The last few days I've been interested in building my own desktop. Right now I'm using a laptop, which unfortunately cannot run Team Fortress 2 (or most of The Orange Box) like I'd wish, of course, without modifying the config for my computer. The problem is that I have no idea where to start, and I kind of need some help. I have a couple questions that need answered. 1. How much money are we looking at here? I know it's a lot cheaper to build your own desktop than purchasing one. Just an estimate on how much this is going to cost me. Mostly I'd like to play the recent games that have been released at fair/good/definitely playable with good FPS settings. 2. Are there any guides that I could follow? I haven't had much luck with Google, but I'm still looking around for a decent guide. I'm not real big with computer hardware, but I'd really like to learn more. Mostly I need help picking out good parts that work together well, which seems to be the hardest part for most people, and very hard for newbs like me. >.> I need to build a desktop that will last me for quite awhile. 3. Is there a site to check and see if your computer can be upgraded/video card? My family has a desktop that we all use, but I have no clue if the graphics card can be upgraded. I know the RAM can, I certainly need to add more, the computer runs pretty slow. If the card can be upgraded...well, I can post-pone this building project. Any help will be appreciated.

The last few days I've been interested in building my own desktop. Right now I'm using a laptop, which unfortunately cannot run Team Fortress 2 (or most of The Orange Box) like I'd wish, of course, without modifying the config for my computer. The problem is that I have no idea where to start, and I kind of need some help. I have a couple questions that need answered.

1. How much money are we looking at here? I know it's a lot cheaper to build your own desktop than purchasing one. Just an estimate on how much this is going to cost me. Mostly I'd like to play the recent games that have been released at fair/good/definitely playable with good FPS settings.

2. Are there any guides that I could follow? I haven't had much luck with Google, but I'm still looking around for a decent guide. I'm not real big with computer hardware, but I'd really like to learn more. Mostly I need help picking out good parts that work together well, which seems to be the hardest part for most people, and very hard for newbs like me. >.> I need to build a desktop that will last me for quite awhile.

3. Is there a site to check and see if your computer can be upgraded/video card? My family has a desktop that we all use, but I have no clue if the graphics card can be upgraded. I know the RAM can, I certainly need to add more, the computer runs pretty slow. If the card can be upgraded...well, I can post-pone this building project.

Any help will be appreciated.

I built a desktop 6 months ago for $600. It can run the Orange Box no problems. Since then, prices have gone down some. To check the system specs of your current desktop, run dxdiag. Take a screensho of what see under system and display. We'll tell you if that's upgradeable or not. As for guides, I don't really know where to point you. This video gives you an idea. [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SINjiyZ3yNs[/url]

I built a desktop 6 months ago for $600. It can run the Orange Box no problems. Since then, prices have gone down some. To check the system specs of your current desktop, run dxdiag. Take a screensho of what see under system and display. We'll tell you if that's upgradeable or not.

As for guides, I don't really know where to point you. This video gives you an idea.
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SINjiyZ3yNs[/url]

If you want I can give you a parts readout from newegg for under 600$ w/tax and shipping.

If you want I can give you a parts readout from newegg for under 600$ w/tax and shipping.

$600? Not bad. Oh, and I'd like that Excalibur. I was thinking around $500-600 at least, and if I can make a decent machine with that much it sounds reasonable. System settings: [URL=http://img337.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ssytembu8.png][IMG]http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/6788/ssytembu8.th.png[/IMG][/URL] Display: [URL=http://img161.imageshack.us/my.php?image=displayqw3.png][IMG]http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/8992/displayqw3.th.png[/IMG][/URL]

$600? Not bad. Oh, and I'd like that Excalibur. I was thinking around $500-600 at least, and if I can make a decent machine with that much it sounds reasonable.

System settings:


Display:

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208009 HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136055 DVD Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135174 Soundcard (Optional): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102002 PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151039 RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066 Motherboard: <Edit: See below post.> GFX Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814145152R And finally: Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116052 CPU Heatsink: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134 Thermal Compound: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020 Yes I am expecting you to overclock. No it is not hard, yes you can do it. If you can build a computer, or play with legos, you can overclock a processor. Its that simple. Seriously. Final price: 606.38$ w/shipping and tax.

