Just Built my First PC!
- Thread starter beth
- Start date
flower
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beth http:///t/396809/just-built-my-first-pc#post_3535401
Well, its been exciting and a bit nerve wracking, but its done and with only 2 exceptions all went off wo a glitch!
Widows 8 machine, asus mobo, WD Velociraptor HDD-1T, 16GB RAM. First time using a Radeon gpu.
Congratulations!
I remember when my late husband and his best friend built their first...they were so excited and proud of themselves. Your post brought back that wonderful memory of the good days I had with him, thank you. LOL...Computers sure have come long way since then.
Originally Posted by Beth http:///t/396809/just-built-my-first-pc#post_3535401
Well, its been exciting and a bit nerve wracking, but its done and with only 2 exceptions all went off wo a glitch!
Widows 8 machine, asus mobo, WD Velociraptor HDD-1T, 16GB RAM. First time using a Radeon gpu.
Congratulations!
I remember when my late husband and his best friend built their first...they were so excited and proud of themselves. Your post brought back that wonderful memory of the good days I had with him, thank you. LOL...Computers sure have come long way since then.
My Nvidia experience hasn't been all that great with expensive cards failing only after a couple of yrs, and the quality of graphics not being as impressive. Of course, I tend not to dust out the rig so fans and so forth likely got pretty hot contributing to gpu getting hot. I have 4 case fans installed now which I am hoping I can regulate (as soon as I figure out how) using the asus bios and their software program.
The 2 problems I encountered were not major. One was lining up the flimsy IO mobo panel in the back. Made two attempts and still did not get all of those pesky braces to line up. I had to bend two of them out of the way to access ports on the back panel. After trying this two times I just didn't feel comfortable enough to be pushing and shoving my mobo around to get the stupid things correctly aligned. Worked out ok though. If anyone has a formula for accomplish this, though, I'd love to hear it!
Second problem was with one of the tooless levers that holds in the optical drive. The lever on the slot I wanted to use seemed to be defected, so I just took one from one of the other drive bays. I will contact Coolermaster about sending me a replacement.
Actually, there was a 3rd problem but it wasn't really related to assembly. I wanted to do a nice clean cable management with the case having side panel storage for that purpose. However, I wasn't able to get the bulky mobo power cable into that area and close my side panel. There were a lot of wires, and they all seemed to merge in one spot, bulking out.
I also got a mechanical keyboard which I love so far. Typing is a pleasure on these things.
All in all, not too bad, aside from me being very nervous. I looked at having the built done for me, but I knew the quality would be best if I did it myself (if I could accomplish it), and its something I was genuinely interested in doing. Black Friday deals at Newegg earned me $270 savings.
The 2 problems I encountered were not major. One was lining up the flimsy IO mobo panel in the back. Made two attempts and still did not get all of those pesky braces to line up. I had to bend two of them out of the way to access ports on the back panel. After trying this two times I just didn't feel comfortable enough to be pushing and shoving my mobo around to get the stupid things correctly aligned. Worked out ok though. If anyone has a formula for accomplish this, though, I'd love to hear it!
Second problem was with one of the tooless levers that holds in the optical drive. The lever on the slot I wanted to use seemed to be defected, so I just took one from one of the other drive bays. I will contact Coolermaster about sending me a replacement.
Actually, there was a 3rd problem but it wasn't really related to assembly. I wanted to do a nice clean cable management with the case having side panel storage for that purpose. However, I wasn't able to get the bulky mobo power cable into that area and close my side panel. There were a lot of wires, and they all seemed to merge in one spot, bulking out.
I also got a mechanical keyboard which I love so far. Typing is a pleasure on these things.
