44 replies to this topic

[MERACE]

Although I've built many computer rigs for myself and friends over the years, this article clearly illustrates why most people have no desire to do so themselves:

http://motherboard.v...ll-way-too-hard


-MERACE

[Crow357]

Yep.  Totally agree and I've built many systems.

 

Another difference between Consoles and PC's is that gaming companies that write games for consoles have a very specific set of hardware to write for whereas for PC it's like, "Let's throw bytes at it until nVidia comes out with a new chip!"

[mebby]

I agree that it's a royal pain.  I literally went the dumbest and laziest route possible.  I went to Best Buy and found the cheapest tower I could find that had an i5 processor.  I then bough a GTX 970 (this was more than a year ago) and a 500W power supply and swapped everything out  It was tight inside the case but it worked.

 

Just this weekend I replaced that 970 with a 1080 (which actually fit a little better) and I'm pretty darn pleased.

 

I keep telling myself that I'm going to build a proper gaming machine but honestly... I'm not finding tons of motivation because what I have works just fine.

[Bob5453]

I went to one of those pc sites and built one from scratch with what I wanted in it and 6 days later it was delivered to me.  I charged it on my credit card and will pay it in full online next month, so it is like getting it for free as I never handled any cash.

[Buck]

...agree with all in here..

 

and yet... a console can't even sniff the jock of what Mebby just put together with that 1080

[SeventyFour]

Actually I found it quite easy:

 

http://www.perfectparallel.com/topic/1528-it-was-worth-the-wait/

 

[Crusher]

If a person ever built a model car out of plastic they most certainly can assemble a computer.  Do it one time, followed by a couple upgrades, and building computers (desktops) becomes pretty darn easy.

 

Note: No one who golfs needs a fully liquid cooled system, just a CLC like Hydro 60 to 100. Or , a gamer's after market high-powered fan for the CPU.

 

Want to learn fast?  Take one of your old computers apart piece by piece then put it all back together again.  That will give you the hands on practice that will take the intimidation away from first time PC builds.

[Buck]

Note: No one who golfs needs a fully liquid cooled system, just a CLC like Hydro 60 to 100. Or , a gamer's after market high-powered fan for the CPU.

 

Nobody who golfs needs liquid cooling of any kind in fact...

[Bob5453]

If a person ever built a model car out of plastic they most certainly can assemble a computer. 

 

I built a lot of models as a kid, but that was a long time ago.... I remember throwing a few of them against the wall and also squirting glue over the top of a few and setting them on fire. Not sure I want to do that with a PC.

[DoGgs]

I really don't know why people bother building anymore, i used to build and sell about 15 years ago, not worth it now.  I recently bought a system...

I5 6500 Skylake

Asus GTX 970 strix 4gb

1TB Hybrid drive

16 GB corsair vengeance 3000

asus Mobo

case, Psu, LED lighting, the new tomb raider title worth £30 and a £20 steam code voucher

all prebuilt for £762.00  I priced each component for self build and it came to £749.00 and that was without the free game, £20 steam voucher and LED lighting strips....bit of a no brainer really, the system is great, it runs arma 3 max settings but sadly augusta still creaks (god i hate that track) 

[mebby]

I really don't know why people bother building anymore, i used to build and sell about 15 years ago, not worth it now.  I recently bought a system...

I5 6500 Skylake

Asus GTX 970 strix 4gb

1TB Hybrid drive

16 GB corsair vengeance 3000

asus Mobo

case, Psu, LED lighting, the new tomb raider title worth £30 and a £20 steam code voucher

all prebuilt for £762.00  I priced each component for self build and it came to £749.00 and that was without the free game, £20 steam voucher and LED lighting strips....bit of a no brainer really, the system is great, it runs arma 3 max settings but sadly augusta still creaks (god i hate that track) 

FYI - I've got the new GTX 1080 and August brings that card to its knees as well.  Absurd.  It needs some serious optimization.  I refuse to play that course at this point.

 

All other courses I can play on ridiculously high settings, with dynamic sky enabled, late in the day with long shadows, and stay at 60FPS without the fan even coming on.  But August.... nope.  Still seeing sub 30 FPS in certain spots.  It's crazy.

[Buck]

I really don't know why people bother building anymore, i used to build and sell about 15 years ago, not worth it now.  I recently bought a system...

I5 6500 Skylake

Asus GTX 970 strix 4gb

1TB Hybrid drive

16 GB corsair vengeance 3000

asus Mobo

case, Psu, LED lighting, the new tomb raider title worth £30 and a £20 steam code voucher

all prebuilt for £762.00  I priced each component for self build and it came to £749.00 and that was without the free game, £20 steam voucher and LED lighting strips....bit of a no brainer really, the system is great, it runs arma 3 max settings but sadly augusta still creaks (god i hate that track) 

 

The only thing to keep in mind about building is:

 

1.  You might have existing components you'd like to re-use

2.  Possibly you have a certain style or size you're going for

3.  If you time things (with something like PCPartPicker) right with sales, it can be a greater cost savings.

4.  Some still just enjoy it - I largely fall in that camp as I'm building Hack's anyhow (nobody can sell them), so might as well build the gaming side out.

