Build My Own Computer

[davejonesbkk]

Just wondering if it's cheaper to buy all the parts required for a PC such as motherboard, processor etc. myself and build it or cheaper to buy one 'out of the box'?

[pattayadingo]

The other option would be got to Pantip or similar. Pick out the parts you want and let them put the unit together for you. Buy the parts of your choice and they assemble it for free.

For me, too many ready built units do not have seperate graphics and sound. The motherboard may not be up to spec either. That is why I prefer the above option these days.

[steve187]

it really depends on what spec machine you are looking for, if its a normal run of the mill machine complete with monitor, etc. then more than likely cheaper to shop around and choose a ready made system. If its a high spec machine for gaming or lots of harddrives, then build it yourself, or choose the parts, and get one of the shops to put it together for you.

[givenall]

Just remember most of Computer makers spend thousand testing their products before releasing. Ii advice against building your own unless you are expert in understanding how all works and able to debug your problems

Also it will not be much cheaper

[benbear]

Just remember most of Computer makers spend thousand testing their products before releasing. Ii advice against building your own unless you are expert in understanding how all works and able to debug your problems

Also it will not be much cheaper

Sorry, totally disagree, you can use a search engine such as google to find all the parts you need to make a really nice P.C yourself. Plus all these parts have been fully tested before releasing. As for expense it would be cheaper too. Plus there are huge amounts of info and videos on how to build a P.C, so you do not need to be an expert. Fair enough it isn't as easy as ABC but it can be done as a hobbie as much as it would to make a remote controlled car.

I am not saying making a remote controlled car or a P.C are the same level of difficulty. I am saying you need to do your research, plan, research and some more research for good measure and build something cool.

[WhizBang]

Just remember most of Computer makers spend thousand testing their products before releasing. Ii advice against building your own unless you are expert in understanding how all works and able to debug your problems

Also it will not be much cheaper

ABSOLUTELY Disagree. Spec the individual parts to meet your needs and them assemble them into a working machine. Easy as pie, and the result will be well worth the effort.

[rakman]

Just remember most of Computer makers spend thousand testing their products before releasing. Ii advice against building your own unless you are expert in understanding how all works and able to debug your problems

Also it will not be much cheaper

ABSOLUTELY Disagree. Spec the individual parts to meet your needs and them assemble them into a working machine. Easy as pie, and the result will be well worth the effort.

I agree defining and building your own can be very satisfying. Be sure to get all the latest drivers from the various manufacturer's web sites and use at least the OEM legal version of Windows, so you can get patches on the O/S too.

[happysanook]

the fun factor aside, it depends what you need the computer for and what your financial situation is...

example, if you'll just be surfing the net, word processing while listening to music, watching movies etc... and you're wanting to save money you could get a 2nd hand notebook or desktop and assuming it's dual core and has at least 2gb ram, you should be fine for these sort of things...

if you'll be wanting to game medium-hardcore and have some dough to spend, and you have some interest in building your own, i'd say go for it...

and of course if you are very interested in building your own...regardless of use, i'd say go for it too... it's not all that difficult... most settings for MB set through software...the rest is like a simple lego set... there are tons of walkthroughs on the net regarding choosing the proper ram to go with the right MB etc...

[ETatBKK]

right, all depend your purpose of this computer !

just for general everyday applications, go for a branded option or named supply. today low cost computers are already in price flighting, and you get decent after sales services.

if you need it for a heavy load, DIY may help to control the cost vs specifications, not saying always cheaper. of course, consider you need to maintain the DIY build yourself, even though individual parts may come with warranty.

I did mine for the second scenario. build it myself too, really like a lego and finished in a day. yet spending weeks to adjust and to fine tune the matching, the drivers . . . it is fun, but it is time !

[keeniau96]

Check on YouTube for video on building. It is really simple but there are a few special items, such as how much thermal grease to apply to CPU (hint: size of rice grain or less, use credit card to spread). Use a good quality PSU because that is the foundation of a stable system (hint: 80+ certified; costs more but will last for years); cheap, low quality POS PSUs are typical in the local-made and most big-name entry-level desktops. If you don't do serious gaming you probably will not need a separate graphics card or any other add-in card if you use recent generation motherboards and CPUs. Added benefit is that the drivers will all be on the CD that is packed with the motherboard. Install 4GB of memory (2x4GB sticks), cheapest benefit you can treat yourself to.

[pitrevie]

I think the biggest problem you will have especially building a really good quality computer is obtaining the parts. Sure you can go to any of the Thai web sites and they will advertise the part and even visit Pantip and Fortune Tower and you will see you part listed together with price but that doesn't mean they will have it. The ASUS motherboard I chose was unobtainable anywhere. I have now been waiting 3 months for a Thermalright CPU cooler and no sign of that arriving either.

