Build or Buy - Part Two

[Gubbi]

I have a local shop right up on the corner that is quite cheap with parts (cheaper than buying parts online and then paying for postage). If you buy parts for an entire PX, they assemble and test the rig for just $50 extra.

It is really money well spent. Bought my first XPC (the very first s754 shuttle ones) at this place. Turns out that Windows XP needed to load the drivers for the SATA controller from a floppy. Well this particular model of XPC doesn't have a floppy drive. So you need to plug in a usb floppy drive, but not only that you also need to disable the onboard floppy controller (bog standard chipset with an unused floppy controller built in) in order to have XP find the usb drive.

That would have taken me forever to figure out myself. Instead I could just pick up a sweet looking box that was already burn in tested.

Cheers

 

[NANOTEC]

How much would it cost to buy this?

http://www.bit-tech.net/content_images/wmd_part2_g-gnome_case_mod/733.jpg
http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2005/10/19/wmd_g-gnome/2.html
http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2006/05/22/wmd_part2_g-gnome_case_mod/1.html

 

[Frank]

Yes, I would, but only if they have all the exact parts I want for the right price (as you said), which is often not the case. And they would have to make a good job of it.

 

[Cartoon Corpse]

you can always do what you're comfortable with, yet have, say 'important' stuff like the CPU mated to the liquid cooling unit and motherboard done for you at some shop....(directions that say.."just a little bit of thermal paste" isn't good enough for me when you're talking a $1000 CPU)

the grunt work...cable routing...GPU, drives, loading BIOS, OS, drivers..you can do cheaper and SAFELY...and (unless you're me) better. (i didn't pick the best route for cables i don't think...i was impatient, i can always redo it though.)

 

[KimB]

Bah, there's nothing more dangerous to the hardware about mounting a CPU with a water cooling unit than mounting a GPU. You just have to understand that if you screw up, make damned sure the board is dry before trying to turn it on (you could submerse your motherboard in water while it's off, and it'll have no effect).

Modern hardware is also much better about preventing stupid mistakes in assembly. It's much harder to screw up with modern heatsink mounts, for example. I once killed an Athlon XP motherboard when my screwdriver slipped as I was trying to mount the heatsink....

 

[Skrying]

Mounting a P4 of A64 heatsink is a breeze for the most part. Sure they're different ways for those massive heatsinks, but the stock heatsinks for both are just extremely easy to attach.

I really disliked the AXP mounting system. It was a pain to get it on, and I was always under constant worry because the core was exposed. IHS are a life saver to the first time computer builder.

 

[Cartoon Corpse]

Bah, there's nothing more dangerous to the hardware about mounting a CPU with a water cooling unit than mounting a GPU. You just have to understand that if you screw up, make damned sure the board is dry before trying to turn it on (you could submerse your motherboard in water while it's off, and it'll have no effect).

Modern hardware is also much better about preventing stupid mistakes in assembly. It's much harder to screw up with modern heatsink mounts, for example. I once killed an Athlon XP motherboard when my screwdriver slipped as I was trying to mount the heatsink....

BAH? easy for you to say. i had no prior knowledge of what you just relayed. though i did have those very fears.

i'd rather go the safe way till i know more about it. better than communicating some horrific failure story (eg burns my house down)...and you guy are all like "you idiot, you didn't transmogrify the gazilioop with 3 microns of tech butter?...lol!"

 

[Cartoon Corpse]

Mounting a P4 of A64 heatsink is a breeze for the most part. Sure they're different ways for those massive heatsinks, but the stock heatsinks for both are just extremely easy to attach.

I really disliked the AXP mounting system. It was a pain to get it on, and I was always under constant worry because the core was exposed. IHS are a life saver to the first time computer builder.

all i had was a PC Gamer "build your dream rig" article. and some parts and stuff. and a screwdriver or two.

 

[KimB]

CPU's and motherboards come with fairly detailed installation instructions. It's not a problem at all provided you take things slowly and deliberately, and keep in mind the simple things like not touching any connectors, or anything but the edges of the PCB's. It's also smart to keep one hand on the metal of the PC case while handling electronics, to prevent static discharges from damaging the electronics. Other than that it's all in the instructions.

 

[AlNom]

I really disliked the AXP mounting system. It was a pain to get it on, and I was always under constant worry because the core was exposed. IHS are a life saver to the first time computer builder.

aye... what really pissed me off was when the mobo designers don't leave any bloody room to even see where the heck you're supposed to attach the thing to the lugs (for bigger heatsinks).

I'm so glad they figured out a better method with the subsequent sockets.

 

[LunchBox]

It comes down to price for me. How much savings am I getting from building or buying with the same quoted components.

 

[swaaye]

I've always wanted to buy a tricked out Falcon Northwest. I've always been amazed with the quality of their builds. Their cabling is like an art form. But, that's only something that could happen if I won the lotto LOL!

