Best Place For Cheap (and I do mean cheap) PC Parts

[aquamarine]

Well I figured i've had enough of my Macbook Pro. It's a nice machine but certainly not worth the money I spent on it. I should have just picked up an EEE PC and invested the rest in a good desktop machine for what I do with it. "Oh but you're a photographer" all my friends chimed in... yea, well there's dick-fuck-all that I can do with a Mac that I couldn't do with my $600 Windows Vista machine.

Hell, I PREFER Vista over the MacOS.

Anyways, I'm on a tight budget since I have all of 2000 yen (yea, ni-sen en) until PayDay and even then, after the next ten days is up I'll have little more than I do now. So with that said, is there any place that has incredibly cheap PC parts? I figure every month I'll invest in another part however it would be even better if I end up getting super cheap or even free items to start, like a power supply or even a case.

Anyone out there have any spare parts that are kickin' around the office or home that they don't need and are just taking up space? I'd like to eventually built up a machin that can play Left4Dead and maybe even that Modern Warfare game (it looks pretty nifty). So.. little help, anyone?

If not, where would you folks suggest I go to pick up the absolutely cheapest parts?

Aqua

[Big Booger]

[Number11]

But there's nothing wrong with Mac OS or with Macbook Pros. It must be you. Why don't you just use Bootcamp to install WindowsXP, or sell the Macbook and buy a PC?

[ninjaboy]

You actually prefer Windozzze over MacOS? Are you on mind-bending drugs?
Your level of productivity is about to nose-dive! Crash and burn baby! - ha! ha!

[Mike Oxlong]

I'm in the camp of use whatever works for you. If you want a Wintel machine, Number11 has the best suggestion.

[xenomorph42]

You actually prefer Windozzze over MacOS? Are you on mind-bending drugs?
Your level of productivity is about to nose-dive! Crash and burn baby! - ha! ha!

I also thought it was a joke. Windows??? Talk about Dinosaurs and purple haze!

[Neo-Rio]

soudai gomi day once scored me a Windows ME machine... which I then pared back to keeping the case and power supply, cause the hard drives were burnt out and the motherboard was unstable and occasionally wouldn't boot correctly.

You can find lots of junk parts in Akihabara as well as "junk" refurbished machines.

As for the cheapest desktop computer you could build for your money, consider one of these (you can get one for about 8000 yen):-

http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/motherboards/D510MO/D510MO-overview.htm

And Windows 7 is way better than Vista. Stick to 7.

[aquamarine]

Thanks for beingn a bunch of stupid fanboys and not helping out at all.

Mike, I appreciate it. Neo, you too. The rest of you queefs, go eat natto.

I have used Windows since Win3.1 and only recently switched to a mac. 96% of my software, purchased legally, is windows based. "Just boot up using bootcamp" yea, I do that but I don't appreciate that I can not upgrade the other parts other than ram. Hence why I want a tower machine. That in itself brings us to the original question in the first post.

As for gomi-day, I live in Tama Plaza and have NEVER seen anything on gomi-day like that. Hell, I've never seen almost anything other than a few bags of paper and comic books. I guess for now I'll 'deal with' a mac to which I have found is an over-priced machine for what you get. $2,200 Canadian for a 15" last-generation Macbook Pro. Woo... wow... how un-interesting. So now I need to re-purchase all the software over again if I want to run it in OSX, yea, good idea kids.

[waruta]

And Windows 7 is way better than Vista. Stick to 7.

For a cheapass build like aquamarine is looking for, I don't think it will even start Win 7. I would suggest Ubuntu, but then again loading a VM running Xp kind of defeats the purpose...might as well load xp to begin with.

For MW2/MW, you will need at least an 8800GT to run a decent game. For instance, if I was to currently start building a game/homeserver/photo manipulator tower, I would use the following;

Pentium Dual Core - Overclocked or Dual Core/Quad Core
Lots of RAM (at least 4 GB, depending on your OS)
GPU - 8800gt or better
MB - Who cares what it is, as long as it supports the above.
PSU - At least 400 watts

Sell the Mac, or at least take the suggestions and bootcamp it. That way you can use your Win programs without money out of pocket. The above parts are going to cost you at least 40,000 yen. Even getting a free case and PSU, hell, even with a free MB thrown in, you are still looking at (at) least 20,000. How about a monitor? Keyboard? Mouse? Speakers?