All in all, not too bad, aside from me being very nervous. I looked at having the built done for me, but I knew the quality would be best if I did it myself (if I could accomplish it), and its something I was genuinely interested in doing. Black Friday deals at Newegg earned me $270 savings.
foodshape
Member
Congrats! I have never been happier with any PC than the one I built myself a couple of years ago. Easily the best I've had in terms of bang for the buck and getting exactly what I wanted. It was an interesting and rewarding project - lots of research and learning. There were a couple of hitches to figure out but all the homework really paid off when the system fired up and performed to my hopes and expectations. Having an SSD for a primary drive with a huge spinner for all your data rocks! (...or rocked. 2 yrs later you can probably do better than that on an Apple wrist-phone.)
geridoc
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by foodshape http:///t/396809/just-built-my-first-pc#post_3535504
Congrats! I have never been happier with any PC than the one I built myself a couple of years ago. Easily the best I've had in terms of bang for the buck and getting exactly what I wanted. It was an interesting and rewarding project - lots of research and learning. There were a couple of hitches to figure out but all the homework really paid off when the system fired up and performed to my hopes and expectations. Having an SSD for a primary drive with a huge spinner for all your data rocks! (...or rocked. 2 yrs later you can probably do better than that on an Apple wrist-phone.)
I agree wholeheartedly. The only problem I encountered was was that my upload speed was approximately zero (the system projected 34 days to upload a small photo). After spending 2 weeks with Verizon, ASUS and Microsoft support engineers (I actually became friends with the Indian support guy from Microsoft), it turned out that the motherboard had a setting to prioritize access to the internet, and for some reason decided that all of my work had a priority of about zero. I inactivated the "feature" and the system rocks.
Originally Posted by foodshape http:///t/396809/just-built-my-first-pc#post_3535504
Congrats! I have never been happier with any PC than the one I built myself a couple of years ago. Easily the best I've had in terms of bang for the buck and getting exactly what I wanted. It was an interesting and rewarding project - lots of research and learning. There were a couple of hitches to figure out but all the homework really paid off when the system fired up and performed to my hopes and expectations. Having an SSD for a primary drive with a huge spinner for all your data rocks! (...or rocked. 2 yrs later you can probably do better than that on an Apple wrist-phone.)
I agree wholeheartedly. The only problem I encountered was was that my upload speed was approximately zero (the system projected 34 days to upload a small photo). After spending 2 weeks with Verizon, ASUS and Microsoft support engineers (I actually became friends with the Indian support guy from Microsoft), it turned out that the motherboard had a setting to prioritize access to the internet, and for some reason decided that all of my work had a priority of about zero. I inactivated the "feature" and the system rocks.
Well, I have to admit the worst of the experience, so far, was worrying about it. LOL However, I have not been able to get Asus BIOS and their AI software to recognize one of four chassis fans so right now that is bugging me. I have a support email in to Asus about it to see what they say. Apparently its not that unheard of a problem for Asus.
As for the SSD. I played with the idea, but I am not one who really wants deal with an SSD going bad. I know that these drives will improve with time and will become cheaper as well. With the Velociraptor, I can't say I wish it would go faster as everything opens up immediately and even Windows starts up within seconds.
As for the SSD. I played with the idea, but I am not one who really wants deal with an SSD going bad. I know that these drives will improve with time and will become cheaper as well. With the Velociraptor, I can't say I wish it would go faster as everything opens up immediately and even Windows starts up within seconds.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
I built my first computer when I was 14. Built roughly 30 in my life, some for myself and most for a small computer company with a friend. I admit, it was fun doing it and I do miss the customizations with home built systems but I don't need a whole lot of processing power for research papers or writing documents right now. I got out of gaming as soon as I graduated high school, so no need to have a big system.
Good job Beth!!
Good job Beth!!
I still spend a good deal of money on this build, even with the Black Friday discounts. The same build having it done for me would have been over $1500. My last pc I had built locally and was never really satisfied with it--though I did pick out most of the components. Played with having it internet built, but at the end I was fearful of having a problem and having to deal with RMAs.
It was good fun, but I think you have to have a real interest in doing the build dyi to go through research and learning curve.