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208009
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136055
DVD Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135174
Soundcard (Optional): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102002
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151039
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066
Motherboard: <Edit: See below post.>
GFX Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814145152R

And finally:
Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116052
CPU Heatsink: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134
Thermal Compound: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020

Yes I am expecting you to overclock. No it is not hard, yes you can do it. If you can build a computer, or play with legos, you can overclock a processor. Its that simple. Seriously.

Final price: 606.38$ w/shipping and tax.

Thanks much Excalibur.

Thanks much Excalibur.

Probably don't get an open box motherboard, as it is listed as not coming with the accessories (which you will need). Also you may not want to get an open box video card if you don't have a monitor with a DVI connection, because you would need the DVI to VGA adapter.

Probably don't get an open box motherboard, as it is listed as not coming with the accessories (which you will need). Also you may not want to get an open box video card if you don't have a monitor with a DVI connection, because you would need the DVI to VGA adapter.

Why the fuck would you buy a base? just let everything spread out, it's cheaper and has good cooling if you have a fan permenantly at High right next to it, or several.

Why the fuck would you buy a base? just let everything spread out, it's cheaper and has good cooling if you have a fan permenantly at High right next to it, or several.

Ah, wrong mobo actually. I was in the process of recommending to a friend while I was doing this. One moment.... Try this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138122 It's more expensive, but much better.

Ah, wrong mobo actually. I was in the process of recommending to a friend while I was doing this. One moment....

Try this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138122
It's more expensive, but much better.

Don't bother to buy the thermal paste and the extra cooler. It's a waste. Even if you do plan on overclocking, the e21xx series can go fairly high on the stock cooler.

Don't bother to buy the thermal paste and the extra cooler. It's a waste. Even if you do plan on overclocking, the e21xx series can go fairly high on the stock cooler.

[quote=name:dumbducky]Don't bother to buy the thermal paste and the extra cooler. It's a waste. Even if you do plan on overclocking, the e21xx series can go fairly high on the stock cooler.[/quote] Nonsense. Intel stock coolers are total shit. With the added cooler/compound he can probably get 3.6 out of that E2180. My E2160 only gets 3.2 because I used the A7FP and MX-2, and its in an RC690 w/2 extra 120mms and a 140mm added on to it with the stock fans too.

Quote from dumbducky

Don't bother to buy the thermal paste and the extra cooler. It's a waste. Even if you do plan on overclocking, the e21xx series can go fairly high on the stock cooler.

Nonsense. Intel stock coolers are total shit. With the added cooler/compound he can probably get 3.6 out of that E2180. My E2160 only gets 3.2 because I used the A7FP and MX-2, and its in an RC690 w/2 extra 120mms and a 140mm added on to it with the stock fans too.

I disagree with a few things from Excalibur's list. First, I would choose this case. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119115 Higher quality, thicker, better cooling, tool less design... I prefer the looks too, but that's your choice. The harddrive, I would choose, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145215 I don't think Hitatchi can offer the same warranty as WD, but either way, I think at this price you'd be hard-pressed to find a better offering. The DVD drive Excalibur chose is not a DVD burner, just a reading. I would recommend http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106264 Forget about the soundcard. Assuming you don't have a decent set of speakers, it wouldn't do you ANY good, really. Even if you do, I would recommend you spending money in other places. The video card I would choose is.. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121255 Personally, I wouldn't deal with an Open Box video card unless it's from BFG/EVGA/XFX, or whatever other brand can offer similar warranties and replacement policies. Because if you buy an Open Box card from Newegg, you won't be covered by NewEgg's warranties after a month, I believe. The 9600GT will perform better, though. I'm not sure by how much. Unless you're willing to spend about 100$ more on a video card, in which case I would get an HD 4850 by AMD/ATI, which will blow away both what I've suggested and Excalibur has suggested. If you're not interested in overclocking, you could always get an E2200 for a small boost over the e2180. Also, consider the E7200 processor if you can afford it. If you're interested in overclocking, I would recommend this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003 It'll perform significantly better than the AF7P I would recommned http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138127 for the motherboard, but the one that excalibur suggested would work, I suppose Also, to the poster who questioned buying a case: It's totally a lot more easy, visually appealing, and safe to use a case.

