Who here has built their computer?

[2bzy4ne1]

That's my question. If you did, could you name all the parts you bought and how much you got it for? I want to see how much of a good deal some people can get with building their computer so that when I have enough money to build one, I won't screw myself over buying parts I know I can get cheaper. :satisfied

 

[cooliscool]

Me.

AMD K6-2 500 (OEM) - $45
Visiontek Xtasy GeForce4 MX 420 PCI - ~$88
192MB PC-133 (128/64mb modules) - $35
Aureal Vortex Advantage PCI Audio - $35
ATX case -$30
ATX MiTAC 5114vu Via Apollo MVP4 - $65
300W PSU - $15
Samsung Floppy - $4
Samsung SD-608 DVD-ROM Drive - $45
HP Cd-Writer+ 9100b - $99
Intel HSP56 V.92 56K Modem - $17
3 ATA/66 Capable IDE Cables - Free
CD-Audio cable - Free
5550 RPM Fan W/BIG Heatsink - $30
Dell 828fi Monitor - $123
M$ Optical mouse - $25
M$ Keyboard - $20
Altec Lansing 4 Speaker One Subwoofer Speaker System - $110

Total Cost: ~$776 - I guess that covers it.

edit: added other necessary materials.

 

[Eagle]

I did, but geez, the prices? Like I remember all that old stuff.
www.pricewatch.com will give you a good idea of what prices you can get, but if your ordering online from one of the stores be sure to check their record at www.bbb.com.

EDIT:
Oh and cooliscool only listed internal stuff, add another ~$300 for a good 17" Monitor & Keyboard & Speakers & Mouse. But all in all ~$750 for a PC isnt bad.

 

[2bzy4ne1]

I guess i wasn't really thinking about that part much. I guess you should just give a rough estimate on what the total cost was.

 

[Doomulation]

Well, i did build my computer, at a roughly cost then...
I don't remember the names, but i think i remember the average cost...

K7T Turbo motherboard: 150$
GeForce2 Mx440 (lol): 100$ (bought my better later)
harddisk: 150$
AMD Athlon 1.4 ghz: 150$
Fan: ~15$
Box: 100$
Mouse & keyboard: ~300$

I think that's it lain:

 

[Allnatural]

Hmm... I'll try to break it down.

AthlonXP 1.6GHz -- $98
HSF -- $30
Epox 8k5a2+ -- $101
512MB PC2700 RAM (Crucial) ~ $150
3 hard drives ~ $230
DVD-ROM ~ $100
CD-RW ~ $150
floppy -- $15
Geforce 3 Ti 500 ~ $350
SB Live X-Gamer 5.1 -- $99
ATi TV-Wonder -- $50
Enermax power supply -- $55
Lian-Li PC-69 case ~ $140
17" Samsung monitor ~ $150
keyboard, mouse, speakers ~ $120

Total ~ $1838

This is my system as it is now. When I initially built it the cost was much lower, but nearly every part has since been upgraded and new stuff added. That's the nice thing about building a PC, the initial cost could be high, but you never really need to rebuild from scratch, just upgrade.

Use www.pricewatch.com as Eagle suggested, and look for sales/rebates.

 

[AlphaWolf]

damn, you guys need to shop around more, pricewatch isn't the only place to find good hardware

I could build systems twice as good as the price you guys are paying for cheaper.

Just to name a few, my 19" monitor (which does 2024xsomething resolution at a very fine grill pitch, high quality monitor) cost me $150 at frys electronics ($250 with rebates, which ive since cashed).

Don't waste money on expensive creative cards if you plan to use a digital stereo (see spdif thread).

Frys electronics had an 80gig 7200 rpm on sale for $80 the other day.

I can get a damn good case for $50 tops.

I am not sure where, but ive seen a combo dvd-rom/cdrw for $130

Ram is realy cheap if you go look at local stores ads in your newspaper, because they dont adjust prices on a daily basis. I have seen a 512 meg stick of ddr for $100 at a store called PC club once.

Different places run specials all the time which are never listed on pricewatch, you just gotta go around and cherry pick a bit.

 

[Eagle]

damn, you guys need to shop around more, pricewatch isn't the only place to find good hardware

Heh, I use pricewatch for price comparisons. Not necessarily to always buy from I thought all he wanted was an estimate price for all the parts so I told him check pricewatch.

 

[t0rek]

Check my specs, I'm too lazy to make the colones (costarican money) to dollars conversion.

 

[UltraThing]

Shop and research carefully and figure out EXACTLY what you want .... then go to www.newegg.com and buy. You might find a cheaper price on one single part or another on some other site but newegg is the way to go when youre ordering a bunch of stuff at once.

The only thing you might get locally would be a monitor just to save on the shipping. I built a nice system back in May as follows:

Inwin S506 case
Epox 8KHA+
Athlon XP 1700+
512mb Kingston PC2100 DDR
PNY GeF4 Ti4400
Maxtor 60GB Quiet Drive
Memorex DVD-Rom drive
Generic floppy
Linksys NIC
Logitech Dual Optical Wheelmouse
Memorex keyboard
Alteck-Lansing 2100 3pc speaker
WinXP Home Ed. OEM

Along with all the case fans and etc. the above order was about $1200 shipped. I also went to Circuit City and bought a NEC 19" monitor. I still haven't gotten around to putting a CD-burner in it and I might go for a second hard drive first anyway. I add and accessorize as I wish. That's the beauty of it. For gaming I have an Adaptoid=connected N64 controller for most games and a Sony PSX controller to USB setup for ePSXe.

