How do you shop for your PC parts?

[Armakar]

Just a thread out of interest to see what types of components and balance people go for when buying new PCs.

 

Personally, I balance everything quite evenly. I wouldn't ever cheap out on a PSU or case or CPU cooler if it means I can get a 1080 over a 1070.

[jello77]

1. Define needs

2. Determine budget

3. Research research research

4. Draft a build

5. More research

6. Update draft.

7. Research research research

8. Order parts in most cost efficient way.

9. Wait impatiently

10. Build!

[Brooksie359]

3 minutes ago, Armakar said:

Just a thread out of interest to see what types of components and balance people go for when buying new PCs.

 

Personally, I balance everything quite evenly. I wouldn't ever cheap out on a PSU or case or CPU cooler if it means I can get a 1080 over a 1070.

i prefer to get the best performance for my money. i will usually get the components that will get the job done as far as motherboard and case. for psu i will get something that gives the build enough power while also being reliable. i always get a ssd boot drive because you get alot of performance gains for very little money and i hate slow computers. then the rest goes into cpu and gpu with a evo 212 because i don't like to overclock all that much anyways and i'm quite familiar with it.  

[PRTI]

Ik how i shop

 

I go into a shop and buy them...

[Guest]

Get a pre built

Regret

Cry

 

[Armakar]

5 minutes ago, jello77 said:

1. Define needs

2. Determine budget

3. Research research research

4. Draft a build

5. More research

6. Update draft.

7. Research research research

8. Order parts in most cost efficient way.

9. Wait impatiently

10. Build!

+1, this is exactly what I do

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, keNNySOC said:

Ik how i shop

 

I go into a shop and buy them...

Wait a minute. That's too obvious

[Armakar]

2 minutes ago, dexxterlab97 said:

Get a pre built

Regret

Cry

 

Guilty of this... did that twice in a row when I was too scared to build my own, only when I did proper research did I find out they give you the worst cards, worst brand PSUs and a shitty motherboard... not to mention you can get way better for the price.

[PRTI]

Just now, dexxterlab97 said:

Wait a minute. That's too obvious

Wait an hour........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................fuck life

[Guest]

Just now, Armakar said:

Guilty of this... did that twice in a row when I was too scared to build my own, only when I did proper research did I find out they give you the worst cards, worst brand PSUs and a shitty motherboard... not to mention you can get way better for the price.

Mine was a fine Delta

[jello77]

I bought a pre-built piece of junk about 25 years ago. The idea of building my own machine was a foreign concept to me.

[Guest]

39 minutes ago, jello77 said:

I bought a pre-built piece of junk about 25 years ago. The idea of building my own machine was a foreign concept to me.

Is it running win 98. Must be old as hell

[jello77]

1 minute ago, dexxterlab97 said:

Is it running win 98. Must be old as hell

I'm sure it has been landfill for many many years by now.

[kaiju_wars]

I make a max budget, say $500.

 

I buy a decent CPU for that price range.   (Say Core i3 6100 or an FX 8320e).  Then I buy the rest of the components, spend whatever I have left in budget on the best GPU I can get.  

[Thunderpup]

The majority of my PC builds have just been upgrades of my primary rig.

 

Typically that starts with choosing the CPU then finding a good mobo and ram for it.  

 

Everything else usually gets upgraded as time goes on. 

[faziten]

I set a temporal budget. 

Search what is out there in that budget.

Watch a shit ton of reviews searching for patterns in pros and cons reviewers may find for every product selected.

 

What do i look: 

PSU: High quality (jap) caps rated at 85ºC or more. Low ripple (MUST!), preferably tested at high ambient Tº units. (Seasonic X series Gold or more).  

RAM: Not high profile heatsinks, entire kits that are known and tested by the comunity. (Ripjaws, corsair, etc). 

Heatsink: Air, not water, low noise signature, high performance on load (i don't care if it idles at 50ºC, but my full load temps must be relatively low). (Noctua, Deepcool, etc).

SSD's: SATA not M2 (because of temps) and must be largely known to not fail nor degrade within two years of relatively mid use. 

GPU: Core, VRM and VRAM cooling must be on check. If they are not being actively cooled i don't buy. (Never reference design, Never XFX!)

HDD: WD Not black (due to temps and noise), never Seagate since their peak fail rate with Barracuda. 

CASE: Hardware compatibility for huge ass cpu heatsink, large gpu's and good enough cable management so it isn't a rat nest and high airflow. Looks are not considered. 

CPU: Overclock potential. No OC no buy. 

Motherboard: Power delivery must be reliable. I don't care if it's somehow short. But it must be largely tested. Passively cooling for every VRM. OC ready, Full ATX. Looks are not considered.  (Pref. Asus, Gigabyte).

 

I believe everybody buy their PC with "balance" in mind. It's just "balance" is a metaphor that has different meanings for all of us.