Computers?

[sdrozza]

Is anyone interested in them / building them? I'm going to build my own gaming PC soon

[ASP]

I've built a couple, it's been a couple years but the principles are the same as today

[SentientTootsieRoll]

Absolutely. My day job is working in IT support and I love it. I'm also near finishing my Associate's Degree for Computer Networking and Administration. I currently hold an A+ certification along with a few entry level Microsoft certs. Within the next few years, I'd like to get my CCENT, Linux+ (I'm sure I could pass that one right now), Security+ (IT security is going to be huge. It already is.), MCSE / MCSA Windows Server and Azure certifications.

I built my current PC back in late 2012 or thereabouts and I still use it today. I'm running:
AMD FX 8350 4.0 GHz
16 GB RAM
Asus M5A97 LE R2.0
AMD Radeon HD 7950
120 GB Intel SSD
2x 2.0 TB Hard Drives in RAID 1

It's nothing to write home about anymore, but in retrospect, I should have probably chosen a different CPU, motherboard and case. Regardless, it's lasted this long so I guess I can't complain.

What parts are you looking to get? If you've never built one before, there may be points when you will get a bit frustrated. If you get to that point, remember to step out, go outside and a take a break for up to a few hours or even days. You can always come back to it later and you might have even thought of a solution within that period. I haven't built a PC in about 3-4 years but if you ever need help, feel free to shoot me a PM or better yet, ask on this thread if you'd like.

Have fun!

[parafireboy]

Is anyone interested in them / building them? I'm going to build my own gaming PC soon

I've built three of them now. Let me know if you have any questions.

[Mpitt]

SentientTootsieRoll wrote - It's nothing to write home about anymore, but in retrospect, I should have probably chosen a different CPU, motherboard and case. Regardless, it's lasted this long so I guess I can't complain.

That was a great build back then. You had no way of knowing AMD was going to phone it in for the next 5 years. In 2012 that was the way to go.

[SentientTootsieRoll]

It has certainly been okay and just that. The biggest drawback would be that the processor does tend to get very hot in operation, so much so that the stock cooler is unable to keep up with it so the games and resource intensive applications I use don't perform as well as they should. You might ask why I don't go out and buy an aftermarket cooler. It's a fair question, but at this point I don't think it's worth it to put any money into a 5 year old build. I might build a new system within the next two years if I'm willing to spend the money so we'll just have to see.

I was disappointing to see AMD take such a long hiatus from the high end market of things and occasionally releasing cheap low end stuff. While I haven't a thing against Intel, competition is a very good thing. I'm glad to see that AMD has returned with their Ryzen platform, however I'm hesitant to adopt it so early in its lifecycle.

[jfko6]

I built a whole bunch. And worked in the field. There's been some changes in the last 7 years. Though the principles are the same these all-in-one PC units are taking over: ipads, iphones, as am sure you are aware. That means there is less freedom of repair. It seems people will just replace their tablets rather then fix them though they have some reparable parts.

Still many people just use their PC for e-mail and that's it. It doesn't make much since to maintain a PC for that purpose alone.

[SentientTootsieRoll]

-

[jfko6]

Thanks for the reply. The news articles you mentioned about I surely wasn't surprised that that was the thread. Just for the sake of discussion I haven't come across or read one of them. My comment was purely based on hands on experience with systems and the transitions that I've seen. Not long ago I would still advocate owing a PC to leverage its additional power but people who need intensive graphic computing power are a small percentage compared to the aggregate population.

Now I even interviewed for a job outlining my hardware experience. They disregarded it because their user end systems (it was a government agency) were mostly All-In-Ones.

Have you seen the New Apple MAC that's going to be released soon. This desktop unit is so powerful, it's perhaps one big tablet, and ideal for all CAD intensive software.

Businesses have always been slow to change and migrate even to new software; always have always will.

[ironwarning]

Gonna be dropping 2k on a new rig soon