 

But on the whole - Most people don't need to / shouldn't bother.

Computers as appliances is definitely the future and for most, the present also.

[JCat04]

I agree that it's a royal pain.  I literally went the dumbest and laziest route possible.  I went to Best Buy and found the cheapest tower I could find that had an i5 processor.  I then bough a GTX 970 (this was more than a year ago) and a 500W power supply and swapped everything out  It was tight inside the case but it worked.

 

Just this weekend I replaced that 970 with a 1080 (which actually fit a little better) and I'm pretty darn pleased.

 

I keep telling myself that I'm going to build a proper gaming machine but honestly... I'm not finding tons of motivation because what I have works just fine.

 

I pretty much did the same, except I bought the cheapest tower I could find at Amazon.com with an i5 in it.  I wound up with an Acer, for which I had to replace the power supply.  I went with a 600 watt.  I also took the 4GB stock RAM that came with it out and dropped 8GB of higher speed RAM in it.  And of course, I bought a video card (Geforce GTX 960 superclocked 2 GB).  I would have gone with a GTX 970, at the time, if it would have fit in the case.  All the 970s were too long though.  The 960 has done pretty well for me, but there are times when I wish I had a 970, or even a 980, but a year and a half later and I'm still pretty pleased with what I'm getting out of this machine.

[Crusher]

The important characteristic of computer builders is aptitude.  Otherwise, just buy one.

[mebby]

The important characteristic of computer builders is aptitude.  Otherwise, just buy one.

Different people balance their lives in different ways.  I have plenty of aptitude... just not for building computers... or at least not right now.  If I get a wild hare up my arse and I'm looking for a project then I can have plenty of aptitude to build a proper gaming computer.  But between a demanding job and 5 kids (3 of which are under 3 years of age) my free time for playing around with big boy toys is greatly limited.  So while I have the aptitude to do MANY things... in this day in age it's typically just more efficient for me to buy my way to a decent gaming computer.

[Crusher]

Different people balance their lives in different ways.  I have plenty of aptitude... just not for building computers... or at least not right now.  If I get a wild hare up my arse and I'm looking for a project then I can have plenty of aptitude to build a proper gaming computer.  But between a demanding job and 5 kids (3 of which are under 3 years of age) my free time for playing around with big boy toys is greatly limited.  So while I have the aptitude to do MANY things... in this day in age it's typically just more efficient for me to buy my way to a decent gaming computer.

 

You just repeated what I said in my post, semantics is all.

[mebby]

You just repeated what I said in my post, semantics is all.

If that's the most you can comprehend from my post then it's probably not worth me trying to explain it anyway. 

[theclubpro]

Different people balance their lives in different ways. I have plenty of aptitude... just not for building computers... or at least not right now. If I get a wild hare up my arse and I'm looking for a project then I can have plenty of aptitude to build a proper gaming computer. But between a demanding job and 5 kids (3 of which are under 3 years of age) my free time for playing around with big boy toys is greatly limited. So while I have the aptitude to do MANY things... in this day in age it's typically just more efficient for me to buy my way to a decent gaming computer.

Totally understand ,4kids here 2 grands now(at the hospital now,she was just born).youngest son plays minecraft and csgo,(computer is always tied up),I rotate 8-12 hr shifts,just got done with a 70 hr week..I just don't have time/desire like I used to..that's why I play am now.dont have the time to put in to get good.when I play I just want a relaxing rd..

[mebby]

Totally understand ,4kids here 2 grands now(at the hospital now,she was just born).youngest son plays minecraft and csgo,(computer is always tied up),I rotate 8-12 hr shifts,just got done with a 70 hr week..I just don't have time/desire like I used to..that's why I play am now.dont have the time to put in to get good.when I play I just want a relaxing rd..

Congrats on the new granddaughter!!

[Crusher]

The only thing to keep in mind about building is:

 

1.  You might have existing components you'd like to re-use

2.  Possibly you have a certain style or size you're going for

3.  If you time things (with something like PCPartPicker) right with sales, it can be a greater cost savings.

4.  Some still just enjoy it - I largely fall in that camp as I'm building Hack's anyhow (nobody can sell them), so might as well build the gaming side out.

 

But on the whole - Most people don't need to / shouldn't bother.

Computers as appliances is definitely the future and for most, the present also.

 

At any age building a computer saves money and teaches a person about technology. That's just plain smart.  I never advise a true gamer to buy one if they have the courage to build one. (strictly desktop/tower computers)