Otherwise, I'll build forever and ever. It's more than half the fun with these puters for me. I'm bored once everything is working well and tweaked to the max! Been building since I was 14 probably. I was overclocking back when ya needed to swap clock crystals (oh yah thems were the days).

 

[Skrying]

While I still have everyones interest (hopefully).

Would many of you consider a fee for warranty only reasonble? To give you can idea of the price, I'd think of something around $25 for a one year warranty. If you were fine with no such warranty beyond a 30 day one (I'd think this is enough time to determine if the box was DOA or had any serious issues at first) then you'd pay no fee's at all?

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

While I still have everyones interest (hopefully).

Would many of you consider a fee for warranty only reasonble? To give you can idea of the price, I'd think of something around $25 for a one year warranty. If you were fine with no such warranty beyond a 30 day one (I'd think this is enough time to determine if the box was DOA or had any serious issues at first) then you'd pay no fee's at all?

I don't think that would be really legal in the UK. Over here the consumer laws include the wording "merchantable quality" ie, there's a minimum expectation that something should work correctly for a given period of time. Warranty or no warranty, there's a normal expectation that for a PC to be of sellable quality, you'd expect it to last more that a month under normal use. The standard one year warranty is pretty much implied in law. Just check on the retail parts and you'll see most of them are individually covered by warranty.

You can't just get around it by offering a cheaper product, so most everyone will have to build that warranty cost into the cost of the PC.

 

[Cartoon Corpse]

CPU's and motherboards come with fairly detailed installation instructions. It's not a problem at all provided you take things slowly and deliberately, and keep in mind the simple things like not touching any connectors, or anything but the edges of the PCB's. It's also smart to keep one hand on the metal of the PC case while handling electronics, to prevent static discharges from damaging the electronics. Other than that it's all in the instructions.

yeah i also had the manuals for my stuff. after some perusal, i decided to read them later. it was a lot of material. i guess im not very patient sometimes.

 

[Frank]

I don't think that would be really legal in the UK. Over here the consumer laws include the wording "merchantable quality" ie, there's a minimum expectation that something should work correctly for a given period of time. Warranty or no warranty, there's a normal expectation that for a PC to be of sellable quality, you'd expect it to last more that a month under normal use. The standard one year warranty is pretty much implied in law. Just check on the retail parts and you'll see most of them are individually covered by warranty.

You can't just get around it by offering a cheaper product, so most everyone will have to build that warranty cost into the cost of the PC.

There is an EU law that requires them to give consumers two years warranty. Most of them aren't saying that, and just offer the same warranty the producer offers (who offers only one year for most of the rest of the global market). And most of them will deny that if asked.

But, if you buy something and it breaks down within two years, they have to cover your warranty by EU law.

 

[swaaye]

In my experience, computer hardware will either die immediately or be immediately flakey (as in within a week), or it will work for a very long time. I can't think of ever needing an extended warranty. I suppose there are situations such as a dieing fan, but I just replace those myself. That is about the only thing I can think of too. The only hardware I've ever RMA'ed, that I can remember anyway, was a hard drive. WD cross-shipped me a refurb very quickly, and I was impressed with that.

So, system warranties aren't very important to me. I like to see parts with long warranties though because it tells me they stand behind their product and that it is probably a well-tested item.

edit: System warranties aren't very important to me for my systems. But, if I'm buying for the standard computer illiterate friend, then I want them calling Dell instead of me.

 

[Skrying]

In my experience, computer hardware will either die immediately or be immediately flakey (as in within a week), or it will work for a very long time. I can't think of ever needing an extended warranty. I suppose there are situations such as a dieing fan, but I just replace those myself. That is about the only thing I can think of too. The only hardware I've ever RMA'ed, that I can remember anyway, was a hard drive. WD cross-shipped me a refurb very quickly, and I was impressed with that.

So, system warranties aren't very important to me. I like to see parts with long warranties though because it tells me they stand behind their product and that it is probably a well-tested item.

edit: System warranties aren't very important to me for my systems. But, if I'm buying for the standard computer illiterate friend, then I want them calling Dell instead of me.

Well yes, this is my theory on hardware too. If its going to die, its going to do so fairly early. But many just like the assurance of a warranty, so it would be offered.

I have a few ideas I've been throwing around in my head about things, but its all a bit far off for now.

 

[Blazkowicz]

PSU can degrade other time, my former one worked for six or more monthes, then PC got instable in games, (+12V at around 12.7V), then almost unusable later (13V, up to 13.2 or 13.3 ). that was a noname PSU though, I have no reason to fear my fortron will break soon.

a used stick of PC2100 I bought mysteriously degraded too over times, I ran with tight timings at first and now my PC is underclocked for stability.

sure most flaky hardware is flaky from the beginning but wrong things can and do happen, and the warranty is there for that.

you also have hard drives which have a completely different pattern. it's rare to buy a non-functioning HDD, but every one will die someday, and there's no way to know it it'll fail in 1, 3, 5 or 10 years.