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Ease of DIY....

post #1 of 31
6/21/07 at 10:02pm
Thread Starter 
This year I think I may build myself a computer to save a couple hundred bucks and just to have an experience of a lifetime. My only concern is my ability to do it. I have extensive knowledge of computers but it seems that every time I look again, people are running into tons of driver issues and I've never applied thermal paste. If I build my own, do you think I should buy a floppy drive for it so that I can install drivers more easily? Or do most things just come on CD's now? Also, do you commonly run into these driver/bios update things or is that more uncommon now-days? Otherwise it's pretty much slot A-slot B type stuff.
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post #2 of 31
6/21/07 at 10:50pm
you know my opinion pdonket...........

you won't have driver issues if you stick w/ xp for now, you can use stock HSF which means a pre applied thermal paste = super easy, you don't need a floppy anymore, bootable cd's work fine.....recently I haven't seen any floppy discs come w/ current hardware.
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post #3 of 31
6/21/07 at 11:04pm
Thread Starter 
Do you think I'd be alright with the stock heatsink? I sort of want to get a more powerful HSF, although I probably won't do much beyond minor OC'ing
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post #4 of 31
6/21/07 at 11:23pm
if you are worried about applying thermal paste then the stock HSF would prob be best, you can always change it out later (just be careful b/c some HSF's require that you put a support plate on the bottom of the mobo and that would suck to have to take the entire mobo out to put a HSF on)

I've heard of many people oc'ing C2D's to 3.0Ghz on stock HSF, though I'm sure you would fine applying some AS5.
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post #5 of 31
6/21/07 at 11:30pm
Thread Starter 
I mean, the action itself doesn't seem like a very difficult thing, but some websites say just put the heatsink on to the processor die and it will spread the AS5 evenly, however some say you should use a credit card or protractor to do so. Either way I think I could get it done. However, after hearing that about the stock HSF, I don't think I'd have any problems with just that.
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post #6 of 31
6/21/07 at 11:37pm
many methods, all work fine, most prefer the dot method and let the HSF spread it out.

the really anal ppl. tend to spread it out w/ a CC card.
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post #7 of 31
6/21/07 at 11:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mitcity22 View Post
many methods, all work fine, most prefer the dot method and let the HSF spread it out.

the really anal ppl. tend to spread it out w/ a CC card.

Thats great, in that case I think I'd be able to do it without a problem, it was the spreading that I was unsure about
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post #8 of 31
6/22/07 at 12:16am
Not sure how I got two posts. One full and one partial.
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post #9 of 31
6/22/07 at 12:22am
I did it myself a few years ago. Then I got older and lazy. I wanted to build a monster system recently. I got help with parts from a friend. I also had him build it. I got it. It worked fine for a while. Then my motherboard died. Neweeg took forever to replace it, so I bought another one from Fry's. That was pretty easy. Then I decided to go SLI. I had to get a bigger case for better cooling.
I swapped all of the parts out and added to them. I downloaded all drivers. To start, I downloaded them to an SD card before hand. You should be able to handle it. I also got a monster heatsink with the backplate that goes under the montherboard. Those are a bit harder to do, but patience will pay off every time. I also built a second destop with the replacement motherboard that I finally got back from newegg. That was a nice motherboard. I got lower end parts for it, but not much lower. Go for it.
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post #10 of 31
6/22/07 at 12:57am
Thread Starter 
Thanks Larry, I mean...it seems pretty easy however I'm still somewhat unfamiliar with the whole RMA process as of now. For example, if you find no where to turn and you can't find out why the parts you have aren't working, could you call say the mobo manufacturer and have a tech help you test things out?
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post #11 of 31
6/22/07 at 1:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdonket View Post
Thanks Larry, I mean...it seems pretty easy however I'm still somewhat unfamiliar with the whole RMA process as of now. For example, if you find no where to turn and you can't find out why the parts you have aren't working, could you call say the mobo manufacturer and have a tech help you test things out?

Failures are not really something that happens more often than say with a notebook. Deal with the original place of purchase. Get the most important parts locally from a store warranty, when you can. My case was not the usual thing. Most are very happy with that motherboard.
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post #12 of 31
6/22/07 at 1:40am
Thread Starter 
so for example, if you bought most of your parts from newegg, you'd just call newegg for help if you ran into problems?
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post #13 of 31
6/22/07 at 1:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdonket View Post
Thanks Larry, I mean...it seems pretty easy however I'm still somewhat unfamiliar with the whole RMA process as of now. For example, if you find no where to turn and you can't find out why the parts you have aren't working, could you call say the mobo manufacturer and have a tech help you test things out?

The RMA process is usually pretty easy. The wait is the thing. Keep your notebook for backup during any issue. The mobo manufacturer will help somewhat with tech support issues.
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post #14 of 31
6/22/07 at 1:47am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LarryC View Post
The RMA process is usually pretty easy. The wait is the thing. Keep your notebook for backup during any issue. The mobo manufacturer will help somewhat with tech support issues.

Thats what I was thinking, I always have my mom's desktop and my own laptop to work with in case the custom ever does break down. Luckily, it seems that most people when building have long lasting system since they can buy from a good company rather than getting proprietary parts that are less quality controlled. Those are my hopes at least
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post #15 of 31
6/22/07 at 1:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdonket View Post
so for example, if you bought most of your parts from newegg, you'd just call newegg for help if you ran into problems?

Yes, within their warranty time-frame. Any issue will probably happen within that. Supply may have been the issue with my motherboard replacement. I did it all via their website. They also keep all copies of invoices on the website. They also offer extended warranties.
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post #16 of 31
6/22/07 at 1:53am
Thread Starter 
ahh I was gonna ask about that, do you think I should buy extended warranties (probably only 1 year) and if so, which parts would be smartest to buy them for?
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post #17 of 31
6/22/07 at 1:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdonket View Post
Thats what I was thinking, I always have my mom's desktop and my own laptop to work with in case the custom ever does break down. Luckily, it seems that most people when building have long lasting system since they can buy from a good company rather than getting proprietary parts that are less quality controlled. Those are my hopes at least

That is it. Get something that can be upgraded later. A standard case with all of the standard parts. Your hope is correct. I tried the warranty route from a system builder. They went bankrupt, and I almost got burned. My bank saved me. There are good builders out there, but it will cost a ton more, for the same thing you can build youself. For the most part desktop systems are much more reliable than notebooks based on posts I see here and elsewhere.
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post #18 of 31
6/22/07 at 2:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdonket View Post
ahh I was gonna ask about that, do you think I should buy extended warranties (probably only 1 year) and if so, which parts would be smartest to buy them for?

I would get one on only the motherboard. CPU, and memory problems and drive issues usually show up fast. They can be handled within the first month most times from the original store. CPU's come with a 3 year warranty most times, and hard drives are the same. Some memory has a lifetime warranty. Video cards also lifetime with the maker of the part.
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post #19 of 31
6/22/07 at 2:13am
Thread Starter 
I figured the such. Plus, drives and (these days) memory are pretty cheap so if I'm impatient for some reason, i could always just pick up another in case something goes wrong. I think I probably will try the build on my own, the company with the cheapest prices around is still a steep $400 more than building myself.
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post #20 of 31
6/22/07 at 12:05pm
Thread Starter 
Alright, another quick question. I see online on newegg there is a system builders 1 time use disc for installation of vista home premium. What if say my hard drive fails and the windows copy is erased. On newegg it says it can't be transferred to another pc once it's on one of them. What happens in the case the hard drive does fail, does that make that copy of windows bad?
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