Custom PC Builders

[gbasden]

My son needs a new computer, so I'm going to waterfall mine down to him. I'm going to get a new one for me, and I'm looking at custom builders. I know about Digital Storm and Falcon NW - do you all have recommendations for others that you think are good?

Thanks!

[Lassr]

I looked at Build Redux since they were affiliated/owned by Digital Storm and have heard good things about them. It's less customization but a bit cheaper than Digital Storm. But cannot personally vouch for them as I went with Digital Storm and paid the extra $350 for the quality control and a bit more customization on parts.

[Isgrimnur]

https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

[gbasden]

https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

I've heard some horror stories about their customer support. Have you had good experiences?

[Isgrimnur]

I've replaced a bad boot drive and a bad fan with them without issue.

[Isgrimnur]

My history

[gbasden]

My history

Thanks sir!

[TheMix]

https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

I've heard some horror stories about their customer support. Have you had good experiences?

I'm one of them. (Those with a horror story, not one of their support team.)

Support was terrible.

Putting aside that a primary component died about 6 months after getting the PC...
And they weren't responsible for the damage incurred during shipping...

Things like the fact that the only guy that seemed to be doing support for my area never initiated a single call... (I could only talk to him if I called and was lucky enough to get through. He never responded to requests to return calls.)
Or that he told me that he couldn't talk to me about the status of my computer because I wasn't the shipper.

I will never order from them again. My piece of mind is worth the extra $$$.

Others, of course, have been fine. In fact, if none of the components die, you could probably get a pretty good PC for pretty cheap.

[gbasden]

https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

I've heard some horror stories about their customer support. Have you had good experiences?

I'm one of them. (Those with a horror story, not one of their support team.)

Support was terrible.

Putting aside that a primary component died about 6 months after getting the PC...
And they weren't responsible for the damage incurred during shipping...

Things like the fact that the only guy that seemed to be doing support for my area never initiated a single call... (I could only talk to him if I called and was lucky enough to get through. He never responded to requests to return calls.)
Or that he told me that he couldn't talk to me about the status of my computer because I wasn't the shipper.

I will never order from them again. My piece of mind is worth the extra $$$.

Others, of course, have been fine. In fact, if none of the components die, you could probably get a pretty good PC for pretty cheap.

Thanks, sir! That's good input.

[LordMortis]

Do you have anyone local? Look for reviews. I use a local company https://cantoncomputers.com/ In the before times these guys were absolutely great for custom built machines. They basically charged their discounted retail price for parts plus $50 for assembly. When I was working my time was worth way more than the $50 and I had long given up on the joy of learning and building myself.

It's hard to say what's what since labor got weird and supply chains went wonky. I have no context for or concept of value anymore.

[Carpet_pissr]

My son needs a new computer, so I'm going to waterfall mine down to him.

1st suggestion: computers dislike water, and particularly water + gravity. Find a less dramatic way to hand over the computer to your son.

Must everything be a spectacle?! Gah.

[hitbyambulance]

i was excited for a second because i thought someone was going to finally talk about building their own. am i the only person here who still does this?

[gbasden]

i was excited for a second because i thought someone was going to finally talk about building their own. am i the only person here who still does this?

I've built all of my systems before this one, and may still do that depending on the price difference. But I'm flirting with the idea of a fully water cooled system and I don't have any expertise in that.

[gbasden]

My son needs a new computer, so I'm going to waterfall mine down to him.

1st suggestion: computers dislike water, and particularly water + gravity. Find a less dramatic way to hand over the computer to your son.

Must everything be a spectacle?! Gah.

Yes. The spectacle is everything!

[Daehawk]

i was excited for a second because i thought someone was going to finally talk about building their own. am i the only person here who still does this?

Other than my 1st one in 1994 Ive built all mine and will build the next one if I ever have the money freed up. I haven't built one since 2011 but ive dreamed of it and the many parts for a few years now. Money is the only standing problem right now. By the time i do maybe parts will be even better and cheaper than now...its been that way for the last couple years.

[LordMortis]

i was excited for a second because i thought someone was going to finally talk about building their own. am i the only person here who still does this?

The bang for the buck and the need for compatibility knowledge knocked me out years ago. I used to go to monthly trade shows for new parts and auctions for used parts, so I could build a $4000 rig for $1500 in early 90s money. As I mentioned upthread, I can now (or could pre COVID) get a service that knows what CPU and Drive configuration goes in which MoBo goes in which tower with a proper PSU and they can do it easier than I can with a whole rig warranty for about $50 more than I can do it myself minus the leg work to save a few dollars dealing with trying to figure who can save me a few dollars to wait for parts in the mail.

[Lassr]

My son would build his and all his friends himself, but with the prices the way they are now, it was easier for him to buy from a company than to do it himself.

He used Skytech. The computer is nice and it works great but it's LOUD. So he's looking to upgrade the cooling in the future. To fix the cooling will eat into his savings but still will probably come out cheaper than if he did it himself.

