Where is the best place to buy a custom built pc?
HP, Dell, etc?
Thanks
Whichever company will meet your budget and your preferred computer specs. [8-|]
1. Determine your budget.
2. Figure out what you want.
3. Find the company that can meet 1 & 2 together.
Where is the best place to buy a custom built pc? HP, Dell, etc?
When I first saw "custom built" I thought of the times I built computers at home, combining components myself. Let's just say I learned a few things about what not to do. I wouldn't encourage it, unless you really know what you're doing. Even local stores that build and sell custom computers don't always know all they need to know to build a computer that will serve your needs long term.
The two companies you mention above (HP and Dell) are the two I would most highly recommend. I haven't been to the HP sight in quite a while, but the Dell site does let you customize their systems to greater and lesser degrees. But both companies offer a wide range of options, and it will take some research to find the starting combination you're looking for.
You'll want to get the very best computer you can afford. Start by picking the CPU you want. I'm very happy with my Intel i7 920 (if you can do better, go for it!), but for a laptop you may choose an i3 or i5 just because of overheating issues. The next component to look closely at is your video card. Logos (via WPF) is very video intensive, as are many other Windows apps. We Bible-study types used to be able to get by with a middle of the road video card. Not anymore. While we don't need cutting edge, we do need a very robust card with 1/2 to 1 GB of dedicated (on board) video RAM. Then go for your hard drive don't skimp on size (a full TB would not be foolish, if you plan to keep your system for a while), and HD seek/write speed (7200 RPM, if you can get/afford it) can be a boost (though I have just a standard 5200RPM HD and I'm not complaining).
Choose your operating system. At this point, I wouldn't recommend anything other than Windows 7 64bit, unless you have some apps or hardware that you absolutely need and you know won't run on a 64bit OS, and there are no upgrades/replacements that you can afford that will work in a 64bit OS environment. Do your research. If you must get a 32 bit OS, you are limited to 4GB of RAM, as Windows (32bit) won't access more than that. This restriction is not there for a 64bit OS, in which case I'd recommend at least 6GB, 8GB if you can afford it. Note that the type of RAM will be determined for you by HP and Dell to match their motherboard's spec's. In either case, it will be very fast RAM. (I don't recommend buying 3rd party RAM for a new system, as the price/performance ratio usually does not justify it. Get your RAM with your system; you'll be much happier.)
As for a Mac, just look in the Mac forums. If your primary reason for upgrading your system is to run Logos4 better, there's no reason to consider a Mac at this point.
Thomas and Richard, thanks for the input.
I purchased a customized HP from hp.com back in January, butthey had a recall on my machine. I received a complete refund from them and Iam ready to purchase a new machine again. My HP machine ran Logos4 fast, and Iwas very please. They have corrected the problem and I am ready to purchase anew machine, but I wanted to look at all the options again before I returned toHP.
I began to look at the Mac’s, but after doing some readingon the Logos forum and asking some questions it is evident that they are havingtrouble with Logos4. Price and performance is keeping me away from Mac.
I am currently considering:
· HP Desktop
· Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
· Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2600 quad-core processorwith Turbo-Boost [up to 3.8GHz, 8MB cache]
· 16GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM [4 DIMMs]
· 300GB 10K rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive or 1.5TB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drivefrom 750GB
· Not sure about the video card, it needs tosupport dual monitors. The options are:
o 1GB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 6450 [DVI, HDMI. VGAadapter]
o 1GB DDR3 ATI Radeon HD 5570 [DVI, HDMI, DP, VGAadapter]
o 2GB DDR3 ATI Radeon HD 5570 [DVI, HDMI, DP, VGAadapter]
o 2GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 420 [DVI, HDMI, VGAadapter]
o 2GB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 6570 [DVI, HDMI. VGAadapter]
o 1.5GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 440 [DVI, HDMI,VGA]
o 3GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 440 [DVI, HDMI, VGA,includes 350W power supply]
· LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
I am not sure if the 10k rpm hard drive over the 7200 rpmwould make much difference.
Looks like a good system, no matter how you go.
I wouldn't get a 300GB HD, regardless of the throughput or read/write/seek times. It's just not big enough, unless this system is only used for work and will never have a lot of pictures or music on it.
As to 7200 vs 10000 rpm, it would probably make some difference, but the question is more: would it make much noticeable difference?
The Radeons & GeForce video cards are both good. The NVidia brand has the edge for gaming computers (IMHO), but with L4 you're not likely to notice any difference in performance. Video RAM above 1GB probably is not necessary for working with L4, even with a dual monitor system, (IMHO).
One final thing to note is that it's very important to pay attention to the system cooling system. These CPUs can get hot. If there is an affordable option to add a secondary fan, it will probably be worth it, if you plan to keep your system for more than two years. If not, just remember to put the case in a place where it will have air circulation around all sides of the case, and clean out the fan intake/exhaust at least once a year.
As to 7200 vs 10000 rpm, it would probably make some difference, but the question is more: would it make much noticeabledifference?
From Logos user discussions with Solid State Disks (SSD) speed improvements, anticipate 10K RPM drives being up to 39 % faster than 7200 RPM drives. Logos 4 should launch noticeably quicker with faster drive (also opening a resource for reading should be noticeably quicker).