[Shurup]

If you're getting a system with the legal version of Windows, most often it's cheaper to buy a ready brand name system as manufacturers pay a fraction of the cost for Windows license. Buying boxed official Windows isn't cheap and would cancel out all your savings you've mentioned.

Yes it's easy to do it, I've built many of them before. Its just as a Lego (as it was mentioned). One important step is the compatibility of individual components which you won't find in any specs anywhere. Each of the parts may be fully up to standarts and everything, but a few or more pieces of hardware may just refuse to work with each other resulting in unstable system. This issue is avoided buying a prebuilt brand name system (not some Somchai made), as they test their systems for compatibility.

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[davejonesbkk]

ok thanks for the replies.

The reason Im thinking of doing this is because I want to have a high end PC for games such as BF3 but also Im interested to try building one myself and think it could be a fun project to work on.

My main concern is screwing it up badly though, whats the worst that could go wrong? I was watching some videos on YouTube and they mentioned getting the right power supply is important so the rest of the components dont get fried, stuff like that worries me!

Ive been doing some research and I think I could probably do it for about 20k baht, not including the monitor etc:

Motherboard 3k

CPU - Intel i5 quad core 6k

Memory 8GB 2K

Graphics card - Nvidia Gefore GTX 560 6K

HD - not sure, dont think I need more than 100-200 GB though 2k

Power supply 2k

Thoughts?

I already have a bit of background knowledge about Nvidia cards and Intel chips but clueless about moherboards, what should I look for when choosing those?

[davejonesbkk]

...also can someone tell me what the difference is about RAM for 2x2GB or just a single 4GB?

[JSixpack]

Initially, if you use legit software, the total cost of brand-name PC including monitor will be cheaper.

However, for repairs and upgrading you're de facto locked into the company service centers. Eventually you have to junk the whole thing.

W/ a DIY you can upgrade forever at much lower cost, using off-the-shelf components. Repairs at a local shop are cheap, even free if you buy a new part.

As someone mentioned, the power supplies in proprietary computers tend to be cheap and low-end, which carries higher risk of later repair or data loss. Another issue is the crap cases w/ cheap switches and proprietary plugs. And they tend to be a bitch to work in. A good case will last thru many upgrades; I've had an aluminum Cooler Master for about 8 years thru multiple builds and I still love it, still looks new. I've only had to switch out the fans. Get a quality case!

Hence in the long run you save w/ a generic.

As for parts, you can find a lot of listings on the 'net already matched and considered by the real experts. E.g., http://www.hardware-...-february-2012/ or http://www.tomshardw...6850,2903.html.

Thailand may not have exact matches, but close enough. So you go to the Thai online shops, see what they have, and then look on newegg.com at the reviews for that item. Choose the one w/i your budget w/ the highest ratings (nothing gets 100%). Asrock, Asus, and Gigabyte are the names in mainboards (in Thailand).

Just get a shop to put it together for you and test it. In Panthip, Jedicool is known good. Busitek is also fantastic, but the chains such as JIB or Hardware House are good 'nuff. An online shop will probably put it together for you, test it, and ship it. Check out the TV sponsor Invadit.

I'd never buy a brand-name desktop PC. I hate working on them too, when I need to do so for friends.

[haveaniceday]

Shurup Said in post #12 : "If you're getting a system with the legal version of Windows, most often it's cheaper to buy a ready brand name system as manufacturers pay a fraction of the cost for Windows license. Buying boxed official Windows isn't cheap and would cancel out all your savings you've mentioned."

This is a good point, when I looked in Panthip a while back I remember though, very few big name companies actually include Windows. Looking at forum sponser this can be easily seen, very few Acer, HP, Lenovo machine have an operating system , well Free DOS. I looked on a 26,000b i7 ACER and even it doesn't and that is just for the box. Well, I mean, not at all is it a rip off, far form it, but I mean it is not a budget machine. Why don't these big brand names include a operating system like they do in other countries?

[haveaniceday]

http://www.invadeit.co.th/category/desktop-pcs/

Here is the link I was referring to.

[happysanook]

ok thanks for the replies.

The reason Im thinking of doing this is because I want to have a high end PC for games such as BF3 but also Im interested to try building one myself and think it could be a fun project to work on.

My main concern is screwing it up badly though, whats the worst that could go wrong? I was watching some videos on YouTube and they mentioned getting the right power supply is important so the rest of the components dont get fried, stuff like that worries me!

