Build or Buy?

[scorrpio]

Newegg is good, but I also do a whole lot of business with Directron. Some PCs I assemble come like 80% from there, and only 20% newegg.

[bfrikken]

bfrikken - I was doing a quick check on tigerdirect at current prices. I didn't know they'd changed the pinout on the power supply - as far as I know ATX is ATX, correct? Or has the pinout for ATX changed?

The pin setup is related to the newer chipsets. My 939 amd board has the 24 pin. My 5 year old Socket A board has a 20 pin.

the 754 chipset was also 24 pin.

Of course, these are all ATX boards or microATX boards (which fit in both microATX cases and normal ATX cases).

[bfrikken]

Oh, and here are sites i generally use when building a new PC:

Newegg - 80%
Zipzoomfly - Usually measuring stick for pricing and compete well with newegg. However, I generally still go w/ Newegg cause I've never had a problem with them. ZZF gave me good service for the few times i use dthem. But i don't like their site at all.
Tigerdirect - buy lots from them. Mostly rebate stuff. But many people hate TD for their history of terrible rebates. I've never had a single issue with TD.
Outpost - This is the online front for Fry's. I find occassional great deals on here. Thats where I got both my P/S's

[scorrpio]

bfrikken - I was doing a quick check on tigerdirect at current prices. I didn't know they'd changed the pinout on the power supply - as far as I know ATX is ATX, correct? Or has the pinout for ATX changed?

The extra 4 pins are to power the extra demands of PCI Express. The first 10 pins on each row of the connector are completely compatible. That is, you can plug a 20-pin PSU connector into a 24-pin mobo, and in most cases it will work - as long as you don't strain the mobo too much.

And backwards, most new PSUs that have 24 pin connectors allow a 4-pin section to be disconnected, and then they can plug into a 20-pin mobo.

http://pinouts.ru/Power/atxpower_pinout.shtml

http://pinouts.ru/Power/atx_v2_pinout.shtml

[pierhogunn]

and now from server-land you can get the Fiber attached drives, Sun uses them in some of their servers, wicked fast 15,000rpm and no idea on how fast you can send stuff off of them, but they are also super expensive, but isn't that the point?

[crokett]

thanks for info on the pinouts sscorpio. I am still thinking about it. The issue (I think) with the current system is temperature. Possibly memory but I think temperature. That is what it is acting like. All the fans are running as they should be but the CPU still seems hot when the machine has been on a while. IRRC AMD did have problems with processors overheating.

[wbsettle]

Even if the fans appear to be running properly, it probably wouldn't hurt to go in with a can of compressed air, if you haven't already...especially the CPU heat sink fins. Lots of dust can get trapped in there.

If you're really adventurous, you might remove the heatsink, scrape off the thermal compound and reapply. You're probably in the 6 year old range like myself, so the original compound could be breaking down.

Build/buy? I built last time, will probably buy next time. If you pay attention to the CC/BB rebate specials, it gets really hard to justify a custom build unless you have some very specific needs.

HP uses Asus mobos in at least some of their Pavillion models. It would make since that the other Tier 1 system builders probably use same/similar top tier suppliers, so I don't think parts quality is really a concern. Even Dell had quit using proprietary power supplies the last time I checked.

-Brent

[BigguyZ]

I used to build all the time. If you want a super-performance machine, it's almost ALWAYS best to build it. I like knowing what's in my computer and what's ON my computer (what software, etc). When my dad needed a server for his business I built it for him and saved him at least $1000.

These days, I don't need/ want the high end stuff. Now, if I wanted to upgrade my PC on a constant basis as my needs increase- I'd build. But now by the time I want to upgrade, I end up changing everything anyways. I wouldn't go with BB or CC. Dell has some insane deals, and the last time my dad needed entry level machines I advised him to order from Dell. It's hard to beat them on the bottom end.

[LCHIEN]

My opinion is, if you need a low end current machine (and this is sufficient fo 90% of the people who just want to do e-mail, web surfing, look at photos from their cams, and do a little word processing) then you should buy a dell or compaq/hp, e-machines or other machine, you can't beat the price breaks they get for buying components in the thousands.

If you have a fairly recent machine that the MOBO or preocessor died, then you could do well upgrading with a new Mobo and processor and using the HD, CD/DVD, case, etc.

But if you have a machine that's more than 3-4 years old, you really need to buy a new machine because although you might get by with a mobo upgrade, the memory will be too small (and maybe slow), the disks marginally sized and slow, the case marginally cooled and powered and lacking enuf USB & USB 2 ports, and maybe the video underpowered and slow compared to the new mobo and processor- you'll have a lot of bottlenecks that will keep you from getting the most of a new MOBO and processor.

[scorrpio]

Yeah, I generally do not bother with upgrades lately - I just assemble a PC as good as can on the budget, and it usually lasts till next tech overhaul comes around. My current PC, which can run most games at decent resolutions and settings, is over 3 years old. Not having much time to play these days, I am not in a hurry to build me a new one. I think the new PC will be already running Vista and be fully Dx10 compliant.

[crokett]

Thanks for the input fellas. For now I am gonna stick with what we have. Not enough $$$ right now unless something really breaks. It has been an expensive year. Next spring I think I will look at this again.