PC, Build Or Buy?

In the past I have built loads of PCs for myself, family & friends. I used to stick with Intel processors & motherboards from Asus and rarely had any compatability problems. I avoided cheap or unbranded components (especially memory or power supplies).
I would say that the closer you are to the technology 'bleeding' edge the more challenging it is to get something that is reliable & durable. Also overclocking hardware can yield spectacular results or go up in smoke........ It has never been my game....

After managing a school IT network of 900 desktops & laptops for around 10 years without a doubt I can say the 'generic' clone PCs I inherited (built by the Local Authority IT team) when I took the job were far more troublesome than the business class Lenovo & DELL desktops I gradually replaced them with.

Since retiring, for home use I tend to buy ready built PCs from DELL, sometimes new but more often refurbished. I let DELL worry about component compatability issues if any. At present I have a Poweredge server, 3x Optiplex desktops and my wife & I have Vostro laptops. Most of these were bought as factory refurbished with 3 year warranty, some had next business day support onsite, not that I have ever needed warranty support for any of them. I will replace the server & desktops with top tier brands over the next 2-3 years as the existing hardware is not Windows 11 compatible,
 
PC part picker mentioned helps a lot to check comparability.

TBH I would find it hard to just buy a machine without specifying the parts, no matter who was building it.
 
ancient_mariner said:
PC part picker mentioned helps a lot to check comparability.

TBH I would find it hard to just buy a machine without specifying the parts, no matter who was building it.
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This
ready built systems always come with some compromise. they never give you top notch of everything, just one or two components, well maybe three, but the rest of the stuff is just average or below spec for anything I would want.
 
I would seriously look at scan prebuilt bundles as they are a good halfway house. Not sure they still do them I’ll have a look

Custom PC bundle built and overclocked to your - 3XS

Custom PC bundle built and overclocked to your specification Custom desktop PCs, gaming PCs, laptops and workstations. Design and build your own custom PC, built by award winning computer manufacturer in the UK
www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk
 
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Anybody heard of 'Box' for PC components, as well as other electricals?

I've checked reviews and they seem fine, with just the odd glitch.

ta.
 
I've bought a couple of NAS from Box plus a switch and a couple of other things and they've all arrived without incident, as expected. But the real test is what happens when you have a problem and that's something I haven't needed.
 
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Dale. said:
Anybody heard of 'Box' for PC components, as well as other electricals?

I've checked reviews and they seem fine, with just the odd glitch.

ta.
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Both of my son's have purchased from Box and had no problems. Scan are also very good as well
 
Righty oh, there is news.....

Components ordered....... :banana:

I went all new in the end, I'll get warranties and extra peace of mind.

Companies used, Scan and Box.


a brief breakdown,
750watt, hybrid modular PSU,
32GB, DDR4 Vengeance RGB Pro RAM,
AMD Ryzen 5 5600 AM4, 6 core, 12 thread 65w CPU,
Antec A400i RGB CPU cooler,
1TB Crucial SSD (back up will be on 2, 2TB HDDs in different locations),
Nvidia 3060 GeForce OC 12GB, ray tracing GPU,
ASUS Tuf B550 mobo,
Antec NX410 ARGB case. (Box).

That's it at the moment, there will be some bits and pieces to bring it all together, cables etc.

Then in a few weeks, or maybe sooner, monitor, keyboard, speakers, mouse, desk etc.

Now the delivery wait begins. :runaway:

I will update as things progress. (y)
 
Nice. I like the case, I'm not sure what fans you are getting with it but I think it can support 140cm at the front and top which would allow for some good airflow but at low rpm for a quiet setup.
 
gman said:
Nice. I like the case, I'm not sure what fans you are getting with it but I think it can support 140cm at the front and top which would allow for some good airflow but at low rpm for a quiet setup.
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Yup, the case is supplied with 2, 140mm at the front and a 120mm at the rear.
 
This can't happen quickly enough now.

I just saved some JPEGs for a club meeting tonight, I always double check them when they're saved from PS. Just as well I did, despite there being a thumbnail for each a few minutes prior, the files wouldn't open as they were 'corrupted' and the thumbnails had vanished, just an empty square box. So that was 1/2 hour wasted.

Did a hard restart as it was taking ages to shut down and was then on a go slow when it finally started.

I cannot wait not to be shackled to this machine any longer.
 
Might be better to get a

Samsung 980 1 TB PCIe 3.0 (up to 3.500 MB/s) NVMe M.2 Internal Solid State Drive (SSD), it will fit your mother board and is so much faster thant the Crucial one, it will cost a bit more, check the price.​


 
That looks like a nice case, I have used mine (not the same) for well over 20 years and have built several PCs system in it. I think it cost £29.99 then, so I have had the value out of it, and it fits under my desk.
 