I disagree with a few things from Excalibur's list.

First, I would choose this case.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119115
Higher quality, thicker, better cooling, tool less design... I prefer the looks too, but that's your choice.

The harddrive, I would choose, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145215

I don't think Hitatchi can offer the same warranty as WD, but either way, I think at this price you'd be hard-pressed to find a better offering.

The DVD drive Excalibur chose is not a DVD burner, just a reading. I would recommend http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106264

Forget about the soundcard. Assuming you don't have a decent set of speakers, it wouldn't do you ANY good, really. Even if you do, I would recommend you spending money in other places.

The video card I would choose is..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121255
Personally, I wouldn't deal with an Open Box video card unless it's from BFG/EVGA/XFX, or whatever other brand can offer similar warranties and replacement policies. Because if you buy an Open Box card from Newegg, you won't be covered by NewEgg's warranties after a month, I believe. The 9600GT will perform better, though. I'm not sure by how much.
Unless you're willing to spend about 100$ more on a video card, in which case I would get an HD 4850 by AMD/ATI, which will blow away both what I've suggested and Excalibur has suggested.

If you're not interested in overclocking, you could always get an E2200 for a small boost over the e2180.

Also, consider the E7200 processor if you can afford it.

If you're interested in overclocking, I would recommend this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
It'll perform significantly better than the AF7P

I would recommned http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138127 for the motherboard, but the one that excalibur suggested would work, I suppose

Also, to the poster who questioned buying a case: It's totally a lot more easy, visually appealing, and safe to use a case.

[quote=name:Excalibur][quote=name:dumbducky]Don't bother to buy the thermal paste and the extra cooler. It's a waste. Even if you do plan on overclocking, the e21xx series can go fairly high on the stock cooler.[/quote] Nonsense. Intel stock coolers are total shit. With the added cooler/compound he can probably get 3.6 out of that E2180. My E2160 only gets 3.2 because I used the A7FP and MX-2, and its in an RC690 w/2 extra 120mms and a 140mm added on to it with the stock fans too.[/quote] My e2160 got to 3.2 with... Intel's stock cooler. I didn't even see try to see how high I could go, though. 3.2 was my goal.

Quote from Excalibur[MM]

Quote from dumbducky

Don't bother to buy the thermal paste and the extra cooler. It's a waste. Even if you do plan on overclocking, the e21xx series can go fairly high on the stock cooler.

Nonsense. Intel stock coolers are total shit. With the added cooler/compound he can probably get 3.6 out of that E2180. My E2160 only gets 3.2 because I used the A7FP and MX-2, and its in an RC690 w/2 extra 120mms and a 140mm added on to it with the stock fans too.

My e2160 got to 3.2 with... Intel's stock cooler. I didn't even see try to see how high I could go, though. 3.2 was my goal.

[quote=name:Anonymous]Why the fuck would you buy a base? just let everything spread out, it's cheaper and has good cooling if you have a fan permenantly at High right next to it, or several.[/quote]

Quote from Anonymous

Why the fuck would you buy a base? just let everything spread out, it's cheaper and has good cooling if you have a fan permenantly at High right next to it, or several.

