LegoFan560 wrote:- Have you assembled a computer?
- Did you enjoy it? That is, was it fun?
- Where did you get your parts?
- What parts did you use?
- How is it cooled?
- How long did it take?
- What operating system did you use?
- About how much did it cost?
- Are you happy with the end result?
1. I built my main desktop/gaming machine
2. Loved building it. Always happy to upgrade it too.
3. Frys Electronics, mostly. I shop at Newegg.com and Tigerdirect as well.
4. Asus mobo, Intel i5, ati radeon hd 4k series. got a 120gb Crucial m4 SSD, definitely worth it. I have my OS and some select applications on it, and run everything else off my secondary HDD. If you do get a SSD, and it's worth investing in, make sure to look up how to install it (partitioning, enabling TRIM, etc). Little things like that let you pull more performance from it and help keep it from running down.
Also, be sure to back up your SSD regularly; we're still not fully in the know on their lifespan and the more they get written to, the faster they run out. Don't let that deter you, HDD's run out too. Just backup, that's all.
For a HDD, get a big one. They are so cheap nowadays, you're skimping on $20 for 500 extra GB. Of course, you can always throw a new one in whenever you need it later down the line.
5. Normal heat sink. If you get a spacious enough box with good fan ventiliation, no need for a water cooling system unless you OC.
6. It took long to shop for the parts than to put it together. Not long at all. Got it all done in a night with spare time to game.
7. Windows 7. Do NOT go with XP, and do NOT go for 32 bit installation, unless you want to throw away all that extra ram.
8. Skated by under 1k. (not including later purchases).
9. Love it. I don't think I'd ever buy a premade desktop again.
Are you planning on assembling piecemeal, or all at once? If all at once, you have the advantage of being able to send in for replacements if a particular part isn't working (I had to return my first SSD (Corsair Force) because it was absolutely junk). You might not be able to do that if you found out it doesn't work a month later after buying. On the other hand, if you keep eye on sites like SlickDeals.net, you can found some amazing deals to help cut down the cost of your computer.