TigerDirect: Barebones kit?

[pauliep]

I'm thinking about setting up a new pc for home use and wanting to stay away from the big names of HP & Dell. I'm curious if anyone has good things to say about TD's pre-decided packages for set ups? I'm looking to build something fast that will run my dual monitor setup and handle all my fun 3D modeling and programming suites.

I'm also sorta lost one which processor to aim for. From what I've been reading, Inte's i7's are hot cakes out there, but I'm doubting I will push that machine to need that much power.

All input is welcome.

[bulldog]

All I can add is to stay away from Tigerdirect's refurbished products. Bought a refurbished PC from them last year and it came broken. They would not send me another replacement since they sold them all and wanted $200 to get a similar model. I could never get an answer from them on if they refurbished their products or get them refurbished from the brand name; so I decided they do their own which suck! I also ordered a PC from them right before that which said was in stock then got the call a day later "sorry sir we only have 10 of those PC's and you are number 11"; like I said it said it was in stock when i bought it, so then had to wait the 3 days for my credit card to be refunded. Overall I did not like my experience with Tigerdirect!

[drago52]

I used this website as a source when building my pc:
http://www.hardware-revolution.com/

I had never built a computer from scratch before and I found great prices through here (links to Amazon or tigerdirect or newegg) for specific components. I run the latest games on my pc at the highest settings without any problems. it's great. I think my total cost was around $700 for all the components.

[Ricky]

Such a hard question to answer quickly. Depends on what you want to do.

i7's are great, but there's bloomfield and lynnfield, and knowing the difference is important. I'm running a bloomfield i7 here at work and at home because I want triple channel DDR3 memory. Can't do triple channel memory with lynnfield. I'm very happy with the speed of this machine, and I built them from scratch. My home machine I built with parts from Micro Center. They really do have competitive deals.

[pauliep]

Such a hard question to answer quickly. Depends on what you want to do.

i7's are great, but there's bloomfield and lynnfield, and knowing the difference is important. I'm running a bloomfield i7 here at work and at home because I want triple channel DDR3 memory. Can't do triple channel memory with lynnfield. I'm very happy with the speed of this machine, and I built them from scratch. My home machine I built with parts from Micro Center. They really do have competitive deals.

Oh man, I'm behind. What does triple channel mem do for you?

[Ricky]

Oh man, I'm behind. What does triple channel mem do for you?

With most DDR2 setups today, you have 4 slots for memory, on two channels. When you put memory in, you can use one stick (only using one channel) or two sticks on separate channels for double the memory bandwidth. Adding two more sticks for total of 4, gives you 2 sticks on each memory channel. Triple channel memory increases this to 6 sticks, giving you 3 channels, essentially increasing the memory bandwidth by 50%, not to mention the overall speed increase from DDR3 vs DDR2.

Here at work I run 6-2GB chips for 12GB. At home I just run 6GB.

[bulldog]

Unless you are going to use pirated software I found it was a better deal to just buy a brand "package" deal than to go the barebones route, since you get valid copies of the software. Some of those packages are so cheap nowadays anyways!

I use to go barebones and finally got sick of having jacked up version of Windows!

[asp_125]

I bought a mac. :D {ducks & runs}

[pauliep]

Than it sounds like I may want to build around a bloomfield processor.

[pauliep]

Is there a safe wattage to aim for in the power supply? 650, 700, etc?

This is what I've picked out so far...

A406-1094 ::NZXT M59-001BK M59 Gaming Mid Tower Case - ATX, mATX, Baby AT, Black(17 lbs) (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5222597&sku=A406-1094) http://images.highspeedbackbone.net/misc/pixel-clr.gif
http://images.highspeedbackbone.net/misc/pixel-clr.gifhttp://images.highspeedbackbone.net/misc/pixel-clr.gifhttp://images.highspeedbackbone.net/misc/pixel-clr.gif http://images.highspeedbackbone.net/misc/pixel-clr.gifhttp://images.highspeedbackbone.net/skuimages/small/B69-5260-main01-jc.jpg B69-5260 ::MSI X58M Motherboard and Intel Core i7-950 Processor BX80601950 Bundle(3.75 lbs) (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7301577&sku=B69-5260) http://images.highspeedbackbone.net/misc/pixel-clr.gif

