10 disadvantage over a pre made computer then  to build a computer?
362325
I'm taking that a pre-made computer is one that you buy in a box at a department store.  Where everything you need is in the box already, parts already thrown together, and you can't customize any of the specs other then whats on the box.\n\n10 Disadvantages over pre-made computers vs. building a custom computer. (excluding price)\n\n1) Parts can end up being factory specific.  HP has in the past, maybe still do, make certain parts of their PC specific to their brand of computer.  Meaning, you have to buy replacement parts from them rather then generic parts from a store or online.  These replacement parts, or even upgrades can be expensive.\n\n2) Pre-made computers from big name brands(ex. HP) come pre-loaded with software that can hog up system resources.  HP auto-update center is merely something that annoys me that auto-starts when you turn on a HP computer.\n\n3) Unknown manufacturer of certain key parts.  Hard drives especially.  Hard drives store all your information, so any user will want a hard drive that will last as long as possible.  Certain non-name brand hard drives can wear out faster then say a pricey Western Digital.  Pre-made computers usually end up using the non-name brand hard drives to save money.\n\n4) Tech support.  Most pre-made computer tech support, that I've seen and talked too, think the first and final solution for most errors is to run their pre-made rescue CD that came with the box.  That rescue CD formats your hard drive, and then re-installs the Windows operating system and old drivers.  I tend to think this as horrid troubleshooting due to the sheer loss of data consumers get, loosing digital photos they stock, bookmarks for links on the web, etc.  With building a computer yourself, if you buy at home computer service, the tech support people may be able to keep your data while fixing your computer since there is no "magical cure-all" CD like there is for a fixed pre-made box.\n\n5) Upgrading can be tricky with a pre-made box.  They may or may not have used all the expansion slots.  May or may not except certain parts for upgrading or require the companies specific hardware, such as more RAM (At least older machines).  Etectra.\n\n6) Lack of customization leading to extra parts when customizing.  This is mainly for those who like to play the more recent computer games that requires those expensive graphic cards.  Most pre-made computers, those some do not fit in here, contain a low grade and cheap graphics card that is incapable of running such games.  They may even be built right on the motherboard.  If you install your own graphics card for playing games, then the price of the graphic card that came with the PC became redundant and pointless leading to a waste of money.\n\n7) Warrenties usually expire if you open the case yourself.  I prefer to scrounge around the internals of the PC myself, even repairing it myself rather then waiting for who knowns how long for tech support to send someone over to fix it for me, and no clue if the person is actually any good at fixing the thing in a decent amount of time.\n\n8) Case may unreusable mostly if you want to upgrade your motherboard.  This is due to some PC Cases from pre-made computers being small for mini-ATX motherboards that only have say....2 or 1 PCI expansion slots rather then 4-5(I forget) that are generally on a standard ATX motherboard.\n\n9) You aren't aware of what pin # or style your socket is for your CPU on your motherboard is.  This is generally back to upgrading, making it difficult to decide if you can simply buy a new CPU to increase perfomance from your machine.\n\n10) Pre-made computers are generally treated like uncustomized cars.  You have no real clue to how it works, where everything is, or truly know your computer/car.  Depending on how much money you threw into the thing determines how much you attempt to follow the guidelines that technicians/mechanics give on how to keep it running.
601576
Read!  Search the web and talk to friends who had built one.  Website like Sharkyextreme.com and pricewatch.com really help out a lot too.  And don't forget those Sunday flyers.  When I built my first PC years ago, I remember it was a little scary.  But every one after that was nothing but fun.  You don't need much skill, just basic knowledge of how a computer works, how to install software, and how to setup BIOS.  :)
407869
doing. my knowledge and skill really shot through the roof when my friends started asking me to help them with computer issues. i saw things that i never would have seen before that helped me, for example, i installed my first cd drive on my friend's computer, and what I learned then is still with me.\n\nif you don't have any friends, or your friends are better than you, the next best thing is to build your own computer from scratch. you are going to make mistakes, and you'll fry some parts, but you'll learn a lot. you probably won't be happy with the final product until the third time you've done it.
725626
Are you planning on building it yourself?  Or are you buying a factory built one from a reseller/retail?  I suggest, at the very least, 1gb of RAM.  Simply because, it means you won't be limited to being able to run only a few high demand processes at once.  Also, consider no less than a 2.4Ghz processor (I suggest that if you are going to be buying this computer for real media use, get a 3.2 Ghz processor).  Make sure that you grab a graphics card with 256mb RAM (simply because if you watch dvds and tv, you'll want good quality).  Make sure your graphics card has a TV-in/out plug so that you can hook it to your tv or plug in your cable/satellite to it.  Other than that, it's up to you.  Although, I suggest you buy one with PCI-e slots instead of regular PCI since recent hardware has been made for PCI-e slots.  (and it's much faster)
1186175
Unless you do a lot of travelling, the desktop is better.  There's too much playing around with the mouse button on a laptop.  You could always hook up a mouse to the laptop and then it wouldn't make any real difference.\n\nThe really good thing about desktop PC's is that parts are more freely available and are easier to install than laptops
1104141
Can you be more specific on what you are trying to do?\n\nbuild  computer?\n\nget a bare-bone system and upgrade it yourself?\n\ntechnical problems?\n\nSomething else?
