Help with convincing.

[lemings]

I'm in a bit of a bind here guys. My mother agreed to help me pay for an upgrade this year however, I feel she is getting cheated from the local computer shop. I was hoping you guys could throw some support in on my side as she is skeptical about me building it my self (even though I have installed basically every thing but a motherboard before). Any way... here are the spec of the two systems.

Computer shops configuration:

AMD 2800 computer system (I have no clue as to what components they are going to be using all they specified was 512 mb of DDR, an 80 gig hd, and the extras like floppy, dvd, modem, xp home, etc... and a 256mb video card, again I don’t know what card they will be using, as it doesn’t specify (I am assuming its some thing like a Radeon x800.

Any way, the total comes to $773.80

My configuration comes out like this...

Antec Tx105b (Includes 500 watt true power supply)
1gb of G.skill pc3200 (The extreme series
Hitachi t7k250 250gb SATA Hard drive
Sapphire x1800xl video card
Epox 9npa ultra motherboard
Amd athlon 64 3200+ (Venice)

Yes, I know my configuration comes out well over the $773.80, but I have been saving my money as well and managed to gather $260, so subtracting the 260 from my configuration, it actually comes out cheaper for her to go with mine. But again I restate, she thinks putting a computer together is rocket science. Also she is skeptical about buying from NewEgg. She also thinks taking the local computer shop's configuration, I will not see a drop in performance (this guy has her hooked on the idea 512mb of ram will perform well in to days games and applications).

So basically what I need you guys to do is convince her that building a system from scratch involves some risk, but it really is not that hard. Also I need you to persuade her that Newegg, or Zipzoomfly are reliable online vendors which can be trusted and lastly, that I will indeed notice quite a big performance drop if she were to go with the local computer stores configuration.

Thanks in advance guys
-----------------------
Lemings

 

[Schalldampfer]

Tell her how much better yours will be compared to the one they sell. Also, make sure to give her numbers, such as processor speeds, and let her compare the two differences. And don't tell her those numbers don't matter unless you game. Haha.

 

[lemings]

She won't listen to me, she will however possibly change her mind if enough people here can convince her that my configuration is the better way to go.

 

[Schalldampfer]

She won't listen to me, she will however possibly change her mind if enough people here can convince her that my configuration is the better way to go.

That goes without saying. But get a better power supply. It takes only one faulty power supply to blow out the whole computer. Trust me... I had it happen to me.

 

[attack]

the video card is actualy probably crappy....like a X300 or something.
Just priceout a system on newegg and show her proof.

 

[Amarkarian]

well tell mom newegg is probaly more reliable then a brick and mortar shop because so many more people use newegg

 

[lemings]

Thanks for the replys, greatly appreciated. She should feel a little more persuaded now.

 

[lemings]

My mother had this question for you guys...

My question is this, since I’m his mother and I’m the one forking out the majority of the money, if something should go wrong I have no
guarantee with what my son is wanting to build. I could end up paying a fortune to even get someone to fix this unit. I was told that no matter
what video card you get your still going to see the same colors and effects because the human eye can only see so much. If I have been told wrong then please respond and I would prefer someone who is an expert on this. I was told the unit that I’m wanting built can play all the latest games that are
available with no problems. Pressured mom in Carolina.

 

[fabulouscoops]

I have ordered thousands of dollars worth of stuff from Newegg and they are very reliable and have excellent prices. Take a look at resellerratings.com Newegg is one of the most trusted e-vendors around. http://www.resellerratings.com/

Tell her you will learn a valuable skill by building your own computer. You will alos save money in the future by being able to repiar or upgrade it yourself.

The computer shop gaming system you described is weak. 512 RAM is not enough for newer games and I doubt it has even an X800 video card. The processor could be much better than a 2800+ which is a socket 754 CPU and obsolete technology motherboard which cannot be upgraded later on. Also probably AGP and not PCI-e
The computer shop should be ashamed to sell such a computer as a new gaming box in 2005.

 

[diehrd]

First off I would get all the specs from the computer shop.And 512mb of ram is standard until you load a newer game..At that point ya might as well buy a 299 dell

Next it would be a huge benifit if we kenw what the system was going to be used for .

As far as visual effects and colors the typical argument that after 32 FPS ya cant see any visual differences is correct..BUT toss a Direct X 7 card in for a newer game and you will be booted to the desk top

So primarily what wil the system be used for ?

Who will be the user ?

And what budget would she like to remain within ?

 

[fabulouscoops]

My mother had this question for you guys...

