Does anyone else do this for fun? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Ampera
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2015, 07:29:57 pm
content: Does anyone else go on newegg and pick out parts for a cool computer build that you'll never buy. Like try to make the best/cheapest/most expensive computer for a certain purpose just to see what you can come up with?Sometimes I even get some of my friends to join in and do a competition.If nobody else does it, you then try it. If you build computers, you might find it interesting.

author: iampoor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2015, 07:43:12 pm
content: When I didnt have a dollar value on my time...yep.Now......nope.

author: Skimask
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2015, 07:43:20 pm
content: Ya, I used to....when I was 10.But now that I'm 45, I got better things to do and spec'ING out a top end PC isn't an issue since I can afford anything and/or everything I could ever want or need.

author: Skimask
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2015, 07:44:10 pm
content: But, if you're 12 and need bragging rights...well, there ya go...

author: iampoor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2015, 07:51:40 pm
content: Quote from: Skimask on February 06, 2015, 07:44:10 pm"Bro, look at what I cant buy with my parents money"

author: Ampera
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2015, 08:01:28 pm
content: LOL

author: Mechanical Menace
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2015, 08:37:00 pm
content: For my main PC I never go above mid range. And as I don't particularly like overclocking my computers often built around a "cheap" mid range mobo. Top and bottom end have always sounded better than they are and always being a waste of money when it comes to "IBM clones."

author: Galenbo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 09, 2015, 06:21:42 pm
content: Quote from: TwoOfFive on February 06, 2015, 07:29:57 pmWhy not trying a real challenge? Buy a bunch of discrete components and build a computer yourself.

author: dexters_lab
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 09, 2015, 09:55:06 pm
content: Quote from: TwoOfFive on February 06, 2015, 07:29:57 pmbah it's all so easy now, no worries ticking this and that in an online shopping site... gone are the days you spec a pc from the listings in computer shopper and pray the sound card wouldn't have a problem with your multi-io card when you ran out of IRQs

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 09, 2015, 10:20:18 pm
content: I haven't built a computer in years. I typically repurpose a spare company computer for personal use. Currently using an HP Z210 that I stuck in an additional 4 GB ram from another spare computer, upgraded to Win7 64 bit and got myself a used ATI radeon HD 2400 Pro dual monitor video card cheap off of eBay for my dual monitor setup. Works fine for my uses and with the upgrade in internet service, netflix runs smooth on the 22' main monitor that was also cheap off of eBay.

author: calexanian
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 09, 2015, 10:27:54 pm
content: As somebody else mentioned, when I was young I used to do things like that. That has been replaced in later life with identifying potential purchases, and then spending hours upon hours researching those products until I flip a coin!

author: SL4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 09, 2015, 10:53:29 pm
content: Quote from: Galenbo on February 09, 2015, 06:21:42 pmDid that - almost...Back around 1972-73, IBM had a schools initiative - where they gave out a bunch of PCBs, block diagrams of the approximate architecture (no schematics or proposed implementation), and let about 10 school teams loose on designing and building their own simple computer. IIRC we had about 3 months to show something that used early TTL - and mostly discrete populated logic-gate boards.We learned a LOT.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 09, 2015, 11:31:48 pm
content: Quote from: Skimask on February 06, 2015, 07:43:20 pmSurfed newegg by paper tape?

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 09, 2015, 11:47:46 pm
content: I did it for fun, then decided to click "buy".A website like PCPartPicker can really help with this task.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2015, 12:02:45 am
content: I'm very cheap. I want the best deal, in fact I want the deal I can't have but I wait until I can get it.Case in point, my most recent computer. I made a list of what I wanted and my expected price and I every other week or so scoured all the ads and sites until I found what I wanted and eventually did pay what I wanted as well.My specs were:15.6" LCD LaptopQuad Core Processor (Preferably Haswell i7)8GB RAM1TB HDBetween $500 and $600 USD.It took about 8 months but I found it.I ended up with a Toshiba Satellite S55-B5289. Regular price $800ish, on sale for $629, open-box discounted to $569 at Microcenter in North Dallas.It ticked all the boxes, including Quad Core Haswell i7, and it gets around 8000 on the passmark CPU test.I tend to enjoy sometimes the thrill of the hunt for a good deal. A co-worker gave me an older Dell Optiplex 330 with a Core 2 Duo. I was going to use it as a server or media PC. I found out that some LGA775 boards will accept an LGA771 Xeon processor with a little sticker (you can get them on Ebay) that flips a few pins on the Xeon so it lines up with the LGA775 pins.Before: Conroe Core 2 Duo E6700 (SL9ZF)2.6GHz, 4MB L2, 1066MHz Bus - 1703 CPU PassmarkAfter: Harpertown Xeon E5440 (SLANS)2.83GHz, 12MB L2, 1333MHz Bus- 4014 CPU PassmarkI paid $30 for the CPU, but I see one for $19 right now. If someone goes that route, make sure you get the adapter sticker and you tend to have better luck with the older stepping processors. I researched mine and found that the SLANS E5440 had a 100% success rate on the Dell I had, so I went for it.Finally my mother in law was telling me her laptop was slow. It was one of the $200 black friday laptops from Walmart a few years back. (Compaq CQ60) It had an AMD Sempron SI-42 (Passmark of 446). I think I found a AMD Turion Ultra ZM-84 for $15 and nearly tripled the passmark score on the CPU.And my latest conquest, a custom made PC with an AM2+ motherboard and a Athlon X2 of some kind and I've been working on a processor chart in excel of what I can find on Ebay in the various series that will fit an AM2+ board. A Phenom II X6 would be nice, but I think it exceeds the power the board can handle (manual says 95W or less processor), though I'm not willing to spend Phenom II X6 money, but a Phenom II X4 or X3 may be doable.

author: Homer J Simpson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2015, 04:14:39 am
content: I do this on the Porsche site.Also Audi. RS7Does not hurt to dream.

author: Red Squirrel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2015, 07:14:50 am
content: I was doing it when I was in the market to build a VM server.I'd come up with this ridiculous machine with like 4 of the highest end Xeon processors, 512GB of ram etc.Then I'd look at the price and think "I don't REALLY need this". Ended settling for a server that had a mid end Xeon and 32GB of ram.