The cost of building your own computer

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Originally posted by Rumpy
The Klipsh 4.1 or 5.1's will run you a good 2-400 bucks, but you will be able to blow out your windows with them.

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I've got some of these (4.1) and can testify that they do indeed rock the house. I've got mine rigged up to my TV for videogame systems, and have never pumped them all the way up due to neighbors and because of just how damn loud they can get. One of these days (probably before the Rez Chair is completed) I'll crack that puppy up for some deserving game and rock the house.

Alienware (and most other retailers)keeps their monitors optional (though AW has some of the most $$$ monitors I have ever seen). You can de-select it (and speakers too) if you want. I think the same is true for KB/Mouse too. Saves on shipping too.

I'm not knocking building your own computer. If you have the know how and means, I don't know why you wouldn't do it. There are a lot of options when it comes to getting a computer (though every HP system I have ever seen has been a piece of shit).

Just make a custom computer at Alienware, the prices keep on dropping each day.

Ok i was gonna stay out of this but i decided not to. If your going to get a prebuilt go dell, no questions, just dell. If your going to build shop at www.pricewatch.com you will save an assload of money. For Mobo stay with ASUS they are the best boards out there. For chips go with AMD, but that a personal thing for me i hate intel. RAM go to crucial.com. Video Card i'm running an ATI Radeon, the original. HD stick with western digital. I got a server case at compusa. CD Drive, any name brand at BB or Compusa by name brand i mean a name brand not a crap brand. Floppy, eh cheap ass one from BB works well. Here is my totals:

Asus motherboard AV266-E w/audio..............148
AMD 1.4Gig chip...............................57
ATI Radeaon 64Meg DDR.........................199
512 Megs of ram...............................140
Acer 52X cd-rom...............................50
TDK 24x burner................................150
Server Case...................................100
Floppy........................................14
Western Digital 30gig.........................80
Altec Lansing Speakers........................80
ViewSonic 17" Monitor.........................220
Keyboard......................................20
mouse.........................................20

Total.........................................1278

Now When i built this the prices where much higher and i have exchanged some of the parts. A good reason to build your own is you can upgrade it. Some prebuilds don't allow you to upgrade it at all. If i think of anything else i'll add it.

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Originally posted by Nemesis
Just make a custom computer at Alienware, the prices keep on dropping each day.

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That is just what i did last summer after pricing something i would have built myself. The Alienware wasn't that much higher, so i went with it. Still cost me $2000 with no monitor:eek:

I've had the Klipsch 2.1s for about a year and i hate them. My first set already blew up on me, so i pulled the switcheroo at Best Buy. Fortunatly the second set still lives but i always get the feeling it's just a matter of time. They make nasty sounds when you plug and unplug them and always run really hot. My advice is stay away, there are other speakers that are just as good that aren't a fire hazard.

Just a note...sweet lord no one should be paying $199 for an original Ati Radeon 64! You could get a Radeon 8500 LE for $87 from www.newegg.com that would destroy it.

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Originally posted by 007bond
Just a note...sweet lord no one should be paying $199 for an original Ati Radeon 64! You could get a Radeon 8500 LE for $87 from www.newegg.com that would destroy it.

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i got it the day it came out, thats why it was so high in price.

Ah..noticed that a few of you guys are fellow NewEgg and MWave customers.. I pretty much bought all of my PC hardware in both those stores.

If you dont really know how to build you own PC you could just buy a barebones system from MWave (case, cpu, ram, mobo) and just put in the rest of the stuff from your current pc. I did that 2 years ago and it was an easy way to upgrade especially since I'm always paranoid when installing motherboards (they do it for you if you get a barebones from them).

As for videocards..the Radeon 8500 is a fine card, but I dont see how anyone would buy it over a NVidia Geforce 4 ti 4200 (64mb) which is $140 these days..thats a card that'll last you quite awhile and you could easily overclock it to ti 4400 levels. But I tell ya.. that Radeon 9700 looks mighty tasty!! Too bad I'm poor :( I want that card!!!

Remember to buy OEM versions of cards, drives..etc.. since you tend to save lots of money compared to buying retail versions..I mean really..if you know how to install cards and drives then you dont need no fancy box or manual.

Hey, something I have noticed is a lot of people like computer speakers. This is fine, but think, you could get an awesome DD5.1/DTS/DPLII setup for as little as $350 that would sound dang good, especially compared to one of those 5.1 packages that use the subwoofer for all amplification.

Example:
Home Theater Direct Level one's
And this1 or this. There are probably a lot more that could be used, but a nice thing is you could have something nice for all current consoles and/or RGB compatible + XRGB2.