Dale. said:
The way I see my options are these,

1, buy an off the shelf gaming machine, (where from?)
2, get one built,
3, build one myself.
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There is always a 4th option.

You could buy a ready made off the shelf machine, and simply upgrade any parts of it.

For example: Buy an off-the-shelf machine that have almost everything you want, apart from having 32GB RAM which you are not happy with, you simply upgrade it to 64GB RAM.

Or there is a ready made machine that have almost everything you want, but you're worried the 2TB HDD is not enough, you could just add a 10TB HDD into the spare drive bay.

It's not much different from say for example, buying a car, but you're not happy with the wheels, so you opt to replace the wheels with a different alloy.
 
Once you have the new one up and running have you considered a good clean out of the old machine, load on linux and set up an automated backup system/ NAS type. Might have to put a couple of bigger drives in or an improved network card but as you’re in it project mode
 
Jim_Tod said:
Once you have the new one up and running have you considered a good clean out of the old machine, load on linux and set up an automated backup system/ NAS type. Might have to put a couple of bigger drives in or an improved network card but as you’re in it project mode
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Yes, I think a refresh might fix a lot of issues with the old machine. I am going to give it to my 11 year old daughter but still use it for image back up. I have a 2TB drive with Windows 7 on it. We'll see. (y)

SFTPhotography said:
Agree on an illuminated keyboard. Makes editing in the dark so much easier.
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Had to happen.

I'm a little disappointed today, I just got an e-mail saying the motherboard, which was pre order and due on the 11th has now been scheduled for the 31st. I may have to rethink that one.
 
Dale. said:
Yes, I think a refresh might fix a lot of issues with the old machine. I am going to give it to my 11 year old daughter but still use it for image back up. I have a 2TB drive with Windows 7 on it. We'll see. (y)



Had to happen.

I'm a little disappointed today, I just got an e-mail saying the motherboard, which was pre order and due on the 11th has now been scheduled for the 31st. I may have to rethink that one.
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I'd just wait tbh, way of the world now is stuff doesn't show up when its meant too.
 
Dale. said:
Yes, I think a refresh might fix a lot of issues with the old machine. I am going to give it to my 11 year old daughter but still use it for image back up. I have a 2TB drive with Windows 7 on it. We'll see. (y)



Had to happen.

I'm a little disappointed today, I just got an e-mail saying the motherboard, which was pre order and due on the 11th has now been scheduled for the 31st. I may have to rethink that one.
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Overclockers may be worth a look, their stock levels are usually pretty accurate and you can always ask them directly as well.
 
gman said:
Overclockers may be worth a look, their stock levels are usually pretty accurate and you can always ask them directly as well.
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Cheers Graham , I will look into that later.

The monitor arrived yesterday, it is stunning, I am well pleased with it.
 
Personally I would not want a case with illuminated fans.......but I have mine on the desktop where unwanted lights would intrude on photo editing in a subdued light environment.

If placed near or at floor level then maybe not so important/impacting. NB though putting PC cases at floor level IMO is not great in regard to dust ingress.

@Dale. best of luck with your new build and enjoying the new whizzy rig :)
 
FWIW I have fans with lights, and deliberately edit in a bright, neutral environment so that if I want to print for display I get a better idea of how it will work.
 
Box Brownie said:
Personally I would not want a case with illuminated fans.......but I have mine on the desktop where unwanted lights would intrude on photo editing in a subdued light environment.

If placed near or at floor level then maybe not so important/impacting. NB though putting PC cases at floor level IMO is not great in regard to dust ingress.

@Dale. best of luck with your new build and enjoying the new whizzy rig :)
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ancient_mariner said:
FWIW I have fans with lights, and deliberately edit in a bright, neutral environment so that if I want to print for display I get a better idea of how it will work.
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I'm not really for or against lights in the tower. They can be switched off too, I'll have a play with it all and see how it goes. My tower will be on the desk, as is this one.

I do prefer editing in the dark though. (y)


Today was interesting, I had a thought whilst lying awake last night and that was that my rights on my recent purchases that have so far been delivered, monitor and keyboard, would change after 30 days. I'd planned on keeping it all until the PC was up and running but with the recent delay on the mobo, those 30 days will pass quickly.

It made sense to test them, so I changed the configuration of my PC corner too, the way I want it when the new PC is done.

Anyway, new monitor and keyboard day.

IMG_1451[1].jpg
 
Dale. said:
I do prefer editing in the dark though.
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It's much nicer, but I have concerns about how the edits I make come out, and I used to find that I'd have to boost lightness for printing before I started doing this.
 
