Need Pc advice. Build or buy?

[toostrike]

Hi Everyone- I Have always bought a pc through a retailer(instead of building my own),and have some pc knowledge.I have added hardware on my pc's(ie)hardrives,cd burners ect,but never built a pc from scratch.Well,I was thinking about getting a Dell pc in the near future,but now I'm considering just building it from scratch.I remember when I bought my hp 5 years ago,the 1300 dollars I spent that is now totally outdated.Enough said,I'm sure we have all been down that road...

Here is my question. I can buy a (Dell 8400) for about a 1000 dollars,and here are the specs.

Dimension 8400

Pentium® 4 Processor 530 with HT Technology (3GHz, 800 FSB)

FREE 1GB Memory Upgrade!

FREE 160GB Hard Drive Upgrade

I would only get a standard dvd rom drive(with this offer),but I don't want Dell's low end drives anyway.I would add a Decent Plextor dvd burner,hp cd burner,and some mouse and keyboard upgrades myself.


I never built a pc from scratch,but I'm wondering if I should try to build a pc vs buying a Dell.Any comments are appreciated..

[Cricket]

I would build. You get to choose every single part that goes into your computer so you know it'll be a truely quality build. And you'll get to know your computer intimately inside and out. It isn't hard to build your own computer, the hard part is choosing all the right parts and we can help you with that. And besides, a home built computer will run circles around any store bought name brand one.

Cricket

[Eagle]

it depends what your going to use the computer for... if its for gaming... then yes build your own cos it can work out cheaper... but if you want a computer to just surf the net then a dell might be good....

just my 2 cents

[Markman385]

if your interested in building your own i would say you should give it a go. If you already have a decent amount of computer knowledge and experience adding hardware and stuff it's really not going to be difficult at all. The most time consuming and difficult part is chosing what parts you want and the forums here are really helpfull for advice concerning those decisions. since you seem interested in doing it i'd say give it a try. you'll have much more control over what exactly your getting and it will be a lot more fun than just placing an order with dell.

[toostrike]

Thanks for the replies..I am going to build it myself.I will just have to stick on these forum boards,and learn as much as possible.First I want to learn more about motherboards,chip sets,and everything else..I just want to build a kick ass pc,and this seems like a great place to learn.

[Cricket]

Be sure to read the PC Mech Build Your Own PC guide.

Here's another guide.

And this site can help you learn all about the inner workings of a computer.

Cricket

[toostrike]

Originally Posted by Cricket Be sure to read the PC Mech Build Your Own PC guide. Here's another guide. And this site can help you learn all about the inner workings of a computer. Cricket

Thanks for the links Cricket.I checked out the pc mech guide for building your own pc already.(it was just the demo),but seemed like a handy tool to give you more understanding.15 dollars is not alot of cash for the guide as long as I can put it to good use.I really like this site alot!!!Another helpful tool I found here was all the links to articles on specific projects.After I figure out some more of the nitty gritty I will be prepared to post some better technical questions..

I had alot of satisfaction by putting on hardrives,cdburners ect on the pc's I upgraded in the past.It gave me knowledge on jumper settiings,Hooking up and configuring devices on your primary and secondary channels and some basic stuff,BUT building a pc myself sounds pretty awesome.