I build myself a new machine every three or four years. I stay away from bleeding edge tech and can usually build for under $700. Yes, I could buy it cheaper from Dell, but I'd also spend lots of time excising all the crapware that comes with the machines... or, buy it from the small business section and pay just about what I did to build my own.
It's good to know there are still plenty of people out there who prefer building their own machines.
I just finally upgraded my trusty Athlon XP to a Quad core Athlon FX over the holidays, upgradeable to 8 in the future. Always remained a generation behind the cutting edge due to price concerns, but just this once I figured I could jump up on the ledge for a moment before the march of progress throws me off.
The sub $1000 machines from the major manufacturers are usually rather good, but suffer from odd form factors that limit what I can put into them, and it usually ends up costing more anyway in the long term. Definitely better to build your own, if you have the ability.
I roll my own and only buy laptops pre-made. I like messing with hardware so to me it's not a chore. It used to be that you could do partial upgrades every two years, then buy new every four. Now it seems the cycle has been cut in half.
Ive stepped off the build-my-own train entirely. Now, I go for what i like to call "flex computing" - using a laptop as my base machine and then using an array of peripherals. My home "base" (with DVD drive, external hard drive, mouse, etc) is connected to my "main" pc (a thinkpad) but I can easily swap in my Asus EEE. I find that the flexibility is just so much better fir my usage model. You know you will soon be able to get external graphics cards too - i think deconstructing the PC is better than going the integrated desktop route now.
A few months ago I picked up a bunch of parts and built a new computer. I was being all smart and got a MoBo with both AGP and PCI-E slots. What I didn't know was that there are multiple speeds for PCI-E-- I need to buy a new MoBo when I go to upgrade my video card. Good news? There's a decently priced (US$90) motherboard that supports my processor and has a PCI-E (X16) slot. So I should be good to go...
I just wish it were possible to roll your own laptop.
My local Digilink Computers (closest one to you is in Jackson, Dean) has some sort of roll your own laptop deal. I can't offer details, because I never looked into it. Nothing could possibly appeal to me less. But if they have it, your local geek shop may have it as well.
Jerry Pournelle long ago described what I see as the perfect hardware upgrade strategy: when you're ready to upgrade your existing computer, buy a network card, so you can hook the old machine up to the brand new machine you buy to replace it. (That was back in the day when network cards weren't standard equipment, of course.)
Pretty much the only thing I add to my comps is memory. A year or so after I buy the comp I can usually get twice as much memory for the same price, and often I need it by then.
Anything else, and I just buy a new comp. Poking around inside them is fun, but not that fun.
TallDave, that's a strange usage of the word "fun". It sounds to me a lot like "root canal".
Now programming: there's fun. Yes, I'm incurable; but it explains why I'll buy rather than build. Time I waste doing a lousy job of building (which is the kind of job I would do) is time I could've spent writing great code. I'm all for Kevin or anyone who enjoys that stuff saving money/maxing out performance; but buying a new machine every two to three years works much better for me.
I'm all for Kevin or anyone who enjoys that stuff saving money/maxing out performance; but buying a new machine every two to three years works much better for me.
Yeah, I see a new processor, video card or whatever and I get all drooly.
I built my own for about 20 years (yikes, can that be right??? Yep…)
But I threw in the towel 3-4 years ago. I’ve just decided to buy a new machine every couple years now. It seems I can find something close to state of the art for $500-600 these days (sans monitor), with not much more than 5 minutes of effort.
I’ve all but given up on notebooks. They just don’t cut it for photo editing, which is what I spend most of my “fun” time doing these days. I do keep a cheapy around for travelling though.
That, a wireless network in the house, and a 2TB RAID drive with all my goodies on it, and its pretty painless swapping one pc for another.
I also just bought a Nokia N810 Internet Tablet a couple weeks ago, to see if it can replace my notebook.
Mostly bought it as an iPod replacement, with everything else as icing on the cake. Well, IMO it sucks as an iPod replacement (poor sound quality), but I’m loving all the other features. It’s my first encounter with linux, and that’s been interesting. I’m having major unix flashbacks….
Last December I also had a socket A mobo failure.There was a short on the 5V VSB (always on) line. The ever 5V goes to a lot less areas than the other supplies, but still way to many to try and track down.
So I spent $98 for a combo PCChips A13G+ mobo with an AMD3500 (1000mhz FSB). The board has a 16XPCIe slot which I installed a Nvidia 8600 (turned of the onboard Nvidia 6100). I also added 2GB of 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 RAM that cost $10 a stick. Planning to still fix up the old PC I bought a case 2/450Watt PSU to put it all in with old DVD burner, HD and floppy. Total cost including shipping $284.
I have been rolling my own since about 1990. It isn't a chore for me, partially because I worked repairing consumer electronics most of my life before I retired. Before I retired I bought close to cutting edge because I could afford it. Now I'm on a limited (very) income so I've dropped back a year or two. Hence the compromise system above.
The old PC is now repaired. Found a socet A at TigerDirect for $39. Now I have 3 PCs in the house: quite a few for a single person living alone, but they all have their purpose.
New (main) computer: Windows XP used for browsing and designing skins.
Now fixed socket A AMD2500: Ultumix Ultra Linux 2008, a linux distro with a good Windows look and feel. This computer processes files for BrowserShots.
Oldest PC (AMD1700): Windows 98SE which runs my Casio keyboard and chatbot for my forum's IRC chat server.
