[numbwang]

Hi there! I have been thinking of trying to build my own desktop or laptop(if possible) and I have some questions.

1)is it cheaper to buy online? and if so is there any place that gives free shipping?

2)Those stupid graphic companys always makes it so hard to decide WHAT is an actually good graphic card. eg geforce XXXX M, GS,GT?? what are all those words? I know some beats others but I do not know what does.

3)is it possible to make a pc that can play huxley,Ava online or maybe crysis? on mid/high graphics with a budget of 1500-800$ canadian?

Important 4) lets say, i make/buy a decent computer right now, 3-4 years later there is something even better. is it possible for me to just change the graphic card to a better one or just change some old hardware for new ones? in such a way that its cost less then to buy it and I basically just have to change 2-4 hardware parts every 3-4 years?

 

[hhnq04]

Check out this thread for some ideas on possible builds.

To answer your questions, yes it will be cheaper to build it yourself, some places offer free shipping on certain parts from time to time, but it's not a guarantee. Different deals on different days / weeks. Just have to keep your eye on prices and with the holidays coming you'll find some of the best deals of the year right now. By building yourself you'll also be able to guarantee that you're getting quality brand parts, not cheap ones that some of the prebuilt sets will have. 800-1500 is a pretty big range, but yes, you can easily build a system that will play the latest and greatest for close to the lower end of that range. If you build a computer yourself, future upgrading will be much easier and you'll have many more options. Buying prebuilt boxes limits your choices.

As long as you have a little patience, limited know how, a few tools, and can read, you're good to go to build a system. There are plenty of tutorials available online (some on the forums too, look around...) for putting a pc together step by step.

 

[Tyree]

Build your own PC for the best value & quality.
See the thread that hhnq04 linked to for some ideas.
Go with Asus or Gigabyte for a Mobo.
Newegg Canada is a good place to look for hardware. They have free shipping on many items. http://www.newegg.ca/

 

[numbwang]

thank you all for the help but does anyone have an answer to number 4?

basically its about graphic cards which i find is probably the hardest part, seeing that the companys i find, love to trick newbies with big numbers like geforce 8600 and, geforce 8600m gt where the 8600m gt one is worst then the one that just says geforce 8600.


Also, you guys said that upgrade and building is cheaper, my other question is, can you only upgrade your desktop/lap up to X amount of years? or can you keep doing it forever?

PS: just out of curiousity, what do you guys do with your old pc or old parts ?

 

[Tyree]

Important 4) lets say, i make/buy a decent computer right now, 3-4 years later there is something even better. is it possible for me to just change the graphic card to a better one or just change some old hardware for new ones? in such a way that its cost less then to buy it and I basically just have to change 2-4 hardware parts every 3-4 years?

In 3-4 yrs. there will always be something new for PC's.
Building a PC "helps" to insure you can upgrade in that amount of time.
You can generally recycle parts like Hdd & Optical drives. Other parts are dependent on how much change has come about in that time.

Also, you guys said that upgrade and building is cheaper, my other question is, can you only upgrade your desktop/lap up to X amount of years? or can you keep doing it forever?

PS: just out of curiousity, what do you guys do with your old pc or old parts ?

Upgrading a PC can be more economical but again that depend on how much the technology has changed when you want to upgrade.
Laptops are pretty much what you buy is what you got.
Since I have a PC repair/sales business, I can sell most of my parts when it's time to upgrade or sell the PC as a unit.