Good site = newegg.com
Not sure about Canadians.

If you're Swedish (which I know no one here but me is) then dustin.se is the way to go if you're a student. Otherwise komplett.se usually has what you need.  

Posted by Crono

Good site = newegg.com
Not sure about Canadians.

If you're Swedish (which I know no one here but me is) then dustin.se is the way to go if you're a student. Otherwise komplett.se usually has what you need.

Canadians tend to use NCIX.

The only difficult part of putting my computer together was applying thermal paste, but once you do it once, it's easy. They also make new things that are like little squares that you burn in through regular usage to your computer. They are way more expensive though.

Also, when you buy a computer in parts, you might be unlucky and get a DOA product, remember to always check reviews. My motherboard came DOA. Had to wait two weeks for the replacement.  

Posted by Maikeru

copy of norton Internet security.. That's it..

No. Either use Microsoft Security Essentials and some common sense, or get Avast! Stay the **** away from Norton, McAfee, or any other crappy antivirus trying to milk you for your money and take over your PC at the same time.  

Posted by Jake

The only difficult part of putting my computer together was applying thermal paste, but once you do it once, it's easy. They also make new things that are like little squares that you burn in through regular usage to your computer. They are way more expensive though..

I only had to reapply thermal paste twice. Had some uneven core temperatures but awesome now. All my desktops are custom built with individually selected parts.

I thought this was going to be a thread about the trend for game developers to prioritize consoles over PC and the issues developing for the sheer number of possible combinations of hardware/software from custom rigs (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news...form-for-Games)  

Posted by Dusty

Fixed.

I built my PC for $300. It's not exactly a gaming PC, but it could still play most games when I built it, including L4D1&2 on full settings. Granted, it was just $300 and I wasn't aiming for a gaming PC, so I ended up being able to do way more than I actually was expecting.

Can you post a picture of your homemade pc? Want to see what it looks likes.  

Posted by Twinny

I only had to reapply thermal paste twice. Had some uneven core temperatures but awesome now. All my desktops are custom built with individually selected parts.

I thought this was going to be a thread about the trend for game developers to prioritize consoles over PC and the issues developing for the sheer number of possible combinations of hardware/software from custom rigs (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news...form-for-Games)

I haven't had to re-apply it yet.

Note, this was my first time ever attempting to build one. I only had to initially apply it.  

Posted by Chaotic

Can you post a picture of your homemade pc? Want to see what it looks likes.

Dunno why you'd want to see my computer lol. It was a budget build so it's not really gonna be a very appealing case.



No pics of the inside because that means I'd have to pull it out, which is kind of a pain with short wires. But if you want that I could go ahead and do it.  

i have a part custom built pc (vista) but i mainly play games on my macbook  

This is my one, only just bilt it a week ago now. over all you get more for your money if u do it this way. i would know i got a Alienware laptop.  

Why is norton so bad?  

Posted by MattKan

Why is norton so bad?

It's not free, it does a horribly crappy job compared to free alternatives, it's a terrible resource hog, it's invasive and takes over your system, and most importantly, a pain to fully remove.

All it takes is to get an OEM computer with Norton on it and you might not be able to install any other virus protection without a headache.  

Posted by fp4

You _can_ be cheap if you want to play online games. A $400 build can play a lot of recent games at playable frame-rates.

If you compare cost of a build you can put together yourself and the cost of a Mac you quickly realize how much more (and limited) Macs really are.

Personally I can't justify the price of a Mac to that of a computer I can buy the parts for and put together myself.

The aesthetics and simplicity of Mac OS, and synergy with other Apple devices are why Mac can charge what they do for their computers.

Although my black Silverstone FT02 case will always be more beautiful in my eyes than any Mac.



Retail processors come with stock cooler/heatsink/fans, unless you're into over-clocking or are obsessed with silence (I am) the stock offering will do fine.

You can always build a Hackintosh.

Posted by Dusty

No. Either use Microsoft Security Essentials and some common sense, or get Avast! Stay the **** away from Norton, McAfee, or any other crappy antivirus trying to milk you for your money and take over your PC at the same time.

I think Kaspersky is pretty nice. :o  

Common sense as an anti virus master race reporting in.  

Sorry off-topic, but there is no paid anti-virus software that is any better than free software I have downloaded.

I use Avast+ Advanced System Care 4 to keep my laptop tip-top shape

Honestly if you just use common sense, dont click random links or images you should be fine..plus most browsers will sometimes have warnings if you're about to enter a shady site, or at least firefox does.  

Posted by Jake

Common sense as an anti virus master race reporting in.

This, for real though. I don't use a virus scanner or any kind of anti virus/spyware/whatever. Every, like, 2-3 months I might pop out MalwareBytes (best program out there) and it'll come up with 0 results.