The last computer he built for himself, he saved about $500 doing it, but he had an issue he never could resolve, his download speeds would never exceed 80 Mbps even though our internet was 300+ Mbps. So there was some issue with his build. Possibly the motherboard, but he messed with all kinds of software settings but no luck.

[Carpet_pissr]

i was excited for a second because i thought someone was going to finally talk about building their own. am i the only person here who still does this?

As mentioned already, that hasn’t made financial sense in quite a while if a video card was a part of the build.

Starting to shift back now with the oversupply of video cards and resulting price drops.

[Kraken]

I'm still happy with my eCollegePC. Don't know anything about their support because I never needed it.

[LordMortis]

I'm still happy with my eCollegePC. Don't know anything about their support because I never needed it.

Pricing looks really good on this and my PC is starting to reboot when I game. Not sure if I have a dying CPU, PSU, or GPU and windows is no help diagnosing. I might just be moving away from local to these guys. This looks reasonable for low tier gaming rig

AMD Gaming Series

• AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 4.4Ghz 6-Core
• MSI B550M Pro-VDH Wifi Motherboard
• 32GB DDR4 3200Mhz Memory
• 1TB nVME M.2 PCIe SSD
•8GB GeForce RTX 3050 DP/HDMI
• 1Gbit Ethernet / Wireless / HD Audio
• Fractal Design Pop Air Mid Tower
• 600watt 80 PLUS Power Supply
• 3 USB 2.0 / 5 USB 3.0 Ports
• Lifetime Labor and Tech Support 1 year Parts Warranty

Starting at $1053

Does it ship with an OS? What kind?

[Kraken]

Mine is 4 years old now. It came with Win 10 (might have been an add-on, I don't remember).

My limited experience with support was before I bought it -- it has to fit underneath a shelf built into my desk, and all of their cases were too tall and skinny. I finally asked if they had one that was under x" tall, and indeed they did have a simple black case with one glass side and very good dust filtering, which is something I need.

I was happy with the build quality and it's still going strong.

[DOS=HIGH]

I think it's an interesting time to be buying a PC. By the end of the year, you have new video cards coming out, new CPUs, a new ATX power supply standard, and DDR5 becoming more available on motherboards. It's kind of a good thing/bad thing.

[Daehawk]

Its always a changing. Still remember the days of going from 3.5" floppy to CD and into 3-D graphics then dvd and SIMMS to DIMMS and EDO Ram to DDR and such and on and on.

[LordMortis]

Final decision

Product Quantity Price
AMD Ryzen 5 Gaming Series 1
Case:
Fractal Design Focus G Black (2 5.25, 2 3.5/2.5 Bays) 2 Fans, Front Audio, 1xUSB 3.0, 1xUSB 2.0, 17.5 in x 8.1 in x 18.3 in
CPU:
AMD RYZEN 5 5500 6-Core 3.6 GHz (4.2 GHz Turbo) Socket AM4
Heatsink/Fan:
AMD Retail Boxed Fan that comes with CPU Included (Ryzen 5600X and lower only)
Motherboards:
MSI PRO B550M PRO-VDH WIFI(AMD B550, HDMI, 6xSATA, M.2, 4xDDR4, 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 2 x USB 2.0 ports, Wifi , Bluetooth)
Memory:
32GB (16GBx2) Mushkin Redline Black DDR4 3200Mhz Memory Lifetime Warranty
M.2 SSD:
512GB Mushkin Tempest NVMe M.2 SSD 3300/2200 R/W
Video Card / GPU:
8GB GeForce RTX 3050 GDDR6 PCI-E DP/HDMI Major Brand (MSI,Gigabyte, ASUS, eVGA)
Operating System:
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64bit (Includes DVD +Product Key Digital License + Install)
Power Supply:
600watt EVGA 600 BR 100-BR-0600-K1 80 PLUS CERTIFIED
Networking:
Onboard Ethernet LAN included
Sound Card:
Onboard HD 7.1 Sound included
Warranty:
Lifetime Labor and Tech Support, 1 Year Parts Warranty
Processing Time:
Standard Build and Test: Ready to ship within 4 to 5 Business Days

Subtotal: $1,017.00
Discount: -$50.00
Shipping: Free UPS Ground shipping
Tax: $0.00
Payment method: PayPal
Total: $967.00

I don't need as much as my brOOthren, so this should do me fine. I probably should have added/upgraded fans but heat isn't really my problem. Power outages are, which means I probably should have engaged a better PSU, but honestly I have no idea how to shop PSUs. When I was building my own rigs 400watt power supplies for home unit was enough overkill to insulate you. Nowadays 600 is a question I don't understand well enough to find an answer for.