Ive been doing some research and I think I could probably do it for about 20k baht, not including the monitor etc:

Motherboard 3k

CPU - Intel i5 quad core 6k

Memory 8GB 2K

Graphics card - Nvidia Gefore GTX 560 6K

HD - not sure, dont think I need more than 100-200 GB though 2k

Power supply 2k

Thoughts?

I already have a bit of background knowledge about Nvidia cards and Intel chips but clueless about moherboards, what should I look for when choosing those?

definately build it yourself then.

you should easily be able to put together a decent rig for 20k.

keep in mind proper ram to mb.

proper gpu type to mb.

proper power supply to mb

proper case to mb

proper mb to cpu

google motherboard reviews

going amd instead of intel will save u a few bucks u can put towards gpu or lcd

just some things to think about.

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[haveaniceday]

And don't forget to have your outlet earthed / Grounded, or watch it fry !!!

[rakman]

ok thanks for the replies.

The reason Im thinking of doing this is because I want to have a high end PC for games such as BF3 but also Im interested to try building one myself and think it could be a fun project to work on.

My main concern is screwing it up badly though, whats the worst that could go wrong? I was watching some videos on YouTube and they mentioned getting the right power supply is important so the rest of the components dont get fried, stuff like that worries me!

Ive been doing some research and I think I could probably do it for about 20k baht, not including the monitor etc:

Motherboard 3k

CPU - Intel i5 quad core 6k

Memory 8GB 2K

Graphics card - Nvidia Gefore GTX 560 6K

HD - not sure, dont think I need more than 100-200 GB though 2k

Power supply 2k

Thoughts?

I already have a bit of background knowledge about Nvidia cards and Intel chips but clueless about moherboards, what should I look for when choosing those?

definately build it yourself then.

you should easily be able to put together a decent rig for 20k.

keep in mind proper ram to mb.

proper gpu type to mb.

proper power supply to mb

proper case to mb

proper mb to cpu

google motherboard reviews

going amd instead of intel will save u a few bucks u can put towards gpu or lcd

just some things to think about.

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Don't forget proper heatsink to cpu.

[bendejo]

I did this a few times decades ago. I would shop around for components and assemble it myself.

Then one time it didn't go well, the graphics card wasn't right. I brought my system to they place that sold the card to me, they pulled it out of my computer and into one of theirs, and it worked fine, so the problem was mine. Had a few other problems with that system. From then on (with the exception of buying laptops) I would go to a place where they assembled compenent systems: you buy what you want (CPU, motherboard, sound cards, graphics cards etc) and they'll put it together for you. Some places will waive the assembly cost if you buy all the components from them, or charge a small amount. If later on you want to upgrade you can DIY.

[davejonesbkk]

Thanks for all the replies.

Not sure what I will do yet, I really want to have a go at building it myself though. I think i will do some reading up on this over the next few weeks before making a decision though.

[h90]

The other option would be got to Pantip or similar. Pick out the parts you want and let them put the unit together for you. Buy the parts of your choice and they assemble it for free.

For me, too many ready built units do not have seperate graphics and sound. The motherboard may not be up to spec either. That is why I prefer the above option these days.

To add: + let them set up their doggy pirated Operating system. I advise to delete it later and set it up new, but let them install it means that there is a good chance that they find a non working component while installing it. Saves time...

I have particular good experience with Hardware House and JIB. Not so good experience with Busitek.

[happysanook]

The other option would be got to Pantip or similar. Pick out the parts you want and let them put the unit together for you. Buy the parts of your choice and they assemble it for free.

For me, too many ready built units do not have seperate graphics and sound. The motherboard may not be up to spec either. That is why I prefer the above option these days.

To add: + let them set up their doggy pirated Operating system. I advise to delete it later and set it up new, but let them install it means that there is a good chance that they find a non working component while installing it. Saves time...

I have particular good experience with Hardware House and JIB. Not so good experience with Busitek.

hardware house okay. they have branches in many cities...

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[JSixpack]

Thanks for all the replies.

Not sure what I will do yet, I really want to have a go at building it myself though. I think i will do some reading up on this over the next few weeks before making a decision though.

Good learning experience anyway. Afterwards, when you know you can do it yourself, you can let shops do it and test everything (sort of) and save yourself the trouble. And then you can confidently do most repairs and upgrades yourself. Your very first build won't take more than a couple of hours. When you're experienced, you can do it in about an hour, not including loading the software of course, and assuming no problems. (Of course, we'll have many forum experts here who will attest they can do it in 15 minutes.) Partly depends on how much time you wanna spend on cable management. A good case (Lian Li, Thermaltake, Cooler Master) will make for greater speed and a much happier overall experience (blood free, lol).

