When to buy new PC?

[boozie]

I know everyone will say now is always the time to buy or you’ll be waiting forever. Try to hear me out on this and see my situation/thoughts.

For starters, I am not comfortable mounting my CPU/heatsink. I’ve never built a PC from the ground up, but I’ve decided to get either Fry’s or MC to post it and do the rest from there myself. With this in mind, I am very nervous about getting a faulty Mobo (1155) since I really have no troubleshoot skills and don’t want to have to deal with it despite how easy it might be. My thought is if I pay/get them to post it I’ll at least have some of the kinks worked out.

The issue now is the timing of my purchases, here is what I’m looking at:

- New SSD’s are around the corner, I just want 120 GB for mostly games so I don’t care about performance boosts but I’m thinking I may be able to snag something on a sale if I wait a bit.

- Newegg has 15% off on RAM through tomorrow. I won’t necessarily be able to test the RAM in time for a return if I wait for a SSD. I am not comfortable giving myself a very tight window to buy a cheap SSD within 30 days of RAM purchase.

- Last thing on my mind is by waiting I increase my chances of a motherboard w/out issues

I don’t have to upgrade my PC right right now, but my current mobo has two leaked capacitors and wasn’t able to boot up for almost a month. I’ve had it running for almost 6-7 weeks now but I’m pretty sure if I actually turned it off it wouldn’t boot back up. I can wait a few more months if I need to, but I’m not waiting til Q4 or anything like that.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Numenorean]

Eh, just buy something now.

If you aren't comfortable with a custom system, then just get a Dell or something.

 

[airdata]

The issue now is the timing of my purchases, here is what I’m looking at:

- New SSD’s ) Anything would be an upgrade from what you currently have. Savings on buying current ssd's vs bleeding edge stuff makes sense because of performance gains from your current set up.

- Newegg has 15% off on RAM ) DDR3 prices are really low right now.

- Last thing on my mind is by waiting I increase my chances of a motherboard w/out issues) Get something that is established. Pricing on older i7 stuff is lower now and imo, like what I said w\ ssd's, the cost savings to performance makes sense.

I've seen people selling i7 920 cpu/mobo combos for ~$300

Or, you could get a fairly high end dell or hp setup for ~$750

 

[VirtualLarry]

Do you have a microcenter near you? Are you set on Intel? You could get a cheap AMD CPU + mobo combo, some DDR3, and a Microcenter G2 SSD, and (I think) you can pay them extra to put it together for you. (I could be wrong about this and they may only do a POST test, but I'm sure if you paid their hourly rate they would probably assemble it for you.)

Whether or not this would be cheaper than just getting a pre-built, I really have no idea.

Maybe you could buy someone's pre-tested/pre-assembled CPU/mobo/RAM/heatsink combo? (FS/FT forum?) I don't know what your current machine is, but if it's old enough to have failing caps, surely something like someone's old Q6600 rig could give you a boost.

 

[mlc]

leaky caps? i would guess it's time to take the plunge.. You can always look back and find a better time you could have upgraded. .. just do it!

However.. if you are set on an 1155.. I understand you're concern.. they are more like a Ferrari than a Honda in terms of performance vs reliability , if you know what i mean...

The i7 9xx series would be a much more stable offering .. but at a hit in performance.. so only you can decide .. or you can find some good deals on a bundle with an AMD x4 processor, mobo and ram for dirt cheap ... It all depends on your needs..

Folks on this forum are pretty helpful and patient, if you want to try the build yourself, you just have to be patient yourself, and not mind waiting for an answer , everytime you hit a snag along the way...

 

[boozie]

I live very close to MC and Frys. Since Frys will pricematch I haven't really set my mind on either side. I believe Frys post service doesn't have to be with components bought through them as long as they are unopened. Still makes me a little nervous though. I was planning on getting the CPU/post service from either of these stores and getting the rest through newegg or wherever is cheapest.

I can handle plugging in everything properly and installing the OS. I just read all these 1155 board issues on the forums and know I don't want to deal with that, but the i5-2500k seems like such a juicy buy I can't resist.

 

[jojester]

Get a refurbished macbook. You wont believe how much easier it makes every day computer things.

You wont regret the investment and wont be ripping your hair out as much. Xd

 

[boozie]

leaky caps? i would guess it's time to take the plunge.. You can always look back and find a better time you could have upgraded. .. just do it!

However.. if you are set on an 1155.. I understand you're concern.. they are more like a Ferrari than a Honda in terms of performance vs reliability , if you know what i mean...

The i7 9xx series would be a much more stable offering .. but at a hit in performance.. so only you can decide .. or you can find some good deals on a bundle with an AMD x4 processor, mobo and ram for dirt cheap ... It all depends on your needs..

Folks on this forum are pretty helpful and patient, if you want to try the build yourself, you just have to be patient yourself, and not mind waiting for an answer , everytime you hit a snag along the way...

Heh it's funny you make that analogy because I had a Honda Civic (2007) that had a cracked engine block (factory defect from a porous casting), but in general I know what you mean.

The troubleshooting could be a great learning experience assuming A) I don't break anything and B) it can actually be fixed by myself and not something I have to send back which I think the 3rd party posting will help with.

For the macbook comment, I need the desktop for gaming. This also applies for getting a Dell. I don't mind learning a little (especially if it gives me more for less), I just don't want to break anything. I already know most the basics, RAM/PSU/HD/DVD/GPU/all the fans. The adult legos part is no problem, it's more the initial startup side (i.e. cmos/updating bios) and general troubleshooting that I will struggle with but like mlc said I should be able to manage with some patience and guidance.

 

[BoomerD]

Boozie, if you wait for the "latest and greatest" to come along, you'll never get one built. Computers change all the time. It's part of the fun...you get to build a new computer every couple of years...

There are TONS of youtube videos to help you with step-by-step instructions for assembling the components...many good, knowledgable users in the various computer forums who will help you with any questions or problems...hell, there are often people who live near you who will help in person on occasion.

It's not HARD to build one of your own...but there are plenty of details you have to pay attention with...It seems to me like computers are getting easier and easier to build.

 

[ScottAD]

It seems to me like computers are getting easier and easier to build.

So true!


If you're wanting to take the SB dive the ASRock Extreme4 seems to be doing great Mobo wise. I don't see many complaints there. I'm waiting for an Intel board to come from NewEgg and eagerly await putting the whole she-bang together.

 

[boozie]

So the proper order of operations I'm assuming would be basic post, plug the rest in, convert in bios to AHCI for SSD, install Win7. Then I can update bios with mobo software? (was thinking about either Asus or ASRock) Do I need to use the mobo CD before Win7? After that do I want to update drivers for everything else? I know to use ninite.com once I'm actually up and running.

I can and probably should just google all this, but if anyone has a link handy that would be great.