I recently upgraded my tower mail/web server -- to a laptop. For about $600 I got a nearly silent machine with 4 GB RAM, dual CPU cores, gigabit Ethernet, and its own built-in backup power. And with the lid closed, it fits unobtrusively on a bookshelf. It also has its own display, keyboard, and trackpad, so those don't take up any extra space, either, like they would with the tower.
The 2.5" disk's a little slow by current standards, but due to increases in areal density, all drives are faster than they were three years ago, so it's not really any slower than the disk in the machine it's replacing. Sure it's not exactly enterprise-grade, but for a home server, it can hardly be beaten, I think.
There are still advantages to having a tower for one's primary machine, especially if you are a heavy user (8-core Mac Pro, anyone?), but with laptops starting at $300, they make a pretty compelling value proposition for a lot of applications.
2.13.2008 9:45pm
Commenting on Dean's World is a privilege, not a right. Dean is your host, you are his guest, and you should behave in that fashion. Dean is not your babysitter, nor is he your punching bag. Please remember this. In general, you are free to disagree with anyone on any subject you wish, but abusive behavior will not be tolerated.
Of course we all lose our tempers now and then. Dean freely admits to being imperfect in this regard, which is why regulars to this establishment will generally be cut more slack than people who we don't know very well.
Still: behave like an adult, or go find somewhere else to play. Thanks.
It's good to know there are still plenty of people out there who prefer building their own machines.
The sub $1000 machines from the major manufacturers are usually rather good, but suffer from odd form factors that limit what I can put into them, and it usually ends up costing more anyway in the long term. Definitely better to build your own, if you have the ability.
But like I said: it's fun for me.
i'm pretty fair at building pcs. i'm usually the one everybody calls in my circle
My local Digilink Computers (closest one to you is in Jackson, Dean) has some sort of roll your own laptop deal. I can't offer details, because I never looked into it. Nothing could possibly appeal to me less. But if they have it, your local geek shop may have it as well.
Jerry Pournelle long ago described what I see as the perfect hardware upgrade strategy: when you're ready to upgrade your existing computer, buy a network card, so you can hook the old machine up to the brand new machine you buy to replace it. (That was back in the day when network cards weren't standard equipment, of course.)
Anything else, and I just buy a new comp. Poking around inside them is fun, but not that fun.
Now programming: there's fun. Yes, I'm incurable; but it explains why I'll buy rather than build. Time I waste doing a lousy job of building (which is the kind of job I would do) is time I could've spent writing great code. I'm all for Kevin or anyone who enjoys that stuff saving money/maxing out performance; but buying a new machine every two to three years works much better for me.
Yeah, I see a new processor, video card or whatever and I get all drooly.
But I threw in the towel 3-4 years ago. I’ve just decided to buy a new machine every couple years now. It seems I can find something close to state of the art for $500-600 these days (sans monitor), with not much more than 5 minutes of effort.
I’ve all but given up on notebooks. They just don’t cut it for photo editing, which is what I spend most of my “fun” time doing these days. I do keep a cheapy around for travelling though.
That, a wireless network in the house, and a 2TB RAID drive with all my goodies on it, and its pretty painless swapping one pc for another.
I also just bought a Nokia N810 Internet Tablet a couple weeks ago, to see if it can replace my notebook.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_N810
Mostly bought it as an iPod replacement, with everything else as icing on the cake. Well, IMO it sucks as an iPod replacement (poor sound quality), but I’m loving all the other features. It’s my first encounter with linux, and that’s been interesting. I’m having major unix flashbacks….
I just have one thing to say:
Apple II Forever!
Mike
So I spent $98 for a combo PCChips A13G+ mobo with an AMD3500 (1000mhz FSB). The board has a 16XPCIe slot which I installed a Nvidia 8600 (turned of the onboard Nvidia 6100). I also added 2GB of 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 RAM that cost $10 a stick. Planning to still fix up the old PC I bought a case 2/450Watt PSU to put it all in with old DVD burner, HD and floppy. Total cost including shipping $284.
I have been rolling my own since about 1990. It isn't a chore for me, partially because I worked repairing consumer electronics most of my life before I retired. Before I retired I bought close to cutting edge because I could afford it. Now I'm on a limited (very) income so I've dropped back a year or two. Hence the compromise system above.
The old PC is now repaired. Found a socet A at TigerDirect for $39. Now I have 3 PCs in the house: quite a few for a single person living alone, but they all have their purpose.
New (main) computer: Windows XP used for browsing and designing skins.
Now fixed socket A AMD2500: Ultumix Ultra Linux 2008, a linux distro with a good Windows look and feel. This computer processes files for BrowserShots.
Oldest PC (AMD1700): Windows 98SE which runs my Casio keyboard and chatbot for my forum's IRC chat server.
For $24.95 and a 20 minute wait (with free wifi!) it’s a no brainer to me.
Maybe I’m just getting lazy….
The 2.5" disk's a little slow by current standards, but due to increases in areal density, all drives are faster than they were three years ago, so it's not really any slower than the disk in the machine it's replacing. Sure it's not exactly enterprise-grade, but for a home server, it can hardly be beaten, I think.
There are still advantages to having a tower for one's primary machine, especially if you are a heavy user (8-core Mac Pro, anyone?), but with laptops starting at $300, they make a pretty compelling value proposition for a lot of applications.
Of course we all lose our tempers now and then. Dean freely admits to being imperfect in this regard, which is why regulars to this establishment will generally be cut more slack than people who we don't know very well.
Still: behave like an adult, or go find somewhere else to play. Thanks.