I still have less than $1500 in this computer. Remember this was done back in May - a huge bargain compared to anything from the manufacturers at that price point. Most of the Compaq's and HP's in that range still had freaking TNT2 cards last spring, or GeF2MX at best. We're talking about 6 months ago now so that's changed of course, but if you think you can do it yourself then you definitely should.

 

[vileP]

I've have. Check my specs.

Everything that is in my case started with a K6-2 350MHz to an old Athlon 800Mhz, a 3dfx Voodoo 3 3500TV, a underpowered 250W PS, and a 48x CD-ROM drive. The only things that I kept were a cheap floppy drive, the keyboard, the 10GB ard drive, and the case.

It may seem somewhat expensive to build your own computer, depending where you buy your parts. But in the long run, you will be more happy than buying a computer off the shelf of a computer store. Just remember, you are responsible for your own tech support.

 

[Josep]

/me puts his hand up

just read my specs, not much else to say, except i bought my mobo and processor combo when it was over $300, then again abit JUST released that mobo when i got it

 

[vampireuk]

Essentially built most of it with the upgrades and all

 

[fivefeet8]

damn, you guys need to shop around more, pricewatch isn't the only place to find good hardware

I could build systems twice as good as the price you guys are paying for cheaper.

Just to name a few, my 19" monitor (which does 2024xsomething resolution at a very fine grill pitch, high quality monitor) cost me $150 at frys electronics ($250 with rebates, which ive since cashed).

Don't waste money on expensive creative cards if you plan to use a digital stereo (see spdif thread).

Frys electronics had an 80gig 7200 rpm on sale for $80 the other day.

I can get a damn good case for $50 tops.

I am not sure where, but ive seen a combo dvd-rom/cdrw for $130

Ram is realy cheap if you go look at local stores ads in your newspaper, because they dont adjust prices on a daily basis. I have seen a 512 meg stick of ddr for $100 at a store called PC club once.

Different places run specials all the time which are never listed on pricewatch, you just gotta go around and cherry pick a bit.

That's good and all, but there is no Frys Electronics where I live.. Not anywhere close.. And the local vendors I've looked into have way higher prices then I can find online.. The only savior is a small little computer show that comes by every 2 weeks.. That's where I can find some deals..

Athlon Xp 2100+ [email protected] ghz $100 US
768 megs DDR2700 ram ($150)
abit kr7a 133r mobo ($130)
3dfx voodoo 5 5500 pci (free)
geforce 4 ti 4600 ($300)
19" magview monitor 1600x1200 max ($150)
15" monitor (free)
maxtor 40 gig 7200 rpm ata100 hd ($50)
maxtor 80 gig 7200 rpm ata133 hd ($100)
MS Office Keyboard (free)
Logitech Optical Mouse ($30)
Creative SB live Xgamer Audigy ($100)
4 speaker ss w/sub ($70)
ATx blue computer case($60)
400w psu ($60)

Total = $1300 US..

 

[AlphaWolf]

Well, for starters, you should look around, because I've seen cheap PC hardware stores in even the boonies.

Second, and this is just one example btw, you should get a GF4 4400, which are about 40% less than a 4600, and they can overclock beyond the speed of a 4600 with pretty good success.

 

[Josep]

Well, for starters, you should look around, because I've seen cheap PC hardware stores in even the boonies.

Second, and this is just one example btw, you should get a GF4 4400, which are about 40% less than a 4600, and they can overclock beyond the speed of a 4600 with pretty good success.

pretty much thats why i own a ti4400 oc'd up the butt, but its also has to heat sinks and a big ass fan that already contribute to good cooling

 

[0_Avenger_0]

ABit Kt7a - $180
AMD Athlon 1.2ghz(not XP) - $120
256mb ram - $70
30gb 7200 RPM hdd - $70
GF2 MX400 - $120
CD-RW 8x4x32x - $119
10x DVD-ROM - $90
1.44 FDD - $14
10/100 Ethernet - $35
15" KTX Monitor - $250
Logitech Mouse/Keyboard combo - $35

 

[Allnatural]

I think I did pretty well with parts purchasing. Most parts were bought online because the best PC hardware store in my area is *gasp* Best Buy. They often have good deals on HDs and peripherals via rebates, but you won't find much in the way of mobos, CPUs, and cases.

 

[fivefeet8]

Well, for starters, you should look around, because I've seen cheap PC hardware stores in even the boonies.

Second, and this is just one example btw, you should get a GF4 4400, which are about 40% less than a 4600, and they can overclock beyond the speed of a 4600 with pretty good success.

Well:

1.. I have looked around my area.. Still, the best deals are online or at the COmputer show.. No Fry's..

2.. Most people don't want to Overclock their computer parts.. Or they can't overclock.. I know how to overclock parts too, btw, but I don't..

Anyways, can't a geforce ti 4600 with proper cooling, overclock past the overclock of a geforce ti 4400?

 

[cooliscool]

FiveFeet8 - I thought you got a new CPU? In your specs at ngemu it says you have a "Athlon Xp 2400 [email protected], 266@280 mhz fsb"

May wanna update j00r sig.