Build or Buy?

[TheFirstMonk]

http://www.logicbuy.com/deals/-200-Coupon-...op-PC/9605.aspx

 

On a related note to the recent post I made about the $400 discount off of HP desktops, what do you guys think of the HP Pavilion Elite d5100t I linked above? I made a previous post in the Hardware and Software section about getting a new graphics card only (with a better power supply), but I'm wondering if buying this HP and then swapping the video card and the power supply would be an okay idea. (I highlighted some parts that I thought were decent enough to warrant a purchase):

 

* Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.5GHz; GeForce 9300 256MB; 500GB HDD

* Blu-Ray DVD Player and Lightscribe SuperMulti DVD Burner; 3GB DDR2 800; Card Reader; Microsoft

Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-Bit)

 

The total would come out to $699.99 after the $400 discount. (The above link doesn't list the $150 instant rebate that the d5100t has on the HP website. The cost of the BluRay is negated because of the rebate.) Assuming I bought a relatively cheap Radeon HD 4850 and power supply for around or under $200 total later on, the total cost would be $899.99, give or take a couple dollars.

 

Part of me thinks it's a bad idea for me to do it since I'd be wasting money on parts I'm not going to use (the 9300 Geforce and the power supply it already has); on the other hand, I'm a bit unsure about my ability to put together a computer (I've never done it before). I've been trying to find the specific parts that the d5100t is made up of and the parts I want to put into it (Radeon HD 4850 and Coolmax 650W) to see if it would be cheaper to build a computer. I can't seem to find what motherboard or Blu Ray DVD player/ DVD burner the d5100t uses, so I can't really calculate the cost of those parts specifically or accurately (I obviously can't calculate the specific cost of the case either). The parts I listed below are mostly theoretical:

 

Core 2 Quad Q9300 - $249.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115043

 

Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 512MB - $139.99 after MIR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814102770

 

Coolmax 650W Power Supply (one of Preacher's suggestions) - $39.99 after MIR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817159082

 

Antec 900 Computer Case (a random case I picked; feel free to suggest a cheaper/ better one for calculation purposes) - $109.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...Tpk=antec%20900

 

Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit) OS - $99.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16832116488

 

Generic Blu-Ray DVD Player/ DVD Burner - $150 (some of the ones on newegg cost around there)

 

Lowest priced 500GB Internal HD I could find on newegg - $59.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....20Hard%20Drives

 

I'm not sure what motherboard to possibly list since I can't find the one the d5100t uses. I'm assuming it's at least over $100 for a reliable one; I could be wrong though since I'm not a tech expert.

 

If I bend the prices of some components, like the computer case, I come up with different numbers for the total price. Still, I get the strange feeling that modifying the $699.99 HP and building a similar computer from scratch would not be too different in price (If I made any mistakes in adding the prices or listed the wrong component, feel free to correct me.). I could also wait a couple months and see how I feel about the whole thing then; maybe HP will have a similar deal in the future. I know that Intel is releasing the i7 and such, so prices of older CPUs may go down in the future too.

 

Sorry if these posts seem unnecessary; I started off by asking about graphics cards and ended up making a post about possibly getting a new computer. Any criticism or advice would be appreciated.

 

EDIT: The Corsair RAM price changed, so I'm striking that out.

Edited November 18, 2008 by TheFirstMonk

[Preacher]

I would never advise a first time PC builder to do it on their own. That said, it really isn't that hard if you have a knowledgeable person to walk through it with you. I usually tell people to start with a barebone and then just add the components. A barebone computer "Usually" comes with a case, power supply and motherboard all put together so you just add the cards, drives and CPU and you're done.

 

Most of the guys here in the tech section would be happy to help walk you through it. I may even put together a PC builder's guide. I've thought of doing this in the past. I'll work on it tomorrow if I have the time.

