[Tenshi]

Well, I finally blew up my old PC. It's got three years on it, countless hours of processor-intensive work, and overall it's been suffering more than it's fair share given it's speed. It gave out sometime while I was at work, for whatever reason...

So my question is, anyone know a good place online to configure and purchase a rather custom computer? Price is not a real object, as I prefer to have quality parts over cheap parts. I learned a couple PCs back that if you buy better parts, they last longer

TIA
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. Dubbed "Usagi" by AsA .
Keeper of the Siderean Swords

"If by chance some day you're not feeling well, and you should remember some silly thing I've said or done, and it brings back a smile to your face or a chuckle to your heart, then my purpose as your clown has been fulfilled."
Red Skelton

[Squeeself]

Squee does all Squee's computer shopping at newegg.com. While not the best deals anywhere, they're usually not bad, and even though they've gone a bit more corporate than they used to be, Squee still finds it a good place to shop for stuff. Just recently bought a 23" HDTV through newegg (Squee's very old TV bit the bullet) for a mere $300 a couple weeks ago...was a pretty good deal for pretty decent product. Was on sale of course

Though, just make sure you know what you're doing when making a custom computer (i.e. what all the specs actually mean, and how to assemble it). Plenty of resources out there to explain anything you might be lacking in, but just make sure you know what you're doing before you pay for anything. Otherwise, customizing a prebuilt computer is probably a safer bet (i.e. Dell or Alienware or another company's machines)

[Tinalles]

I second the recommendation of Newegg. They're an excellent store.

However, I don't think they're quite what Tenshi was asking for. It sounds to me like the request was for a store where you can specify a bunch of components and have the completed computer shipped to you. Newegg doesn't do that. They sell pre-made systems, and they sell individual components so that you can construct your own computer. So far as I know, though, they don't sell customized completed PCs.
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Keeper of The Remnant Minuon (cognomen Lucy, the Eaten One) and the Emissary Caeli

[Tyris]

We bought most of Pandora (viz: the puter on which this is being written - network name shamelessly stolen from GPF and quite inaccurate) through ebyuer, though parts came from elsewhere too. Some might even have been bought in physical shops... hard to remember when it's 18 months ago (which is pretty young, as far as our puters go... Eddie, the computer before Pandora, was several years old and the unnamed one one before him was a 486) - but if what Tin is saying is right, then it's not the kind of thing you're looking for, as we self-built rather than custom-specified.

Which, in fact, makes this post almost totally useless. Ah well, it happens from time to time...
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You can't look dignified when you're having fun.
Dubbed "Tetris" by Asa... apparently.
Keeper of Nanashi's ghostly blue visage and Felucca's hypothetical ejecting nose-cone.

"It's a sad thing when a man loses his cookie." - Nem

[Tenshi]

I've been fishing through custom setups, and I'm not satisfied with them at all. I may end up purchasing my own selection of parts and assembling it myself, which I had only wanted to avoid because it's time consuming and I don't have spare time XD.

Newegg...I think I used to shop through them a lot, I'll check them out definitely. Ebuyer looks good too. Always a good idea to shop around, just so you know you're not getting gouged on some parts (it happens, even on good sites!)

Hey, on a much more geek/tech level, can I ask some questons? I'm a bit behind the times, since my last computer build was three years ago.

The motherboard I was looking at (real nice MSI mainboard, with a matching Core 2 Quad processor) only has SATA connectors. I know that HDD come in SATA configuration, but do the optical drives also? I only have experience with IDE-based setups...
_________________
. Dubbed "Usagi" by AsA .
Keeper of the Siderean Swords

"If by chance some day you're not feeling well, and you should remember some silly thing I've said or done, and it brings back a smile to your face or a chuckle to your heart, then my purpose as your clown has been fulfilled."
Red Skelton

[CBB]

Get Microsoft!!! *shot*

*knows nothings about computers*
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I love children...but I could never eat a whole one.

Psychosomatic! That boy needs therapy...
Ya que estamos en el baile, ¡bailemos!

