Fire Wind55
n00b
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2010
- Messages
- 3
If I was interested in buying a semi cheap computer and putting in good psu and graphics card. Something that I could update in the future. What kind of computer would you recommend buying to do this.
![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
Navigation
Install the app
How to install the app on iOS
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
More options
-
Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Upgradeable Computer
- Thread starter Fire Wind55
- Start date
drescherjm
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2008
- Messages
- 14,933
Learn how to build one yourself or avoid HP, Dell ...
Build it yourself.
That being said... HP uses a lot less proprietary stuff compared to Dell.
A mid tower WITHOUT the stupid media bay should be an o.k. system if you are wanting to upgrade the PSU and video card.... but it will have the cheapest components available.. like RAM, hdd, DVD, etc. And the BIOS settings, which you can't change, will also be set to the lowest performance settings.
Build it yourself. It will be quicker, have better components, be faster, and be a lot more upgradeable.
That being said... HP uses a lot less proprietary stuff compared to Dell.
A mid tower WITHOUT the stupid media bay should be an o.k. system if you are wanting to upgrade the PSU and video card.... but it will have the cheapest components available.. like RAM, hdd, DVD, etc. And the BIOS settings, which you can't change, will also be set to the lowest performance settings.
Build it yourself. It will be quicker, have better components, be faster, and be a lot more upgradeable.
drescherjm
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2008
- Messages
- 14,933
That being said... HP uses a lot less proprietary stuff compared to Dell.
They still use the smallest possible power supply and keep the sata port headers and full length PCIe slots to a minimum. I have an a few examples of this at work. My work i7 860 8GB HP 150f has a 350W power supply and only 2 sata ports even though intel has 6 ports standard on their chipset. Also only 1 full speed PCIe slot. And the BIOS is completely locked down preventing overclocking.
Last edited:
buying a cheap computer with the intention of upgrading immediately it is contradictory. just buy a better computer to start with.
no matter when you buy a computer, or what type you buy, or how much you spend, it will be outdated in a few years anyway. next years stuff is generally not compatable, so when upgrading a few years down the line you are limited in choices to the hardware that was basically already available when you first purchased the computer. the latest and greatest will, more often then not, require all new hardware to support it. so you might as well buy the best you can right now, that is the only way it will last longer.
and build your own. you found these forums, so you have all the information at your fingertips.
no matter when you buy a computer, or what type you buy, or how much you spend, it will be outdated in a few years anyway. next years stuff is generally not compatable, so when upgrading a few years down the line you are limited in choices to the hardware that was basically already available when you first purchased the computer. the latest and greatest will, more often then not, require all new hardware to support it. so you might as well buy the best you can right now, that is the only way it will last longer.
and build your own. you found these forums, so you have all the information at your fingertips.
drescherjm
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2008
- Messages
- 14,933
but it will have the cheapest components available.. like RAM, hdd, DVD, etc. And the BIOS settings, which you can't change, will also be set to the lowest performance settings.
Build it yourself. It will be quicker, have better components, be faster, and be a lot more upgradeable.
Totally agree.
Very true, but that shouldn't distract anybody from the fact that HP is also good at using crippled stuff in their hardware so that customers shouldn't put too much effort into extending and/or customizing their systems anyway.That being said... HP uses a lot less proprietary stuff compared to Dell.
For example, you get extremely good price/performance hardware if you buy a $1000 home PC. But if you wanna put in more than 8 GB of RAM, you're screwed because of some lame chipset limitation. If you wanna put in an SSD - or even just a faster hard disk of any kind - you're screwed because of the board/controller/whatever. Need more power on your video card? Well, then you're screwed because the power supply won't deliver.
gaconlonton177
n00b
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2009
- Messages
- 9
And if you really want to save up,I would suggest buy used components online(you can definitely get everything you need at pretty decent price on [H]ard) and build it.
And if you really want to save up,I would suggest buy used components online(you can definitely get everything you need at pretty decent price on [H]ard) and build it.
I built my HTPC at the beginning of the this year by putting it all together from used parts here on [H]ard, except for the PC case. Well worth it!
Many people seem to be hesitant to build their own pc. I know I was.
But since I live on a very low fixed income-disability from Social Security- I found that a new pc would only come if I put in the work.
I have to say it was easy, affordable and fun.
If you buy one of the manufactured pc's you pretty much get something that's not as good as what your can build yourself.
You can even use many used parts that you can get here until you can afford new parts.
Tom's Hardware is a good place to get ideas of what parts to buy for different budgets.
A word of caution though.
Try to get a new or really good used motherboard and matching RAM. Shop around for around for your operating system and remember that the OS is married to the mobo unless you go to MS and talk them into letting you install it to a new mobo. I find MS to be pretty good about that.
And please, if you do all of this, make an image of your OS after it is installed and has been accepted/approved by MS. Imaging is a life saver.
Good luck.
Hugger
But since I live on a very low fixed income-disability from Social Security- I found that a new pc would only come if I put in the work.
I have to say it was easy, affordable and fun.
If you buy one of the manufactured pc's you pretty much get something that's not as good as what your can build yourself.
You can even use many used parts that you can get here until you can afford new parts.
Tom's Hardware is a good place to get ideas of what parts to buy for different budgets.
A word of caution though.
Try to get a new or really good used motherboard and matching RAM. Shop around for around for your operating system and remember that the OS is married to the mobo unless you go to MS and talk them into letting you install it to a new mobo. I find MS to be pretty good about that.
And please, if you do all of this, make an image of your OS after it is installed and has been accepted/approved by MS. Imaging is a life saver.
Good luck.
Hugger