Buying parts piecemeal is not really a sound financial strategy unless you exclusively buy second-hand or last year models; by the time everything is assembled and thrown together, the whole pc is going to be so obsolete, you are going to have to start all over again.

Btw, look on Gaijinpot/Craiglist etc...for some deals. Some guy has an HP workstation with Dual CPUs and 6 gigs of RAM going for 45,000 yen. I got my second Antec 900 tower with free PSU + 2 DVD players for 10,000 yen.

Look around and good luck.

[Number11]

I'm not a fanboy. I have a PC and a Mac. The purpose of an OS is run the applications you want or need. I can understand why you only have 2,000 yen. You appear to be stupid and an ignorant fuck.

BTW, I was going to give you a like-new 19" Mitsubishi monitor to get you stated, if you were dead-set on changing to a windows box. I just bought a larger one, plus, I usually have empathy for people down on their luck.

[aquamarine]

Yea, I am ignorant and stupid as I work teaching English for quite a shitty company. So fuck me sideways eh?

I want to go back to Windows because I've used it for years. I found that having a Mac does NOTHING special for me in the least. I already own a purchased copy of Photoshop CS4 for Windows that I picked up through my university purchasing program and don't want to boot up BootCamp every time I want to use it. Multi-tasking in this case with a Mac has gone down to Unitasking. How fun....

I did very little research before buying this Mac, I only took the advice of a few friends who have used Macs for years. They said it will do everything I need. Well I see how it could IF I wanted to re-invest thousands of dollars in software.

For those who mentioned BootCamp, I already have it installed and purchased a copy of VMware Fusion however find VMware a memory hog (RAM) along with the fact that I can't run the games I enjoy through it in anything higher than 640X480 resolution. Anytime I wanted to havea round of Starcraft for that matter, I had to load up boot-camp (running Windows 7 while VMware is running WinXP).

So for those still calling me an ignorant fuck, try to peek outside beyond your mac screen and see it from another point of view.

-I OWN software
-I don't want to download illegal crap that might/might not work and won't get updates
-I want to run CS4, Left4Dead 1, MW
-I want a larger screen than 15" (hence a tower)

I have tried lightroom but without any training tools readily available, I found it to do nothing for me other than let me look at my pictures. Well both Windows Picture Viewer and the Mac Xee image viewing program work perfectly find for that. I have also tried using Aperture but I prefer to keep my files in separate folders which depend on the date taken, rather than keep a 'file library' in one or two huge-ass files. (that said, I have over 600,000 images so iPhoto doesn't cut the beef and Aperture took for frickin'ever to even import let alone let me sort out the images).

I don't mind spending some money after PayDay, however for now I'm looking for the cheapest place available. I'll look into the dual or quad core systems and part it out. I'm not that worried about the machine being outdated as most of the software I use is outdated already. I don't need to keep up with the neighbors or brag about a system, I just need one that let's me play a couple childish games and lets me edit my photos without having to wait ten seconds to load one fucking image.

Any other thoughts as we've already established I'm a fucking tool? (Or was it ignorant fuck? I'm not 100% sure)

[2JPN]

You could try the Hard Off section of a local Book Off. I live near Machida, and there's one there that carries a lot of parts and 2nd hand computers. Not too far from Tama Plaza either. I've put aggregated some 'for sale' pages here for you that might be of help as well: 2jpn.com/for-sale

I'm a Mac guy as well, but seriously man, just go with what works for you.

Hope that helps!

Rick

[Uthark_Runa]

Aqua you are not alone. I to prefer windows over mac. I am IT professional, so maybe its my intimate knowledge of the OS, that allows me to tweak my system exactly how I want it, but yeah even after learning, and working with the Mac os, I still did not like it as much.
I do all my shopping in Akiba. Just go into the back streets behind the big Mr. Donut that's on the main strip, and you will find tons of great deals. Especially on used parts.

