If you were going to buy a new pc, would you build one yourself or would you buy one from a manufacturer such as Dell, Compaq, IBM etc?
I'll be wanting to buy one when I get back home to Australia at the end of the year. My old PC (P100) has redhat on it! and win95, I won't be worrying about it too much. I had this one just put together and mailed to me. This is a new laptop and I have Mandrake 8.2 on it (as I destroyed my WinXP partitions and they don't give out install disks) and it's not a brand as such. Some things don't work like sound and modem so that sucks. I am unable to get Slackware to run X on it. I'd like to put Slackware on the new pc when I get home.
If you were to buy one that you've specified parts for, would you buy an AMD or Intel CPU?
Just after opinions.

i say, you know how to build one.. build it yourself. personally i like amd now, cheaper and just as fast/reliable. personally if though i did have to buy one from a manufacturer, probably have to go with a ibm or if i really had the money.. buy a brand new sun workstation..

If you know how to do it, or are not afraid to spend some time learning how to do it yourself, I would go with that approach. It is much cheaper, you know exactly how your machine is configured and what software is on it. It will also help you develop an understanding of how a computer operates. I built my first computer last year and found that it was a easier than I thought.

My vote is go for an AMD. Cheaper and just as reliable.

If I was getting a new system I would definitely put it together myself. Also I prefer AMD to Intel, but in regards to laptops your choices are then limited to about 5 name brands.

One thing about the major vendors like Dell, is that you don't always have a choice in what you don't want (like a preloaded OS), so you can be stuck paying for something you have no use for.

Added to that companies like Dell use proprietary power supply connections & front panel connections (etc.) which can make tinkering/upgrading a real pain. They frown upon upgrading any components purchased through another party (boo-hoo), so their 1st level techs will be not only unhelpful (ignorant) but rude as well (yay).

I find it hilarious that companies like Dell & IBM say your hd warranty is void if you partition your drive; the physical warranty is still good (if you keep your mouth shut) but they won't help with any other problems you'll run into. I only mention it because they use customer service as a selling point.

When building your own you can pick & choose all of your choice parts & if there is a compromise for $'s sake you get to decide where.

The best reason to build your own: it's fun as hell!

I would like one of these SunBlade 1000, but they are 1 months work in the UK and I don't want to spend 'that' much. I'd be happy to buy one that I can build myself, I guess I was sort of concerned that they didn't perform as well as say an IBM, speed wise, since I do a lot of design and development work etc. I really want something that will hoot along, and at least last a couple of years.
I don't know how to compare sparcs with intel/amd processor speeds, so I don't even know if the sunblade100 would compare to a amd1900 for example.

Here a couple references for building pc's:

http://www.acme.com/build_a_pc/
http://www.daileyint.com/build/build.htm

Building your own is the best way to go. That way, you'll know what parts you're getting, which will help out immensely when configuring your OS.

One thing I'd research is that the hardware you're going to buy is "supported". I think it's safe to say that LINUX will run on pretty much any modern hardware. It may be a good idea to see if someone else has had success with the hardware you want to buy (i.e. newer P4 boards and CPUs).

j.

Build it yourself any day of the week. I find that you can buy cheeper online if you want just parts. That way you can shop around too.

When I built my PC I found the forums at www.pcmech.com really useful. They have guys there who spend their lives looking at and researching H/W. The only thing is that they may be slightly windows orientated in some cases, although I haven't been there for a while. My machine must be that good!

i'd go with building it myself...

Definately build one yourself.

Not only will you learn better how a computer works and what to look for if something breaks, but upgrading the thing will be much easier than with a manufactured unit. To much proprietary BS.

customer service is a joke for a PC. build it yrself, then you know you are not paying for nonexistent services you will never require.
Building a PC is only one step up from using lego anyway.....

yea my sentiments with shadow and calum

Build it yourself. I just put one together in November for about half the cost. Shop around, I found most of the stuff locally. If you stay away from the "newest, fastest, biggest, baddest" there are some good deals out there. I've got AMD's in both of my machines, but that's just what was cheapest at the time. I'd take a look at some of the linux hardware compatibility lists before I started (http://lhd.datapower.com/). I didn't and wish I had. Have fun with it.



Dale

Always build your own machines!! It'e really easy and you learn heaps!

Plus the worst thing you can do is buy a dell, IMHO.

I think I would probably build it myself. Seems to be the popular choice! I do like to play around as well
Will be interesting, I can't wait to get home and do it ...