Building a new computer from scratch

[Bob Weisner]

Hi:

Has anyone here built their own computer? The computer I am thinking about building is really an overhaul of an old Compaq 3216 computer that I had replaced about 1 1/2 years ago with my present computer. What I would like to know is if it would be possible to take the Compaq 3216 tower and replace all the internal parts in the tower with up to date equipment. The 3216 has Windows 95 and about 1.2 GB of memory on the harddrive. I would like to upgrade it to Windows XP with the INTEL 3.8 processor and as much memory in the hard drive as possible. Could this be done?

Thanks,

Bob.

[Dennis Peacock]

Bob,

I used to build my own computers....until it got cheaper for me to buy one already done. You can get a "whoop-down" reburbed Dell desktop for cheap and if you price out everything, you can even find that it's cheaper just to buy one. ;)

[Scott Parks]

Yes, I've built several. I'm still in the "build it myself" mentalitly. I shop newegg.com for parts. They are super fast and cheap! Order on Monday, get it on Wednesday. There are good enough prices that you can beat pre-built.

HOWEVER, as Dennis said, there are some good deals and when you add all the software that is included on a prebuilt computer, its hard to beat. I own all the software I need already, so for me it is cheaper to build and upgrade my own computers. But if you need to upgrade to XP, add $100. Word, Office, Anti-virus, etc, add more$$$. If you need these programs, look for a computer to buy with these already included. Just the cost alone can equal a new 'puter.

For your situation, I think the only thing re-useable on your Compaq would be the keyboard, monitor, speakers and CD-ROM. Can you replace all the internals? Probably yes, but... The power supply in your case would probably be inadequate. It is cheaper to buy a budget case with a bigger power supply than to change out the one in your current case. You'd also need a new, bigger hard drive, RAM memory, motherboard, processor, heatsink, case fans, etc. If you use it for video, graphics, etc you'll need a good graphics card. But if you don't, you can get motherboards with sound, graphics, and LAN ports that are built into the MB.

If you go the build your own route, I would recommend AMD processors. I've used AMD exclusively for the past 5 years with very happy results. An AMD based machine comparable to an equivalent Intel will probably save you about $150. It is always rewarding to have something that you built yourself. Only you can decide if it is something you want to pursue. It is not rocket science. The hardest part is deciding what parts you want. Once you have all the parts, assembly is easy. Takes about 30-60 mins... Then all day to install the software and tweaking it to your liking.

Hope this helps....

[Chuck Wintle]

I will never buy an off the shelf computer again as they are too expensive and upgrades to them using standard parts is impossible. I just built my third one several months ago and its working very well. Large capacity hard drives are pretty cheap so you won't have capacity concerns. As Scott mentioned before if you own all the software then its pretty cheap considering only the hardware.

[Ted Shrader]

Bob -

Scott's comments about the software are right on target. Let me add another recommendation for parts" MWave.com. I have ordered form both NewEgg and MWave, both are reliable and your order gets quick processing. Last off the shelf computer I bought was in 1995. Built every computer since then. If I can do it, anybody can do it.

Keep the keyboard, mouse and monitor. Replace everything else.


Regards,
Ted

[Gary Bingham]

I used to build my own, but now it's almost not worth it. Unless you are an enthusiast who likes to use certain brands of hardware, or overclock, or simply have some aversion to using prebuilts. A lot of people write off dell's, just because they are dell's. But the dell that I currently have is by far the best computer I've ever had, and for the price, there's no way that I could have built a comparable computer for anywhere near the price I paid for it. Even buying used computer parts still isn't going to be cheaper than some of the deals you can find at dell.

But if you are intent on building one, they are easy enough to put together, and a good learning experience to boot. In fact, learning would be one of the main reasons I would suggest someone build a computer. When you buy all of the parts separately and it's up to you to put them together, you will learn how to get it to work, otherwise they are just a bunch of pretty computer parts.

[John Miliunas]

Bob, I have a hunch, that if your particular Compaq is like most typical Compaq's, the tower is designed to take proprietary components, right on down to the motherboard and power supply. Hence, if you're intent on building your own, I'd say start from scratch. Newegg is a good starting point. :cool:

[Chuck Wintle]

Hi:

Has anyone here built their own computer? The computer I am thinking about building is really an overhaul of an old Compaq 3216 computer that I had replaced about 1 1/2 years ago with my present computer. What I would like to know is if it would be possible to take the Compaq 3216 tower and replace all the internal parts in the tower with up to date equipment. The 3216 has Windows 95 and about 1.2 GB of memory on the harddrive. I would like to upgrade it to Windows XP with the INTEL 3.8 processor and as much memory in the hard drive as possible. Could this be done?

