Looking for advice on computer fixing/building.
jolrei:
Now that I have built a couple of rigs, I would never BUY one again. Even if you save no money, the computer you get will have the parts that YOU select, not some cut price second rate stuff that someone else has marked up. And it will WORK.
Don't worry about buying the same motherboard. If you have had the rig a couple of years, you probably want to upgrade the board and processor anyway. This will likely mean wiping and reloading everything, reformatting hard drives, etc. but the hardware can be cannibalized from the old system if it is still in good working order. Get a new power supply too.
Depending on your video card, you can keep what you have. This sort of rebuild will likely set you back about $300-400US, depending on parts. And it's not that hard to do. If you can do a jigsaw or install Ikea furniture correctly, you can do this. Processors and boards come with install instructions. Also there are good online tutorials on how to build your own PC.
Leticron:
jolrei is right...the "throwing together" part isn't all that complicated. (It's not like cookie baking either, tho)
Much more important would be to pick the right components (to match the board, the purpose and even play nice with each other).
I usually start with the CPU and then the board (with the correct socket and all the extras/features I want/need)
A fan + heatsink which fits the CPU and the board. (don't forget the thermal compound and find out how to apply it correctly)
Next would be the RAM matching the board for example look HERE
or HERE. Almost all RAM producers have those memory matchers..Google is your friend ;)
Believe it or not...most home build rigs I had to fix, failed to boot up because the owner installed mismatched RAMs or neglected to mind the notch and forced them in the wrong way.
The video card (depending on your needs....for any "office machine" the onboard GFX chip is sufficient).
to find the correct PSU I use This Link (the lite version) and add ~25% to the result for good measure (and future upgrades).
Finally all the rest like Harddrives, housing and whatever extras are still needed (i.e. a tv card or any USB hubs or whatever).
Putting it all together mainly requires the use of common sense, a phillips head and some cable ties. (almost everything is hardcoded, so that it only fits one way...and it doesn't require a hammer !! ;)
Most of all: read and understand the manuals and don't put yourself under time pressure
-le
Starpoo:
To encourage you to build your own computer (and risk Necromancy :-[ ), HP got the lowest Tech Support rating by Consumer Reports (or was it PC World?). Besides, if you do buy a brand name PC and put your own hardware in there, it will void the warranty. And on newegg, you can make your own wishlist and make it public, so others can tell you what is good and what needs improvement, I'm sure the people here would gladly help you with that. Also on newegg, I made a computer that would run TS3 easily for less than $600.
Leticron:
What are you talking about ? HP virtually has no Tech Support whatsoever.At best you'll get some guy in India on the line that tries to sell you a 12 month contract. But that's beside the point. Those guys wouldn't help you assembling your own PC anyways.
Whenever I have to deal with a defective HP which was beyond repair, I gut that rig an keep housing, hdd and perhaps the CD/DVD writer. Board, RAM and PSU will be replaced with whatever fits the owner's budget. Parts I usually order at newegg or Tiger direct. I fixed 10-15 computers that way, so far rarely going above $300. Just match the equipment with your expectations/the purpose and you're all set.
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