Topic: New PC or Build My Own?

[DJ]

Hi All, I need some advice.

After looking through the November issue of PCW I'm looking at a new media PC for my bedroom.

I want to either buy a new pc or build my own that I will be able to watch TV on as well as do the normal PC stuff (web surfing, typing, programing etc). So it'll be like a home media centre (sort of!).

I noticed the following offer from MeshPLC which looks like a good deal. I especially like the black case and TFT, though I'd need to add a PCI TV card, remote control and wirless keyboard and mouse - cos thats what I want.
Mesh Matrik M2400

Looking in PCW though it has speakers, joystick and gamepad for the same price. I asked them about this and they quoted me over £700  

Anyone know of any similar offers? or a way of building the same spec machine cheaper? Or give your opinions on the above.

Thanks

DJ  

[Robotochan]

Build you own mate, my next door neighbour just bought a brand spanking new dell and it runs slower than my 900Mhz Athlon with it's HDD on the way out. Plus if you get the right things at the right place it will be cheaper and you will actually know what mobo you have etc.  

[Simon]

Having just built my third, I would always build my own now, however, you shouldn't expect to save loads of money by doing so.  You have to be careful of the quality of the components, and I have to say that the Mesh Matrik M2400 does look a good deal, but to manage it for that price, they much have used fairly cheap parts, especially to also include the TFT.

Why don't you have a look at Ebuyer, and compile yourself a shopping cart of your ideal components?  You won't be committing yourself to anything, and then you can compare how much it would cost you to build your own.

[DJ]

Thanks Robo & Simon,

Thats my plan tonight. To compile a list of my own components and compare prices etc etc. Off to buy a copy of Micromart and do a quick scan through.

I notice that Dell have some great deals on at the moment as well.

Another PC in the PCW Nov issue was a multivision one similar to the Mesh one above. I emailed multivision to give me quote but it was disconntinued after a week - due to high demand - good commercial sense !  

DJ

[Tony]

I have got to agree with Simon,

building your own is not about saving pots of money, in alot of cases it will cost you more. It's about chosing the components you want, and learning abit more about PC's. It's about pride in a job well do, it about about banging your head on the wall, whilst saying....I should have gone to Curry's  

Mesh are a good make, and it looks a good deal, but in all reality it is probarbly built down to a price than up to a wish list, combo CD-RW/DVD, 256MB memory. Plus don't forget to add £46 delivery. Having said all that, most young lads would love that machine sat staring at them when they sat up in bed, assuming Nell McAndrews has already arose and set off early for a photo shoot  

[Camstop]

Why not commission the chuckle brothers to build you one.....I hear greeeeat things about them...

[Robotochan]

I was on Ebuyer last week helping my bro choose a PC and for £680:

Shuttle Bse Unit
Sony 4x - + DVD Writer
512Mb Crucial DDR
GeForce 5600FX 256Mb (I think though it was probably 5400)
120Gb Maxtor HDD
AMD 2800XP Barton

Just a rough list but just imagine how well the PC would perform, plus I'd know all the components in the PC so I don't have to trawl several hundred webpages to find information about a factory built PC which didn't even give me a mobo manual  >

[Simon]

I would agree with Tony's very good points:

It's about pride of having a machine you have built all by yourself.  It couldn't be more 'your own'.

It's also about banging your head against a wall when things don't go quite the way you planned...

...but that where the best bit comes in - it's about learning from your mistakes, and then perhaps being able to help others through your experience.

When you do your 'shopping', don't forget all the bits and bobs, like the case, cooling fans, CPU Fan, cables, and that sort of stuff.  They all add to the cost a little bit, and what you don't want is the frustration of not having all the bits when you come to start your project.  You'll also need to consider which Operating System you are going to use, and how you are going to acquire it.  Not every retailer sells OEM OS's, and the ones that do, will usually only sell it with other parts, such as a hard drive.  I think Ebuyer do, CCL does, and so does Redstore.

[DJ]

Ok I've finally got together a wish list for my new PC. I've also emailed a few companies for quotes on similar models.

What do you think of the following? Am I missing something obvious? or is any of it not good enough? I'm trying to keep below £600 if possible...



ITEMFROMPRICELINK
AMD Athlon XP 2400 BundleSavastore£135LINK

256MB PC2700 DDRSavastore£30LINK

80GB HD SegateeBuyer£65LINK

Sony Black DVD PlayerRedstore£21LINK

Benq Black Wireless Keyboard & MouseRedstore£32LINK
Black CaseNovatech£25LINK
Windows XP Home Student EditionRedstore£47LINK
15" Black TFT Monitor (Sharp)Don't Know Yet!£220 approx
Floppy DriveeBuyer£5LINK

TOTAL COST(inc vat)£580+ postage

Bundle contains...
AMD Athlon XP2400 Processor
MSI MS-6712 KT4 Motherboard    
Heatsink and Fan
256Mb PC2700 DDR Memory

-------------------

The main things I've missed are a graphics and sound card - can I use the on board motherboard ones?

folks!  

DJ  

EDIT-> I don't know why theres a big gap before the table, if a mod can get rid of the gap please do

[Camstop]

My first pc was a Mesh.....but i got the last one from Ebay.......Have a quick look..coz there are dirt cheap on there....

[Simon]

I've never even attempted doing a table, so I'm certainly not going to touch yours, DJ!  Well done - a nice presentation!

Now the bad news.  According to the specs, the board in the bundle doesn't come with on board graphics, so you'll need a separate card, which is always better anyway, in my opinion.

You might also want to consider just using one or two retailers, to save on the shipping costs, which might be quite substantial using several different outlets.  Try doing a complete 'shop' at one or two stores, and see if the total price compares to using sevaral different ones.  

[DJ]

Ok thanks Simon.

I'll have a look at graphics card tomorrow then. I'm still finding it hard to build a simlar spec machine to Mesh's or Multivision's £499 model and keep to the same prices.

I've asked them both for a quote so I'll see what comes of it.

DJ

[Simon]

No one said it would be cheaper to build your own, DJ, just a hell of a lot more fun!  

[Adept]

EDIT-> I don't know why theres a big gap before the table, if a mod can get rid of the gap please do

It does that for some reason DJ. We'll just have to live with it

I notice that you have specified a fairly low cost case in your specs.

It would be worth checking out with Novatech whether it has "rolled edges" on its metalwork. A lot of the cheaper cases have very sharp edges, which can be quite painful and bloody if you catch yourself on them. It is often worth spending the extra £10 to get a well finished case, especially if you are intending to work inside the case a lot

[Simon]

I have just worked on one of the Nokia style cases from CCL, which are a reasonable price, and have rounded edges.    There's a plain one there which looks OK for the price, and I have to admit, their prices are generally good, and they have pretty good customer service to sort out any mistakes.  Can't put a direct link to the case, so you'll have to look for it in System Components.  

I'll bet Adept is surprised at me 'evangelising' in this case!