Custom Builds

[Knotical]

Who here has built their own desktop completely from the ground up?

I have had the opportunity to not only build my own, along with two others for a charity, but also upgrade my computer after a while.

In my most recent upgrade I have used an SSD as my primary drive, which has made it much faster than if I had just used a normal HDD.

 

[BelgianRockfan2]

I don't have a custom build myself, but I customized one for my parents (didn't build it though). However, I'm currently deciding whether or not to get an SSD for my laptop, or save up a bit and build a desktop at the end of next year, sort of as a graduation present to myself. Now that I write this down, I could just get an SSD for my laptop now, and take it out and re-use it in a desktop. That would mean that the SSD is going to have to be a pretty expensive one if I want it to be good enough for a desktop later on.

 

[xlzqwerty1]

I build my desktop from 2011 on an Ivy Bridge i5 3570K overclocked to 4.2 GHz. Building your desktop is the best way to go in terms of quality components and saving money. Usually buying prebuilt computers from large retail stores such as BestBuy will have crap components mixed in with some good ones, and the inconsistency is the problem there.

I've also bought an SSD as an upgrade from a Hard Drive, and I can also vouch that my computer responsiveness has been improved tenfold. Boots to Windows 7 Desktop within 10 seconds after pressing my power button.

 

[simonli2575]

I built one a few years ago for gaming, it has Intel CPU i5-2400, Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti (I used to have 550 Ti), 3TB of internal space, 16GB of RAM and other miscellaneous stuff.
I built this because I wanted to have a gaming computer that runs games smoothly with high quality settings. It cost me a lot, but at the end of the day, I still think it was worth it.

 

[Knotical]

I don't have a custom build myself, but I customized one for my parents (didn't build it though). However, I'm currently deciding whether or not to get an SSD for my laptop, or save up a bit and build a desktop at the end of next year, sort of as a graduation present to myself. Now that I write this down, I could just get an SSD for my laptop now, and take it out and re-use it in a desktop. That would mean that the SSD is going to have to be a pretty expensive one if I want it to be good enough for a desktop later on.

What I did with my desktop is installed an SSD as the primary OS drive, and an HDD as my file drive. I also have another HDD as a media drive that is shared with my laptop.

Basically, I only put programs on the SSD, which means I did not have to shell out extra cash for a bigger drive.

 

[Iconsistency]

I built one myself as well. If you're really tight on the budget, what you can do is get a lower-end CPU, such as an i3, but get a higher-end GPU, depending on the purpose of the computer. However, many people usually point out that the CPU bottlenecks the performance of the GPU. Although that is true, the bottleneck is not very large (maybe 3 fps), but it is worth getting a better GPU over an equally powerful CPU and GPU due to the price. Tons of RAM is also redundant, and 4GB of RAM would suffice. If you get an SSD and don't want to use the two harddrives separately, what you can do is SSD Cache, which may end up being a better choice.

 

[xlzqwerty1]

4 GB ram won't suffice anymore for next-gen games with the recommended being 6-8 GB. RAM prices are pretty hefty these days due to low supply and high demand. I don't understand why anyone would want an SSD Cache hybrid harddrive for their PC's. I mean, with laptops, it's understandable because there's only one slot for a 2.5' harddrive, but on the PC you have tons of harddrive bays for everything. It's a bad decision.

 

[BelgianRockfan2]

What I did with my desktop is installed an SSD as the primary OS drive, and an HDD as my file drive. I also have another HDD as a media drive that is shared with my laptop.

Basically, I only put programs on the SSD, which means I did not have to shell out extra cash for a bigger drive.

Yeah, I'm gonna do that as well, but considering that my Program Files folder on my laptop already takes up 190GB and the fact that games are only going to get bigger, I think I'm going to need at least a 200GB SSD, which really isn't cheap. Granted, not all my programs really need to be installed on an ssd, but I'd still like to get my OS + all of my games + heavy programs (photoshop, video editing software etc.) on it.

 

[Knotical]

Yeah, I'm gonna do that as well, but considering that my Program Files folder on my laptop already takes up 190GB and the fact that games are only going to get bigger, I think I'm going to need at least a 200GB SSD, which really isn't cheap. Granted, not all my programs really need to be installed on an ssd, but I'd still like to get my OS + all of my games + heavy programs (photoshop, video editing software etc.) on it.

Wow, with what you want to put on there you may need something even bigger than 200GBs. You may want to look into a hybrid drive, if they are at all cheaper that a true SSD.

 

[simonli2575]

Yeah, I'm gonna do that as well, but considering that my Program Files folder on my laptop already takes up 190GB and the fact that games are only going to get bigger, I think I'm going to need at least a 200GB SSD, which really isn't cheap. Granted, not all my programs really need to be installed on an ssd, but I'd still like to get my OS + all of my games + heavy programs (photoshop, video editing software etc.) on it.

I think you can alternatively get a SSD with a smaller space, just enough to install your OS on it, and HDDs with a lot more space for your other stuff such as programs, games and personal files, as SSDs with bigger spaces are generally way more expensive than HDDs with bigger spaces are.

 

[BelgianRockfan2]

I think you can alternatively get a SSD with a smaller space, just enough to install your OS on it, and HDDs with a lot more space for your other stuff such as programs, games and personal files, as SSDs with bigger spaces are generally way more expensive than HDDs with bigger spaces are.

Yeah, but then games would run slower, wouldn't they? Or at least boot slower. I'm planning it to be a proper gaming rig, and I really want it to get the most out of my games (for a reasonable price).

 

[Knotical]

Yeah, but then games would run slower, wouldn't they? Or at least boot slower. I'm planning it to be a proper gaming rig, and I really want it to get the most out of my games (for a reasonable price).

That could almost be considered an oxymoron, considering building gaming rig that will be able to handle most, if not all, games will be rather expensive due to the components you need to include.

 

[orzz]

I've been tempted to a few times, but due to me not needing any fancy hardware its more convenient and economical for me to just buy a 2nd hand one or a cheap retail prebuilt.