 

Also to note, after next thursday everyone will be having sales so you may wish to wait till then to seek out your parts. You may find an insane deal or 2

[boiler]

In general, it is "cheaper" to build your own computer than to buy from HP, Dell, etc. You can get higher quality parts for generally lower prices in many cases. The biggest downsides are no manufacturer's warranty (beyond the original part manufacturer) and you are your own tech support. Putting all the parts together isn't all that difficult with a little interweb reading, but diagnosing a problem can get a little sticky. With these forums though, enough knowledgeable folks are here that can help step you through most of it.

 

I built my own computer by myself with only the help of a guide I found online. There are a few good ones out there with a little searching. I found that the knowledge I gained from building my own (I've since built 6 additional computers for friends, family, and work) has helped tremendously in my understanding of how everything interacts and where the cause of potential hardware problems may be.

 

All that said, you may be hard pressed to build a new one like that HP with the new graphics card and PSU for the same/less than the sale price with $400 off. If you would like to see concrete DIY options, give us a working budget and we can get some parts together for the most bang for the buck.

[[LaW]Maverick]

an added note: the 9300 is a POS. Build your own--it's good for ya'!

 

Heck, I built my first computer with virtually no help at all, and that's back when you had to change jumper settings on each piece of hardware...for instance: the motherboard had a jumper that had to agree with the jumper on the sound card, but the kicker was that it wasn't simple--oh no, the jumpers had to be in different places depending on the manufacturers of each product. Yeah, it sucked.

 

My point is that it's A LOT easier today, and you have the benefit of having access to several computer geeks that'd be happy to help you out. I'd definitely build. If you're looking to game, HP is not the best choice either--their benchmarks are historically and notoriously low.

[TheFirstMonk]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

 

I guess I'll think about building one instead of buying like you all suggested. I'll do some research on finding the right parts and building for now; I'm mostly worried about parts compatibility and OS installation (putting it together seems pretty hard too, but that's a given for someone new like me ).

 

I don't know if I'll build one before the end of the year or wait a bit in 2009, but my budget would be around or under $1000 (preferably under). Some parts have already been suggested in previous posts I've made here, so I'll probably play around with some of those ideas (Radeon HD 4850, CoolMax PS's, Intel Core 2 Duo or Quad, Windows Vista 64-Bit). I've looked at other people's recent threads on building gaming PCs on the internet, and they have some builds that are around my price range; I probably won't copy their exact specs when planning my own, but some parts keep coming up:

 

Western Digital Caviar HD or a Seagate HD

OCZ, Corsair, etc. for RAM

ASUS, Gigabyte, etc. for a motherboard

Nothing consistent on CPU coolers or power supplies

Cases vary, although Antec 900 is considered to be decent (according to what I've read)

 

That's probably some stuff I need to read up on in the near future. I don't intend on overclocking or having SLI/Crossfire like some of the internet builds were going for or using things like liquid cooling, so I won't have to worry about those things thankfully. I'll also wait like Preacher said for Black Friday and see if I can find a deal on a part or two; hopefully I'll know what to look for...

 

Thanks for volunteering to give me a walkthrough in building one; I definitely need experts on my side.

[[LaW]Maverick]

I have a Seagate HDD, Mushkin RAM, Antec 900 Case, Antec 850W PSU, and a Core 2 Duo

 

 

Computability isn't a huge issue anymore--90% of the stuff you buy is going to work. The only thing I've seen common recently is that some MOBO's have a different default setting for RAM voltages than the RAM manufacturer calls for. It's not a big deal, and usually the "AUTO" setting on the motherboards detect it so you don't have to do a thing.

 

 

They even color code things on some Motherboards (Gigabyte, for example) so putting them together is really really easy. You can't put anything in the wrong spot because it doesn't fit in the wrong spot. The hardest thing is setting up the power and reset switch along with any status lights (HDD LED, for example).

 

Really, with us here, you have nothing to worry about!

[dwEEziL]

I agree with the majority here. Building your own will often get you a much better system for less money.

 

If you do go with the HP with the intentions of swapping out a psu and gpu, check to make sure the HP uses standard parts. It used to be that most computer companies (HP, Compaq, Dell, etc) used proprietary parts that only fit in their systems. In the past couple years, most have gotten away from this and have started using standard parts for the most part, but it's always best to check first.

