D.I.Y pc

8:30 PM Unknown 0 Comments

D.I.Y  pc = Do.It.Yourself personal computer
This post is sorta dedicated to geeks / nerds like me
& has educational value for others who are not.

Why make ur own when can buy readily off-the-shelf?
Benefits (average user):
- close to none that I know of
- only may be slightly cheaper?

Benefits (intense user):
- longer warranty periods
- stable; last longer than laptops (Supposedly)
- more powerful than off-the-shelf of same price
- overclocking & more customisation (water-cooling, etc)

Drawbacks (average user & gamers):
- need spend loads of time to research
- PC is an investment coz its not portable
- requires some troubleshooting knowledge

Average User is referring to people who surf the web
(facebook, twitter, youtube, etc.), watch tv series on any quality,
be it is blurry low quality videos or Full High Definition (FHD - 1080p).
People who value portability more than anything else
should go for laptops that suits your needs.

To make things simple, Intense User = (Laptop < D.I.Y pc)
Intense User is referring to people who play lots of games on FHD - 1080p, photographers who edits insane quality images or
designers / 3D artist who uses lots of special effects on their projects.

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Over the weekend after SM Town,
I was alone on a trip to Sim Lim Square,
the place where all local PC / Electronics hardware retailers gather.
It is known to have scary scheming shop owners reaping people off.
E.g: Tourists that come over to buy cameras, laptops, etc~~

Basically, this place is like a stock market
& need comparison of price / warranty / reputation.
First up, it is to check out the various price list
that people will hand you as you walk up the building
or they will be placed in their shops.

<Information Overload>
<Few Out of Many Pricelists>

If you already know what you wana do, it will be as simple as purchasing things you want & get out of the place. If you've any uncertainty, you're bound to be shaken off ur feet coz there'll be ridiculously lower offers & you'll get into dilemma.

However.........
I'm not stopping at DIY pc.
I wana bring it to the next level~~,
Hackintosh - macintosh with D.I.Y parts,
& I need to choose my parts cautiously!


<Project Hackintosh!!!>
*Old + New*
*Stash of Electronics*

<i5 3570K Processor + Gigabyte H77N-Wifi>

<Collection of Storage>
 <Thumbdrive + Harddisk + Solid State Drive>

<Fractal Design Node 304 Casing>

Now that we have all the hardware,
we need to decide the Operating System
that will run on the D.I.Y pc.
Recently, Microsoft and Apple just renewed their OS.
So let's have a look at both advertisement
before we make any hasty decision, shall we?


<Windows 8: Lenka - Everything At Once>

<Mac OS Mountain Lion>
<not much of an advertisement>
<showcases the new features>


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With the new windows 8,
consumers get best of both world under one device as it incorporates a better 'Touch' user interface meant for tablets, but not neglecting pc/laptop users by retaining the familiar desktop function.

On top of that, Microsoft lead the breakthrough with the launch of their own tablet, Surface. For other key players in the market, it opens up possibility at being creative.

Now there are more All-in-Ones (BIG home tablets) & laptops that has in-built touch screens at attractive price points. There are also tablets that as powerful as our current laptops, but the catch is just higher price of may be $300 or more.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With Apple's refresh of OS X,
Mountain Lion integrates more features that continues to deeply root consumers, who owns iPod / iPhone / iPad,  into their eco system.

The impressive point about Apple's products is that it works perfectly right outta the box no matter what you throw at it.

If ever there is any hiccups,
it is easy to send in products for repair / replacement.

Point to note: Once you're entrenched into Apple's eco system, you most likely wont want to switch over to windows / android. This is my personal opinion of what I observed & hear from people around me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In preparation of installing the OS,
I spent my Sunday cleaning & backing up my files.
I didnt even have time to put together my new toy
& I still gotta work on Monday.

That was when Monday Blues hit me.

Over the next few days, 
Keyboard Warrior - data entry by day, 
Computer Geek - fixing pc by night.

I spent hours into getting things right,
learned the new shortcuts of mac in a short time,
& haven been using windows 8 much even though now I have both.


*time to enjoy the fruits of my labour*
~
~

<experimenting on my prior casing b4 things get messy>

<Electronics War Zone>

<makes me happy w proper cable management>
<Geekness level = over 9000~~!!!>
<something I picked up from my polymates>

<installing the long awaited Mountain Lion>

<Finished Product>

What I have for my finished product:
*Value at the time of purchase
- Razer Salmosa ($50)
- Microsoft wireless Desktop 800 ($35)
- Creative S2 wireless 2.1 speakers ($150)
- 40 inch FHD LED Samsung TV ($1.1k)
- D.I.Y pc without graphics card (below $1k)

Extra:
- PlayStation 2 ($250?)

If you think that you can get cheaper bundles
from various brands as compared to what I spent,
you are totally right!!!

However.......

Choice of CPU, Monitor & Sound systems = Customisation
Customisation with no extra / hidden cost = Priceless~~~

Please feel free to email me / facebook message me
if you're interested in getting ur own D.I.Y pc,
I'll be glad to help out in any possible way =)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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~~~~~~~~


<RIP - XFX R7770 Black Edition>
<Bought $225, 6 months later $120>


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