 7
Front LCD Display - Yes
Front Ports - USB / Audio / IEEE 1394
Cooling - 2 x 120mm Rear Fans (Installed), 1 x 120mm Front Fan (Installed), 1 x 250mm side fan
Dimensions - 22.25" x 8.50" x 21.50"
Features - Solid Side Panel with 250mm UV Blue LED Fan, Aluminum Body with Aluminum/SECC Front Panel, Tool Free Installation, 2 x Fan Speed Controller, Best Cooling & Silence, Front LCD with 2 Temperature Sensors, Slide Handle, Lockable Side Panel and Front Panel for Privacy and Security, Fold In/Out Leg Stands increase stability of the case, Intel HD and ac 97 audio support for 7.1 and 5.1 audio systems, NVIDIA 8800GTX Compatible, Extended Body fits full size motherboards (12" x 13").
Warranty - 1 Years Limited

Total price: $814.93

 

[tommerbob]

I've been busy with school and other stuff, at this point I'm considering buying a laptop instead of building a desktop. I like the portability. I found these two:

Acer Aspire AS7750G-6662 - $699

-or-

Acer Aspire AS7750G-9823 - $899

The second laptop has a better CPU, more memory, a 3.0 USB slot, and a larger HDD. Other than that, I can't see any difference between the two. So my question is, are the better specs worth the extra $200? Thanks for your consideration.

 

[azareus]

I would definitely not buy an Acer. Even for prebuilts, their computers are very bad quality. Asus or MSI are your best bets for laptops that are of decent quality.

 

[tommerbob]

The laptop I own now is an Acer. I've really liked it the past 2 years. I'm curious why you say that?

I will keep my eyes open for other possibilities.

 

[Slapshot136]

The laptop I own now is an Acer. I've really liked it the past 2 years. I'm curious why you say that?

 

[MrBrooks]

Hands down, without seeing that chart, I'd automatically suggest any Asus laptop to any person who wants a laptop. Asus make seriously under-rated systems and their customer support is by far the best I've experienced, not to mention their great warranty.

 

[tommerbob]

Do you have a source for that graph?

Well it all comes down to personal experience. I've talked to several people, and they've given mixed reviews of Asus. Some really like Asus, others said they had the worst experience with Asus and will never buy one again.

I've shopped around the past few days, but I haven't found any Asus that matches the system I'm after. I appreciate your input though.

 

[Slapshot136]

Do you have a source for that graph?

it's from squaretrade, a company that sells warranties for electronics such as laptops

 

[jirongzhi]

not from best buy, but if you can score a good XPS system from dell's outlet, then I would consider it - those are really the only decent pre-built systems for the price

do you have a microcenter near you?

this ram is much better for the same price

the hard drive is meant for like business raid applications, it is overkill, and pretty much all HDD prices are really high, have you considered just getting a SSD? they are close to $1/gb right now

the power supply is more then you need, this would be fine unless you plan on adding a 2nd graphics card for SLI (which your motherboard doesn't support, so unlikely)

for the CPU I would suggest you just go with the new generation of CPU's

maybe consider a slightly better motherboard, to let you use SLI and 1600 ram without needing to OC

for windows, if your in college, see if the college has any discounts, if not try and use a $25 off 74 or $30 off 100 coupon at staples, since windows is unlikely to be discounted anywhere that is legit

here's a decent monitor

also you can fit all this in a smaller case and save some money there

Your Analysis is very good.