Keeper of Earthsong's Wispy Wooshy Memory Ball
Keeper of the Dragon Planet

[Tenshi]

ROFL. I'll be using Microsoft, yes. I will not be using Vista, though.
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. Dubbed "Usagi" by AsA .
Keeper of the Siderean Swords

"If by chance some day you're not feeling well, and you should remember some silly thing I've said or done, and it brings back a smile to your face or a chuckle to your heart, then my purpose as your clown has been fulfilled."
Red Skelton

[Tyris]

[Tenshi]

Crap, shipping... I had completely forgotten about that. I think that probably is going to put both ebuyer and novatech out the window. Shipping from the UK to the USA is probably a bit more expensive than I want to go with, and that's even assuming the parts survive the trip...
_________________
. Dubbed "Usagi" by AsA .
Keeper of the Siderean Swords

"If by chance some day you're not feeling well, and you should remember some silly thing I've said or done, and it brings back a smile to your face or a chuckle to your heart, then my purpose as your clown has been fulfilled."
Red Skelton

[Dark Mirf]

[Tenshi]

The only local computer shop, I wouldn't trust them to purchase the parts properly, much less assemble them. A school I was working for outsourced to that local shop, and found that the processors weren't properly seated and the RAM was left loose. Nevermind that the wires were running through one of the fans, and the power supply was about 50W too low for the rig.

...I'll install a hamster XD

Hrm. I'm settling in on a rig, here's what I'm thinking:

Pentium 2.5Ghz Quad Core (effective 10Ghz)
latest MSI mainboard with X-Fi audio
8GB DDR2 RAM
250GB SATA HDD, 10k RPM preferrably
1x DVD-RW (16x)
1x CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive

And the rest is all minor things like a front-panel memory card reader, lots and lots of fans, a more powerful CPU heatsink... Any thoughts on that rig?
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. Dubbed "Usagi" by AsA .
Keeper of the Siderean Swords

"If by chance some day you're not feeling well, and you should remember some silly thing I've said or done, and it brings back a smile to your face or a chuckle to your heart, then my purpose as your clown has been fulfilled."
Red Skelton

[Squeeself]

As to the SATA question, most motherboards still have at least 1 IDE port, so shouldn't be a problem, but Squee does believe DVD drives use SATA nowadays.

Make sure you're getting 64-bit quad cores with that 8gb memory though...and a 64-bit OS.

As for heatsink & fans, helps to know the full list and specs of what you're getting before deciding if they're necessary. Though more fans can always help (and are cheap, Squee's got 2 extra for Squee's machine) no point in spending money on a different heatsink unless you know you'll need it (or you plan to overclock?)

Got a video card picked out or doing integrated graphics? (Honestly, don't do integrated graphics card, ever.) That can really change the heat and watts on your machine.

[Tenshi]

I was probably going to go with tha 8800GTS from nVidia. I was tempted to try a 8600GTS Dual-SLI setup, but I think a single card would probably be fine... I think?

And I don't plan to overclock (much, if any), but I do plan on doing a lot of CPU-intensive processes. And like you say, you can NEVER have too much cooling.
_________________
. Dubbed "Usagi" by AsA .
Keeper of the Siderean Swords

"If by chance some day you're not feeling well, and you should remember some silly thing I've said or done, and it brings back a smile to your face or a chuckle to your heart, then my purpose as your clown has been fulfilled."
Red Skelton

[Tinalles]

Dual SLI is more trouble than it's worth in almost every case. Unless you're a super-uber-omg-I'm-so-l33t gamer, one good graphics card is plenty.

The real attraction of Newegg is their superb customer service. I placed my first order with Newegg in October of 2001. I've placed twenty more since then, totalling $3415.07 of merchandise. Most of the time things go smoothly; but when they don't, Newegg always makes it right.

For example, last week I ordered a UPS (battery backup power for your desktop) from Newegg. Unfortunately, it turned out that I had accidentally ordered the European version designed to work on 220 volt current, which therefore won't work in the U.S. When I contacted them, they offered me a full refund. They also gave me a $10 shipping credit for the next time I order, which was nice. The cost of shipping it back to them was about $18 (batteries are heavy). The only really weird thing about this one is that they stock European UPS units at all, since they don't ship outside of the U.S. So, although I'm not too happy about the mixup in the first place, I'm only out $8, and Newegg never gave me even a moment's hassle.
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Keeper of The Remnant Minuon (cognomen Lucy, the Eaten One) and the Emissary Caeli

[Squeeself]

Yeah, newegg has excellent service for Squee too. Although, Squee's latest purchase (HDTV) has a dead pixel and Squee can't return, but that's because of the manufacturer policies, which newegg has to follow

Go single card. Honestly, sli is for people with too much money, and people with too little when they upgrade. For example, Squee has a 7800 right now, SLI-capable...If Squee wanted to upgrade, Squee could buy a second for an upgrade. Since the price will drop down eventually, it works well. That's only on a budget though. Getting aq single 8800 from my 7800 would be a better choice