To build or not to build (A PC Question)

[OWLinguist]

Hi guys,

I've been doing research about whether I should build my own computer or buy it from a reputable company like Dell. I am willing to spend about $1200 (without monitor) and what I've found is that, at this price point, it's really not much cheaper to build my own computer. I've roughly spec'ed out the components from Dell and compare to the prices on Newegg and I can't seem to find a good reason to build my own computer other than the fact that I will get what I want.

Am I missing something here? I've read many posts before and many people say that hand build computers are the way to go and it's much cheaper. Or is it my budget, is it not high enough?

Please help, I am a little confused.

with thanks,

OWL

[MaxxuM]

There are some up's and down's with building your own computer - building a cheaper computer however is not one of them (unless you already have extra parts). These are the key pro's and con's:

Pro's
Pick your own parts and configure them 'exactly' the way you want them.
Usually very expandable.

Con's
You are your own support.
Debugging can be extremely tedious if you don't have the right skills & tools.

I build my own PC's and am a IT professional in a 10k network so I have the tools, skills and extra parts to make DIY worthwhile. If you have a bad memory module or a flaky chip on your motherboard you can go months without seeing the problem. Sometimes you'll encounter a crash and not be able to figure out what caused it.

My advice is always buy from Dell if you 1.) are not feeling adventurous and 2.) don't have the time or will for a DIY project.

[mathogre]

Originally Posted by MaxxuM

There are some up's and down's with building your own computer - building a cheaper computer however is not one of them (unless you already have extra parts). These are the key pro's and con's:

Pro's
Pick your own parts and configure them 'exactly' the way you want them.
Usually very expandable.

Con's
You are your own support.
Debugging can be extremely tedious if you don't have the right skills & tools.

I'll add a point that you will know far more about computers if you design and build one yourself. From choosing a chip family to selecting an enclosure, you must answer lots of questions about what you want your machine to be.

I build my own PC's and am a IT professional in a 10k network so I have the tools, skills and extra parts to make DIY worthwhile. If you have a bad memory module or a flaky chip on your motherboard you can go months without seeing the problem. Sometimes you'll encounter a crash and not be able to figure out what caused it.

QFT. I designed and built a machine that kicked butt. It was fast, dual boot (Linux and Windows), and could do everything I wanted. Then after a year and a half, it started to flake. It would crash for no apparent reason, even if booting on a live DVD. I narrowed it to four things: processor (AMD), box, motherboard, RAM. Everything else had been switched, including the power supply. At 2 years it was history. Regardless, it was one of the best experiences I ever had with a computer.

My advice is always buy from Dell if you 1.) are not feeling adventurous and 2.) don't have the time or will for a DIY project.

I might have said Apple , but if you go PC, Dell is probably the best. Fully agree with the sense here. It's a great experience, but it will commit you for the duration. You (and Google) are your support network. (Taiwenglish motherboard manuals are "amusing," if not exactly in a good way.)

I'll add one final factor. Buy if you 3.) don't have money to risk on a DIY project. If the project fails, you're potentially out a bunch of money. If you can afford it, no big deal, but you need to expect that you're gambling your money.

[tim]

I built a PC perhaps five years for the first time, i'd used computers for years and replaced bits but never built one. It was easy, I plugged everything together in an evening and it just worked. It got flakey later, which I eventually realised was a problem with the motherboard.

Since then i've replaced the motherboard/cpu/ram twice, keeping the monitor case and PSU, each time spending about one third the initial cost of the full machine and increasing performance by a factor of about 4-5. I like that I can do this, and I like that I chose a case that made it easy, lots of bays and good cooling.

Next time I need a machine i'm going to replace the lot, case and all, just because I use it with a flat screen TV watching movies and it's a bit loud. I'm tempted by a Dell but I want the flexibility to easily upgrade it later, so i'll probably build it myself.

[In2Photos]

Originally Posted by MaxxuM

There are some up's and down's with building your own computer - building a cheaper computer however is not one of them (unless you already have extra parts). These are the key pro's and con's:

Pro's
Pick your own parts and configure them 'exactly' the way you want them.
Usually very expandable.

Con's
You are your own support.
Debugging can be extremely tedious if you don't have the right skills & tools.

I build my own PC's and am a IT professional in a 10k network so I have the tools, skills and extra parts to make DIY worthwhile. If you have a bad memory module or a flaky chip on your motherboard you can go months without seeing the problem. Sometimes you'll encounter a crash and not be able to figure out what caused it.

My advice is always buy from Dell if you 1.) are not feeling adventurous and 2.) don't have the time or will for a DIY project.