My question is this, since I’m his mother and I’m the one forking out the majority of the money, if something should go wrong I have no
guarantee with what my son is wanting to build. I could end up paying a fortune to even get someone to fix this unit. I was told that no matter
what video card you get your still going to see the same colors and effects because the human eye can only see so much. If I have been told wrong then please respond and I would prefer someone who is an expert on this. I was told the unit that I’m wanting built can play all the latest games that are
available with no problems. Pressured mom in Carolina.

Hi Mom. I am a 53 year old with a computer building business.
The computer shop guy is giving you a sell job on the unit he wants to unload.
Video cards may all show the same colors but it is not just about image quality. How fast the card can render images is very important. Frames-per-sec in a video game can mean the difference between looking at a slide show and a smoothly running video quality image.
I am a moderator on another forum for a PC game called Far Cry. Far Cry came out almost two years ago and there are still people who write to the forum with new computers asking for help who have inadequate video cards or not enough memory to run the game. I know about minimum specs for games. The computer described will run the game but it will be at the lowest resolution and it will seem like you are walking in slow motion. At times it may just stop or reboot the computer.

I cannot answer you about what if something goes wrong. You have to trust your son to be careful and follow directions. It sounds like something he is very interested in and is willing to put up cash of his own. He will learn a lot and be proud of what he has created. But really, it is not that hard and there is lots of help online at this very forum, among other places.

 

[Yuriman]

From what I have seen, most local PC shops use junk power supplies and motherboards, to bring the costs down (and earn them more profit). You may not see a performance difference between a good motherboard and a bad one, but there is a reliability difference. On top of that, Newegg has a 1 year waranty on just about every part they sell, which I have used on several occasions.

EDIT: Ohh, also, I would be very happy to walk you through putting it together over an instant messenger or something. I do it all the time. A person can assemble a basic PC in less than 15 minutes if they know what they are doing.

 

[ckj]

I built my own computer about 6-8 months ago, and I had to convince my parents as well. If your son is willing to take his time, and follow directions and ask for help here if he needs it, he should have no difficulties what so ever in building the computer. In addition, I think building your own computer is very educational, and it helps you understand how a computer works, and lets you become a better computer user.

If you were to buy that prebuilt computer, what happens if something goes wrong? I'm willing to bet you take it back and they take a few weeks to fix it. If your son builds his own computer, and something goes wrong, well he can fix it himself, with basic troubleshooting techniques.

Yes, there are only so many colors, but it's more the detail that the picture shows up in. For instance, there could be a book on a table, the table is a solid color and you can see the pixels in it, and you cannot read the title on the book. But in a higher resolution, the table is smooth, you can see the embellishment on the table, and the book title is readable. So the detail can be played much better in a better videocard, which results in a better gaming experience.

 

[Captain Newbie]

First off I would get all the specs from the computer shop.And 512mb of ram is standard until you load a newer game..At that point ya might as well buy a 299 dell

Next it would be a huge benifit if we kenw what the system was going to be used for .

As far as visual effects and colors the typical argument that after 32 FPS ya cant see any visual differences is correct..BUT toss a Direct X 7 card in for a newer game and you will be booted to the desk top

So primarily what wil the system be used for ?

Who will be the user ?

And what budget would she like to remain within ?

heartily agree.

Inform her that building your own PC will give you valuable vocational skills (read: experience with assembling computers) and may come in handy farther down the road.

 

[Elif Tymes]

Personally, your computer will simply outperform, and outlast the computer that shop is trying to sell.

I have been into most mom and pop computer shops, as well as "decent" computer shops with people with actual technical knowledge.

Every single one is charging several hundred dollars more for their fully assembled PCs than they could be bought for online.

Newegg is a top notch vendor. I would honestly classify their personal support as top notch. I have bought several hundred dollars worth of components from Newegg, and NEVER been dissatisfied.

I've walked into computer shops, looked at their prices, and simply walked out again, merely because they are charging almost 30-40% MORE for their items than Newegg or ZipzoomFly do.

Now, on to your boys capacity to build computers:

I've been building computers since the age of 12. I have to say your child has the jump on me in one thing.

He knows how to ask for help. The very fact that he is on OCforums means he understands that sometimes, you ahve to ask questions. If I had had OCF/Newegg as a resource back when I first started building computers, I can guarantee my first computer would have been much better than it was, as well as far higher quality parts. In all, I squeeked by on luck.

(P.S. the best indicator of a kids ability to put stuff together is Legos/Knex/Other mechanical building things. If he's ever put together a lego set, he can put together a computer )