It was good fun, but I think you have to have a real interest in doing the build dyi to go through research and learning curve.
mohawkninja
Member
Which Radeon Graphics Card did you use? HD 7980?
phixer
Active Member
Thats how you do it. It really gets fun when you get into multiple video cards (crossfire), liquid cooling and SSD RAID configurations. I liken Apples to high end reliabilty and PCs to hot rods, they require lots of tuning when you soup them up hey will reward you with speed and ease of workabilty. And you will save big $s. Problem is the rapid perishabilty of it and getting everything to work in harmony.
mohawkninja
Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beth http:///t/396809/just-built-my-first-pc#post_3536777
To be honest, don't understand the Apple appeal. They have same components that anyone doing a dyi could get (not high end either) yet their pricetag is jacked up to 50% more then worth.
Yep, just look at the mac pro. It costs about 3000 dollars for what you could build for 700. (If that.)
Originally Posted by Beth http:///t/396809/just-built-my-first-pc#post_3536777
To be honest, don't understand the Apple appeal. They have same components that anyone doing a dyi could get (not high end either) yet their pricetag is jacked up to 50% more then worth.
Yep, just look at the mac pro. It costs about 3000 dollars for what you could build for 700. (If that.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phixer http:///t/396809/just-built-my-first-pc#post_3536827
Apple has developed a cult following. I dont understand it either. Probably the same concept as Starbucks, cool factor maybe?
Exactly, a cult following. A mostly brain dead cult following. You go to Best Buy and see the Apple followers playing with the laptops at the Apple counter. You start asking them questions about their own Mac laptop. They have no idea what's under the hood of their own machine yet they will claim that its the best computer on the planet. You go to the apple store and ask the associate why did Apple make their new line of laptops so that you can't even open up to upgrade memory or change out a bad HDD. The guy looks at you like you've speaking a foreign language and suggests that you buy Apple's warranty plan to cover things like a broken drive.
Originally Posted by Phixer http:///t/396809/just-built-my-first-pc#post_3536827
Apple has developed a cult following. I dont understand it either. Probably the same concept as Starbucks, cool factor maybe?
Exactly, a cult following. A mostly brain dead cult following. You go to Best Buy and see the Apple followers playing with the laptops at the Apple counter. You start asking them questions about their own Mac laptop. They have no idea what's under the hood of their own machine yet they will claim that its the best computer on the planet. You go to the apple store and ask the associate why did Apple make their new line of laptops so that you can't even open up to upgrade memory or change out a bad HDD. The guy looks at you like you've speaking a foreign language and suggests that you buy Apple's warranty plan to cover things like a broken drive.
aggiealum
Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beth http:///t/396809/just-built-my-first-pc#post_3536832
Exactly, a cult following. A mostly brain dead cult following. You go to Best Buy and see the Apple followers playing with the laptops at the Apple counter. You start asking them questions about their own Mac laptop. They have no idea what's under the hood of their own machine yet they will claim that its the best computer on the planet. You go to the apple store and ask the associate why did Apple make their new line of laptops so that you can't even open up to upgrade memory or change out a bad HDD. The guy looks at you like you've speaking a foreign language and suggests that you buy Apple's warranty plan to cover things like a broken drive.
I wouldn't necessarily call them "brain dead". My daughter uses her MacBook Pro for CAD design and photo editing. The Apple OS isn't as prone to the multitude of attacks you get with Microsoft bloatware. Compare how many Apple users have had resource issues, virus and malware attacks, abnormal performance issues, and a myriad of other well-known problems you see everyday with Microsoft. Apple just did a free OS upgrade too their latest version. Microsoft changes theirs every other year, and they have a history of putting out OS's that should've been throw into the garbage the day they came out (Windows ME anyone?) Apple owners are loyal to that product line for the simple fact that they just work. Yea, you can't upgrade them, but for the most part, you don't have to. Unless you're playing some game that requires high-end graphics, who even buys a desktop these days? I have a co-worker that spent $2500 for this desktop that has a Quad-core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, dual Nvidia graphic cards, each with 1GB memory, 250 SSD system drive, and a 2TB data drive. He spends the majority of his time surfing the web, posting on Facebook and Twitter, reading email, and occasionally playing a couple of games he downloaded from Gamefly. What's comical is he spends more time using his wife's IPad because it's more convenient to do what he likes to do most.
