Build Vs Buy (the new computer quandry)

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When putting together a new computer, which way do you go?

  • Build a system from scratch.

    Votes: 47 65.3%

  • Buy a name-brand prebuilt system. (ie dell, emachines)

    Votes: 19 26.4%

  • Buy a custom prebuilt system. (via website or mom & pop store)

    Votes: 6 8.3%
  • Total voters
    72
My first couple of purchased systems were Dells... Pentium I 133MHz and then a Pentium II 450MHz. I was completely happy with both systems, until I started getting more into tinkering with PCs and wanted to upgrade some of the components inside. I then discovered newegg, realized I could build them myself for much cheaper then you could buy them, and have been building my systems ever since.

These days, I tend to agree that the large price difference isn't really there anymore between building and purchasing an already built system. I still really enjoy taking the time to research the parts, find the deals, and piece the system together myself. I tend to price everything out at newegg first, and then search around for better deals, which are usually hard to find. :) I also live close enough to take advantage of some of Microcenter's deals, so I ended up buying a couple parts from them when they are cheaper. So I don't feel there is a need to buy everything from one place.
 
dmendenjr said:
That is why I think I will build. BTW, I should spring a little extra for the arctic silver and after market fan/heat sink, right?
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Only if you plan on doing overclocking. If not, you shouldn't have any issues with the stock heatsink/fan that comes with the retail version of the chips.
 
If I need a general cheap computer, I tend to buy them since it is very hard to match the prices, essentially I am relying on Dell to make the choices as to what components to cut. If I build it myself for a high performance machine, I tend to try to buy the best reasonable choice for each item, this runs the cost up.

Last Dell I bought, I put a different power supply and graphics card in it (I ordered it without a graphics card, and the power supply shipped did not have enough capacity). It was still cheaper doing this than building it myself.
 
boomerang said:
I think I always spend what it takes to build my own. I hate nothing more than to fire up a new Dell and have to answer 6 questions before I even get to the desktop. Then, there are a myriad of pieces of software running from the tray notifying me of this and that, asking me questions, notifying me of things I don't care about and never will. 5 to 10 icons on the desktop for Dell this or that, or worse, software from vendors that paid Dell to have it put there.

I then spend an hour uninstalling software, turning off stuff running at startup, etc., etc.

I get upset just typing about it all.
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This is another reason I hate buying computers.
 
ramy said:
I choose to build because as long as you have the OS it is way cheaper to build rather than buy. A guy in my office didn't believe me and I proved it to him with the system I built. I saved over $300 on the same exact specked out computer on Dell.
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You save even more when you know someone who works for MS. My brother in law gets me free versions of windows when ever I need them.
 
boomerang said:
I think I always spend what it takes to build my own. I hate nothing more than to fire up a new Dell and have to answer 6 questions before I even get to the desktop. Then, there are a myriad of pieces of software running from the tray notifying me of this and that, asking me questions, notifying me of things I don't care about and never will. 5 to 10 icons on the desktop for Dell this or that, or worse, software from vendors that paid Dell to have it put there.

I then spend an hour uninstalling software, turning off stuff running at startup, etc., etc.

I get upset just typing about it all.
Click to expand...

Thats why you dont spend hours uninstalling anything. Dell gives you all the backup disks. It takes me like an hour and a half to reformat my pc and reinstall all my programs. When I buy a Dell I dont even turn it on once before I already have the windows disk in and reformat it to my liking.
 
I will still build a high-end machine, but for more mundane system where I don't care what goes in it I would probably buy, just for the convenience.

I built a new encoding rig this week, using a $199 Core i7 920 from Micro Center, and I believe I undercut Dell's cheapest Core i7 system by nearly $300 and HP's by nearly $200, and I put much better parts in mine. I bought all this stuff locally from Micro Center and Fry's, not even shopping for the lowest prices online.

Core i7 920 ($200)
Asus P6T motherboard ($250)
6GB OCZ DDR3-1600 memory ($80)
Western Digital Black 1TB hard drive ($110)
GeForce GTS 250 512MB video card ($70)
Antec Sonata Designer 500 case ($100)
Samsung 22x DL DVD burner ($25)

Total: $835

This is running overclocked at 3.2GHz rock solid, with 52C CPU temps when maxed out for two hours doing an H.264 encode with ffmpeg.

I'm an MSDN subscriber so the operating system doesn't cost me anything.
 
BuddyBoy said:
I will still build a high-end machine, but for more mundane system where I don't care what goes in it I would probably buy, just for the convenience.

I built a new encoding rig this week, using a $199 Core i7 920 from Micro Center, and I believe I undercut Dell's cheapest Core i7 system by nearly $300 and HP's by nearly $200, and I put much better parts in mine. I bought all this stuff locally from Micro Center and Fry's, not even shopping for the lowest prices online.

