Buying a Custom Built PC

I'm interested in purchasing a computer where I can select my own drives,

memory, processor, etc. Dell is the obvious choice, but I already have a license

for XP from my old computer that I'm going to get rid of. And it's not clear

whether any of the Dell servers that don't come with OS's will support XP

 

Any recommendations for places where I can configure my own system (without OS)?

It would be good to get a system that supports 3 hard drives, if possible. And I

live in the San Francisco bay area so if anyone has any recommendations for

local places, that would be great as well.

Viday, IMHO, you should forget Dell and really build it yourself. It's not difficult at all. If you can wire up a stereo system, you should have no trouble. You will get complete freedom to get exactly the complement of features that are important to you. What it will involve is some research on your part to find the parts that meet your needs, but once you get them all, they pretty much just plug together. Building your own can be a little more expensive than buying a mass-produced PC, but you'll probably save money in the long run due to it's greater expandability and upgradeability.

 

Cheers and good luck!

 

Steve

if you buy a complete pc, microsoft may still require you to buy a copy of xp. probably Vista now.

If you could be sure all the parts are of high quality, you could buy what they call a "barebones" and use your present video card and drives. but possibly ( likely) not the memory.

98 or me permitted you to move the drive with the OS to another pc and it would ask a bunch of questions and then be usable.

not a really good Idea but it DID work

XP does not permit this and will choke and die if a instaslled system drive is moved to another pc - even if the other pc is very similar.

so you are faced with re-installing xp and all the programs.

not the easiest or most convenient thing to do.

 

If you buy brand-name parts from a reputable dealer Not a mega-store NEVER. your system should be easy to configure, starting with a quality barebones. be sure all the necessary driver cd';s are provided. An honest dealer will give them as you bought and paid for the cards and drives that went with them.

the main flaw/problem in building one from pieces, is that sometimes there are small problems and incompatabilities between , say, a video card and something else.

a dealer should be able to tell you the parts to choose. don't insist on a certain part "just because"

HP lets you spec out a PC ("customize it" option) on their site.

I built my own and it was a worthwhile project because I learned a lot about the functioning of computers but it was also problematic in some ways.

 

I am originally from the bay area, and if I was there now I would get on Craigslist and find a gaming computer geek that is selling his last years high end gaming computer. As a rule we as photographers do not need cutting edge stuff, so a generation or two old is sufficient. After I built my computer 18 months ago for around $1500, I saw many like mine on Craigslist for $6-800.

 

As far as keeping your old XP, its possible. If your old system is still running smooth, you will be able to copy it using Acronis True Image and put it on a new computer. I would suggest getting a new Hard Drive, a SATA II that will be faster to use as your system disk on your new computer. Copy your old operating system and install it on the new computer then put the old hard drive in and use it as a storage disk.

 

The other option is go to FRYs and buy your components and build your own. Check out www.tomshardware.com/2002/09/04/building_your_own_pc

for advice. Your old computer might have enough scavengable parts Hard drives, disk drives, video cards to make it worthwhile.

ABS Computer Technologies (www.abs.com). They're in LA. I bought a computer from them a few years ago and was very satisfied.

In my area there's many local computer retailers who will put together a pc to your liking. They have the experience to do it right, know the pitfalls, will mix-and-match components to your liking, make sure it's all compatible, and offer advice on what works or doesn't. IMHO, this is a good middle ground between taking on the whole project yourself, and dealing with Dell.

www.tigerdirect.com

There's a huge difference between Us & Canada. Many computers in Canada are 'whitebox' (built by store). I've built the last 4 myself and it always saves me a bundle PLUS you build with exactly waht you want and you know how to troubleshoot everything yourself.

 

Somehow in the US, people can't get past the 'gotta be a Dell' thing. I own lots of Dell printers & LCDs, but I prefer to build computers myself. Last one I did took 20 minutes plus software installation.