[Grumblebum]

Anyone out there have any spare parts that are kickin' around the office or home that they don't need and are just taking up space? I'd like to eventually built up a machin that can play Left4Dead and maybe even that Modern Warfare game (it looks pretty nifty). So.. little help, anyone?

Aqua

Sent you a PM. I've got some stuff that might be useful to you.

[aquamarine]

From douche-baggery to helpfulness. I love FG!

[FG Lurker]

Well I figured i've had enough of my Macbook Pro. It's a nice machine but certainly not worth the money I spent on it. I should have just picked up an EEE PC and invested the rest in a good desktop machine for what I do with it. "Oh but you're a photographer" all my friends chimed in... yea, well there's dick-fuck-all that I can do with a Mac that I couldn't do with my $600 Windows Vista machine.

Hell, I PREFER Vista over the MacOS.

Apple folk don't take criticism of their holy machines very well. The replies from the brainwashed Cult-of-Jobs members are sad but not surprising.

Anyways, I'm on a tight budget since I have all of 2000 yen (yea, ni-sen en) until PayDay and even then, after the next ten days is up I'll have little more than I do now. So with that said, is there any place that has incredibly cheap PC parts? I figure every month I'll invest in another part however it would be even better if I end up getting super cheap or even free items to start, like a power supply or even a case.

I would decide exactly what you want to buy and then sell the MacBook Pro to fund the PC build. In the meantime you can install XP onto the MBP and use an external Windows-oriented USB keyboard with it, along with a multi-button mouse. That will give you a "PC" to use until you settle on your new machine and find a buyer for the MBP. It also means that you shouldn't have to invest additional cash, as long as you pick and choose your parts wisely.

If not, where would you folks suggest I go to pick up the absolutely cheapest parts?

I have had very mixed results buying used parts in Japan. Components can develop intermittent problems that are impossible for the used shops to test for -- they may only flake out when very hot or after a few hours of use, and with the volumes of stuff sold here nothing gets more than a quick test. I think people take advantage of that when they have a flaky part. I've experienced the results of this with used motherboards and RAID controllers that I have bought used in the past.

Good luck with it all, hope you get a machine that suits your needs!

[CrankyBastard]

Apple folk don't take criticism of their holy machines very well. The replies from the brainwashed Cult-of-Jobs members are sad but not surprising.

Adding fuel to the fire?:D

Yeeay, let's have another freakin Ronson Zippo ""discussion.""

[FG Lurker]

Adding fuel to the fire?:D

Nah, just laughin my ass off at people who take themselves and their computers far too seriously. There are "normal" people who use Macs but most of them seem to get infected with the Jobs virus and can't shut the fuck up about how much "better" their computers are. Rather ironic since one of their claims is how free of viri OSX is...

[Adhesive]

Apple folk don't take criticism of their holy machines very well. The replies from the brainwashed Cult-of-Jobs members are sad but not surprising.

It's just a simple case of cognitive dissonance.

Essentially, there are two sets of conflicting cognitions that plague many Mac users.

The first is the idea that we want to consider ourselves savvy consumers, and capable of objectively choosing products based on their value to us, yet we just paid a heavy premium for a product that, from the most objective and measurable standards, offers less value than a cheaper product in the majority of areas (software diversity, performance, expandability, etc.).

In order to rationalize their decision, and thus quiet the dissonance in their heads, some Mac users tend to emphasize the subjective advantages of the product, such as UI, appearance, individualism, etc. Apple understands this well, as evidenced by their advertising, which centers on these concepts and virtually nothing else.

Another thing a Mac user will do to rationalize their purchase is focus and exaggerate on the few measurable areas where the Mac has an advantage, such as security and stability, but ignore the reasons for such an advantage (smaller and less diverse library, smaller user-base, less peripheral support, etc.) and the lack of relevancy of those advantages to most knowledgeable users.

The other cognitive conflict some Mac users experience, which is relatively new I guess, is the case where we are using the Mac, knowingly or unknowingly, to self-symbolize as unique, creative and hip individuals who choose a product for reasons other than its relative practical value; it's je ne sais quoi, or cachet, if you will, which only people like us can appreciate. Hence the comparisons of the Mac to a luxury good, or the often heard, and terribly inaccurate, BMW analogy.