Core i7 920 ($200)
Asus P6T motherboard ($250)
6GB OCZ DDR3-1600 memory ($80)
Western Digital Black 1TB hard drive ($110)
GeForce GTS 250 512MB video card ($70)
Antec Sonata Designer 500 case ($100)
Samsung 22x DL DVD burner ($25)

Total: $835

This is running overclocked at 3.2GHz rock solid, with 52C CPU temps when maxed out for two hours doing an H.264 encode with ffmpeg.

I'm an MSDN subscriber so the operating system doesn't cost me anything.
Click to expand...
Those are some pretty good deals. Are you getting them from a particular vender or by shopping around different suppliers.
 
If you build your own, what you're really saving is the labor cost. Keep that in mind when you compare your DIY rig config to a similar prebuilt. You also have to tuck in the cost of the OS. In the end, you're not really saving that much if at all, in my opinion.
 
wallypa said:
If you build your own, what you're really saving is the labor cost. Keep that in mind when you compare your DIY rig config to a similar prebuilt. You also have to tuck in the cost of the OS. In the end, you're not really saving that much if at all, in my opinion.
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I think you've totally missed the point about why most people build systems. It's got nothing to do with cost. If you care about which specific components go into your system, you build it. If you don't, you buy it.

For my high-end system, I care about how well it overclocks, what controls I have in the BIOS for setting various clock frequencies and voltages, and what kind and how many I/O connections it has, so I pick out the motherboard and build it. For other systems where none of this matters, I buy it.

Every PC I've ever owned for personal use as my primary system was bleeding edge at the time I bought it, and was a custom build. For work, where reliability, TCO, and on-site service matter, every PC I've ever bought was either a Dell Precision Workstation or a Mac Pro.
 
Not unless you have money to burn, I believe cost is always a motivating factor in any kind of purchase. May not be the main factor in some cases, but it is always a factor. Just ask any prospective computer buyer or prospective computer builder, even hard core enthusiasts. But that is really not what I'm trying to get across in my previous post. I'm merely suggesting that when comparing cost of a self built computer vs a ready made box, regardless whether if it's a bleeding edge gizmo with all the bells and whistles, or a plain vanilla celeron system, one must put value in the amount of time spent in building the computer and the OS purchased for a fair price comparison. That's all I'm saying.

I apologize to the OP if this thread has been side tracked.
 
wallypa said:
...I apologize to the OP if this thread has been side tracked.
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None needed, this is what I've been going through myself. ATM, I'm leaning toward a system something like this:
Core I7 920
6GB DDR3-1600 RAM
640GB HD SATA
22x DVD/CD burner w lightscribe SATA
Either a Gigabyte or Asus motherboard
NZXT Tempest Case
Corsair 650w PSU (80 Plus)
Radeon 4890 (or GTX275 haven't decided that)
XIGMATEK Dark Knight (since I am leaning toward eventually Overclocking)
Vista Home Premium 64Bit (w/ the Windows 7 coupon)

If I build it, I'll be looking at somewhere around $1250-$1300 if I buy the parts from Newegg and Microcenter. For the exact same system from ibuypower.com (a site I found while looking up pre-built systems on newegg), I'd be around $1370 -5% discount on systems over $999 +about $100 shipping. For a Dell, there's the Studio XPS 735 $1349 which would come close to my specs (however it would have DDR3-1333 RAM and the older 4870 Gfx card - plus the fun of removing the bloatware)

My inner geek wants to build the system, however the realist in me (as well as my wife) keep telling me that the parts are going to piss me off and I'd have better luck getting one pre-assembled. Ultimately what I am looking for in a box is something that I will be able overclocking and has a case that can breathe; not have to spend my first day with the computer uninstalling bloatware or reinstalling an OS; and (if I go Gigabyte and Nvidia) attempting to go hackintosh with the efi-x dongle. That is the main reason in my first post I was stating that I really didn't want to go store bought.
 
Building a PC is not near as hard as it once was. As long as you take your time assembling the pieces you should have no problems.
 
i rather build. i just built a new pc and it's ready for the AM3 cpu's. i should be set for awhile. my current cpu is an AM2+ Phenom II X4 940. with 8gigs of DDR2-1200 but have capacity for 8 more gigs. i was over due for an upgrade!
 
rey_1178 said:
i rather build. i just built a new pc and it's ready for the AM3 cpu's. i should be set for awhile. my current cpu is an AM2+ Phenom II X4 940. with 8gigs of DDR2-1200 but have capacity for 8 more gigs. i was over due for an upgrade!
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Did you finally get yours up and running Rey?
 
JAG72 said:
Did you finally get yours up and running Rey?
Click to expand...

yep. i returned that mobo and went out to purchase another one locally. i actually did a little better with the same amount of $$$. this thing is lightning fast! hooked it all up and it was good. the previous mobo was a DOA. thanks for all your help jagz
 

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