You can see why your computer guy is able to charge a premium!
You have several options.
1. You get him to build the computer for you, with the new (hard drive) HDD and ask him to put the old one in as well. This will then show up as an extra drive in My Computer and you can simply copy the data across.
2a. You can buy a new computer, take the HDD out of the old computer and put it in an 'USB IDE enclosure' - This will basically make it an external hard drive. You then plug it in to a USB port on your new computer and copy the files across as above.
2b. You can buy a new computer, take the HDD out of the old computer and put it inside and do the final sentence of option 1.
3. You could build it yourself, (jperhaps even getting the parts he suggested) save a couple of hundred on labour costs and when assembling it put the old drive in with the new and copy the files across.
The best thing about #3 is you get to learn a lot about computers, and with the internet, it really isn't that complicated any more! I've built a few machines now myself, and really enjoy doing it.
I'm actually quite keen to have a go myself, as I'm keen to learn. However, I'm a bit worried about what support I'll get if it all goes pear shaped. Maybe this place may help me through?
PeterW2: Yes. The power supply is a new Thermaltake 600 watt unit. I believe that it's a goodie
Yeah that's all good, you could get roughly 60-89 off it, going by previous auctions, which would be a good price, seeing that they go new for 91 on Pricespy :)
Most of the new desktops have 400-500w PSUs as standard, which will be fine for the current system and most video cards, say if you wanted to add a 5770 into it for the kids gaming or your own gaming
I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.
I'm actually quite keen to have a go myself, as I'm keen to learn. However, I'm a bit worried about what support I'll get if it all goes pear shaped. Maybe this place may help me through?
Truck load of support here for anyone wanting to make a new PC :) not as hard as it looks and if any products are faulty, the consumer guarantees act and warranty makes things easier for DIYers
I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.
Thank you both Vinnieg and Kiwi for your encouragement. I sort of feel confident enough to go it alone now. I am keen to try it, and probably end up spending more than previously planned. I looked up the price of the ASUS motherboard that the computer shop guy was going to use, and from E-one, I think it was $138 +GST. The extra money that I might have spent on him might buy me a more powerful board perhaps? Any suggestions on a good one?. I'd be keen to get an ASUS one.
I think I have decided to get hold of an ASUS P6TD motherboard.
My next question is: Do these boards come complete with the Intel chips, and what cooling do i need to instal?. I don't plan on overclocking at this stage, but I'm keen to play with it once I get the thing running. I'm having a bit of trouble finding out too much about what 'you get, and what you need to get' when buying a motherboard. Mind you, my lack of knowledge/experience are really showing here, but I'm keen to learn.
Hey peterw2 congrats on choosing to build it yourself it really is lots of fun and way cheaper too :P If by intel chips you mean processors no they don't. Although the P6TD is a nice board it uses a different processor socket to your old computer so your old cpu won't fit in it and the cheapest CPU that will fit in it is around $500. Theres nothing wrong with a setup based around that board in fact it's pretty much as good as it gets right now in consumer computers but it aint cheap, you'd be looking around $1000 just for CPU, motherboard and ram.
If you want a motherboard to fit your old processor you want a board that has an LGA775 socket, a good example from asus would be something from the P5 series like this http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?o=306279
As for cooling, all processors will come with a stock heatsink which is fine for stock speeds or minor overclocking, there are plenty of aftermarket ones out there should you want to go for decent overclocks.
When you buy a motherboard it is rare for you to get more than a few connecting cables and some nice manuals. What you need is all the stuff that plugs into the motherboard; CPU, ram, DVD drive/s, Harddrive/s, Power supply and graphics card are the usual ones.
Theres a bit to learn but with our help you should have a kickass computer at the end :D
Desktop: i7 920, GTX 275, asus P6T, antec 1200, 6gb ram, 1tb spinpoint f1, 1tb spinpoint f3, Logitech Z2300, Zero DAC, Shure SRH440 Laptop: Toshiba satellite, T5300, Go 7300 Home Theatre: 32" loewe CRT, Harmon kardon amp, dvd player, image 418 speakers, rega planar 25 turntable :)
Hello Samwooff Thank you for taking the time to answer me. I'm going to go about this quite carefully, so I don't fall into too many traps, or nasty cost surprises.
Would I be right in assuming that this chip: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz Socket 1366 Box will fit the P6TD board?. It seems to be reasonably priced at $478 on PriceSpy, with a P5TD motherboard at $505. Or would I be better to get a faster and/or Xeon chip?. Would my new 600 watt power supply handle this?
I have no intention of using the old computers processor, as I feel that now is a good time to move up in the 'Geek' world, however, i'm keen to use the old DVD ROM and separate DVDRW (both Pioneer).
Once again, thank you all for your continuing help. This has been an interesting (and very time consuming) exercise so far, even though I've just begun the journey.
If your going to go with an i7 core, have a look at the 930 (http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=560214), cheaper and faster. The P6TD is compatible with 1366 i7 processors, so the i7 920 would work too, however I think the xenon's only work on servers
Once again, thank you all for your advice. I can easily see that dumbass me wouldn't have had a hope in hell of going this alone. I'm totally sure that something would have come around and bitten me in the bum without your advice. I'm very humbled and grateful for your help. Long may it continue for me and others too.
I am certainly using Price Spy to seek out the deals. To date, I haven't actually bought anything, but I'm composing a shopping list.
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