+1

If you can get a deal on a pre-configured Dell that meets your needs you will come out ahead in the money department, but won't have as much expandability. You may not need to expand though. Only you can answer that.

I build because it is fun and I am a DIYer.

[cyberon]

I built a machine ten years ago. It's still working and have a few other machines that friends doesn't want when they upgrade. Twice a year, we have bulk refuse collection, that's the time I get to upgrade all my machines. All I do is walk around my block with a screwdriver collecting parts, it's amazing the sort of stuff people throws!

[OWLinguist]

Thank you all so much! Thanks for sharing your experiences. So I guess my inclination was correct that pre-configured machines can be cheaper. I don't mind building my own since I like learning and working with my hands, but the "cheap" side of me can't stand spending more money if I don't have to.

My next question would be: what makes pre-configured machines like Dell harder to upgrade? Do they use any proprietary connectors/interface? I thought everything like PCI-E and SATA connectors are all standard now. Is it the PSU?

I haven't own a desktop since 2001 and it's been a wihle

Thanks again!

OWL

[In2Photos]

Originally Posted by OWLinguist

Thank you all so much! Thanks for sharing your experiences. So I guess my inclination was correct that pre-configured machines can be cheaper. I don't mind building my own since I like learning and working with my hands, but the "cheap" side of me can't stand spending more money if I don't have to.

My next question would be: what makes pre-configured machines like Dell harder to upgrade? Do they use any proprietary connectors/interface? I thought everything like PCI-E and SATA connectors are all standard now. Is it the PSU?

I haven't own a desktop since 2001 and it's been a wihle

Thanks again!

OWL

Usually the Dell machines are limited by internal space in the case, the PSU, and available slots/ports on the motherboard. The XPS machines typically give you more upgrade options than the Inspiron series so that is where I would look if you go that route.

[OWLinguist]

Thank you, In2Photos. That makes sense. I am looking into the xps 8100 or the xps 9000 line. They look very reasonable.

OWL

[In2Photos]

Originally Posted by OWLinguist

Thank you, In2Photos. That makes sense. I am looking into the xps 8100 or the xps 9000 line. They look very reasonable.

OWL

The 8100 is pretty popular. I'd suggest checking around on places like Slickdeals.net to wait for a good deal. The "everyday" prices aren't that great, but the deals are pretty good!

Something with the i7 860, 4-8GB of RAM, video card and 1 or 2 big hard drives for $800-$900 is typical for a decent deal. Sometimes you can find a real bargain like this one:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=883132

[OWLinguist]

Thanks, I'll need to dig around for deals then. How about CyberpowerPC and iBuyPower, are they good PC makers?

[LiSkynden]

My simple opinion: never buy a "package" PC!

If you really dont have any other choise than a package machine, buy a Mac.
If you would rather want to buy a PC, build it yourself.
If you dont know how to build a PC, ask someone to build it for you.
If you dont know anyone who knows how to do it, ask a PC store to do it for you from the componets you pick.

[nikhilnh]

Originally Posted by OWLinguist

Thanks, I'll need to dig around for deals then. How about CyberpowerPC and iBuyPower, are they good PC makers?

I would not recommend CyberPowerPC or IbuyPower. If you go to reseller ratings they have decent reviews. However if you dig deep into the ratings, you'll find many people saying that there were some incomplete connections, bad memory stick etc. It appears that they don't test all the PCs after assembly, before they ship it out.


Also I bought a iBuyPower PC from Newegg during Black Friday ( as I got an exceptional deal) and I wasn't very impressed with it.

They had used a cheap Power supply , the RAM was from a realtively unknown brand and they had set it to high performance setting for the RAM in the BIOS which was causing memory dumps and Blue Screens. The case was a pretty cheap one.

If you are looking for really good PC builders try Avadirect or SuperBiiz.
Avadirect gives you lot of choices, but they are little expensive. SuperBiiz builds the PC at a very reasonable price, but they don't have a lot of choices for components.

The link to SuperBiiz PC configurator is

http://www.ewiz.com/system_category.php?id=2

You'll get definatley get a good PC from SuperBiiz for your budget.

[nikhilnh]

Also I forgot to mention in my previous thread that Dell has Studio XPS 9000 for $900 + tax. This is valid only till tomorrow.

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...16&lid=1003783

[CyberDyneSystems]

It's a great sense of accomplishment,. and can be fun to an extent.
You definitely stand a better chance of getting exactly what you need.

It ends up being more expensive most of the time if you buy new parts, since you will buy good products, not cheap junk