Oh and BTW.....if you do need a copy of Windows 7, you can save money by
buying the "OEM" version from a place like TigerDirect over buying a
copy from a Wally World or a Big Box store like Buy More errr oops I
mean Best Buy!
73,
Michael
On 11/26/2011 10:36 AM, Michael Tondee wrote:
Sure, you can get some really good deals on nice PC's for 400 bucks, I
won't argue that. My contention is that even now, that same 400 bucks
will net you a MORE powerful PC than the one in the store by putting
it together yourself. Then again, I already have Windows 7, and where
possible I move my HD's and CD ROM drives over when I build a new
machine so I don't have that expense that someone starting from
scratch might have.
There is also the convenience issue and the risk of sending an
expensive processor west because you didn't take proper static
precautions when plugging it into the mobo but in all my years of
building them, I've never had that happen. I always say a little
prayer when hitting the switch for the first time after putting one
together and so far so good!
I still would suggest to anyone contemplating a new PC for a Flex
who doesn't want to build one they go to Neal rather than a Wally
World or a big box store. I've never bought one from him myself but
from what I've seen, his prices are fair and he has already optimized
the machine to run PowerSDR. If you do want to build one, then look at
TigerDirect or Newegg. I used to always deal with TigerDirect, never
even knew about Newegg till I got a Flex and joined this list but both
are good.
73,
Michael, W4HIJ
On 11/26/2011 9:58 AM, Ross Stenberg wrote:
I used to build my own as well, in fact is was a part time business
for me (buy a few sub assembly's, plug them together, mount a few
things, run a CD that configures everything) but now I find that just
buying a PC on sale or one that is not necessarily the latest and
greatest is more cost effective. Even the low end machines are super
now a days. "Building" your own sounds impressive but it not nearly
as difficult as building a K3 for example, which is nothing. You
would be hard pressed to buy a PC today that can't run PowerSDR
effectively. Most of those having problems are trying to use older
PC's or laptops. It amazes me what you can buy now for not that much
money. I spent something like $400 for a computer with a terabyte
drive, 8Gbytes of memory, four cores, and the list goes on, six
months ago. I think that Windows 7 64bit is probably the most
expensive "part"inside. It does not even sneeze.
On 11/25/2011 7:08 PM, Michael Tondee wrote:
I know this is not a popular option for some but you can save
boatloads of money on PC's by buying the pieces separately and
assembling the computer yourself. I did it for years until this
current HP computer which is actually a hand me down from the XYL.
Back when I got my now departed 5000 (sob sob), she bought a new PC
and I got this one which has an AMD 64 duo core . It was perfectly
adequate for the 5000 and now works well with my 1500.
Anyway, next time I'm in a position to upgrade, I will go the route
of buying the pieces and assembling my own again. You get a lot
more computer for your money that way and if you follow
recommendations from Neal on mobos and peripheral cards, you can
custom tailor the machine to give the best overall performance with
your Flex.
73,
Michael, W4HIJ
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