Are Built PC's less reliable then PC's you can buy from OEM manufactors?

[UKspace]

I have been reading these forums for a while now and many people say that building is better then buying, but will the PC's that are built last as long or be as hassle free or even more reilable then the OEM bult systems.

Thanks

 

[Passions]

People who generally build their computers know how to fix em. So reliablity factor isn't really an issue, who wants a reliable computer 10 yrs from now?

 

[AndyHui]

Supposedly warranty on an OEM manufactured PC would be easier to handle. But with luck, a built PC may never need warranty as usually those who are doing the building know what they are doing.

 

[dcdomain]

Well I guess an OEM pc would be a little more reliable. Since they have teams of engineers making sure everything works together. Well at least the good companies do. But then again, building your own allows you to customize more...

 

[Trader05]

Well the only thing really wrong with oem manufactures, some of their warranties are voided if you upgrade or even open the case. If you build your own, every part you buy has it's own warranty on it. It's really nothing different reliable wize, but if you just buy a computer and don't touch it(upgrade), a retail computer is the thing for you, since you can buy up to a 4 year service plan. Also you know what your buying when you self build, manufactured pc's you'll have to look and see when you get home to see what you have (like specific brands).

 

[vi edit]

I think the big thing is that OEM PC's are put under pretty thourough tests to prove their compatibilty and reliablity. It's pretty safe to assume that if you buy a Dell or a Micron computer, all of the parts in the machine will be compatible with one another. I would also assume that since both of these companies have been in the computer business for so long, they would probably know by now which products tend to have better long run reliability outside of personal experience.

Many times people who build their own machines buy the latest and greatest, but not neccesarilly the the most stable and bug free. Just look at all of the Asus A7V posts out there. It's a brand new board with a lot of issues that still need to be worked out. Also, look at the Radeon and trinitron incompatibilites. It's things like this that get scrutinized by the Q&A departments of big PC manufacturers.

You still have some problems slip through the cracks at the big boys, but it is fairly rare and seldom preventable. You usually won't see OEMs throwing in motherboards with tons of bells and whistles, you usually won't see them throwing in a companies newest product as soon as it hits the shelves. (with the exception of processors).

Basically, the reliability and stability of their machines is what keeps them in business. All machines have been tested to be reliable with the configs that they are in, and outside of general hardware failure, the PC's should work without a hitch.

 

[Bignate603]

Ithink buying instead of building takesthefunout of it. Now, if you want somethingto run straight out ofthe box, buy. But if you want to make a better system that may just take about week to get completly set up and tweaked, build.

 

[apoppin]

Depends. If you know what you are doing and research, you will get a solid reliable machine with more flexibility and upgrade options than the OEM machines.

 

[l7s4]

UKspace--OEM computers are built to sell at a given price. For the same $, you can buy better components and put it together yourself, if you're willing to learn/if you have the skill.
But, you have to do your homework first--checking these forums for what's compatible and other user experience.
I usually buy the components at the comp faird after making my list and checking pricewatch for the costs. Try to buy from only a few vendor, even if I pay a little more for 1 or 2 components. A single soucre would be good, but most times I can't get exactly what I want from just 1.
That being said, for my clients, I usually use a local VAR for their systems. Pay a little more, but have a shop behind me if there's any problem. I use a VAR that let's me upgrade the mb, hd and ram from his stock. Good luck, Paul

 

[rmblam]

All computers are as reliable as the components used to build them and the user or company that configured them.

OEM's typically offer a 1 year full warranty. IF you buy components and build them you typically get a 3 year warranty (some have 5 year like my monitor).

If you buy OEM you are limited in what components you can put in it or upgrade to. If you build it you have control.

If you buy OEM then they take care of configuring the OS and resolving software bugs (and usually they do). If you build then it is up to you.

Aside from the guys that do it for a living, I think the first time a hobbyist does build one they get hooked on it. It can be frustrating initially and rewarding once you get more comfortable with it. Plugging the parts together is the easy part. Installing the OS then resolving conflicts, driver issues and software bugs is the more challenging part.

With OEM's you are restricted because they usually block you out of the bios; where you can influence some of the system performance settings. You have to build your own to have total control.

I can build a better and faster machine than any OEM for cheaper (not including all the software I have accumulated). That is one reason why I personally do it. Mostly though, it is for complete control over the performance.

 

[Dat]

built pc's are more stable of course. you get to choose the parts. a $10 winmodem from dell or whoever will never beat a nice handpicked hardware modem, or their fujitu hardrive verses an ibm deskstar you choose. Same goes for the other components that these companies give you. you should look for the most stable components and build a system.