http://images.highspeedbackbone.net/skuimages/small/C283-1202-Main01-jl.jpg C283-1202 ::Cooler Master Hyper N520 CPU Cooler - Socket LGA 775, AM2, AM2+, 1156, AM3, 1366(2.3 lbs) (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4434989&sku=C283-1202) http://images.highspeedbackbone.net/misc/pixel-clr.gif

[birchyboy]

Unless you are going to use pirated software I found it was a better deal to just buy a brand "package" deal than to go the barebones route, since you get valid copies of the software. Some of those packages are so cheap nowadays anyways!

I use to go barebones and finally got sick of having jacked up version of Windows!

The beauty (to me) of building your own PC is you can get a good, clean build. I've bought several Dells and IBM for work, which I'll continue to do for warranty purposes, but will build my own next time around. You can get Win 7 Pro OEM for $130 and have it be legitimate. The downside is that it is "locked" to the motherboard you use during the build, but the average PC should last long enough to not have to worry about that.

[Devaclis]

Alienware and a 3 year support contract. Give it a try man.

I have been building PC's since I could order parts for an ADAM CoCo and my Com64 out of the back of magazines.

Once I got my Alienware, I will never, EVER build my own box again. I have 4 hour, onsite support, a very kick ass rig, and 0 issues. I will leave the rig building to the pros or to the hobbyists :) The cost savings is not enough to make it worth my trouble any more.

That being said, check out motherboards.org and tomhardware.com for reviews and advice on what you really want. Then hit any of the 10000 sites that sell parts at a discount and get to ordering. Make sure you start with a solid board first then pick out your vid card/case/drives/cooling system/footrest/waffle maker.

[Ricky]

I would go for at least a 650W power supply, but again, it depends on what you're doing.

My home machine has 2 large video cards, 3 physical hard drives and an optical drive and it typcially uses about 200w at idle. I've seen it jump above 450w during heavy gaming.

Oh, and unless you are doing SERIOUS overclocking, don't worry about a better processor cooler than the OEM one. I'm safely overclocking my 3.2GHz chip to 3.8GHz without issue. Get a case with good cooling, like the Antec nine hundred or similar.

[LambeauXLIV]

If you're going Intel, take a look at the Sandy Bridge processors...

[modette99]

Is building a PC cheap...every one I have built has been around $2,500...I was looking at Christmas time to build a new PC and it came to $2,500-$3,000 like always...but then again I tend to look at top of the line components so the system last me...I don't tend to buy NEW games...when I get a system I might buy 2-3 games within that year and then I just play those and the old ones I have for 10+ years. I guess I'm not big into new PC's, I built this one in 2004 still going strong. *shrug*

Anyways the CPU cooler I look at the Corsair CWCH70 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6610144&Sku=C13-2529

I was impressed with the video on it. Corsair also have a very nice case with very good wire management and their power supplies are also nice. They make some good products.

Then again don't listen to me if you looking to build a $700 unit.

[TransNone13]

Building your own pc is the way to go. I've built over 5 for myself over the years and 10 for my friends. I highly recommend it. You will learn, and you can constantly upgrade it as it ages.

I would be more than happy to compile a list of components to conform to any budgets and uses posted on here.

[Ricky]

Look at it this way... about 4 years ago, I built a brand new machine. Every component. new case, power supply, motherboard, processor, memory, dvd drive, hard drive, etc. I collected a few new drives over the years and popped them in. Then about a year ago I decided to upgrade my computer and I bought just a new motherboard, processor, and memory. Swapped the old stuff out and the new stuff in. I spent $900 on high quality products, and came out with a great computer without the expense of all the other items I already have.

[Devaclis]

How much do you bill / hour for your work? If I added my time into the build of a PC it would cost more than my car.