Intel stock coolers are ranked #2 on the intel only quiet ranking. If you aren't going to overclock, a cheap AMD is the way to go. 4200 will play any game you want, with no overclock necessary, and is significantly cheaper than any Intel stuff. They are also outrageously easy to put on. With AMD sucking so much, they have to lower all their prices significantly to remain competitive, while Intel is just riding the wave of awesomeness. As for nVidia vs ATi, theinquirer.com, an outrageously biased towards ATi website, reports that nVidia released a whole bunch of bad cores for the 8600 and old 8800s. They later claimed that all nVidia cards will fail. I personally believe this is BS, but nVidia has lost a lot of money on the whole controversy. When it comes to a graphics card, anything you buy now, as long as it's an (HD for ATi) x600+, will be able to play any source game with 100 fps on max settings. I have an x1950 pro, and that handles just about anything I can throw at it. The best buy is probably a 4850, but again, you get what you pay for in a graphics card nowadays. Motherboards don't matter in the long run. Buy one that has stuff that you want on it, and remember SLI/xfire is pointless. You'll need a better PSU and have to find an exact copy of the same card later if you decide to "upgrade".

Intel stock coolers are ranked #2 on the intel only quiet ranking.

If you aren't going to overclock, a cheap AMD is the way to go. 4200 will play any game you want, with no overclock necessary, and is significantly cheaper than any Intel stuff. They are also outrageously easy to put on. With AMD sucking so much, they have to lower all their prices significantly to remain competitive, while Intel is just riding the wave of awesomeness.

As for nVidia vs ATi, theinquirer.com, an outrageously biased towards ATi website, reports that nVidia released a whole bunch of bad cores for the 8600 and old 8800s. They later claimed that all nVidia cards will fail. I personally believe this is BS, but nVidia has lost a lot of money on the whole controversy. When it comes to a graphics card, anything you buy now, as long as it's an (HD for ATi) x600+, will be able to play any source game with 100 fps on max settings. I have an x1950 pro, and that handles just about anything I can throw at it. The best buy is probably a 4850, but again, you get what you pay for in a graphics card nowadays.

Motherboards don't matter in the long run. Buy one that has stuff that you want on it, and remember SLI/xfire is pointless. You'll need a better PSU and have to find an exact copy of the same card later if you decide to "upgrade".

[quote=name:rockz]Intel stock coolers are ranked #2 on the intel only quiet ranking.[/quote] What in the hell does quiet have to do with performance? [quote=name:rockz]Motherboards don't matter in the long run.[/quote] Oh dear god. Remind me to just disregard your posts in the tech forum.

Quote from rockz

Intel stock coolers are ranked #2 on the intel only quiet ranking.

What in the hell does quiet have to do with performance?

Quote from rockz

Motherboards don't matter in the long run.

Oh dear god. Remind me to just disregard your posts in the tech forum.

[quote=name:rockz]Motherboards don't matter in the long run. Buy one that has stuff that you want on it, and remember SLI/xfire is pointless. You'll need a better PSU and have to find an exact copy of the same card later if you decide to "upgrade".[/quote] In some ways the motherboard does matter (but not necessarily influenced by the cost of the board). Some aren't as good and will cause your system to occasionally crash, for example. I've gone through two different motherboards for my system before I finally found one that was stable. (all for AMD processors; the first two had nVidia chipsets, my current one has an AMD chipset) This one that is stable was even the cheapest of the 3 (less expensive chipset, I presume).

Quote from rockz

Motherboards don't matter in the long run. Buy one that has stuff that you want on it, and remember SLI/xfire is pointless. You'll need a better PSU and have to find an exact copy of the same card later if you decide to "upgrade".

In some ways the motherboard does matter (but not necessarily influenced by the cost of the board). Some aren't as good and will cause your system to occasionally crash, for example. I've gone through two different motherboards for my system before I finally found one that was stable. (all for AMD processors; the first two had nVidia chipsets, my current one has an AMD chipset) This one that is stable was even the cheapest of the 3 (less expensive chipset, I presume).

