Building my New PC - pics!

[Rico]

Ok, here are some pics I took while building the new PC.  It went together very well.  The case is just a dream to build in.  Large and heavy but so much room and well sound proofed and great air flow.  Everything went well.  Here are the first of several pics....

Most of the parts


Lovely case


So much room inside, love the drive bays


Killer motherboard

[Rico]

Next set of pics....

Motherboard & CPU in!


I like these power supplies


Nice memory (2 x 2GB)


Picked a nice 8800 GT vid. card

[Rico]

And the last set of pics....

Easy does it....


I give you life!


What a mess!


This was funny...


The last pic was funny.  Windows Vista upgrade has the ability to do a clean install on a new hard drive.  Basically you install Vista and don't enter your product key.  Then in Vista after it's installed you do an "upgrade."  When you do that and run Setup off the Vista disc it still asks you whether you want to let setup run.  This is Vista suspecting the Vista setup file of something.  You'd think Microsoft would allow it's own software past the security checks.  LOL!

Anyway, still lots to do (and clean up) but I'm very happy with my new baby!

[jedijeff]

Cool Pics Rico, Looks like you have a really great new System. I like the Pics with all the parts and cables in your office area after your computer was built, reminds me when I built my last few PC's. I am still trying to decide what I want to get in terms of size, I am hoping I can decide pretty soon.

[X]

I think I'm going to start assembling the parts to build another computer for the home. Since everyone has their own comps, I'm going to build this one with the idea of being strictly a media playing system with lots of drive space and PC gaming via the HD TV and the 360 wireless add on for PCs

[moyer777]

Great pics Rico!  How much did it end up costing you?

[Rico]

Great pics Rico!  How much did it end up costing you?

About $1600 for what you see in the pics.

[moyer777]

That's awesome.  It must SCREAM!

When I get ready to build mine I will have to consult with you.  I want to make it so I can do lots of recording and stuff.  My budget will be a little smaller, but I'm sure I can make something that works well.

Ah, tech stuff.  it's so inspiring!  I'm such a geek. :lol2

[Omra]

Building your own PC is always more expensive, than a prebuilt.  But you can customize it to your own needs so much better.  And it is always far easier to upgrade latter on, if you plan ahead. 

Plus the feeling of satisfaction when you have built it is; GLORIOUS!

Rico did you cutup your hands as bad as I do whenever I build a PC?  Ouch, even those high end cases I like always seem to have sharp metal edges inside.

And I am never going to overclock again...  I think that is what killed my last computer, it started getting unstable and then just... died.

Coolermaster makes great cases, good choice Rico.  Does it monitor the temp inside the case, and can you set the fan speeds?

[Rico]

The price isn't really more expensive.  I am buying a much higher level component than is typically used in a prebuilt system.  So it isn't a valid comparison.  One of the several reasons I build my own computers - so I can get exactly the items I want in it that "play nice together." 

And it is a nice feeling when you push that power button and it all works - as this baby did the very first time.  But you do need to do a lot of research and know what you are doing.

P.S.  And yes, I did get one small cut.  But not from the case.  It was from trying to open one of the packages.  As far as fan controls and temperature, all just monitored from the Bios.  The 120mm fans are extremely quiet so they just run full.

[X]

Building your own PC is always more expensive, than a prebuilt. 

I've always found the opposite to be true. I've always been able to put together a system significantly cheaper than a prebuilt system with around the same specs. I'm sure that if you got the specs of Rico's system and compared in to a prebuilt, he would have saved.

Then again, I have a few places that I can get parts of a pretty good discount and I do a lot of price shopping for my parts.

[Omra]

As Geeks.

We are always researching our components and looking for the best out there, with the best track record.  And as such what we purchase will always be more expensive INITALLY.

But because we plan ahead.  And buy the best motherboards, memory with heatsinks, most reliable and quickest hard drives, and the best built and reliable power units, etc.

In the long run we spend less.

And it also looks and runs better... and is far more expandable and versatile.

[Rico]

Yep - exactly.  There are pluses and minuses both ways of doing it.  But this has been one of my hobbies for awhile and I enjoy doing it.  Also, I get a lot of good life out of what I build and generally very few problems.  And even if I do, I usually can fix them pretty easily. 

[Blackride]

The advantage of buying pre-built is that you get the support and ususually extra software. This is usually not something that us geeks want though :) but for non-tech people or Apple people it's fine.

[celestialteapot]

I'm considering building my first PC sometime next year, any advice for the new computer builder?