Thinking of building a PC

[zahc]

My laptop was doing everything I needed done, until I really got into audio. It still is, but I don't want to wear out the drive ripping CDs. Plus it has been flaking out on me lately, and I want another computer, so that I can back up my stuff between them, and have something to use before I go reinstalling XP on my laptop.

Is it hard to do? I'm a pretty handy person.

Is it cheaper?

If not, how much more expensive is it than buying one, and what are the advantages?

Since this is going to be a project (still have my ACER 8104), what do you think about giving Linux a shot? XP is really starting to get on my nerves.

I'd want it to be silent if at all possible, with decent HDD space. My requirements are not great, but I suppose if you are going to build one, you might as well build a pretty cutting edge one just to get some longevity out of it.

[garrettwc]

I highly recommend building your own. After you've done the first one, you'll never be happy with a pre-built system again.

Will it be cheaper? Sometime yes, sometimes no. The main thing is you can customize it to your specific needs rather than having a one size fits all system. For example, you said audio is your main thing. And you want the machine silent. In that case things like a high end video card and monitor for gaming are money wasted. You can direct the extra money you would have spent on the video to buy a high end audio card, more HDD space, and a quiet power supply.

Linux will depend on what you are wanting to do with the audio. If you intend to do your own custom audio mixing or production, you may not find software to do that on linux. If on the other hand you just want to rip your CD collection and have your own personal jukebox, there are plenty of programs that do that.

[zahc]

Right now I'm looking for something to rip and store my music on, and then I could que up the music on my laptop via Wifi.

I don't have much money right now, but perhaps I could build carefully and end up with something I could upgrade to a sweet gaming PC if I ever get into that? Maybe buy a sweet case, CPU and Motherboard, and any random drives and perhipherals. I really only have about 50GB of music right now, and it fits on my laptop.

[zahc]

So is the amd 64 pretty much the best processor now?

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

If all you want (for now) is something to store music files, then you don't need the best processor.  A cheap Celeron and a big hard drive will get the job done.  Once you get the machine built and working, you can just leave it in the corner and forget about it.

If you want a screaming gaming machine later, then build one.  Later.  There's no reason why you can't have two machines.  And you'll probably have better results if you keep the two tasks seperated on their own machines.

[Phantom Warrior]

If all you want (for now) is something to store music files, then you don't need the best processor.  A cheap Celeron and a big hard drive will get the job done.  Once you get the machine built and working, you can just leave it in the corner and forget about it.

Plus one on that.  I played music on my old Celeron 700 Mhz desktop for years.  I put in an extra hard drive for capacity and another stick of RAM for kicks and grins.  I bought it in 2001 and only got rid of it this summer because I was going overseas and wanted a laptop for the portability.

[jefnvk]

You should be able to build a cheap music server, and that was my solution for my last few computers.  

Even so, if all you want is a music server, I'd think about buying a cheap desktop and reformatting the HD.  You can't build a computer for how much some of the commercial ones are going for.  Seeing many packages starting at about $200, I can't really justify building one.

If you want a gaming rig, you will save by building.  Building isn't hard at all, if you can push some stuff into slots and turn some screws.  As mentioned before, though, there isn't much that you could skimp on in building that you could save some money until you want the gaming rig.  Going cheap means you are going to have to completely replace parts later, which means you would be better off just building two computers.

And if you want a gaming rig, you are going to want Windows.  That is still where it shines compare to other operating systems.

[garrettwc]

If you want a screaming gaming machine later, then build one.  Later.  There's no reason why you can't have two machines.  And you'll probably have better results if you keep the two tasks seperated on their own machines.

Plus one on this. If you build it for audio now, and then spend the money to convert it for gaming you would have spent the same amount as if you had built two separate machines, and have one of those compromise machines that I referred to earlier.

Most current Celerons or the equivalent AMD will work good for music. If you already have 50GB of music then go big on the hard drive. Your operating system and software will eat up close to another 10-20GB so now you're up to 70GB. You want room to expand so go for 120GB or higher hard drive.

[roo_ster]

I built my last home desktop & likely will not build my next one.  My home needs are pretty pedestrian and can usually be met by whatever the current low-end PC is on special at Fry's.  If there is something I just can't get via a big box retailer, I'll have a local white-box builder build one for me.

The time I took building my last PC & geting it right is just not worth the return, as I am not seeking the ultimate gaming/whatever box.

If you think you eventually want to build an ultimate box, go ahead & build a cheap box this go 'round.  As stated above, it doesn't take much in the way of resources to serve music or other files.

Linux would make a fine music server, BTW.  Truly "power on & forget."

[mtnbkr]

Linux would make a fine music server, BTW.  Truly "power on & forget

So is Windows (at least Win2k is...) if you use good components and good software.  I use both and neither has given me any trouble.  Well, that's not true, SAMBA under Linux is having minor issues, but that's probably a config problem related to SAMBA itself, not exactly a Linux problem.  

My needs are pretty pedestrian as well, but I still build my PCs.  I can usually assemble one and get the OS installed/configured in about 2hrs.  Installing all the other applications takes another hour or so.  Since I only need a new machine every 3-4 years, I don't mind taking the time to do it myself.

Chris