Author: Frank Phillips
Date: 02:10:10 02/23/03
Go up one level in this thread
On February 23, 2003 at 00:37:56, Robert Hyatt wrote: >On February 22, 2003 at 02:01:30, Jeremiah Penery wrote: > >>On February 22, 2003 at 01:03:35, Charles Worthington wrote: >> >>>I am continually being told "how much money I can save with $100.00 cpu's and >>>$50.00 motherboards". Where does the assumption originate from that all people >>>in the market for computers are looking to save money? I am a stock broker. I >>>use my computer for many functions other than running chess engines. I was after >>>realiability and performance. >> >>For most people, the miniscule performance boost you're getting over the machine >>with "$100.00 cpu's and $50.00 motherboards" isn't at all worth the thousands of >>extra dollars you spent. In either case, the reliability shouldn't be any >>different. >> >>>I cannot deal stocks on a machine that has water >>>flowing through it to prevent a meltdown. Is this so hard to understand? >> >>It's hard to understand only because it's flat-out wrong. You don't WANT to do >>it. That doesn't mean you can't do it with 100% safety. >> >>>Stability was far more important to me than saving a little money and rigging my >>>machine to look like a fire station with hoses everywhere and water leaks. I >>>dont_want_to have to go out and buy freon to prevent another three-mile-island >>>disaster from occuring in my office. I want my machine R I G H T. The way it was >>>engineered. When you have to plug your computer in next to a fire hydrant I >>>think it's time to seriously evaluate what you are doing. >> >>Buying $100 CPUs and a $50 motherboard certainly doesn't mean you have to make >>your computer "look like a fire station" or that you have to use exotic cooling >>methods. If you buy "cheaper" AMD processors and motherboard, they will work >>just as well as your vaunted Xeons do with the stock air-cooling that comes with >>the machine. >> >>You're making some seriously unfounded statements about these issues, that have >>absolutely no basis in reality. > > >There is a _lot_ of reality in his statements. To wit: > >1. If he has a failure in the hardware, Dell will have it fixed _tomorrow_ >with no questions asked. Nearly everything they ship comes with a three year >warranty that includes next day on site maint. > >2. If your bolt it together yourself machine dies, tomorrow you will be >sitting on the phone discussing the problems with a variety of vendors, >having to justify why _they_ should replace your CPU when you obviously >bought a MB capable of overclocking. YMMV. Not my experience at all. I build my own, but do not overclock. All parts come with warranty, often 3 years. I have had a monitor changed next day home delivery after two years following one phone call and no argument; and a disk drive changed twice after 2 years (the second time, which was the replacement, a few days after, the 3 year period, because I could not get into the shop until the weekend) following trips to the shop. RAM and a motherboard where changed without question when I had stability problems on one machine and did a quick MemTest86 run. I can vouch for Dell _business_ service from the last placed I worked; but you should here the horror stories about major home PC suppliers here, even when people have paid for service contracts. I have never found DIY machines significantly cheaper, but you can put better components in - particularly cases, power supply, fans (and heat compound), RAM, keyboard.... ; and do not have to pay the £100 windows tax unless _you_ choose. Something that is not an option for pre built machines here. Frank > >3. He also bought a _bunch_ of disk performance. Which will cost the same >whether the MB is cheap (as you have to add a decent U320 SCSI controller) >or not (MB comes with onboard U320 SCSI). > >For someone with a machine that _has_ to be up, there is absolutely no >comparison between a do-it-yourself overclocker and a commercial off the >shelf with onsite warranty system. > >Not everyone just uses their machines for games. Some do real work. Some >depend on them for their very livelihood.
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