 

[BoberFett]

A little OEM story for you.

My mother-in-law bought an HP machine about a year ago. Recently it just quit working. She never gave me the chance to look at it before bringing it back to Best Buy to have service done under warranty. I thought it sounded like a loose cable or bad power supply, but now I'll never know what they did. When she went to BBuy a couple weeks later, (what takes these people so long?) it turned out that HP had just sent her a new machine. That was all fine and dandy, but did they put her old hard drive in the new machine? Fsck no; it was a clean, factory imaged hard drive. Granted, it is up to the user to backup a system. But aren't these OEMs going for a user friendly look? They should take into account that Grandma doesn't know how to back up a 10 GB hard drive.

"3 YEARS OF SUPPORT" is not everything it's cracked up to be.

 

[A2KLAU]

I use a self built PC and it has not failed me yet! It is about 1 and a half years old now and it is still going strong! Building your own PC lets you customise it and if anything goes wrong the person who made it will have an easier time knowing what was wrong. The person who made it will know the ins and outs of the system! So its easier!

SKY.

 

[Neos]

I too have never had reliability probs with my homebuilts (one hard drive failed, but Maxtor sent me a new one @ NC).
I sometimes wish I knew all the tricks the OEM's use to get thiers really running fast and smooth.
I know that when I am using my dad-in-laws HP Athlon 800 (slot A)it really seems faster than this MSI Pro 2/Duron 650@800, and I have 128 Mg. vs. his 80. I have no driver probs ...all seems good, very few lockups ...his just seems faster. It may be that when you live with a machine for a spell ...it just seems to get slower and beg for an upgrade.
Neos

 

[A2KLAU]

Well it could be you have more software to load and more things at strart up which slows it down! Or maybe you have not run Defrag for a while and that can slow things down!

SKY.

 

[chuckieland]

home built = highest quality+highest reliability+ best suitable for you within your budget
and it is always cheaper then OEM machine

 

[pac1085]

OEMs never break because you cant do anything with them


<< and it is always cheaper then OEM machine >>


Not really anymore...they used to be though.

 

[madthumbs]

OEM warrantees;
Are useless. Most components come with their own warranty, some lifetime warranty. Cheaper parts break faster, who wants to go through the hassle of collecting on a warranty when they could have bought quality to begin with?

OEM PC's are less reliable;
Many try to make the best &quot;specs&quot; cheapest PC possible (in general). They also try to provide as much &quot;free&quot; software as possible. A lot of their software is worse than you can find for free on the Net IE; mcafee vs InnoculateIT, ZoneAlarm, etc.

OEM PC's cost a lot more to upgrade;
Even Dell puts out PC's with no spare bays, or slots. Try adding another HD, DVD, CDRW, network card, off board sound card, DVD hardware decoder. With OEM's what you see is what you get. They make you start from scratch if you want to upgrade. Even the power supplies can't handle an extra peripheral. A friend of mine has a Dell with a PIII 800 and a 145 Watt PSU, no empty 5&quot; bays, and maybe only 2PCI slots available. The case would have to be replaced also, as it's as small as it can possibly be.

Tech support for OEM's is worse;
Even if you can get through to them, you are talking to a 1st level tech support that probably doesn't even own a PC. I haven't seen a &quot;free&quot; tech support call resolve a single problem. You get better tech support from message boards (like these), or friends. I had a friend calling me long distance because he couldn't find a 1-800 number for Dell. I was able to resolve the immediate problems, but he also has a shut down problem now, that isn't windows update related. There are 3rd party web based tech supports that are as good as Dell's which is supposedly the best.

 

[RayEarth]

if you know how to build a computer yourself then do it, &amp; you know someone who does then ask them to do it for you, &amp; finally, never buy from small computer companies, because they'll sell &quot;a load of crap packed together&quot; -something mimi would say. The 1st computer I brought before I knew anything about computers, the tech was sitting on my computer case as a chair, &amp; my 1st computer work like people work when they had the flu. The 2nd computer was from another small company, alittle more wiser now, I knew what brands were cheap but not all, lucky the computer had no problems but I sold it because it was already outdated the day I took it home. Now I build every computer myself &amp; I always wait for that day where I can sell my current computer &amp; start on a new one. I've worked for a small OEM company myself, don't over rate the people building computers for you, their just normal people like you &amp; some can be dumber, If you buy from a company with a very good rating from other customers then you might have some techs with certificates &amp; handle you components with care, for those 50/50 happy customer companies or less, they will treat the items you order like what mimi would say to drew, crap. Remember the wise saying, do it yourself, do it for less. Just do it, if you buy from a bad OEM company, you'll be forced to learn about computers just to find out why your computer is having the problems it's having.