[TransNone13]

How much do you bill / hour for your work? If I added my time into the build of a PC it would cost more than my car.

If you're asking me, I do it for free. I even throw in a little cable-fu. Pass it on! lol

[modette99]

How much do you bill / hour for your work? If I added my time into the build of a PC it would cost more than my car.

Really!!! it takes no time and is fun to put together. Probably 30 minutes to build one from the ground up...LOL The components pretty uch now a days pop into certain places...yeah old days of IRQ/DMA settings took a lot longer to make sure things did not conflict. A little longer to load the OS and have it running but that is a separate issue.

[pauliep]

Trans,





Here is what I've picked out so far. I think the power supply is an overkill. Plus, I cannot decide on a good HardDrive. The ones that read like good stats have scary reviews for them. Looking for something with +1TB. I have feeling I will run into problems trying to plug my current HD into this setup (ie Windows errors and drivers, etc.) I imagine I'll need to new HD and setup a new OS. (I don't want to format the data on the HD). As far a video card, I was going to gut out the one I upgraded with on my current machine. The 6gig of memory may be excessive too?





L49-1055 ::LG UH10LS20K 10X Blu Ray ROM/DVDRW Combo Internal Drive - SATA, DVD+R/-R: 16X, DVD+RW/-RW: 8X/6X, DVD+R DL/-R DL: 8X, DVD-RAM: 12X, CD-R: 48X, CD-RW: 24X, Black, OEM(2.05 lbs) (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6291833&sku=L49-1055)





T13-1106 ::Coolmax CUG-950B 950-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, PCI-E Ready, Modular(6.6 lbs) (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3973822&sku=T13-1106)








A406-1094 ::NZXT M59-001BK M59 Gaming Mid Tower Case - ATX, mATX, Baby AT, Black(17 lbs) (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5222597&sku=A406-1094)








K24-9917 ::Kingston KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX HyperX Desktop Memory Kit - 8GB (2 x 4GB), PC3-12800, DDR3-1600MHz, 9-9-9-27 CAS Latency, Intel XPM Ready(0.15 lbs) (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7104116&sku=K24-9917)









B69-5260 ::MSI X58M Motherboard and Intel Core i7-950 Processor BX80601950 Bundle(3.75 lbs) (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7301577&sku=B69-5260)

[Devaclis]

Really!!! it takes no time and is fun to put together. Probably 30 minutes to build one from the ground up...LOL The components pretty uch now a days pop into certain places...yeah old days of IRQ/DMA settings took a lot longer to make sure things did not conflict. A little longer to load the OS and have it running but that is a separate issue.

Research time
Shopping/purchasing
Setup
OS and application install

That is not free. I used to do all of that for $166 an hour.

That means it is not worth my time to build my own system when I can get a new/warrantied system for $1k-$2k with everything I need.

[Ricky]

Power supply is undoubtedly overkill unless you are running multi-card SLI. Remember, 950W @ 110V = 8.63A. That's over half the typical 15A circuit in a home. Not that a 950W power supply uses that much, you'll just have more there than you need.

The memory you have selected is a dual-channel kit that makes 8GB. You do not want dual channel kits, you want triple channel. And no, 6GB is not overkill. Get a triple channel kit that is 3-2GB chips. That way you can upgrade to 12GB down the road by adding 3 more.

As for HD, your old one might be SATA I. Half the speed of SATA II.

The board you have selected is WAY WAY WAY WAY overpriced. $400 is ridiculous. $300 is about what you'd spend for a good Asus with the X58. You can get a cheap X58 board for under $200. Bloomfield motherboards tend to be more expensive because of the memory controller, but not that expensive.

[pauliep]

Thanks Ricky. After your comments, here are changes I made. Basically it looks like a better mobo for less and I stepped up on the processor. I may go down on that because it seems like a lot of power.

MoBo
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6666331&sku=A455-2996

Ram
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4531826&sku=C13-6136

PSU
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3276567&sku=ULT-LSP750

HD
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5764103&sku=TSD-1500EARS

CPU
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4777384&sku=I69-0950

[modette99]

Research time
Shopping/purchasing
Setup
OS and application install

That is not free. I used to do all of that for $166 an hour.