Nowadays I always let a shop do the initial assembly to save me the time, boredom, and bother--unless in States, where it's not free, to save my friends unnecessary expense. If a part is DOA (and any part can be, just check for example the reviews of any mainboard on Newegg.com), it can be replaced right then and save me some frustration and a trip back to the shop. You COULD just ask the shop to check the board, CPU, and RAM combo--which they can easily do on the shop breadboard--before you take them home to put into your case. (And then you can just leave the CPU and heatsink on the board, if you're careful in transport.) But fortunately the quality of computer parts has greatly improved over the years, so chances are that no part will be defective.

[jackspratt]

This is an excellent site for "best of class" builds of various specifications, and at different price points. Even though the site is Australian, most of the components should be available in Thailand from the various suppliers mentioned above. If not, it is easy enough to find a compatible substitute.

Building your own is fun - I have done about 6.

http://whirlpool.net...sg_whirlpoolpcs

[Sayonarax]

I tried posting this on my ipad and its just the worst ball ache lol.

Its hard to come by really good gamer parts in Thailand.. e.g cases, memory and cooling. Which is why if you look at any good Australian computer company you wont find half it here.. sad but true.

1. Enclosure

First you will need to find a case worthy of your money.

I recommend Antec Gaming Series, Corsair and Fractal Design, If you can actually find anyone supplying these cases of course. Things you want want to look for in case are.

- Stealth or Gaming looking? Really up to you, i like the stealth black look.

- Mid Size or Full Size? Depends how many HDDs you want.. more the better i say.

- What are the fan sizes? (You want at least 1x 120mm Rear and 1x 120+mm top variable speed/tri speed adjustable fans) Being able to adjust your fans in Thailands climate is a must. Bigger the better.

- Positive or Negative pressure ? Google this as it will help you understand fan setups for cooling.

You might see that a good enclosure might be 2,500-5,000 baht and be turned off by it, but remember a good case last years and also has better cooling.

2. Power Supply

The most power hungry component in any good gaming rig is the video card. It can draw twice the power of your cpu at times which is why at least 420w @ 75% efficiency should be your min target for any power supply with an average low end video.

Google "PSU efficiency"

I recommend OCZ, Antec Earthwatts or Corsair.

3. CPU

If you want bang for your buck i5 2500k.

4. Motherboard

Asus or Gigabyte doesnt matter.

- Check Memory clock speed and if its dual or triple channel memory.

- how many SATA connection ports there are? (SSD, HDD and DVD drive connectors)

- How many PCI expansion slots are there

- Do you want crossfire or SLI support. (Dual graphics card setup)

- Then there's just audio and network options.

5. RAM

2x 4GB Memory sticks @ 1600 min (You will most likely buy a dual channel m/b this way you can upgrade to 16gb at a later date.)

(I recommend Corsair or G-Skills Ripjaws - Check heatsink height as this may effect many large aftermarket cpu coolers)

6. SSD or HDD for O/S ?

Unless you plan on buying both straight up i wouldn't worry. If you have a spare 500gb laying around for additional storage, like music or movies etc then you might look in to it.. totally dependent on your budget.

7. Graphics

Depends on your money really check the link below. ATI 6850 is plenty good

Google "Best Graphics Cards For The Money: February 2012"

8. Cpu and Case cooling.

If your picking an intel cpu then the stock cooler has to go in the bin on day one. AMDs stock cooler can do the job for a while, before coming horribly loud.

Noctua are thee best cpu coolers on the market. The only thing this company does is make fans and coolers.. You will hear rave reviews on forum or website about there products.

Visit there website as they also explain about positive and negative airflow setups and there fans designs. All there products come with 6 years warranty.

Google "Noctua"

90mm twin fan cpu cooler - 1,900b

120mm twin fan cpu cooler - 2,600b

upto 140mm twin core twin fan

My Setup is:

Antec Gaming 300 Case

OCZ Fatal1ty Series 550W PSU

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition @ 3.5Ghz

G-Skill Ripjaws Gaming Series 4x 2GB @ 8GB

Asus ATI 6850

Samsung and Western Digital Sata 3 HDDs @ 8 TB

I hope this will help you build a gaming rig suitable for your budget. I recommend using tomshardware for value for price etc. You may try to cut corners on PSU, case and cooler but its not worth it in the long run.

[oilreg]

best imho, is going to pantip tell them the parts you wanna have and they built it for free

crucial is basically only having a quad cpu, a 500W+ power supply for your GTX 560 and the rest if more of less up to you

however you should guess the price around 25-30K