The motherboard is really one of the easier parts to install not hard at all. The CPU is pretty easy as well especially since the P4's and thankfully the Athlon 64's put a shim across the core. On the old Athlon's I have killed the CPU before putting on the heat sink but it's not like that with 64 bit Athlons.

Just take your time and read the MB manual also I recommend you buy a Retail CPU for a few dollars more you get the CPU manufacture warranty and a heat sink/fan. But if you are planning on overclocking you might get a more robust heatsink/fan unit.

Newegg is the absolute best IMO they really are the best no questions asked.
With a lifetime rating of 9.68 on resellerratings.com based on over 8000 reviews it would be hard to beat.

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller2121.html

Dell make pretty good computers but I like building my computers it's alot more fun and rewarding!

Good luck.
Dave

Many folks here have built their own machine. It's not hard, especially with all the articles online (ExtremeTech.com, TomsHardware.com, etc.). It's not easy, either, if it's your first time, as it takes awhile to research the "how-to" and what components you want to use. If you've upgraded your hard drive, video card, and memory, then you've got what it takes.

The only thing you really need to research is how to handle/install the CPU & CPU cooler, and I recommend you read it from the "pro" computer sites instead of a video forum. It's not rocket science, though.

Is it worth it? If you have the time to research & build your computer and you care about the components, then yes, absolutely worth it. The computer builders are out to save a buck wherever they can, not build you your perfect machine. Even when you try to compare specs head-to-head with them, I'd say you can't get the "real deal." Yes, you may compare specs on the 200GB, 7200RPM hard drive and may be able to specify SATA, but do you know how noisy their drive is, how hot/cold it tends to run, or what the transfer rate is? You can specify the CPU, but how good is the CPU cooler at keeping it cool? Can you overclock? Is the cooler noisy? You can specify the video card chipset, but will it have video out or dual monitor capabilities?

There are a lot of things that Dell (& others) won't tell you. Partly because they don't want you to know, and partly because they'll use whatever (drive, etc) they can get cheapest at the moment, so no guarantees on EXACTLY what you get.

If you want cheap - it's hard to beat Dell (& others).

If you want a great system - you either pay up the whazzoo or build it yourself. Researching each component, however, costs you a lot of time. It's all out there on the internet, though.

Purchase sites: everyone loves New Egg, and it's hard to go wrong there. I've also had no problems with mWave.com.

Lastly - don't forget to include the price of software when comparing with the big guys. Windows & Office don't come free or cheap ...

Hope this helps,
Tattoo

Oh, and I forgot to mention that once you have built your own computer, if something does go wrong later on, you'll have a pretty good idea how to fix it, versus being a lamb and having to call in a service tech. Still, time is money ...

A good point by Dan above - build your own and avoid all the crap the boxbuilders put on. I bought a great laptop from IBM last fall, but it takes forever to boot because of all the stuff on there. I'm still debating about what to uninstall. Hard to tell what's useful and what's fluff.

What do you want, moral support?
The only reason to not build is the software deals that the OEMs can offer.
Newegg is great. Download all your hardware manuals before purchase - if you can follow them you're OK. Don't cut corners on your case or power supply - those are false savings. In addition to the sites Tattoo mentioned check out www.ocforums, but remember these guys delight in abusing their components. If you don't build post back - that'll be news.

A couple of comments.....

Building your own is the only way to go IMHO. You will be much happier with the results. Render times and such will be much quicker. You can customize and tweak for EXACTLY what you do. You will wind up with better individual components and a better machine overall.

Since this is your first time, check and double check before you power up. Common costly mistakes are placing RAM in the wrong slots or not using the correct pairs, not seating cards, processor, memory sticks correctly....which can fry compnents on power up, and improper BIOS settings which will cause good installations not to work. Start with the basics and get them working, then add. I find less conflicts that way and I can narrow down where the problem is almost immediately.

It will be fun and as others have said.....lots of satisfaction when you hit the power botton and it actually works!!

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Thanks everyone.

I like the idea of starting with the necessary components then adding on. I'll definately do that. I didn't mention that I am still a student for a couple more months and I get MS software for DIRT cheap through my school, ie-$30 XP professional. That is one of the big reasons I want to do this now, at least the software part. I'll start checking into what components I want. The comparison was just to compare specs/prices. The only things I didn't have good info on was the power unit, heat sink and brand of ethernet card. The money difference in the comparision was enough to make me become a first timer!

Cheroxy

I always feel obligated to chime in on these threads to represent the other side of home brew vs. Dell. This is just my opinion and I know how strongly people feel about their machines. With that said, I really like Dell workstations. I'm a network admin by day, and we use all *good* Dell equipment (Precision Workstations) and out of 50 or 60 workstations, used everyday, we hardly have any hardware issues. What else can one want? I've never spoken with tech support in India (maybe because I call the business support line and not the "regular" one I suppose) and haven't had any issues with Dell support.

My point is, Dell gets a bad rap sometimes and I feel obliged to state that I have had nothing but great luck with Dell. I purchased a high-end workstation for my home-based video business 2 years ago and the thing is unstoppable. And if, IF, I have to pay for dell parts down the road, I won't care because I make money with this machine, just like a pizza shop owner might have to buy parts from the pizza oven maker. (okay, that was pretty lame).

With that said, I do have the bug to build a new machine, just cause it's fun and addictive pricing all the gadgets and it so much more rewarding than just opening a new boxed computer.

Thanks.

Jeff

I too enjoy building my PC from scratch. Often I look at Alienware PCs and their specs/parts and use that as a foundation for building. I tend to use the money saved to increase the specs of machine I build in comparison. Dell, etc. are much better for warranties, etc should something go wrong.

My son (age 12) and I just built a computer together. We followed the general recommendations we found in the DIY articles at VideoGuys.com. It only took us about a day to do it. It was a good learning experience for us and he's really proud he built his own computer. We bought almost everything at newegg, with the exception of a couple of parts we forgot - so I ran out to Fry's for those.

Oh how I wish we had a Fry's here in Tulsa. I moved from Houston and loved Fry's for their huge selection of parts. Pretty good prices too. My wife is happy though no more all day window shopping for me anymore. We have a CompUSA but it is no Fry's for sure.

guess i come from the business were i order 5 gazillion dells a year and we get a 3 year no questions asked warranty program.

and we get gold support so fast call responses are the norm.

even for family and friends i still recommend to them they buy from a big place for the single reason of SUPPORT!

i dont wanna be their support tech. been there.. done that.

now back to vegas topics... i too was given a 'wish list' where they said we may have some leftover money for the end of fiscal year and sure enough i spec'ed out a dell workstation to keep my recent vegas 5 purchase, happy... granted, i spec'ed out a sony HVR also... ;)

Cheroxy:

So what are your system specs, and what components are you buying? I'm in the market for a new PC, and your $$ that you're looking to spend are right in my ballpark.
Can you post the list here?

Thanks

Phil