[quote=name:Excalibur][quote=name:rockz]Intel stock coolers are ranked #2 on the intel only quiet ranking.[/quote] What in the hell does quiet have to do with performance?[/quote] [url=http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm]Looks like they dropped to #4[/quote] [quote][quote=name:rockz]Motherboards don't matter in the long run.[/quote] Oh dear god. Remind me to just disregard your posts in the tech forum.[/quote] Show me a review where a motherboard makes a serious difference in performance. I'm not talking about a motherboard with pcie 1.0 bottlenecking a 4870x2 either, because that's just obvious. I did a statistics project in which I changed the clockspeeds of CPU/GPU/VRAM, and ran 3dMark05. By and large, the CPU had the most effect, up to 1000 points for 440 MHz. THAT'S what matters in the long run. It's all about the CPU. I suppose that's where we differ, since I don't overclock at all, since it's pointless. [quote=name:ShadowFlare]I've gone through two different motherboards for my system before I finally found one that was stable.[/quote]Sounds like you had some bad luck. None of my motherboards have ever gone bad, or didn't boot up.

Quote from Excalibur[MM]

Quote from rockz

Intel stock coolers are ranked #2 on the intel only quiet ranking.

What in the hell does quiet have to do with performance?

http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfmLooks like they dropped to #4[/quote]

Quote

Quote from rockz

Motherboards don't matter in the long run.

Oh dear god. Remind me to just disregard your posts in the tech forum.

Show me a review where a motherboard makes a serious difference in performance. I'm not talking about a motherboard with pcie 1.0 bottlenecking a 4870x2 either, because that's just obvious.

I did a statistics project in which I changed the clockspeeds of CPU/GPU/VRAM, and ran 3dMark05. By and large, the CPU had the most effect, up to 1000 points for 440 MHz. THAT'S what matters in the long run. It's all about the CPU. I suppose that's where we differ, since I don't overclock at all, since it's pointless.

Quote from ShadowFlare

I've gone through two different motherboards for my system before I finally found one that was stable.

Sounds like you had some bad luck. None of my motherboards have ever gone bad, or didn't boot up.

[quote] Show me a review where a motherboard makes a serious difference in performance. I'm not talking about a motherboard with pcie 1.0 bottlenecking a 4870x2 either, because that's just obvious. I did a statistics project in which I changed the clockspeeds of CPU/GPU/VRAM, and ran 3dMark05. By and large, the CPU had the most effect, up to 1000 points for 440 MHz. THAT'S what matters in the long run. It's all about the CPU. I suppose that's where we differ, since I don't overclock at all, since it's pointless. [quote=name:ShadowFlare]I've gone through two different motherboards for my system before I finally found one that was stable.[/quote]Sounds like you had some bad luck. None of my motherboards have ever gone bad, or didn't boot up.[/quote] LOL, the Frostytech rankings have no credibillity. I'm sorry, but there is no way that a device with no heatpipes, and a low thermal threshold is going to be one of the quietest heatsinks. Nor is it going to cool very well either. Motherboards matter a lot for what you can do in the future. Your example of PCIe 2.0 is a good one. But things like ease of layout, ease of use, abillity to tweak things, stabillity, voltage regulation, cooling, ports, slots etc. ALL come into play. A motherboard doesn't have much of a role in performance, and people are well aware of that, but there is more to it than just performance. And I would disagree with you saying SLI/XFIRE is pointless. Xfire especially. You have the abillity to XF different cards together, etc. Your statistics project is kind of flawed anyway. 3DMark 05 is inherently strongly CPU reliant, so of course it's going to have a large affect. Besides, it's been proven that most games now get a lot more FPS from a better video card, in comparison to getting a better CPU. If you're short on money and want more FPS, you splurge your money on a GPU, not a CPU. So yeah, I disagree with your CPU claim. Overclocking isn't pointless, really. I get more performance for less. It's more heat, but it's still not enough to make the computer any louder, and it runs pretty cool anyway with my aftermarket cooler. [quote=name:][quote=name:Anonymous]Why the fuck would you buy a base? just let everything spread out, it's cheaper and has good cooling if you have a fan permenantly at High right next to it, or several.[/quote][/quote] I guess you didn't catch the bottom of my previous post, but maybe I'll elaborate. Your case protects your components from moisture, physical abuse(dropping a harddrive, anybody?), static electricity, and other objects that conduct electricity and could cause the hardware to short circuit. The case often times will quiet down a computer. Sound has to travel through the case, thus muffling the sound before it reaches your ear. Cases are aesthetically appealing too, much moreso than a pile of hardware and mess of ugly wires. In addition, cases are much more beneficial when it comes to preserving deskspace, or even space in general. It neatly organizes everything into a decently sized box; Spreading your hardware out would require a whole lot of space to lay out each individual piece. So, you can have your unappealing, space consuming, noise producing, unprotected ugly computer while everybody else pays $50 for a case and laughs at you. And yeah, if you can't tell now, your tone, your reposting, and your apparent lack of time put into reading other people's posts wern't appreciated.