Thanks,

Bob.

Still on this thread, components that I have had good luck with include....

ANTEC......case,power supply, very solid and everything fits nicely,
ASUS......motherboards,
KINGSTON...memory
INTEL......cpu,
ATI.........video card,
MAXTOR or SEAGATE(5 year warranty)....hard drive, SATA if possible
LG...........DVD burner, cd burner,
PANASONIC..floppy drive,
NEC or LG.....monitor,
ALTEC LANSING...speakers
LOGITECH...mouse, keyboard
Plus I like the fact of not having to deal with dell or any other big company for repairs warranty etc.

[Jim Hinze]

I've built every desktop or tower computer I've ever owned... Would I do it now, no.

here's why....

Big makers like Dell and Gateway buy virtually the same components you could/would in bulk. Each of there base systems take quite a few short cuts in design and/or expandability, however most have options to configure in high-end components like graphic cards, sound, etc.

The largest difference comes in software and licensing. When you buy from Dell, Gateway, etc... you generally get the OS (Win XP), Office, other tools etc. that can and will cost between $800 and $1500 aftermarket.

Will one of these mass produced machines out run an enthusiast's liquid cooled over clocked CPU running a RAID SCSI disk array, 1gb cache, etc.. etc.. NO... will you every truely notice the difference, probably not (unless your a heavy duty CAD user (3D solid modeling, e.g autocad).

If your looking for the experience and money is not an object, have a blast and build it yourself... however I suggest saving you a headache in the long run and order one.

[Kevin Arceneaux]

I build my own. I don't need all the MS office, etc. And I get to pick the components. My son and I are heavy duty gamers and simers, so I want something I can get into a mod to my hearts content.

I am lucky, I have a guy here in Lafayette that I can get what I want for a price that is only a couple of bucks above the online sources. Instant gratification, plus if I have a problem with a part, I do not have to fight with the return people, I just hop in the truck and get the problem taken care of.

[Gary Bingham]

Big makers like Dell and Gateway buy virtually the same components you could/would in bulk. Each of there base systems take quite a few short cuts in design and/or expandability, however most have options to configure in high-end components like graphic cards, sound, etc.

Actually, the base systems are usually where the best deals are, with respect to dell. They usually overcharge so much for video cards, memory, cd/dvd drives, and hard drives (unless they are free upgrades) that you are better off upgrading them separately. In fact, you can usually find a deal where you get a free lcd with even the bare bones computer. For example, there was a deal last year where you could have gotten a p4 2.8c computer with a free 19" lcd for only $630. The lcd by itself retailed for $500. Sell it on ebay and you would have a p4 2.8c computer for less than $200. Sell the computer and you could make money.

My relatively bare bones dell that only came with 256mb ram, 48x cdrw, and and a pci graphics card only cost me $370. But it also came with a p4 2.4c, dual channel u320 scsi controller, and a 36.7gb 10krpm scsi drive. Those three parts alone retailed for more than I paid for the whole computer. This was about a year ago. I added 256mb ram and a radeon 9800, and for around $550 I had a computer that is still fast enough for anything I would need it for. In fact, today I could probably part this computer out and make most, if not all, of my money back. Which is pretty rare for a computer that is a year old.

[Perry Schmidt]

I do both - I build mine and usually by my 2nd computer.

Why build? If you have the software, and are looking for specific components and/or parts, or plan on doing upgrades within a year, then build. You'll get better components and know exactly what components you have when upgrading to match them better. This was more of an issue when new Microsoft OSs were coming out every couple years - you had to wait for drivers a LONG time if you didn't know the components. For me I also bought some very specific components for video capture that to get the same components from an 'off the shelf' system - even a customize-able one from Dell or HP - would have cost me a lot more.

Now the 2nd computer - it runs 'standard software' - office, IE, don't do anything unusual with it. So it's cheaper to buy off the shelf.

Although software is also a consideration, now-a-days there's lots of places that will basically throw in the OEM version of Microsoft Windows if you buy parts.

So if you aren't doing anything special - off the shelf, especially around Xmas time. LOTS of deals! But if you're going to immediately replace some parts or 'upgrade' portions, then building would probably be cheaper.

If you choose to build - I think the parts that Charles listed are almost exactly what I used for my last computer 6 months ago. Only differences are I'd include ABIT for motherboards - equal to ASUS (although I still got an ASUS), LiteOn CD/DVD burners are very good, and 'resold' as Sony for a considerable markup. And I prefer Seagate hard drives, although I've been hearing very good things about Samsung drives - new-ish to the market.

Hope that helps.