 

[chansen]

Personally, I've found that the best tech support is provided by the AT forums

Of course, that doesn't help you if your machine won't boot. In my opinion (as if THAT matters):

- Newbies and non-technical people should stick with the large OEMs like Dell, especially if they don't have any other help in the area. My mother-in-law has me in the area, so I will likely build her next machine, but I would be perfectly happy if she bought a Dell.

- Wannabe techies should find a good local computer shop and have a custom system built for them. Once they get the nerve, crack 'er open and poke around a little, add a card, or upgrade a component. Once you've done that, building a system from scratch comes easier.

- Of course, no hard core Anandtecher will even let anyone else TOUCH his or her computer, never mind BUILD it. Once you've built you own, have fun mocking those who buy their systems from Radio Shack, and join the ranks of the technologically elite.

Stability varies between components and other variables such as degree of overclock. While the large OEMs do indeed &quot;engineer&quot; systems, this involves nothing more than trial-and-error of different parts. In that vein, we at these forums are constantly engineering better systems by pointing out incompatibilies between certain cards, CPUs and motherboards. We find it challenging and rewarding, but most computer users would find this process a waste of time.

Therefore, in my (little) experience, a good home-built PC is just as stable, if not more so, than an OEM. I've had mixed experiences with both. However, once you gain proficiency with hardware and software, a quality PC you built yourself is definitely best.

Regards,
Craig

<edit> Lost my train of thought...

 

[A2KLAU]

Very good points Ray Earth! If you can't be bothered with building a computer yourself then go for a better OEM company! But if yo are given half a chance do it yourself. You will get experience and know how by first hand making of a PC. Its like watching a child grow when the compputer takes shape and works!

SKY.

 

[blurredvision]

This is in response to BoberFett's reply above.

You were talking about what happened with your grandma's HP computer. Something definitely went wrong there. As a HP tech support guy, what you described doesn't relate to any warranty we would give out a year ago. You said she took it to Best Buy to get repaired under warranty, which sounds alright. But then you said we just ended up sending another computer in the end. That doesn't sound right at all. I'm at work right now, and I'm kinda interested in seeing what went wrong there. If you have the serial number of the unit (which you more than likely don't ), PM it to me if you don't mind. I can look up the information on what happened with that.

 

[Neos]

I commented earlier ...WC Charlie, that my dad-in-laws HP seemed to really fly at 800 (Athlon Slot A)
Sky asked if I defraged and all ...and yes, I keep a clean ship.
I am thinking that HP and other OEM's seem to have software that really optomizes the OS &amp; overall system. Is this true, and is it something that might be available in an aftermarket package?
Or is it overkill, and in time will slow down the product.
I just know that I seem to always be trying to tweak this system ...sometimes having to fix a goof, and my dad-in-law just goes with the flow, and never really seems to have any problems.
Neos

MSI Pro 2
Duron 650@800

 

[JellyBaby]

The quality comes from the components, assembler knowledge and a bit of good old fashioned luck. In my history, I rank everything as follows:

(best)
1. Home brew.
2. Small but reputable mail-order outfits.
3. Larger, high tier ma$$ market retailers like Gateway, Micron, etc.
4. Local stores excluding Best Buy.
5. Best Buy.
6. Any place selling old Packard Bells. See #5.
(worst)

 

[dszd0g]

<< From rmblam:

All computers are as reliable as the components used to build them and the user or company that configured them. >>



I will agree with that and disagree with JellyBaby's 1. rank of home brew. I do not know JellyBaby, but I will give him/her the benefit of the doubt and say that in their case a home brew is better than a pre-built system.

All the system's I've built have been extreemely reliable. All my machines with the exception of my laptop (which I didn't build) reboot and shutdown when I tell them to and that's it.

I refuse to build a machine with ANY generic parts and will only use components with brands I am familiar with and components with good reviews or good personal experience with.

I also know a few people who are fairly knowledgable about computers but have horrid luck building computers. I even upgraded my computer at one point and gave all the old components to my girlfriend at the time. She had witnessed how stable it was for me and her system was not. She put the parts back together herself and the system was only slightly more reliable than it was before. I did not watch her put it together so I can only assume it was human error or a problem with one of the few components that she saved. I told her to try swapping out those last few components, but last I checked she still had not tried it.