Quote

Show me a review where a motherboard makes a serious difference in performance. I'm not talking about a motherboard with pcie 1.0 bottlenecking a 4870x2 either, because that's just obvious.

I did a statistics project in which I changed the clockspeeds of CPU/GPU/VRAM, and ran 3dMark05. By and large, the CPU had the most effect, up to 1000 points for 440 MHz. THAT'S what matters in the long run. It's all about the CPU. I suppose that's where we differ, since I don't overclock at all, since it's pointless.

Quote from ShadowFlare

I've gone through two different motherboards for my system before I finally found one that was stable.

Sounds like you had some bad luck. None of my motherboards have ever gone bad, or didn't boot up.

LOL, the Frostytech rankings have no credibillity. I'm sorry, but there is no way that a device with no heatpipes, and a low thermal threshold is going to be one of the quietest heatsinks. Nor is it going to cool very well either.

Motherboards matter a lot for what you can do in the future. Your example of PCIe 2.0 is a good one. But things like ease of layout, ease of use, abillity to tweak things, stabillity, voltage regulation, cooling, ports, slots etc. ALL come into play. A motherboard doesn't have much of a role in performance, and people are well aware of that, but there is more to it than just performance. And I would disagree with you saying SLI/XFIRE is pointless. Xfire especially. You have the abillity to XF different cards together, etc.

Your statistics project is kind of flawed anyway. 3DMark 05 is inherently strongly CPU reliant, so of course it's going to have a large affect. Besides, it's been proven that most games now get a lot more FPS from a better video card, in comparison to getting a better CPU. If you're short on money and want more FPS, you splurge your money on a GPU, not a CPU. So yeah, I disagree with your CPU claim.

Overclocking isn't pointless, really. I get more performance for less. It's more heat, but it's still not enough to make the computer any louder, and it runs pretty cool anyway with my aftermarket cooler.

Quote from

Quote from Anonymous

Why the fuck would you buy a base? just let everything spread out, it's cheaper and has good cooling if you have a fan permenantly at High right next to it, or several.

I guess you didn't catch the bottom of my previous post, but maybe I'll elaborate.

Your case protects your components from moisture, physical abuse(dropping a harddrive, anybody?), static electricity, and other objects that conduct electricity and could cause the hardware to short circuit. The case often times will quiet down a computer. Sound has to travel through the case, thus muffling the sound before it reaches your ear. Cases are aesthetically appealing too, much moreso than a pile of hardware and mess of ugly wires. In addition, cases are much more beneficial when it comes to preserving deskspace, or even space in general. It neatly organizes everything into a decently sized box; Spreading your hardware out would require a whole lot of space to lay out each individual piece.

So, you can have your unappealing, space consuming, noise producing, unprotected ugly computer while everybody else pays $50 for a case and laughs at you. And yeah, if you can't tell now, your tone, your reposting, and your apparent lack of time put into reading other people's posts wern't appreciated.

Sorry about hijacking your thread, but how hard is it to add heatsinks? I was considering overclocking my q6600 once the warranty runs out on it but didn't want to try it with stock cooling.

Sorry about hijacking your thread, but how hard is it to add heatsinks? I was considering overclocking my q6600 once the warranty runs out on it but didn't want to try it with stock cooling.