Also, maybe its' time to get a better surge protector nor maybe even get a cheap battery

Thanx for the link kraken. After my vast shopping around (of local + about 3 whole sites) I liked your offering best.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Also, maybe its' time to get a better surge protector nor maybe even get a cheap battery

Sounds like you ought to seriously consider purchasing a decent Uninterruptible Power Supply with automatic voltage regulation (AVR) to accompany your new PC instead of relying upon a surge protector. AVR helps stabilize and correct minor power fluctuations without necessarily switching to battery power, which provides for a more reliable and better-regulated source of power.

[Daehawk]

My upgrade time will come soon after paying off my mortgage in a couple more years. I have always bought the 2nd best parts or 3rd best. They've served me VERY well over the years. But at my age ya never know when the end will come so my plan next time is save up and buy the best or almost the best of all parts and build what may be my last PC . I want it to last 10 years at least....like this one has.

[DOS=HIGH]

Not sure if you already ordered but I think you might want to reconsider the video card. I'm pretty sure the RTX2060 is better than the RTX3050 and looks like you get 12GB on the 2060 compared to 8 on the 3050 for $30 less.

[malchior]

Not sure if you already ordered but I think you might want to reconsider the video card. I'm pretty sure the RTX2060 is better than the RTX3050 and looks like you get 12GB on the 2060 compared to 8 on the 3050 for $30 less.

The 2060 is faster too. The 3050 is a bad value.

[LordMortis]

Too late and I'm OK with what I'm getting.

As to the UPS, yes I do need to consider one. Power here is just too flakey and I think that did in my current PSU (or whatever else is going wrong if it's not the PSU)

[Kraken]

Who got your money? If it was eCollege, you owe me $1.50 for the referral.

[jztemple2]

As to the UPS, yes I do need to consider one. Power here is just too flakey and I think that did in my current PSU (or whatever else is going wrong if it's not the PSU)

I've had an APC model for several years and have been very happy with it. And I just got this model for my wife, it's an upgrade from mine but she's got lots of stuff to plug in.

Just a reminder, based on my own experience. Don't plug your printers into your battery backup slots, just the surge protection. I had my laser printer plugged it and it ate up the battery after a couple of years.

[LordMortis]

New computer arrived. Transferring stuff. Soon to play Battletech, which was the first indicator the old machine was having problems.

Wow this new case lets a lot of airflow through and 1/4 inch honey comb holes. Looks like I am going to need to keep some compressed air on hand and use it often. This sucker is going to pull in dust like no tomorrow.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Looks like I am going to need to keep some compressed air on hand and use it often. This sucker is going to pull in dust like no tomorrow.

If this is likely to be a concern for you going forwards, you may want to consider purchasing a reliable electric air duster instead.

The XPOWER Cyber Electric Air Duster has proven mighty dependable in my experience, and includes a decent selection of tools. Suffice to say, it can save you decent chunk of change versus repeatedly buying and replacing canned air:

[hitbyambulance]

have used a similar powered blower at work. this thing gets the job done. it will also launch every light object on your desk and surrounding vicinity into the air, so do your PC cleaning outside. (it also tripped my kitchen GFCI when i plugged it in there - the power load was pretty intense)

[LordMortis]

Noted and will remember.

[Blackhawk]

I use a similar duster.

I was hesitant at first, as the rule used to be that alternatives to canned air were unsafe for computers, but that's because most of them were other compressors. But this is just a blower with a small nozzle, so the concerns don't apply, and it's actually pretty amazing. Before I'd limit how much I cleaned my PC specifically because I had to be careful about the cost of the compressed air. That's no longer the case.

[LordMortis]

Not sure. $50+ is considerably higher than $16 for three cans that would last me a long time. Gonna cogitate on it, probably for too long and then order something online and be impatient for it because I waited to long and the filth will bother me because I noticed it. That or I'll end up with the cans because I can just go out and buy them and be done with it. I'm nothing if not predictable in my will to be cheap being at odds with my will to be lazy and then having both those wills kicked in the nads by my impatience moving me to be impetuous.

[jztemple2]

Weird, I think I blew out the dust one time on my old rig and haven't touched the new one yet which is getting two years old. I do take off the front fascia plate and clean the dust off the inlet screen once in a while. I opened up the side plate just now to take a look and there is the lightest coating of dust on the PSU cover. So maybe I'll use that can of compressed air I got years ago after all!

[Smoove_B]

Not sure. $50+ is considerably higher than $16 for three cans that would last me a long time. Gonna cogitate on it, probably for too long and then order something online and be impatient for it because I waited to long and the filth will bother me because I noticed it. That or I'll end up with the cans because I can just go out and buy them and be done with it. I'm nothing if not predictable in my will to be cheap being at odds with my will to be lazy and then having both those wills kicked in the nads by my impatience moving me to be impetuous.

Consider getting a small office HEPA filter, like this. I picked one up in the earliest days of our darkest timeline and it's done an amazing job at reducing dust in my office significantly, especially in the winter. It doesn't eliminate it (that would be crazy) but it is noticeably less dusty and makes PC dust maintenance much easier.

[Isgrimnur]

Or build a Corsi–Rosenthal Box