Building a PC

I'm in a money crunch now, but I really need to replace my desktop. I bought a laptop last year (120GB hard drive, 1GB memory), and it made me realize how much of a dinosaur my current desktop (Dimension 2400, 40GB hard drive, 512MB memory) is.

I'm thinking of slowly upgrading components, first the motherboard and processor, then the hard drive and ending with the sound/video card and all the goodies. Is this the best way to go? Definitely looking at a Core Duo processor with a minimum of 2GB memory, probably a hard drive somewhere in the 400GB range.

Advice? Comments? Thoughts?

How difficult is it to install a motherboard? I've installed memory and a couple burner drives on my computer in the past.

 

Get as much memory in the thing as you can. Also, more HD space is a plus. I just recently almost filled up my 500 gig external.

 

If you have a laptop, why do you need a desktop?

 

1. I'm a tech nerd of sorts.
2. I wanna use the laptop moreso for work purposes, and use the desktop for the house and to use as an entertainment PC, to keep shows on instead of buying a TiVo instead, etc.

 

The problem with building a PC is that you don't really save very much money over buying one (with a warranty), and you run the risk of doing something wrong (inadvertently) and ruining the whole thing.

I've installed memory and internal drives. I'd love to build a machine myself exactly to my spec (with no Dell-installed junkware) but, having priced it all out, it just doesn't make financial sense. The time I spend removing the junkware is less than the time I'd spend building (and, perhaps, rebuilding) the hardware.

 

I built the computer I'm using right now. I'm far from being a tech whiz and once I had all the parts it only took me a couple of hours. As I recall, installing the motherboard involved screwing it to the case and plugging it into the power supply.

The total cost was probably pretty close to what I would have paid retail for a similar machine, but it was well worth it. I got exactly the specs I wanted, it's been far more dependable than any other computer I've had, and it isn't clogged with all the shit software you get from Dell or someone else. Plus, it was pretty fun to build a computer that actually ends up working.

Having said that, I'd be pretty hesitant to try to rebuild an existing computer. It seems to me you'll run into a lot of potential hardware issues, and that's assuming the case is built to accommodate everything you want in it.

Here's the website I used for a guideline: http://www.mysuperpc.com/.

If you mostly want the challenge of building a computer, go for it. But don't expect a lot of cost savings involved.

 

I'm not expecting savings. I'm expecting to be able to do it over the course of time, therefore I won't be forking over $700 at once.

PC, all very good points you raise. Thanks for the tips, everyone.

 

Hey, I have a dimension 2350... so you think your desktop is old.
But along the way, I added memory, turned a CD only drive into a DVD-rw and a DVD drive, added a 120G hard drive

If you want to build, I recommend looking at Tiger Direct.com... but Mods is right, you can get a decent one for 500... hell, I saw a dell at WALMART the other day for 450...

 

I'll second the support for Tiger Direct. Probably 2/3 of the parts in my computer came from there. Great service.

 

Have an 850 VA 425 Watt UPS coming UPS on Tuesday from them.. the UPS was 39.99.... works out well, I'll get another.

 

How easy are those UPS thingys to install, Slaps?