That means it is not worth my time to build my own system when I can get a new/warrantied system for $1k-$2k with everything I need.

You have warranties on all systems...HDD come with warranties, power supplies do to, so do Video Cards *shrug*

$166/hour LOL Most people research while at work getting paid anyways...so not out of any time. How many hours do you spend, I spent a whopping hour. Reviews will just drive you nuts, and how can you count watching tech videos...hell just watch one less Youtube pointless video to make back your time...by the way do you consider reading this forum a waste of time which might be costing you $166/hr.

I know you put a dollar on every minute of your day...most people don't do that though.

[laspariahs]

You have warranties on all systems...HDD come with warranties, power supplies do to, so do Video Cards *shrug*

$166/hour LOL Most people research while at work getting paid anyways...so not out of any time. How many hours do you spend, I spent a whopping hour. Reviews will just drive you nuts, and how can you count watching tech videos...hell just watch one less Youtube pointless video to make back your time...by the way do you consider reading this forum a waste of time which might be costing you $166/hr.

I know you put a dollar on every minute of your day...most people don't do that though.

Most people should just buy a computer from a company.

I build my own computers, haven't bought a computer from a odm, ever. However if someone came to me and asked me how to build a computer, they would get shuffled off to buy a computer with techsupport, why? So I don't end up as tech support.

Reality is, most people shouldn't be building computers, most people should just buy one, and frankly if you are starting threads like this, please just buy one. I know the days of IRQ issues and the like are, thankfully, behind us, but still there will come a time when most people need to call in to some place in Indonesia.

It's not a cost thing, I know I pay more building my own, when my time is taken in to account, but I like it, and I like knowing exactly what's in my computer, no cut down motherboard built for some odm.

[TransNone13]

Thanks Ricky. After your comments, here are changes I made. Basically it looks like a better mobo for less and I stepped up on the processor. I may go down on that because it seems like a lot of power.

MoBo
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6666331&sku=A455-2996

Ram
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4531826&sku=C13-6136

PSU
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3276567&sku=ULT-LSP750

HD
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5764103&sku=TSD-1500EARS

CPU
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4777384&sku=I69-0950

Have you ever looked through Newegg.com? I would also not recommend an Ultra power supply. OCZ, Enermax, PCPower&Cooling, etc. Other than that, I don't see anything wrong if you won't be overclocking, w/c, or volt-modding :D.

[Zach929rr]

Sandy Bridge > *

SSD or Raptor for OS drive

Modular PSU

Liteon or Sony dvd-rw drive

Cooler Master 212+ CPU Fan

90 degree sata connectors

Case?

GPU?

[TransNone13]

Sandy Bridge > *

SSD or Raptor for OS drive

Modular PSU

Liteon or Sony dvd-rw drive

Cooler Master 212+ CPU Fan

90 degree sata connectors

Case?

GPU?

I would not recommend a modular PSU. Just learn how to route cables discretely. SSDs are nice, finally, but I'm judging by his post he doesn't want to shell out for one. A Rapter would be more feasible. Unless he's overclocking, he doesn't need to shell out for a HSF either. IMO Plextor makes the best optical drives. As far as case, I recommend Lian Li. GPU, nVidia for sure.

[Zach929rr]

There is no reason not to use a modular PSU. I haven't had a problem with one in 10 years and it keeps unnecessary and unused cable out of my case. And there's no reason not to at least put a nicer hsf on your cpu, especially when you can reuse it in the future.

[TransNone13]

Today's stock air coolers are more than adequate. I go with Thermalright for air, just because I'm OCD; but not everyone is. Reference for modular PSUs. When you need dead solid rails, that's when it matters.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/power-supplies-psu,8016.html


Due to their look, convenience, and cost savings for manufacturers, modular plugs have become a popular power supply feature. Unfortunately, there has been little or no discussion of the impact of this feature on overall performance and reliability. The fact is, modular plugs limit power by adding to electrical resistance. The voltage drop can be as much as would occur in 2 feet of standard wire. Worse yet, modular plugs utilize delicate pins that can easily loosen, corrode, and burn, creating the potential for a major system failure. That's why professional system builders specify uninterrupted wire!

