Building a computer- how difficult is it?

OK, my laptop is slowly turning into a piece of shit, so I need a new computer.

I have no experience with building a computer, so I'm wondering if this is a difficult procedure that I shouldn't even bother with. Is it basically just buy a case/parts and plug things into other things? I could do that.

One of my main concerns for my new PC is reliability/longevity of components. Since I don't play "modern" 3D PC games (MAME +homebrew only), I only end up getting a new PC once things start to fail. In other words I don't need better technology, I just need what I have to keep working.

So if anybody can recommend some parts/ companies to look out for with this in mind (parts that will likely last me several years) I'd appreciate it. Also whatever is considered "current" for PC tech would be good.

The only neat new thing I'm looking for is a wireless TV out card so I can send my downloads to the tv and watch them there.

(ps- yeah yeah, I'm googling and doing my own research, but I want to hear from TNL too)

Its not difficult... but you will run into problems. If you don't know much about whats going on in there you'll have to take it to someone else to fix things.

My solution? Buy a mac.

It's incredibly easy if you get parts that work well together. Make sure everything works in harmony and it only takes 2-3 hours to put the entire thing together. It's just really easy and you can get cheapo parts for what you want.

Researching and pricing components is 75% of the work. Building a lower end system is easier since lots of cutting edge or new hardware can sometimes have compatability issues or other problems that are yet to be discovered. Conversely, the much lower price is often the incentive to putting together your own high end rig.

Depending on how much you want to save, building a low to middle end rig will still save you money, though the lower you go the smaller the price gap becomes between home-made and pre-fabricated.

It comes to a point where paying 350 for a computer from Dell instead of 250 for the same computer you put together is a better choice because you get at least a year of customer service and warranty for the whole system instead of the individual parts.

If you can wire a home theater system, you can build a computer. If you can't, then buy one premade.

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Originally Posted by Josh

Its not difficult... but you will run into problems. If you don't know much about whats going on in there you'll have to take it to someone else to fix things.

My solution? Buy a mac.

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Well I'm still working on my game off and on so I need to stick to PC. Plus I want mame and homebrew games. Someday when I can afford it I might buy a mac that's just for work with no internet.

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Originally Posted by TrialSword

Researching and pricing components is 75% of the work. Building a lower end system is easier since lots of cutting edge or new hardware can sometimes have compatability issues or other problems that are yet to be discovered. Conversely, the much lower price is often the incentive to putting together your own high end rig.

Depending on how much you want to save, building a low to middle end rig will still save you money, though the lower you go the smaller the price gap becomes between home-made and pre-fabricated.

It comes to a point where paying 350 for a computer from Dell instead of 250 for the same computer you put together is a better choice because you get at least a year of customer service and warranty for the whole system instead of the individual parts.

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I may have been a little unclear- I'm going to be buying newer, more powerful parts than what I have now, I just don't need crazy top of the line stuff. I'm thinking one area where I'll likely skimp is the video card.

Basically I'll be using Photoshop, Flash, Audition and some other stuff.

Well then Newegg.com is your friend. Have fun browsing for a little bit, and come back to us with what you intend to buy.

Universal suggestions include a Seagate hard drive, an independent sound card even if your mobo has integrated sound, and RAM that performs well, not cheap junk. Also get a tube of Arctic Silver 5 compound for the CPU.

The people who review products at Newegg know their shit, so if you find an item with multiple awards and 4+ egg average rating, it's likely a safe bet.

Is it really worth it in this day and age? PCs are so cheap now.

you know... macs can run windows now.

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Originally Posted by Dolemite

Is it really worth it in this day and age? PCs are so cheap now.

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The machine I built, exactly specified at Dell (actually specced a little lower since Dell didn't have some of the stuff I wanted) was 3400 before tax with a smaller monitor. The price I paid to build was 2700 including the nice monitor, tax free. It really is worth it to save about 1000 bucks (not to mention being free of their shitty proprietary motherboards/BIOS and pre-installed software.)