[Preacher]

Gateway and E-machines still does this

[LoveForPriscillaChan]

buy: http://www.computerworld.com/action/articl...source=rss_news

[dwEEziL]

That would be sweet. And with all those gpus, you could probably get 10,000 fps on CS:S.

[General J]

EDIT: Who will loan me $10,000? I'll pay you back, I promise!

 

+1 for building your own. I had basic computer knowledge (well, still do...) when I built my desktop. Had some rough goings at first with formatting and getting all the bios settings to run everything at proper speeds. But, once it was done, I had a fresh install with none of the manufacturer bloatware. It's been about 5 years since the build and it still runs fast today. Outdated, yes. But it runs well.

 

My best advice to you if you decide to build, buy a nice mobo. I cheaped out on mine and I regret it to this day. It was supposed to handle the RAM speeds that I bought and be ok for overclocking. But it wasn't. I had to run RAM at a lower speed and keep the CPU at stock speed. Lesson learned though, and I will do better research on my next one.

Edited November 20, 2008 by General J

[TheFirstMonk]

I'd post this stuff in a new thread, but I haven't chosen a lot of parts yet.

 

Video Card: Radeon HD 4850 (Don't know which brand yet)

 

Power Supply: PC Power and Cooling 610W ($69.99 after MIR)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817703005

 

Hard Drive: Seagate 500GB HD (maybe) ($69.99-$97.99)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....20Hard%20Drives

 

Case: Antec 900 ATX Midtower ($94.99 on Amazon.com)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811129021

 

CPU/ Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 (maybe) ($249.99)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115043

 

RAM: I don't know yet (thinking over a couple brands like Maverick's Mushkin), but I prefer DDR2 to DDR3; would like to expand to 6-8GB (might be overkill) maybe in the future, but 4GB is fine for now.

 

Motherboard: I don't know yet; I've read reviews on newegg, which are confusing since they have ones with both really positive and really negative comments (I tend to ignore the DOA ones and focus on the negative ones where they fail after a period of time).

 

CPU Cooler: I don't know yet.

 

DVD Player/ Burner of some kind (don't really need Blu Ray at the moment): I don't know yet; I don't really have a preference other than one that can last and is decent.

 

Don't really need a keyboard or mouse, so I'm not listing those.

 

I probably missed a part or two above. Haven't decided if I want to stick with the Seagate (seems WD and Seagate are the most popular internal HDs, but they seem to have reports of failure of some kind in newegg's reviews) or not; I have a Samsung 250 GB right now. CPU/ Processor might change since i7 might drop prices of the older quad cores. Motherboard is probably the hardest decision for me. Still reading articles/ watching videos on youtube on building a computer.

 

By the way, which is the better deal here?

 

Samsung 19 Inch for $149.99 ($163.01 with shipping and tax)? http://www.compusa.com/applications/search...wyCjCVqHCjCdwwp

 

OR

 

Dell 19 Inch for $125.30 (0 dollars for shipping and tax)? http://dealnews.com/Dell-S199-WFP-19-Wides...ing/261824.html

 

Obviously the Dell is cheaper, but I was wondering about the quality comparison between the two. I don't think they should be much different, but I've only bought a 15 inch Sony that's about 3 and a 1/2 years old, so I have no experience with either brand other than looking at Samsung monitors at Best Buy. I think both monitors have a 3 year warranty.

 

Thanks for any input on any of the stuff I've posted here.

 

And I don't think I can afford P Chan's suggestion.

[samurai nightling]

Get the Dell monitor. They both have 1000:1 contrast ratio, 1440x900 res, and a 5ms response time. Same specs, ones cheaper. Buy the Dell.

[[LaW]Maverick]

May want to consider something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817153062

for the PSU

 

The only reason I say so, is that if you're planning on upgrading in the future, it's better to have too much power than too little. I also don't have any experience with the brand you posted, so I'd be a little leary....

 

 

As far as motherboards go, I like ASUS and Gigabyte the best...I'm currently using an EVGA and I'm also very happy with that. I'd avoid brands like Foxconn and the like as they don't have the longevity of the brands like ASUS.