Yes, I hear you. @ancient_mariner (y)

At the moment I produce mainly DPIs, rarely prints. Printing is an art I'd like to learn though and when I find my feet after the PC build, a decent printer might be next.
 
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ancient_mariner said:
FWIW I have fans with lights, and deliberately edit in a bright, neutral environment so that if I want to print for display I get a better idea of how it will work.
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ancient_mariner said:
It's much nicer, but I have concerns about how the edits I make come out, and I used to find that I'd have to boost lightness for printing before I started doing this.
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Dale. said:
Yes, I hear you. @ancient_mariner (y)

At the moment I produce mainly DPIs, rarely prints. Printing is an art I'd like to learn though and when I find my feet after the PC build, a decent printer might be next.
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FWIW

I calibrate my monitor with a brightness level of 90cd/m2 and this is in a dark/very dim room.

I always used outside printers for my exhibition/prints for sale but also more latterly done my home printing for my own pleasure and to evaluate my printable images.

My prints in either instance are as close as I can get to match what I see on my screen.

Note ~ I have the Epson ET-8550 printer and because of its inktanks never worry about how much ink it 'drinks'. Plus I print using Epson Print Layout software which in my limited experience is very good......unlike reports I read of the similar Canon program :thinking:

As part of my screen to print, I printed known test images i.e. files that I have not edited and thus what I see should appear properly in print. NB I use the test image files from Keith Cooper's website.
 
Bought some more bits, a Cat 6 LAN cable, a card reader and 2.1 speakers.

Motherboard still pre order but assured ( as much as can be these days) it will be in stock on the 31st. Now I've decided to go with a LAN cable for internet though, I could theoretically order a mobo without WiFi. :thinking:

Only storage left to go now but I'm undecided. I have a 2TB HDD that I could use to piggy back the SSD in tower and then buy standalone, 4TB external, or get a 4TB internal and lose the 2TB internal, so would be a 4TB internal piggyback HDD and a 4TB external for storage.
 
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ancient_mariner said:
It's much nicer, but I have concerns about how the edits I make come out, and I used to find that I'd have to boost lightness for printing before I started doing this.
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You can do the editing in the dark, proof in the day and adjust as need be.

I edit in the dark and I don't feel mine come out too dark at all. If your screen is set to under 100 nits you are fine. I am set at 90 nits.

I edit using curves so looking at the input histogram vs output histogram you have a good idea where the tones lie and how it'll look.
 
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Dale. said:
Only storage left to go now but I'm undecided. I have a 2TB HDD that I could use to piggy back the SSD in tower and then buy standalone, 4TB external, or get a 4TB internal and lose the 2TB internal, so would be a 4TB internal piggyback HDD and a 4TB external for storage.
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I have 4tb internal, and two 4tb external (for back ups), of which only one is plugged in. Good deals on Prime day, and Black Friday too.
 
I have 6TB internal plus 4 and 6 TB external drives. I'd generally encourage having a big internal and external drives of matching size.
 
The ethernet cable arrived yesterday (Sat) and I tried it today before routing it properly. There is a very clear difference in speed, image and sound quality. So far, no pauses in video/music, like I was getting with WiFi.

..........and that's on the old PC, a definate improvement in web based stuff.
 
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Dale. said:
The ethernet cable arrived yesterday (Sat) and I tried it today before routing it properly. There is a very clear differnce in speed, image and sound quality. So far, no pauses in video/music, like I was getting with WiFi.

..........and that's on the old PC, a definate improvement in web based stuff.
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Gigabit Ethernet all the way for me. I have systematically run ethernet cables to every room in my house. Our portable devices use wireless but everything else, desktop PCs, CCTV cameras, servers, NAS etc are wired.
 
Same here, I prefer hardwired with CAT6. Other than phones, tablets and CCTV, the only other wireless device is the VR unit but I have a special dedicated and powerful router for that, which is hardwired, because it needs high transfer rates.
 
I've well and truly blown the budget but at least my hard drive dilemma is sorted. :LOL:

Bought a WD 2 bay NAS with WD Red drives, 4TB each yesterday. That should keep me sorted space wise for a while and can be increased later if need be.

My plan now is to forget piggybacking a hard drive and just use the NAS for storage, so the PC itself will be free of big files and the SSD will just run things, as well as having any software on it.

It's turning into a bit of a monster but I think it's all sorted now, just waiting on the mobo, then to build it

Anything internet is much quicker with the ethernet cable (it's a Cat6) although I did have a few lock ups last night but I'm sure that's PC related.
 
Speakers arrived (and sound good), card reader is here too.
 
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I`m looking forward to seeing the finished article :)
 
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