Originally Posted by Beth http:///t/396809/just-built-my-first-pc#post_3536832
Exactly, a cult following. A mostly brain dead cult following. You go to Best Buy and see the Apple followers playing with the laptops at the Apple counter. You start asking them questions about their own Mac laptop. They have no idea what's under the hood of their own machine yet they will claim that its the best computer on the planet. You go to the apple store and ask the associate why did Apple make their new line of laptops so that you can't even open up to upgrade memory or change out a bad HDD. The guy looks at you like you've speaking a foreign language and suggests that you buy Apple's warranty plan to cover things like a broken drive.
I wouldn't necessarily call them "brain dead". My daughter uses her MacBook Pro for CAD design and photo editing. The Apple OS isn't as prone to the multitude of attacks you get with Microsoft bloatware. Compare how many Apple users have had resource issues, virus and malware attacks, abnormal performance issues, and a myriad of other well-known problems you see everyday with Microsoft. Apple just did a free OS upgrade too their latest version. Microsoft changes theirs every other year, and they have a history of putting out OS's that should've been throw into the garbage the day they came out (Windows ME anyone?) Apple owners are loyal to that product line for the simple fact that they just work. Yea, you can't upgrade them, but for the most part, you don't have to. Unless you're playing some game that requires high-end graphics, who even buys a desktop these days? I have a co-worker that spent $2500 for this desktop that has a Quad-core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, dual Nvidia graphic cards, each with 1GB memory, 250 SSD system drive, and a 2TB data drive. He spends the majority of his time surfing the web, posting on Facebook and Twitter, reading email, and occasionally playing a couple of games he downloaded from Gamefly. What's comical is he spends more time using his wife's IPad because it's more convenient to do what he likes to do most.
Apple has plenty of their issues with new OS releases.
http://www.bing.com/news/search?q=apple+OS+problems&qpvt=apple+OS+problems&FORM=EWRE
The difference is, that when Windows has a problem, all media jump on it as if MS just sold the public something that was pulled out of the trash bin. When its Apple, however, the sacred cow of the computer world, then its barely on anyone's radar.
Apple components are no better then pc components. The same companies making pc components also make mac components. The difference is that Apple marks it up by several hundred bucks and then won't let you upgrade.
Plenty of folks still use desktops. Go into most office buildings and homes and you will see more desktops then Ipads or MacBook pros.
Attacks are more frequent on MS OS because MS is the world's leading computer software maker. Adequate virus and malware programs will resolve attacks. PC does not own the market on virus attacks; there are plenty of that for the Apple OS as well. Difference is, the media tells us more about the problems with PC and very little about Apple's problems.
The mainstream users for Macs, from my own perception, seem undereducated regarding the Apple computers they own, yet will glow when they tell you how wonder the product is. Now, of course, not all are clueless....but many are, including the associates working in their stores.
http://www.bing.com/news/search?q=apple+OS+problems&qpvt=apple+OS+problems&FORM=EWRE
The difference is, that when Windows has a problem, all media jump on it as if MS just sold the public something that was pulled out of the trash bin. When its Apple, however, the sacred cow of the computer world, then its barely on anyone's radar.
Apple components are no better then pc components. The same companies making pc components also make mac components. The difference is that Apple marks it up by several hundred bucks and then won't let you upgrade.
Plenty of folks still use desktops. Go into most office buildings and homes and you will see more desktops then Ipads or MacBook pros.
Attacks are more frequent on MS OS because MS is the world's leading computer software maker. Adequate virus and malware programs will resolve attacks. PC does not own the market on virus attacks; there are plenty of that for the Apple OS as well. Difference is, the media tells us more about the problems with PC and very little about Apple's problems.
The mainstream users for Macs, from my own perception, seem undereducated regarding the Apple computers they own, yet will glow when they tell you how wonder the product is. Now, of course, not all are clueless....but many are, including the associates working in their stores.