Perry

[Bob Worrel Jr.]

I used to build and sell PC's. I would rather be in the wood shop now, so no more. I now buy my hardware through a site called Pricewatch.

http://www.pricewatch.com/

It's catagorized by system or by the part. Vendors use this site to post their lowest prices on PC's and hardware. For instance...

A 2.4 GHz Celeron box with XP installed, 128 G of memery, 20 Gig hard drive, cdrom, sound, video, keyboard, mouse for $186.00

Same box but without the operating system...$142.00

It doesn't pay to build at these prices.
Enjoy...

[Brian Austin]

I gave up on building desktops when I switched over to all notebook computers. A little more expensive but the small footprint (with big screens and extendable desktops to multiple monitors) and portability are things I can't live without any longer.

I've got one older system left that's running a Linux server. I've sold or donated everything else.

[Jim Becker]

I used to build my own computers....until it got cheaper for me to buy one already done. You can get a "whoop-down" reburbed Dell desktop for cheap and if you price out everything, you can even find that it's cheaper just to buy one.
Same here...used to build, but these days the components cost more than the deals from Dell, even when you "roll your own" deal like I did. Between the current incentives they always have and accessing them via EBATES.com, good prices. No hassles or time to build.

[Dan Mages]

I always build my own computers. It is a load of fun!! Yes, you can buy an off the shelf computer for less than you could build one for, BUT the computer companies usually use components that were offered at the lowest bid. I am still using a computer that is 6 years old as a file server. There has been very few changes to it, except for new hard drives. Here are some component reccomendations

Video card - ATI is my pick. Take a look at their All In Wonder line. It will give you TV on your computer, good video editing, DVD player capabilities, darn good 3D gaming graphics, and my favorite... digital video recorder!! You can turn your computer into a TIVO like device with no montly charges or spyware that is native in TIVO devices.

Processor - I would go with an AMD 64 bit chip. It will give you great flexibility for future changes in computer technologies.

Memory - I reccomend Corsair memory. They are pretty expensive, but they hand pick the components for their memory sticks to ensure the highest quality.

CD/DVD drives - I like Sony. Most companies are good, but stay away from anything looks like a generic brand.

Hard drives - There are many good brands but stay with IBM, Maxor, Western Digital, or Segate. The faster the RPM the better. If possible, do with a serial ATA or SATA drive.

Power Supply - I like PC Power and cooling. I use their Turbo Cool model. They have 5 year warranties and top quality components.

The case - Ah... here is where wood working can come in. Find a case that can fit all of the components you need and a little extra. Probably a mid tower. You can then remove the side panels and the front face plate and make a nice wood box for it. The component access side can get a glass door with some nice brass hinges and a cubbard latch. Sounds like fun eh?



Now for something completely different......

There is a slightly new technology in computing called EPIA motherboards, also known as Mini ITX. The motherboard has a built in processor, video, audio, modem, and network controller on a PCB that is only 5.5 inches square! You can merge this with a 2.5 inch laptop drive and a slimline CD drive. This is so flexible that people have turned just about anything into computers, such as humidors, old Commadores or Apples, lunchboxes, etc... I am looking at turning a toaster into a computer to use in my kitchen. I will have a CD drive stick out the toaster slot. It gives a new meaning to burning CDs.;)


Best of luck. Let me know if you have any questions.
Dan

[Perry Schmidt]

Dan -

I like most your components. I use same/very similar. Just an FYI - if you didn't see it earlier. LiteOn CD/DVD drives are resold w/ the Sony label slapped on it, and at about 1/3 to 1/2 markup on price. Check out LiteOn...you'll save money and it's the same drive.

FYI

Perry

[Fred Chan]

Actually I have built a new computer from scratch. Back in the late 70's my brother worked for an electronics manufacturing company. They had rented a "cutting edge" Apple II computer and one day the engineers decided to take a look inside to see what makes it tick. Upon examination they decided to try to clone it. This was well before clones were being sold everywhere. I must have spent several weeks soldering tiny little parts onto circuit boards. :p The only component that came fully assembled were the floppy drives. It's been a long time but I think they were 360Kb, 5 1/4" drives and costed about $200 each with no cases.:eek: Hard drives were only affordable for lottery winners..$$$$. :rolleyes: I've still got it though it hasn't been plugged in for more than 20 yrs. These days I wouldn't consider "assembling" a computer from scratch because it's cheaper to buy one complete and usually comes with aftersales help for those inevitable little problems that pop up. However it would be the way to go if you're a real power user or wanted a custom cased showpiece like a see through aquarium model with flashing neon innards. (Gotta admit they do look real cool):D