I’ve joined the build your own PC band wagon just 3 months ago, I’ve been doing my own research before buying the parts.
I’m currently about to build a ATX3 motherboard tower with a 10th gen I7 unlocked processor, Z590 motherboard I’ve pretty much got most parts apart from a GPU, I decided for now to go with built in internal graphics. So far it’s already costed me $2000 that doesn’t include a GPU, monitor, webcam, keyboard, mouse and sound system.
I’m currently modifying my desk to a allow for the PC tower and I haven’t started to put the components together in the tower I still got to buy antistatic wrist strap and mat for safety!
I’m still currently new to this but I am a qualified tradesmen I would recommend to have some trade skills before building, but even qualified it’s still recommend do the research before you begin your build especially your safety!
Look up the most common mistakes and tips and write them down in a note book!
Well if you are a gamer looking for that experience that only the high end components and power and overclocking can deliver, then that rig looks to be a good start. If you can find that GPU.
If you are NOT a gamer, then in my view you are a crazy person to embark on your journey with a home-built system that would be far in excess of what is needed for normal usage. Maybe professional video editing would warrant it? Or perhaps you have thoughts of dabbling in bitcoin mining?
But each to their own I suppose.
Let me clarify. Second hand computers are a good idea. None of my PCs or their parts have ever ended up at the tip, they have gone to a good home - mostly for a lot less money than they were worth even on the second hand market.
I am a nerd, so I know what do do when selling a PC. I make sure everything is wiped thoroughly, so whoever ends up with the hardware does not get any of my personal information as part of the deal. Unfortunately, most people are not so aware and/or careful. Plenty of large companies and government entities have discarded computer equipment without wiping data, leaving it to whomever has the skills to look. (Apologies for the News Ltd link, it was the first response to my search.)
What do you care if someone else’s data is on the second-hand PC you bought? Normally you don’t need to worry, but what if that person installed malware/spyware before selling it? Always wipe the storage devices when you get a machine, and reinstall the OS. This will get rid of 80% of the already-low risk, and the other 20% you just cannot really do much about even when you buy new.
Keep the machine plugged in, but turn off the power. That will keep it grounded. Oh, and make sure you touch the case before commencing work. Oh, and preferably don’t build it on carpet (I ignore this rule).
A non-gaming PC should not cost $2,000 unless you are doing other complex tasks like video editing. Then again, as I mentioned in an earlier post prices have been crazy over the last couple of years due to supply chain issues - I just had a look at one PC vendor and their prices start at over $2,000.
Make sure you get a good keyboard, mouse and display. They are how you and the computer talk, so are the most important part of it.
I always make sure I can install a clean copy of the O/S. I make it a condition of buying - if I can’t install the O/S with the license that is claimed to go with the machine, then I can return it - OK? Nobody has quibbled yet and I clean install and keep the media (which I normally download myself) in case it is required again.
I am not inclined to snoop on other people’s data. But I did recently acquire an ancient laptop complete with Windows 95 and 25 year old data that still ran. It doesn’t have batteries, runs off mains. It was such a relic I didn’t have the heart to scrub it. I removed the hard drive and stored it, replacing it with another bigger one, and installed a bare bones Linux. You can’t get much of an O/S into 16Mb of memory!
I personally like the idea of just purchasing a brand new pc and if need be down the track update it.Overall i think you would certainly spend more long term creating your own.Brand new pc that’s great for gaming you can’t go wrong,and of course the Warranty to boot
Generally not, if you do what I do and replace one part at a time. Buy a brand new gaming machine and it’ll be outdated by tomorrow. Instead I would choose ‘the weakest link’ and update that.
A lot of new PCs come with keyboard and mouse - generally garbage, but you’re paying for them. A decent case can last for decades, and a power supply should last quite a while as well.
Of course, I am saying all of this having mentioned earlier in the thread that I bought a new PC last year (due to supply chain and pricing issues).
Looking to the recommended budget builds in the April 2022 edition of APC magazine, is there a cheaper option? $1921 for a build with a RTX 3060 12GB or $2349 with a RX 6700 XT. Apologies for the tech content. I’m ignoring as they did the option of an AMD CPU with integrated graphics, and the not quite as capable Intel options.
A PlayStation 5 gaming console assuming you can find one or wait for stock is $749, less for the disc less version. An upgraded ‘Pro’ version is also due with guesses it will be around the $950 mark or less.
The XBox Series X gaming console is also apparently hard to find and lists at $749.
Both products come ready to go, after setting up your online account and ….
It would seem one could buy one of each and still have change to buy a Chromebook, iPad or …….
No need to build anything. The suggestion is that for the average user or gamer needs can be more than met without taking the dive into home made. For those keen enough and some of us do enjoy the sense of achievement - vive la difference!
P.S.
There is a healthy market and trade in options for used consoles and games. Hopefully a positive to some,
If all you want is to play some games, then a console is absolutely the best bet, because of the different economic forces in console ecosystems.
Generally at the beginning of a new console’s life it will have fairly high-grade parts and the price will be heavily subsidised. As the console ages, the cost of making it falls substantially so by the end of its life it is making a profit.
Of course, the console itself is not the only profit centre. To publish a game to console you need to pay the platform owner for the right. This is a huge source of revenue for the console maker, that does not exist for more generalised operating systems such as Windows, Mac or Linux (but does exist for phones).
One thing to consider when buying a console is the price of games. These are generally at or above the price of the same game for PC. Additionally, there is less competition in the console games space so game prices tend to stay high. A few years after a AAA PC game is launched you should be able to get it on sale with a discount of at least 75%; this is generally not the case with consoles. (There are a few exceptions in the PC world, e.g. Blizzard tends not to discount its properties.) This applies to used games, which you can buy for consoles but are generally more costly than buying and downloading the same game for PC.
Of course, you can always get a games subscription service for your chosen console if you like a lot of variety. There are some similar services on PC, but these are generally limited to a single publisher (e.g. EA).
The final argument for console is that it will run everything that comes out for it. While it happens extremely rarely now, you may have occasional problems with PC games that do not run on your particular combination of hardware and software. Games for consoles are designed and optimised for a single set of hardware - meaning that they do not have to worry about compatibility with the thousands of different products in the PC marketplace.
On the downside, if you play on a console you are forced to use a gamepad. No keyboard and mouse.
