computer magazines

[the crazy 1]

hi all

i am going to build a computer for a friend but he recently went to his local computer shop and they had a computer that he liked so i said dont buy it i will build you one to the same spec but when i looked in micro mart i found that i could only build it for about £100 less than the shop alot nowdays come with all the extras camera printer flat screen etc
am i looking in the right place
any ideas

many thanks

[ErnieK]

Hi there crazy 1
Now adays (here in the UK) The cost of building your own computer and buying complete system from shop is negligable.

With a bought one you do get the extras, a lot of them unwanted and un-needed. BUT the main plus side is that you have a full warranty on the computer as opposed to just the parts. And even if you end up with RTB you will have the peace of mind (and possible sanity) in knowing that help is a phone call away.

(Just make sure that you get ALL sytem disks and OS disks- if shop says that they do not supply go else where.
Do not accept when they say all drivers etc are stored on hidden partition. If the HDD gives up the ghost the day after warranty expires you are left with nothingexcept hardware)

There are postal companies that supply all disks (One company getting that is good reports is Eveshams)

If you do decide to go the home build route have a look at http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/home

This is Ebuyer and NOT Ebay. You will find that you can make quite a few saving here.

But, IMHO, the kick from building your own beats the small cost saving hands down. It all boils down to personal choice. As fore getting tech help you cannot beat the crowd here. (Ain't I a crawller? :D)

On the subject of Magazines. IMO the best you can get is PC Answers. This is the only magazine that I get regularaly. Not loaded with adverts and good sound tech advice and help.

[Budfred]

I advocate the self built system too, but not for cost savings. You will sometimes pay more for self built, but you know that you are getting quality parts all the way through and you know more about how to fix things if they go wrong. I have never found warranty service to be helpful, so the support I find here is superior to anything I have received from a company. I would let your friend know all the advantages and drawbacks, then let him decide.

[Whyzman]

Hopefully, I will, as an Old Gaelic proverb says, "Say little but say it well!"

What Budfred said! ;)

[saphalline]

I advocate the self built system too, but not for cost savings.

I must digress on this point, as it's only partially true. It's costs more to build a computer the first time! After that, all you're doing is constant upgrading. And with the parts left over, you have that much less to buy if you want to put together yet another system! ;) Most hardware lasts much longer than its usefulness as a "high-end component".

Monitors, floppy drives, older processors, older RAM, etc - it all adds up to the start of a second system, then a third, etc again. Even older versions of software can be used on these left over systems, especially if upgrading them is cheaper than buying new. :D

Just my two cents, but I'll never have to spend as much money for a new system as it cost me the first time...

[Budfred]

It is true that you can use old stuff on a new system you build for yourself, but I would generally use new stuff on a system I would build for someone else unless they have an old computer they want me to scavenge. This makes the build more likely to be more expensive than a pre-assembled model, but still worth it in my mind.

[TheSkippyKing]

In my view, with a "package" deal some of the components will be "low balled"...but if all your friend wants is a wham bam thankyou mame set up, then go for it. ;)

[ErnieK]

Whyzmah
Please see my signature for the gaelic qioute you mention:D I am trying to learn to live by it "Say But Little and And Say It Well"

[the crazy 1]

thanks alot for all your advice

what he is after is a computer to use mainly for photos so he wants a good printer but whats more important to me is getting the right mobo cpu graphics etc and as you say some of these deals are just the bog standard mobos graphics etc
and i agree the thrill you get from self build is great

[Sylvander]

That proverb is saying:
"Go for quality not quantity when you speak."
Which is good, but you could take it too far.

Imagine a world full of people who said nothing,
unless of course they spoke gems of thought,
which are few and far between.
So you have a world where little is said.

The flip side of that proverb might be:

"The person who never made a mistake never made anything."

So while going for quality,
we should temper it with not being afraid to make mistakes.

Better that it be said,
with the possibility that it be wrong,
than live in that sterile world of perfection and silence.

[Paul Komski]

Have always liked Teddy Roosevelt's "Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick"!

Hardware apart, it is hard to compete with some of the bundled software deals that come with a retail pc. Just maybe worth a thought.

[Budfred]

On the other hand, if you say too much, it becomes the same as saying nothing at all, the meaning gets lost in the words......

[TheSkippyKing]

The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.
Thomas Jefferson 1743-1826, Third President of the USA

[saphalline]

Hahaha! We must be some of the only people on Earth who can get into a philosophical discussion on advice for the "pre-built vs self-built" argument! :D :rolleyes: :cool:

And here I thought all the new posts were about Compaq/HP!! :p

Ah well, I might as well get into it...

So if mistakes make us human, why does history repeat itself?

[Sylvander]

History repeats itself because the human race FAILS……

…..TO LEARN from the mistakes of the past.

When_will_they_ever__learn?
Will_will__they__ever__learn?
They_they_they_ever_learn?
Ever_ever_ever_ever__learn?
Learn__learn___learn__learn?

“He’s the Universal Soldier
And he really can’t be beat.
His orders come from far away no more.

They come from here
And there
And you
And me

And Brother
Can’t you see?

That
[WAR] is NOT THE WAY
To
PUT THE END TO WAR.”

Some people have a vested interest in seeing that war is never ceasing.
Always another bogey man.
Who will be next?

The nation that uses assassination of it’s greatest and best does not do so to maintain good.
And when such as this appoints itself to judge other nations, the stench of hypocrisy wafts abroad.