[Ricky]

+1 for modular power supplies. Not necessary by any means, but very nice, especially when the power supply you bought has 52 connectors for old skool drives, and like 3 sata power connectors, and only one PCI-E connection. With modular, you configure it how you want it.

SSD's are nice, but still not quite there yet as far as performance and price. Getting there though.

[Devaclis]

You have warranties on all systems...HDD come with warranties, power supplies do to, so do Video Cards *shrug*

$166/hour LOL Most people research while at work getting paid anyways...so not out of any time. How many hours do you spend, I spent a whopping hour. Reviews will just drive you nuts, and how can you count watching tech videos...hell just watch one less Youtube pointless video to make back your time...by the way do you consider reading this forum a waste of time which might be costing you $166/hr.

I know you put a dollar on every minute of your day...most people don't do that though.

Will your hard drive or video card or motherboard be replaced in 4 hours? Mine will. With a simple phone call. No paperwork to fill out, no receipts to search for, no fuss. That is worth $$ to me.

I am not reading this forum to learn how to build a computer or which is the best technology to use for a home built computer, so no, I am not wasting $166 an hour reading it.

I am, however, losing brain cells trying to discuss the merrits of purchasing a rig from a reputable vendor, with a warranty, as another option for procuring a decent box. But I guess on the CSC, with it's total balls to the wall know it all geniuses, you can only be right or wrong. No gray areas here.

Have fun building a computer. I used to. I have built more of them than 99% of the people in this thread. That is why I now buy mine pre-built. If you can't learn from experience, or at least use your experience to explore new options, then I guess your experience is pretty useless.

[TransNone13]

Let me call the whambulance...

If you want to go ahead and continue with your own build, check out www.extremeoverclocking.com (http://www.extremeoverclocking.com).

[Ricky]

Nothing wrong with pre-built computers. I just don't like building computers for other people anymore. It gets old, and it's a pain in the ass, especially when you run into any kind of compatibility problems or bad hardware out of the box. When it's not just assemble, load and go, it's a waste of time. However, I'll always build my own computer. I like being able to configure it the exact way I want, and I can't often find what I want/need out of a pre-built.

[TransNone13]

Nothing wrong with pre-built computers. I just don't like building computers for other people anymore. It gets old, and it's a pain in the ass, especially when you run into any kind of compatibility problems or bad hardware out of the box. When it's not just assemble, load and go, it's a waste of time. However, I'll always build my own computer. I like being able to configure it the exact way I want, and I can't often find what I want/need out of a pre-built.


That and they're built poorly... Quality pre-built are far too marked up as well.

[pauliep]

Well it was my pre-built computer that has been giving my a headache for two years. Under a heavy load on the processor, my box shuts off. I expected it was a heating issue. I can't use my Nero software to burn dvds, can't watch my netflix and game at the same time, and in the summer it's even worse. Upgraded the CPU fan and took the side off among much other trouble shooting. Pain in the ass that I have to tip toe around, hence why I want to build a power house and not pay out the ass. I was looking for advice and tips on the build to help keep me from an overkill in performance.

[TransNone13]

Well it was my pre-built computer that has been giving my a headache for two years. Under a heavy load on the processor, my box shuts off. I expected it was a heating issue. I can't use my Nero software to burn dvds, can't watch my netflix and game at the same time, and in the summer it's even worse. Upgraded the CPU fan and took the side off among much other trouble shooting. Pain in the ass that I have to tip toe around, hence why I want to build a power house and not pay out the ass. I was looking for advice and tips on the build to help keep me from an overkill in performance.


Give me a budget and let me see what I can put together.

[pauliep]

Give me a budget and let me see what I can put together.

750-900