For hard drives, SATA 6.0 Gb/s is now available, including some 10K RPM drives. For example, Newegg.com has => http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136557 (15 % faster than previous generation)
Respectfully disagree. The new iMac desktop models released today have high end graphics (AMD Radeon 6000 series) with fast 2nd Generation Intel Quad Core processors, including 27" iMac build to order option of 3.4 GHz Quad Core i7 (2600), AMD Radeon 6970M with 2 GB GDDR5, plus 256 GB Solid State Disk (SSD) with an internal hard drive. Noticed 27" iMac has 2 Thunderbolt ports, which Engadget hooked up to monitors for awhile => http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/03/apple-imac-hands-on-with-dual-30-inch-displays-video/ (after 30 minutes use, 3 big monitors was overwhelming). Looking forward to external storage devices with Thunderbolt connections (333% faster than eSata).
Logos 4 Mac wiki page has Need Logos 4 PC feature? section with links to Windows virtualization tips plus option to run Windows natively (via Boot Camp).
Currently, an Intel Mac offers greatest software flexibility: can run Apple's Mac OS X along with virtual machines for Linux and Windows. Also, Apple provides hardware drivers so Windows can boot natively in Boot Camp.
A web site offers CPU benchmark comparisons (desktop + mobile) => http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html along with graphic card comparisons => http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html
Whichever company will meet your budget and your preferred computer specs. 1. Determine your budget. 2. Figure out what you want. 3. Find the company that can meet 1 & 2 together.
Whichever company will meet your budget and your preferred computer specs.
For budget, Dell Outlet has a twitter page, which has coupon codes posted from time to time. While not able to customize hardware, have seen some good deals (be sure to compare price with build to order New).
Apple offers refurbished Mac models => http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac Earlier today Apple reduced price of 2009 model 27" iMac with 2.8 GHz Quad Core i7 to $ 1,369 => http://store.apple.com/us/product/G0GF0LL/A (quickly sold out).
Keep Smiling [:)]
These are the hard drive options:
I can put music and photos on a separate external HD. I justwant the fastest drive for Logos4.
I've done some prowling around among the various PC companies who build to order. Many of them place disconcerting limits on what you can order. Others do not specify which drive they use. I'd like to know the brand and model of all the stuff inside. Others seem to limit other components such as power supply. These shouldn't be underpowered knockoffs in a custom machine. If you want the best results, all of your components should be carefully selected. Have them spell it all out to you in detail.
Apple is not terribly forthcoming on what they use. You might want to head for an Apple Store and look in the System Profiler for specifics of what's inside a prospective machine. FWIW, I'd say the new base model of the iMac with some extra RAM should exceed last year's top of the line. Add an SSD and it should rock.
Tom's Hardware Guide has many Performance Charts => http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/
Enterprise charts compare drives from 7200 RPM (Seagate Constellation) to 15K RPM => http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/enterprise-hard-drive-charts-2010/benchmarks,105.html
For performance, RAID 0 (striping) is nearly twice as fast as a single drive. Caveat: good idea to have external backup of all files in case a drive fails.
Depends on implementation, RAID 1 (mirroring) can be faster than single drive if implementation can spread read requests across mirrored drives. However, writes need to happen on both drives. If a drive fails, can swap and replace (takes awhile for contents to copy from one drive to replacement so both drives have same content).
Also, one Solid State Disk (SSD) is noticeably faster than RAID 0 with 2 conventional hard drives. Caveat: SSD costs $$$ more per storage space.
Option: add SSD to desktop computer after purchase, then custom install Logos 4 on SSD drive, which needs enough space for resources plus indexes. Personally would choose SSD capacity between 2 and 3 times space used by resources. Since my Resources folder uses 8.28 GB and Logos4 folder uses 12.2 GB along with planned purchases, would buy 30 GB or larger SSD. Looking at Newegg.com, noticed read and write speeds listed for SSD's (vary a lot), found some 40 GB SSD's (about $ 106) to consider for Logos 4:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226168
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211487
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233177
With $ 10 rebate, found 60 GB SSD ($ 110) to consider => http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227550
I justwant the fastest drive for Logos4.
If desktop computer has PCI-Express x4 slot open, noticed faster 50 GB SSD => http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227596 (maximum read speed rivals RAID 0 for 2 SSD's with sustained write speed up to 350 MB/sec, bit over 4 times more than a 7200 RPM drive)
Thanks KS4J[:)]
As the person above me had said, HP and Dell are good buys for custom built PCs however they lack on the customer support side and most of the time you will be speaking with someone with an accent that has a script. Dell and HP are very large companies so it is hard for them to focus their time on each and every customer. May I suggest going with a smaller company that builds custom computers and provides good tech support along with a warranty on their PC such as eCustomPC LLC - Custom Built PCs - Buy custom gaming or desktop PC computers for cheap. They have toll free (800) phone support handled by US employees, and provide up to a 3 year parts and labour warranty for all of their custom gaming PC and customized desktop PC computers. They have a eBay store with customer feedback so you know this is a reputable company, as well as videos on youtube and various other media sites displaying their computer builds. You can also pick out your computer parts and build you own PC using their custom computer configurator.
Hope this helps,
Andrew
Where is the best place to buy a custom built pc? HP, Dell, etc? The two companies you mention above (HP and Dell) are the two I would most highly recommend. I haven't been to the HP sight in quite a while, but the Dell site does let you customize their systems to greater and lesser degrees.
The two companies you mention above (HP and Dell) are the two I would most highly recommend. I haven't been to the HP sight in quite a while, but the Dell site does let you customize their systems to greater and lesser degrees.
I agree with Richard. There are a few other reliable companies, but, as for the etc, I would stay away from the etc. [;)] I just recently got a new computer from HP so I know that they do let you customize within certain limits. Whether their choices meet your desires only you can say.
