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build or buy?

C

CMC79

Senior member
I'm looking to replace my wife's old system, and I was ready to build her a system myself that'd be fine for light gaming/office work for a couple of years with only minor upgrades. Today, though, Compusa has a HP Media Center desktop for $799 AR. Now I'm not so sure:

Here's what I was planning on using:
C2D 6300 or 6400 retail ($183/$220)
Gigabyte P965 (S3) (I plan on running on stock or light overclocking) $120
2x1GB A-Data DDR 667 $215
Seagate 7200.10 250GB $80
DVD-RW $37
X800 XL (my spare--I just upgraded my own card)
card reader $17
Ultra V Series 500w PS (got for free AR from Fry's)
Basic black case w/o PSU $50
Windows MCE with Vista upgrade $105
total: $807, no tax but including shipping, or $839 for the 6400

The HP is:
X2 5000 2.6Ghz
2x1GB PC 4200
320 GB 7200rpm SATA-150 HD
Nvidia 6150 graphics (doesn't matter, I can still put in the x800xl)
16x Lightscribe DVD-RW
TV Tuner with Remote (PVR)
Card reader
expansion bay for HP Personal Media Drive
Windows MCE 2005 (eligible for free upgrade to Vista Home Premium)
1 year parts/labor warranty
350W PSU
total: $799 AR ($950 out the door)

I like being in control of the system's parts, but the HP is a very nice system on paper for the money--it has some interesting features. I'm not sure what to do--I always build for myself, but I tinker and overclock much more than I would with my wife's system, although with the C2D I left myself room to do so if I needed/wanted. Both are very powerful, but I intend for this to last as long as I can without a complete overhaul or buying a new PC. Any suggestions?

 
I was planning on buying for a long, long time but decided to go with building my own because its cheapers, you can get the exacts parts you want and not just ones they offer, and more.
 
Build your own and go with the e6300. There's absolutely no reason to spend more money for an unnoticeable increase in performance. Additionally, the X800XL will give much better performance in games than the 6150 onboard memory. As others have stated you will be assured to have good quality parts in the PC you build for yourself.
 
Anyone want to take the devil's advocate view for the HP? Is there anything in the basic specs alone that says "Don't buy the HP"? For example, is DDR533 a little slow for a AM2 X2 chip?

I already have the x800xl--it's my old card I just replaced with x1900xt 256, so it'd go in either system regardless.
 
Originally posted by: CMC79
Anyone want to take the devil's advocate view for the HP? Is there anything in the basic specs alone that says "Don't buy the HP"? For example, is DDR533 a little slow for a AM2 X2 chip?

I already have the x800xl--it's my old card I just replaced with x1900xt 256, so it'd go in either system regardless.
Click to expand...

Pre-built PCs usually come with an LCD monitor included in the price. It doesn't say that there's one mentioned with this one but, I'll ask anyway. Does the price on the HP include an LCD? That would be the only reason I can think of that would tip the scales marginally in favor of the HP.
 
It doesn't include the LCD--it's for the tower only. I think you can get a bundle with it and a LCD and maybe a printer, but I have no need for either of those. It'd also drive the price up over $1000.

I was leaning towards building anyway, especially since I haven't done a total system build in a LONG time (I've had the eternally evolving PC for years now), so I guess I'll go that direction.

Is there anything in the parts I've chosen that look glaringly off?
 
Originally posted by: CMC79
It doesn't include the LCD--it's for the tower only. I think you can get a bundle with it and a LCD and maybe a printer, but I have no need for either of those. It'd also drive the price up over $1000.

I was leaning towards building anyway, especially since I haven't done a total system build in a LONG time (I've had the eternally evolving PC for years now), so I guess I'll go that direction.

Is there anything in the parts I've chosen that look glaringly off?
Click to expand...

Build. My little lame page should tell you the benefits of doing so 🙂
http://megavovan.com/buildingapc/
 
Originally posted by: CMC79
It doesn't include the LCD--it's for the tower only. I think you can get a bundle with it and a LCD and maybe a printer, but I have no need for either of those. It'd also drive the price up over $1000.

I was leaning towards building anyway, especially since I haven't done a total system build in a LONG time (I've had the eternally evolving PC for years now), so I guess I'll go that direction.

Is there anything in the parts I've chosen that look glaringly off?
Click to expand...

Looks fine to me. Be prepared to get flamed for using a free PSU to power your new system. There are many here who would never put an Ultra PSU anywhere near their rig. Myself included. If you're comfortable with it then give it a try.
 
It's too bad you can't have a Ultra in one hand and a PSU like a Fortron (sells for about the same price) in the other. The weight will definitely be the difference. Weight determines quality. Heavier is better.
Waiting for the rebate will be needed when you replaced it with something else. Good luck, hope it doesn't burnout anything expensive.
 
Build it. You'll spend the same amount of time building it as you will removing all of the bloatware, disabling the onboard graphics, and installing the X800.

You'll get more performance out of the self-built, and you'll get to hand-select your own parts.

--Fade
 
Looks like I'll be building the Conroe based system then. Is the Fortron PSU I linked to a better choice for such a system? If the Ultra is merely a potential disaster for it doing anything other than be a backup, I'm more than willing to shell out an extra $50 to not fry a system.
 
Look at it this way. Quality PSUs that are built with reliability in mind like those branded as Enhance, Silverstone, Seasonic (and others) range in price from $75-$100+. Do you really think that anyone would give away a decent power supply for free? Just think of the crap electronic components that must be in those things.
 
I couldn't tell you how much I disagree with Icepicks post. But, keeping myself from a 2 paragraph long explanation, JG has done it for me.
 
Jonny Guru does a nice job with his power supply reviews. His forums are also great since he regularly scans them and posts in threads for those seeking advice.

Nowhere in that article did I find any comments that would lead me to change my last statement. He did not touch upon the quality of the components. The article does show the low efficiency and lack of PFC. The theme of the article is that the power supply performed like a low end power supply and didn't blow up during testing.
 
Originally posted by: Icepick
Jonny Guru does a nice job with his power supply reviews. His forums are also great since he regularly scans them and posts in threads for those seeking advice.

Nowhere in that article did I find any comments that would lead me to change my last statement. He did not touch upon the quality of the components. The article does show the low efficiency and lack of PFC. The theme of the article is that the power supply performed like a low end power supply and didn't blow up during testing.
Click to expand...
I agree. You never really know what you are going to get with an Ultra PSU it might be 1/2 decent (X-finity) but it could be a complete scam (original X-Connect). The fact that they are essentially giving them away is not a good sign; regardless Ultra is company I have 0 faith in.

CMC79 if you want to be a cheapskate pickup a decent $30 300 watt Sparkle/Forton-Source; you don?t need a ton of power to run that system.
 
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