DescentBB

I bought my last system at Monarch Computers, but apparently they went out of business...?
Does anyone have a suggestion for where to go for a custom computer? (I have a friend in CA who has no technical ability, so needs to buy a prebuilt system).

thanks!

RM

Well if you aren't interested on customizing a Dell/HP etc. system and have no techie friends, you may have some luck asking around your local Best Buy/Circuit City. Sometimes someone in the PC dept. has a side business/hobbie etc.

Also you could ask us and buy the parts from New Egg.

Yeah generally if you aren't up to the idea of assembling it yourself, you shouldn't even consider a fully custom built system. The outfits that spec out, assemble and test it on site for you generally only cater to the excessively wealthy which is why you often end up with ridiculous prices if you try them.

But if you feel up to doing a little assembly yourself (Anyone with decent motor skills should be able to assemble a PC in an hour or two) we can show you what to buy and help out when you actually get the parts in.

Otherwise you are better off customizing a major brand computer.

it really is a piece of cake these days. It is FAR more taxing to assemble the dang desk it will sit on. .. took me 8 hours to do my daughters desk. It was huge and had a ton of parts.

It is well worth the money saved to build your own computer. Quality, longevity, upgradability, MUCH lower price for the same performance output, trust me on this.

I totally agree that a custom built system is the way to go. However, I'm in Hawaii now, and my friend is in CA, so I cant help him with it...
I hadnt thought of an HP/Dell, for obvious reasons, but that might be the better way to go for him (though, I think a few extra $ is better spent on an alienware, since I have no confidence in HP/Dell).

The other night his tower started spewing smoke and a \"burning smell\"...heh. It might just be his power supply (one fan will power up, though nothing else does), or maybe his MB.
Before he buys a new system, I'm gonna have him take his tower to a tech who can diagnose it.


Thanks for all the input.

RM

can someone throw together a step by step generic assembly process for a box?

I could but there are some much better qualified people here than I.

The most complicated parts of assembly are generally covered in the manuals for those components, and the rest of it is generically easy. If you can set up your home theater TV system/cable box/DVD player and assemble the desk or stand that you put it on, you should also have all the skills you would need to be able to assemble the parts to a computer.

Krom just helped me with my new build, there is some good advice in here:

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