However, as Mac and PCs become more and more alike, it becomes harder and harder to keep up the facade, so instead many Mac users will focus their attention on the PC users themselves. Enter the "I'm a PC" ads, the underlying premise being that PC users are squares.

I'm not really judging, because I fall into the trap just as often as the next guy (I just didn't happen to pay a premium for my Hackintosh, so there's less cognitive dissonance). I'm just saying that this is the reason for Apple having as many vocal fanboys as it does.

:flamesuit:

[Neo-Rio]

For a cheapass build like aquamarine is looking for, I don't think it will even start Win 7.

Windows 7 actually works on Atom processors with 1GB or RAM (whereas Vista doesn't work at all)... but it's far from a superior experience, but passable. 2GB helps, but naturally something more powerful than a Atom is certainly beneficial

[ketchupkatsu]

If you work at an office, just do like one of my friends used to do.

First he would scan the workstations to find those with the same components of his home machine. Later he would work late and wait for everyone to leave. Then all it took was a few tools for him to swap out working parts.

He did this for years, and I don't think the IT people ever figured out what was going on.

This is not right, and many would have morals against it, but it was a cheap way for him to keep his workstation at home running.

[aquamarine]

Haha, I love the idea, sadly I don't work in an office and the computers I DO have access to are laptops that have been internally stripped and run off a central cloud interface. No worries though, I'll keep on chugging. One kind person on here has already offered me a plethora of parts to start off with!

[LSD]

[quote="Adhesive"]It's just a simple case of cognitive dissonance.

Essentially, there are two sets of conflicting cognitions that plague many Mac users.

The first is the idea that we want to consider ourselves savvy consumers, and capable of objectively choosing products based on their value to us, yet we just paid a heavy premium for a product that, from the most objective and measurable standards, offers less value than a cheaper product in the majority of areas (software diversity, performance, expandability, etc.).

In order to rationalize their decision, and thus quiet the dissonance in their heads, some Mac users tend to emphasize the subjective advantages of the product, such as UI, appearance, individualism, etc. Apple understands this well, as evidenced by their advertising, which centers on these concepts and virtually nothing else.

Another thing a Mac user will do to rationalize their purchase is focus and exaggerate on the few measurable areas where the Mac has an advantage, such as security and stability, but ignore the reasons for such an advantage (smaller and less diverse library, smaller user-base, less peripheral support, etc.) and the lack of relevancy of those advantages to most knowledgeable users.

The other cognitive conflict some Mac users experience, which is relatively new I guess, is the case where we are using the Mac, knowingly or unknowingly, to self-symbolize as unique, creative and hip individuals who choose a product for reasons other than its relative practical value]

That's a spot on analysis Adhesive.
I got my Mac from my company, and if I had an alternative, I wouldn't use the Mac for anything else but cracking nuts. I guess using XP for so long built up some expectations. (My desktop at work has an uptime of about 2 years - yes, hasn't beet shut down or rebooted in 2 years).

@aquamarine
If you have time and patience to build ur own, you can build a badass desktop machine for the money u get from the macbook.
Browse http://kakaku.com/pc/ for components, but buying from 13 shops can add a lot of COD money. I have found that Tsukumo shops (http://www.tsukumo.com/) in Akihabara are a pretty good one stop.
Make sure you don't fall for the cheap large LCDs (u can buy a 27 inch for 3man or so) because they have very low angle of view, and poor color rendition. The color changes with the distance from the center. All in all, shit for photography. Try http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/ for more info. Good solutions are expensive, but just don't fall for the large&cheap twisted nematic film ones, which are only 6 bit/color.
You should be able to get a decent VGA and HD for cheap, and most likely the most expensive part will be the RAM, coz u'll want lots of them. Even if your CS4 is only 32 bit (and it may be a bitch to upgrade, especially if u have plugins), it will still have benefit from running on a 64bit OS with shitload of memory. There's absolutely no downside of running a 64bit OS.
But as I said, it can take a while to come up with the perfect price/quality ratio.