[dwEEziL]

I don't know about anymore, but previously, the Dell LCDs were just rebranded Samsungs anyway.

 

I suggested PC Power And Cooling. Quality brand and since being bought by OCZ, the prices have come down.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....amp;srchInDesc=

 

Here's the one I bought last year for my build.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817703009

Edited November 20, 2008 by dwEEziL

[Preacher]

I'm using the cheapest 750watt one sold on newegg right now and it's rated very good. I like the Coolmax because it's quiet and stable.

Edited November 20, 2008 by Preacher

[TheFirstMonk]

I've heard of Thermaltake power supplies and generally hear good things, and I trust Preacher's judgment on the Coolmax's. I don't know if I'll pick them over a PC Power and Cooling one (the only one I've had experience with, although some reviewers at newegg accuse them of lowering their quality standards since being acquired by OCZ; I bought my 2+ year old 470W Silencer before that happened, so I can't compare), but you guys reminded me that I should probably buy something bigger than 600W, so I won't have to upgrade in that area in the future. I'll most likely get one that's at least 750W now. Thanks.

 

I'm wondering what your thoughts are on this motherboard:

ASUS P5Q SE PLUS LGA 775 INTEL P45 ATX

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131347

 

I've read earlier posts by other people who use the ASUS P5Q Pro, but I'm not going to use Crossfire in the future at all. I know the one I picked would be a cheaper alternative, but I don't know if it would be a good choice (the reviews for it are fairly recent, so I can't rely on those in terms of deciding its longevity). General J advised not to buy a cheap one, so I'm just wondering if this seems like a decent board for a single video card and a quad core.

 

Also, does anyone know anything about Patriot memory?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820220353

 

I saw these in a combo deal with the Antec 900 case (my first choice so far), but I was wondering if the company is any good. The memory sticks are DDR2 1066, so I assume they work with the above motherboard.

 

In addition, I was set to buy that 19 inch Dell monitor for $125.30, but I also saw a Black Friday deal from Best Buy for a 19 inch Acer for $99. The Acer differs from the Dell in that the contrast ratio is 2000:1 instead of 1000:1; is that a big enough difference to warrant a purchase? I'm leaning towards the Dell right now...

 

Thanks for your input so far, guys.

[samurai nightling]

I'd say the price and contrast difference both warrant the purchase of the Acer. Just get up early....forwarning.

[dragonfly]

Yeah, Patriot is supposed to be good as well. Heck, I've never even had a stick of kingston ram go bad

 

The reviews on Newegg doing help much with that Asus board. I'd use google and try to find someone who's reviewed it. It is probably very similar to the Pro, just without crossfire.

Edited November 22, 2008 by DarkArchon

[Preacher]

Patriot makes good stuff, it's what I have in my system currently. I have 8gb of this

[TheFirstMonk]

Component list so far:

 

DVD Player/Burner- Samsung 22x DVD+/-R with Lightscribe ($27.99): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827151173

 

Case- Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($44.99 after coupon code): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811129024

 

Video Card- SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 ($134.99 after MIR): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814102770

 

Power Supply (pending)- PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V ($79.99 after MIR): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817703009

 

Mouse- Logitech MX518 2-Tone 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB + PS/2 Wired ($24.99 after MIR and coupon code): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16826104178

 

Memory- Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) ($57.99 after MIR): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820220353

 

Motherboard (pending)- ASUS P5Q SE PLUS LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX ($81.99 after MIR): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131347

 

CPU/Processor (pending)- Intel Core2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 ($269.99): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115131

 

Internal Hard Drive: Currently unknown; greater than 200GB, less than 750GB (most likely around 500GB)

 

Shipping cost: $12.80

Cost before rebates and coupons: $885.72

Cost after rebates and coupons: $735.72

(If I can get the Acer 19inch monitor from Best Buy on Black Friday, the extra cost would be $99 ($105.93 after sales tax), so the total would be $841.65, assuming the rebates come through for the other items)

 

I labeled the power supply and processor with "pending" because I'm considering other alternatives.

