Building Computers

[jm1fd]

I usually build all my computers, but I tried buying one pre-built. It was a nightmare. The motherboard fried under warranty, but the replacement motherboard was different and confused all of the OEM software so that it refused to run. The power supply couldn't handle a bigger graphics card, so I had to buy a new power supply. The power supply form factor was non-standard, so I had to buy a new case. It didn't come with documentation for the motherboard, so it was a pain in the ass trying to figure out where the front USB port was for the new case.

Building computers is trivial. I'll never buy one pre-built again.

Back in the day I built a machine....it was horrendously unreliable and I spent a good bit of money on it. The next machine I had, I bought from Dell. It has been dead reliable, and I couldn't have built an equivalent machine for twice the price.

[Mr. Chenevert]

Physically putting hardware together is easy.

What often gets overlooked is the software interaction. Driver development from many vendors is poor.

You might find yourself tracking down an issue to a certain piece of software, and there is nothing you can do but try a different vendors solution.

These sort of kinks are worked out by the mainstream vendors.

[westguy76]

Things I learned from this post...

Houstonmacbro Really doesn't have any desire to build a computer!!!

don't ask him again!

[memebag]

Well, that's fine for those who want to build one. More power to you.

I don't want to do that (and besides I use a Mac so I can't build one myself).

But I don't want to build one any how.

C'mon. All the cool kids are doing it.

[houstonmacbro]

Building a computer, in my opinion, is like fiddling around with a car engine or doing a plumbing job. Sure I suppose I COULD do it, but it is not worth my time or energy or effort to do so. Besides I could screw something up really bad and then I'd really be pissed.

I am a black sheep (Mac, remember?) in the computer world. Just build it and I'll buy it.

[crunchtastic]

I am a black sheep (Mac, remember?) in the computer world. Just build it and I'll buy it.

That's pretty funny. My mac friends don't have conversations like this. They laugh at the rest of us that we even need to ask......mac snobs!

Right now--my mac BF solves world hunger on his super-machine while I toil helplessly on a 5 year old dell notebook.

I'm just jealous.

[BryanS]

I used to build my own computers, back when PCs were more expensive than what they are now. I did it because I could build the machine to my exact specifications and save money at the same time (by buying what I now know was crap). I've seen hard drives go from MFM (1988! - my first 386), to IDE, to SATA. ISA to PCI. I probably did this for 10 years. Now that you can buy the whole thing for $500, I've lost all interest.

One of the things that I always hated about 'custom computers' are the cases. You could spot a custom job from a mile away because of the generic beige, oddly styled case. Granted, what is inside of the case is more important, but what an eye sore. That was always the challenge: finding a decent looking case. My HP desktop, that I bought a few years ago, has the body/case styling of a Porsche compared to the junk I used to build...

EDIT: While those odd, generic cases were a pet peeve of mine years ago, today, my biggest pet peeve has to be the pre-installed OS and software that comes from the manufacture, customized. So while I don't bother with building up the hardware these days, the first thing that I do, as soon as I get the computer out of the box, is re-loaded it from the ground up (format c: /u) and get rid of the stupid recovery partition (I *really* wish they would just give us the discs, without all of their bloated customizations).

[mls1202]

I wholeheartedly agree on the issue of the cases. I spent more time looking for a cool looking case that wasn't just the standard beige block. Things have improved as there is a healthy submarket of good case manufacturers and the aesthetics of a computer are now appreciated (I thank Apple for that).

[TheNiche]

EDIT: While those odd, generic cases were a pet peeve of mine years ago, today, my biggest pet peeve has to be the pre-installed OS and software that comes from the manufacture, customized. So while I don't bother with building up the hardware these days, the first thing that I do, as soon as I get the computer out of the box, is re-loaded it from the ground up (format c: /u) and get rid of the stupid recovery partition (I *really* wish they would just give us the discs, without all of their bloated customizations).

No frickin' kidding.

[sevfiv]

I had the same issue with cases. I had to get a large one (large to me considering the other option i was considering was a Mac Mini).

Finally found a decent plain black case without junk on it (chrome, lights, etc) but it took some shopping.