 

Tigerdirect is a good start & there are lots others that are cheaper for components. By comparison, the last pre-built one I bought forced me to spend hours deleting junk programs. I wanted to re-format & install new O/S, but the laptop O/S would not allow installation unless it included the junk.

 

doug

I suggest Newegg. They usually have a better selection and better prices than TigerDirect. Both are good though.

 

You can still buy OEM XP licenses from them.

 

These days you can build a pretty beefy desktop PC for about a grand, including an OEM copy of Windows. (not including monitor of peripherals, those carry over better)

 

I might as well explain the idea of of OEM. There are pretty much 3 types of Windows. There's the full copy you buy at a store for a ripoff price and you can install it on a system with no OS, upgrade an OS, or move it to a new machine if you want, price for Vista Ultimate on this would be something like $400. Then there's the Upgrade version which you can also buy in a store, which has been crippled to only let you install on a system that already has windows on it, making a clean install anywhere from a pain to impossible, that's about $200 for Vista Ultimate. Then there's the OEM copy, which is what's sold with most computers, this can be installed on a system without an existing copy of Windows and is next to free for manufacturers, even us mere mortals can buy one of these versions online for about the same as an upgrade copy. The only trick with OEM is that it's permanently tied to the system you first install it on, which really isn't all that bad considering it costs about as much as any other piece of the system and the system is so much dead weight (or a linux box) without it anyway so transfering it around to shave that $10 off the price of the next system by disabling the last isn't really all that much of a feature to lose.

<a href="http://www.cpu.com/sanfrancisco">CPU (Computer Parts USA)</a> has an affiliate in San Francisco. Their range of parts is not as extensive as, say, Newegg, but they have the best bang-for-buck parts around and stand by their work. I've dealt with the Amarillo store many times in the past, and they can have a custom box ready for pickup in just a few hours.

www.newegg.com

I agree with Zach & Rand. www.newegg.com

Thanks everyone for the ideas! I thought I would salvage just the OS from my old PC but with the idea of building my own, I should be able to also re-use the hard drive, video card and possibly the memory (not sure). That's the current path I am pursuing.

"The only trick with OEM is that it's permanently tied to the system you first install it on" This is not true from my experience with everything up to Vista. You simply call in to MS and tell them that you replaced the HD & you're good to go with a new number. Anyway, it's always worked for me.

Vijay, shop carefully before you assume that you can reuse your Video card. The Video card slots have transitioned several times over the past few years (From PCI to AGP to PCI Express, all of which are incompatible with each other) Memory will most likely not be transferable.

 

I've built all of my computers over the past dozen years, (except laptops), and really when it's all said and done I only think it is worth it if you really like doing that sort of thing.

 

I recommend newegg.com and zipzoomfly.com if you decide to build it! anandtech.com and tomshardware.com are good sites to help you pick out your components (though you'll sink a fair bit of time into reading up if you go there, consider yourself warned :-)

 

Have fun whatever you decide!

I also had good luck with Newegg on the 3 computers I have put together. I used Asus motherboards and a nice big Antec case with air filters in the front. You have expansion room for a bunch of drives and probably 6 USB ports. You can do the research on the motherboards on tomshardware.com and other sites. Make sure you verify the memory is compatible with the motherboard you are using, they usually have a list of one that have been tested with the board. Take care to make sure the motherboard/processor socket type and memory are all compatible. On Newegg they have them associated together. Just double check everything.

 

The procedure to put it all together is not complicated, just make sure not to short something out when installing the motherboard to the case. Also the processor/fan unit is delicate and you should not be in a static sensitive environment when putting it together. Sometimes the little front panel connectors are a pain to attach to.

 

If you are mechanically inclined go for it. If not jut buy one.

I have a web-site for doing what you want I wont ship a pc to the states but you are most welcome to spec it based on my config.

I have an excellent choice of motherboards for highend digital work

 

http://www.dves.co.nz/systems.html