 

Thinking about the COOLMAX RM-750B 750W ATX12V ($49.99 after MIR): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817159094

OR

Thermaltake Toughpower W0172RU 850W ATX12V / EPS12V ($129.99 after MIR): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817153062

 

The processor could be the cheaper Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 ($244.99): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...3&Tpk=Q9300

, although I don't know if $25.00 would be a big deal for me. I'll have to look at the performance gap (if any) between the 2 cpus to see if there's a notable difference.

 

I still can't find a lot of online reviews for the Asus P5Q SE Plus; I find the P5Q Pro and the P5Q-E, but not the SE Plus. I tried looking at the Asus Forums for support/ troubleshooting and did not find a lot of issues concerning the SE Plus, which could mean that there are few (good), or that it's a fairly new product (not so good for me). Will keep looking at it and thinking about other motherboards as well.

 

I also don't really know what internal hard drive to get. I hear a lot of bad things about OEM products, but I don't know if I should take them seriously. I was going to get a Seagate HD, but they seem to have mixed reviews online; 5 year warranty is a positive thing for me though. Still thinking about Western Digital and other drives.

 

I might be missing some parts in my list; feel free to point them out. I'll try to keep you guys updated since you gave me a lot of good advice and suggestions so far.

 

EDIT: Forgot about OS; most likely choosing Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit, which should be around $100. Still under $1000, but it's close to breaking that limit.

Edited November 25, 2008 by TheFirstMonk

[[LaW]Maverick]

Don't buy that case, buy this one instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811119152

 

I've worked with the Sonata series of Antec cases, and they work OK, but I did a recent build with that Cooler Master up there there, and it was an amazing case. I mean, I'm really impressed, and it's whisper quiet. If you're going to OC, you just need to get an extra fan, but that Cooler Master is whisper quiet, and runs cool in the build I made. Really, I'm not impressed with that Sonata at all, and the Cooler Master looks better without being over the top.

 

As far as HDD's go, I'd go with this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822148301

 

The reason I say Seagate over WD (and I was a huge WD fan for a while) is that my brother works in a Forensic Computer Lab for the SS, and they go through HDD's like water. My brother's workstation has 16 TB (that's 16,000 GB) in it alone. Not only that, they run back-up servers, have to destroy HDD's and everything--and nothing lasts like their Seagate drives in the lab. My brother went through 2 WD drive in about 3 months, and the lab kept having to rework evidence because of other WD drives failing--so now they use exclusively Seagate whenever possible. THey're also the hardest to destroy when they're purposely trying to destroy them. I would recommend nothing else.

 

Other than that, the build looks good . . . there are some better MOBO's out there, but you pay for them (ASUS's Formula boards are AWESOME, for example), but ASUS is a good brand.

 

I'd really recommend that Cooler Master though--it makes for an easy build too, which is a big plus for you.

 

Edit: By the way, that Sonata has a power supply in it, you do realize that, right? I'd really recommend that Cooler Master over it though--tool-less design is nice...

Edited November 25, 2008 by [LaW]Maverick

[TheFirstMonk]

Heh, yeah, I did notice that the Antec Sonata had a 500W power supply, but I thought that it wouldn't be enough to power what I wanted. I think I saw a picture where someone swapped it out for another one in their build, so I thought I would do that.

 

I was going to buy that Cooler Master for sure since I read reviews for it after you suggested it. It seems to run really cool and silent like you said. I saw a deal for this though: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811146041

 

The reviews I've read online pretty much recommend yours over this one, but the NZXT was cheaper and the only major problem with it that I've read is that the fans are not as good as the Cooler Master's (in terms of the number and placement of fans). I might regret the purchase later, but I wanted to limit my budget since I'm pretty sure I'll screw up the first time around building this thing; I actually spent hours on and off thinking about which one to get. I would definitely pick that Cooler Master case though if I get to build a second one (hopefully, I'll learn something from the first one).

 

I saw that Seagate HD that you recommended on the newegg website before a couple weeks ago, and I was going to buy it earlier until I saw the description about how it's made for surveillance and DVR. It seems like a really good product, but I don't know if I can use it for gaming and such based on how it's described. I hope it can be used for gaming because I'm still willing to get it; I'll wait until Black Friday to see if it goes on sale or something.