834375
About $400 max.  You can build a brand new computer with the twice the storage, twice the ram, and a more battery conscience processor for about $500.
1020267
depends on a number of things.......basically need more info about your computer
591613
2 things I could send you a sp2 cd or you might be able to order one from microsoft for free thats where I got mine from, by the way dont doubt your self I never knew anyhting about computers and quite a few years later I build them. its all trial and error and asking questions youll learn so dont stress about it. youll be fine.lol but I hope this helps.
1166937
Time for a new computer.
134731
I am not sure if there is a list somewhere but if you use my two sources below, you can get a general idea of the performance of a wide variety of computer brands. These can help sort out some bad apples and easily gives you some nice compliments for each brand reviewed.
670842
Dell is bad.\nThey use propietary parts to make it impossible to upgrade.\nAlienware is owned by Dell.\nAlienware /is/ overpriced and overhyped.  It's kind of like when guys buy big fancy cars to make up for their *ahem*.\n\nBuilding your own isn't actually that hard.\nIf you buy a barebones kit it's even easier.\n\nBut if you really just want to play games I'd reccomend you just buy a gamecube.  It's cheaper, it works, it's fun.
184165
with today's technology there are no advantages or disadvantages - they both have pro's and/or con's\nLaptop/notebook\nall in one unit - no cables or connectors\nmobile and usually much lighter that moving a desktop\nBetter power usage and efficiency\nLimited expansion or addition capabilities\nLimited selection of high end processors or memory\nLimited ability to add server-like capabilities\n\nDesktop\nMultiple screens and/or simultaneous projectors (Windows XP up to 4 monitors natively)\nBigger screen selections (you can connect a 60" Plasma)\nHigh capacity hard drive storage (no limit - Terabyte capabilities with SATA RAID and/or Drive Arrays)\nHigh capacity, high memory graphics cards\nHuge array of accessories and add-on capabilities\nUsually - preferred by hard-core developers or gamers\nLimited if any mobility\nHigh power consumption and heat dissipation\nHigher levels of noise and air circulation\nMessy cables and critical need of cable management
565850
It's fairly easy once you know about the basics.\n\nIf you're just starting out, you may want to get a book on building a PC. It'll help a LOT.\n\nYou just have to pay attention to what parts go together. Look at the system as a whole before you start buying things.\n\nSuch as, price out video cards. Look them up on the internet. Find out which ones are rated higher by customers. If you have a video card in mind, for example the ATI Radeon X850 Pro. Try going to Google and type in "ATI X850 problems". People are always posting in forums about problems with their hardware. There will always be users that can't get a perfectly good card working but if you see a lot of users posting about a particular problem, then that will probably be an issue.\n\nLook at what the card supports, is it PCI, AGP, PCI Express? If its AGP, which speed? 2x? 4x? 8x?  Make sure when you price motherboards, you get one that supports it. If the video card you like is 4x AGP, it wouldn't hurt to get a motherboard that supports AGP 8x in case you want to expand in the future. And if you buy a PCI Express video card but your motherboard doesn't have a PCI Express slot, then you have yourself a problem.\n\nSame thing with memory, motherboards are very particular about the memory it takes. Make sure you get the proper type. DDR PC3200, DDR2...etc  Look at the specs of the motherboards. How much memory will it take max? You may find one that is fast as all getout, but if it only supports 1 gig then it may be a problem in the future if you may need more.\n\nIf you look up motherboards on the internet, a lot of places will list memory modules with it. This is so you can make sure you buy the correct type. You may want to consider that.\n\nUse some logic, for example, SCSI hard drives are always going to be much faster, but a bit more expensive. If you plan on getting a SCSI drive, make sure either the motherboard supports it, or you buy a SCSI adapter card. If your motherboard only supports SCSI, then your CD/DVD drive will have to be SCSI also.  It's common sense.\n\nSATA will give you a little better performance than IDE but not as good as SCSI.\n\nI like to stay away from new technologies. Try to stick to things that are well established. A good example of this is RDRAM RIMM memory. It came out well ahead of its time. The speed of the memory was as fast as some of today's memory and it came out more than 5 years ago. But, the memory was too pricy and it died out. Now, you're hard pressed to find RIMM memory or motherboards that support it. Today, if you have a RIMM motherboard and need to expand, you'll end up paying through the nose for memory.\n\nIf you have questions, ask here. We will always be here to help.
863653
www.pcguide.con is a great place,where we can find the kwonledge of the computer and some helpful website as well.\n good luck!!
994751
Changing to Mac is one of the best things i ever did. There were no disadvantages at all, everything about macs is better.\n\nthe software is so much better. there's not as much compared to pc, but who needs 10 pieces of software to do a job if you can have 1 that does it all better than the rest put together. Quality is better than quantity. You will soon be able to run pc programs on a mac without even having to install windows on it, so you won't have to put up with windows ever again.
293218
no, just get a basic computer with a 30 gig or better hard drive, at least 512mb of ram, and broadband internet service, if needed you could beef up some options later.