Buying a New PC

[Caliga]

Reason for asking is that I just got a new 1 Tb drive and my old drive is still working nicely (300 Gb), so I was thinking about running some sort of RAID config.  I think my options are fairly limited since the drives ain't identical.

[Faeelin]

I think the independent shop is a fine idea, if you're not a real man or are a homosexual.

I've got a cute girl who's offered to put it together for me in return for drinks, so ya'll can suck it.

Though pricing the specs for the compuer I want leads to a weird result; seems like there's only a $100-$200 difference if I have it made...

[The Brain]

I think the independent shop is a fine idea, if you're not a real man or are a homosexual.

I've got a cute girl who's offered to put it together for me in return for drinks, so ya'll can suck it.

Though pricing the specs for the compuer I want leads to a weird result; seems like there's only a $100-$200 difference if I have it made...

Jesus, you're not buying the drinks in a bar are you?

[Vince]

I think the independent shop is a fine idea, if you're not a real man or are a homosexual.

I've got a cute girl who's offered to put it together for me in return for drinks, so ya'll can suck it.

Though pricing the specs for the compuer I want leads to a weird result; seems like there's only a $100-$200 difference if I have it made...

What are the specs?  I just assembled a new computer from NewEgg last month.  I had to buy everything but a keyboard and mouse and it was $1500.   Unless you play Crysis at max resolution this will be able to run anything at top settings.

Does your school have an MSDN AA with Microsoft?  You can probably get a 64-bit Windows OS from there and save $100. 

Here's the tower I put together. https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=9613051

[Caliga]

  I don't think you can share your wishlist with others.

[Grey Fox]

You can but you have to make it public.

[Vince]

I don't think you can share your wishlist with others.

Whoops.  The list was public but I made it so long ago it doesn't show up.  Here's the specs:

    Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$109.99


   EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard    
$299.99


   EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card    
$239.99


   CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply    
   $119.99

   Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920    
   $279.99


   OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK    
   $99.99

   SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive    
   $84.99

   Acer X233Hbid Black 23" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor    
   $179.99


   SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223L LightScribe Support    
   $28.99     

   XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler    
$44.98

Subtotal:     $1,488.89

[Caliga]

[Grey Fox]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

Makes it more awesome.

[Caliga]

All of the cases in my house are CoolerMaster Cavaliers.  Great cases that I think are no longer manufactured, but I keep reusing them for each system build.

[Grey Fox]

Hey Caliga, what kind of raid you want? For speed or for back up?

[Vince]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

Makes it more awesome.

The tower I bought has great air flow but its a tight fit.  In hindsight I probably should have gone with a larger case like that.

[Caliga]

Hey Caliga, what kind of raid you want? For speed or for back up?

If I have to choose, I choose backup.

[viper37]

2500$?

Dude, this isnt 2001 anymore, a decent gaming computer is barely 1k$.

evidently, he'll get more than decent

[viper37]

DGuller's thread should be required reading for anyone thinking of building their own machine for the first time.

As compared to buying a system from a manufacturer ike, say, Apple.  I had my Mac Pro running within minutes.  

Choose components.
Have them delivered to your place.
Pay 65$ to have them assembled.
Install Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit, wich takes about 5 minutes of user interactive time while the rest is done by itself with no used input.
Download and install latest drivers: about 30 minutes.
Save 1000$.  Get your computer up&running in minutes


Of course, there are always people who are afraid of breaking something, so they'll want to pay 1000$ for nothing, but hey, it's their money.