OT: Worst PC Decision

Raging Deadstar · #1 June 3rd, 2004, 07:50 PM

David Gervais and Cirvol.

Thanks very much, My pc has been quite cluttered recently and VERY slow. I tried what you suggested about Defragmenting and Virtual Memory and it has done wonders for it, and it hasn't crashed once yet. Thanks for that

Fyron · #2 June 3rd, 2004, 07:54 PM

Quote:

So basically for the same money you can get the equvalent quality machine with a legit copy of an OS, already put together and ready to go. If you aren't just doing it for the fun of building it yourself, it doesn't really make sense.

In reality, this is not true. It might be for that Tom's Hardware article, but when you really go to build your own PC, you do save a lot of money and can get higher quality hardware (because you can choose what to get, rather than being stuck with the cheapest garbage the company selling you that prebuilt PC could find) when building the computer yourself (including the cost of the OS). The savings are not as large as they were a few years ago, but they still are large. Especially if you take advantage of rebates that appear for nearly every item from time to time, or go to computer fairs to get parts far cheaper than in stores such as Best Buy.

Of course, if you already own a copy of an OS and are building a new PC to replace the old one, you can use the OS CD you already have. There is no need to buy a second copy of it.

Quote:

Originally posted by Raging Deadstar:
David Gervais and Cirvol.

Thanks very much, My pc has been quite cluttered recently and VERY slow. I tried what you suggested about Defragmenting and Virtual Memory and it has done wonders for it, and it hasn't crashed once yet. Thanks for that

It is a good idea to defragment your hard drive once every 2 weeks or so. If you do it often, it doesn't take very long to do it each time. You do not need to disable the virtual memory swap file each time of course.

[ June 03, 2004, 18:56: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]

geoschmo · #3 June 3rd, 2004, 08:26 PM

It's also been my experience for the Last few years at least that the cost savings in building you own is not that spectacular, and may not be there at all. Unless we are talking about building a machine as cheaply as possible, in which case you can scrounge around and find year or two old components or whatever. You can put a workable low-end machince together on the cheap pretty easy. Of course you can also buy a used year or two old pc at a flea market or on ebay for next to nothing. If you are trying to build a machine to play all the latest games then the savings just aren't there.

OS's shouldn't be sloufed off so easily either. Typically every time I've found myself looking to upgrade pc's the OS has been a lttle long in the tooth as well. Of course some people grow fond of the older OS's and don't want to upgrade, but hey, that's not me. And yeah, I know there are a lot of "creative" ways to come up with a copy of an OS. But that's why I qualified my statement with "legit". And if you aren't trashing your old pc, and who does that when there are always family, friends, and home networks in need of backup computers, using the OS on the new pc isn't legit.

Fyron · #4 June 3rd, 2004, 08:46 PM

I don't know... I have found the savings to be there in full force. Recently we purchased a PC for my sister. It cost around 500 dollars (plus moniter, which was about 80). A similar build of computer from, for example, Dell, was priced at around 900. And that was only with some of the parts of equivalent quality. Other stuff was worse in the Dell. This was obviously not a top of the line PC, but we could have gotten such for maybe 1/2 to 1/3 the price that Dell charged.

Quote:

And if you aren't trashing your old pc, and who does that when there are always family, friends, and home networks in need of backup computers, using the OS on the new pc isn't legit.

Only if you Subscribe to that unenforceable EULA gobleygook. It is not a legally binding contract in any way. I purchased the software, I can put it on as many of my computers as I want. Nothing "illegit" about it. Software is purchased by a user. Not by an individual computer.

[ June 03, 2004, 19:47: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]

Renegade 13 · #5 June 4th, 2004, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
It is a good idea to defragment your hard drive once every 2 weeks or so. If you do it often, it doesn't take very long to do it each time. You do not need to disable the virtual memory swap file each time of course.

Ok, I may seem totally computer illiterate (I'm not

), but how do you disable the virtual memory swap file??

[ June 03, 2004, 23:14: Message edited by: Renegade 13 ]

Instar · #6 June 4th, 2004, 12:59 AM

the thing with building your own PC is that each part has its own warranty, instead of the whole unit
Also, in my experiences, you can save a bit of money. Recently my motherboard died, after two years of faithful service (and it comes with a 3 year warranty by default)
I'm never going to buy OEM machines, unless for someone else or something really specialized that I couldn't make myself

Fyron · #7 June 4th, 2004, 04:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Renegade 13:

quote:
Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
It is a good idea to defragment your hard drive once every 2 weeks or so. If you do it often, it doesn't take very long to do it each time. You do not need to disable the virtual memory swap file each time of course.

Ok, I may seem totally computer illiterate (I'm not ), but how do you disable the virtual memory swap file??

Cirvol answered this in a post below.

*link to post*