 

Thanks for the advice on what components to pick. I'm feeling a little more confident about the whole project, although I have serious reservations about my ability to pull this thing off. Here's hoping...

 

EDIT: Forgot to say some stuff. I'm wondering about what quad core to get; I listed the q9400, but I'm not too sure anymore since I could save some money in the short term. Is there a big difference between the q9xxx series and the lower ones like the q6600 or q8200?

 

Also, I read online that at lower resolutions for a game (say, for example, a 15inch monitor), the CPU is the limiting component, whereas at higher resolutions, the GPU is. I don't know if that's really true. What do you guys think?

Edited November 26, 2008 by TheFirstMonk

[[LaW]Maverick]

It depends on how complex you want to get...

 

Were it me, I'd buy the Q6600 and overclock it to 3.0 ghz (just like I have a 6600 dual core overclocked to 3.0 ghz right now in my system), but that might be a little more work than you want to get in to. It's something we could help you with though.

 

That Seagate drive will work very well for gaming. Don't worry about the description, worry about the specs. The fact that it's used in DVRs and Survelience system is good news for gaming because that means they're on ALL THE TIME and don't fail. The seek times are great AND it has a 32 MB cache. It's a definite winner.

 

 

Ok, on to the case thing. That NZXT case is cheaper AFTER the rebate you have to wait 5 weeks to get, and it will make for a slightly more painful build. Yes, it's tool-less, but it's not as nice tool-less, and from what I've read about NZXT cases, you will need to replace all the fans because they apparently suck that bad. So, you're talking between $8 and $12 per fan on top of that cost. I'd still go with something decent and inexpensive like that Cooler Master. There are other options if you don't like the way it looks--it's just one I have personal experience with and I know you won't get screwed buying it.

 

For higher resolutions, you need more memory and memory bandwidth on your GPU. The CPU can be a limiting factor, but when you're talking quad cores, it's really not. I mean, if you got the lowest end quad core available, then stuck 2 4870s in Crossfire in there, the CPU might be a limiting factor, but generally the amount of memory available on your GPU and the amount of memory bandwidth available on your GPU are the limiting factors in resolution.

 

 

Edit: I stand by the fact that I think that Seagate drive will work fine for gaming, however, if you want to save some cash, I'd go with this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822148288

It has about the same specs, and is in their standard line of HDD's. I'd go with this over the one I originally suggested primarily because Seagate (for some reason) said not to use the other drive as a PRIMARY drive--meaning, don't install an OS to it. That's odd, so I'd avoid it. You're right, I'm sorry. I also wouldn't worry about the 4 eggs instead of 5, if you look at some of the reviews, the cons are kinda ridiculous....DOA's so they get one egg...meh, it happens sometimes. I've personally installed about 5 of these exact drives and they're all still working perfectly. If you look at the higher capacity drives on NewEgg that have a lot of reviews, almost none of them have 5 eggs, no matter what brand they are.

 

I think it's because people don't realize that higher capacity drives tend to be a little more delicate than a smaller one. It's a physical disk, and while they keep shrinking components, there's more crap crammed in a high capacity drive, and if you knock it around a lot, you can damage it....that's my theory anyway...

Edited November 26, 2008 by [LaW]Maverick

[TheFirstMonk]

Thanks for the link to the Seagate HD; I've seen a couple 500GB versions and had no idea what to pick, lol.

 

And thanks for the information on the CPU vs GPU argument. I think I understand it better now. As for your experience with the q6600, I'm wondering how it handles without overclocking. I'm afraid of voiding a warranty or something and generally do not want to push its limits for performance. I know the q6600 is the older type of quad core with more heat issues than the q9000 series, but that doesn't bother me so much. Would it still handle well without overclocking, or would I have to overclock eventually within the next 2 years (since I don't want to upgrade for at least that long) to keep up with the newer CPUs?

 

Thanks for the help so far. Sorry if these questions seem irritating.