Who makes the best CUSTOM PCs? Would like to hear your experiences while I share mine (1 Viewer)

[nolesrule]

I always buy minimum RAM with Dell and then max out the machine with a purchase from Crucial. Even if you can't move the unused RAM that comes with the box, you'll still come out ahead.

And you can always upgrade hard drive, optical drives or add PCI cards. The only thing that comes close to being proprietary is that certain components (sound, USB, NIC, etc.) are usually built into the motherboard, but those can be disabled in the CMOS settings and replaced by PCI cards anyway.

As for what Ron has, I wouldn't recommend running Pinnacle Studio at the same time as any other 2-3 system intensive programs. That thing is a resource hog.

 

[Thomas Newton]

There's nothing in there that sounds like it should be much of a resource hog, with the exception of Adobe Photoshop and Pinnacle Studio 10.

If you're experiencing slowdowns, and you're careful about computer viruses, my first guess would be that you have a fragmented hard disk. The cure for that is to run a disk "optimizer" (defragmenter) every so often -- this is slow; so you may want to walk away (or sleep) while the program is doing its job.

Another strategy you could use is to purchase an extra hard disk just for use in storing temporary photo and video files. To defragment the temporary HD, just format it between projects.

Is there any particular application that seems to bring on "bue screens" more than others?

 

[Rory Buszka]

If you're still on your search for a custom PC, there's a firm called EndPCNoise.com which builds custom machines, including two new ones designed by Mike Chin of SilentPCReview.com. They would be extremely quiet, and one of the two models is in a home theater PC case made by Antec. The other is in an Antec Solo mini-tower case. Both look very good, but I've always built my own. The silence of these computers would make sense for home theater use, though.

 

[Chet_F]

From my experience buying cheap has worked. I spend anywhere from $300-$700 everytime I upgrade. My last PC died after 6 years of heavy work. That was a low budget machine put together by some small computer company. I forget their name. That one died due to my own stupidity, too much dust in the power supply, they are not a good combination. It was quite a light show. I don't do anything hard core such as gaming or video editing. Mostly business related work, i.e. sales, tech work, music, etc.

So I guess my point is that the low budget machines are a good choice for those that don't have the $$ and don't neccessarilly need to top of the line computer. You just need to find a respectable company that tests all their systems before they send them out. I know pricewatch.com has a scoring feedback system that pretty much tells you whether you're going to get junk or not. Customers who have positive or negative experiences can attach them to the sellers or businesses account. I've used it for years. The biggest part is looking at the companies to figure out who is a fly by night operation or one that has been around for 10 years and will be around for another 10. Make sure the company you are ordering from has a tech line that you can get thru to. Just call them before you order just to see what there tech is like. If you get thru fast on a monday at 12 noon then you're good. If it's voice mail move onto the next company. It just takes a little effort to find a respectable small company that has to price low to get business.

Thanks for the info on the Cyperpower, I'll stear clear of them. And for those of you with the "fast" computers, I'm jealous!!!

 

[Chet_F]

In reference to the Dell issue. Form my experience I would stay away. They are proprietary from my experience. Of course, things change but they mostly stay them same. Save your money and spend it elsewhere unless you want a headache. Being able to expand the system was also an issue from what I remember.

 

[Chet_F]

In response to the blue screen. I haven't seen one of those since Windows 2000 professional. Did they start at any specific time, such as after an upgrade from Windows, or an update from a software vendor? MEMTEST is a good program that thoroughly tests the entire RAM memory. It's not a quick test my any means and takes several minutes but you'll find out if it's your RAM. From there it could be a cooling issue? Do u have temp sensors setup? Check all of the fans to make sure they aren't covered in dust or maybe are not spinning up to speed. Any area that can be cooled should be. i.e. case fan, video card, CPU, hard drives, etc.

Good luck!!