Build-yourself -vs- CyberPowerPC (or iBuyPower or ___)

[Maverick2002]

Hi,

We've been debating some things here at work with regards to acquiring new machines. One thing I did was price out nearly equivalent systems at CyberPowerPC.com and Newegg.com. I spec'd the following components:

Core i7 Quad w/ HT (2.66 GHz)
DDR3 RAM - 6GB Kit
500GB HDD
No OS (we decide what to use)
Intel Motherboard
Case
Power Supply-600W
Nvidia GeForce GTX 275
DVD +/-RW 20X SATA
Basic Keyboard/Mouse - USB

CyberPowerPC price - $1005
Self build price - $1050

(don't knock the components, it's a particular build with a particular purpose for some machines at work)

I could probably spend some more time and tweak some of the components/brands a bit to get the Newegg price to match the CyberPowerPC price better, but it looks like the days of building your own system because it's cheaper are over. That place has great reviews also and you have quite a few configuration options.

I'm planning on getting a new system for myself near the end of this year and although I've been building PCs for almost 10 years, I might actually have them build it. Why pay more for parts and then build it all on top of it?

So, partial upgrades and having to have that one particular brand aside, why do people still build their own systems nowadays other than for the learning experience?

 

[M0RPH]

Well, the first thing people here are gonna tell you is that you're getting a crappy power supply. So let's just upgrade that to the Corsair 650W and now you're price at CyberPower is $1071.

You might save a few bucks by building. I think many of the enthusiast types here just have blinders on about building their own. They won't even consider buying a prebuilt... it's like a knock to their geek ego.

I have to say I'm impressed with the competitive prices at CyberPower. You should definately consider that option if you want to save yourself some time and hassle.

 

[jdjbuffalo]

Unless it's a small business and they aren't expecting you to provide support beyond what is expected of any employee (i.e. no warranty) then I wouldn't build a computer(s) for a company. The primary reason to buy from a 3rd party company is because of the warranty support. If something breaks (and it will with more than a handful of machines) then you just call them up and they send you a new part.

If you know what you are doing and can support your own software/hardware then it still makes sense to build your own machine. The more expensive you get, typically $800+, the cheaper you can put together a computer versus a 3rd party company. They make good margins, typically, on the more expensive systems because people will pay for it. Since the i7's are overpriced and your just looking at a base i7 system, I'm not surprised that the cost is about the same.

 

[jdjbuffalo]

Originally posted by: M0RPH
Well, the first thing people here are gonna tell you is that you're getting a crappy power supply. So let's just upgrade that to the Corsair 650W and now you're price at CyberPower is $1071.

You might save a few bucks by building. I think many of the enthusiast types here just have blinders on about building their own. They won't even consider buying a prebuilt... it's like a knock to their geek ego.

I have to say I'm impressed with the competitive prices at CyberPower. You should definately consider that option if you want to save yourself some time and hassle.

I will grant you that it is a knock to many people's geek ego. But some of the things that people do, especially around here, is that they like to overclock their machines and do other things that will void their warranties of prebuilt machines.

Also, you have quality control over what you put in the system when building on your own. With prebuilts they often skimp on the power supply (wattage and quality) and noise control (yes, I know you can pay lots extra to get really quiet ones).

 

[Maverick2002]

I think I should clarify - this is really just about price of components & building yourself vs. prebuilt, regardless of doing it for yourself or a company. I'm just surprised that the pricing is nearly identical on a per-component basis.

If you OC you're voiding your warranty regardless of where you get it from, so I'm not sure how that applies.

 

[Piano Man]

Wow good find. I just got roped into helping a friend of a friend the other month. Instead of speccing out a system, I'll take a look at these. They're mostly solid components.

 

[jdjbuffalo]

Originally posted by: Maverick2002
I think I should clarify - this is really just about price of components & building yourself vs. prebuilt, regardless of doing it for yourself or a company. I'm just surprised that the pricing is nearly identical on a per-component basis.

If you OC you're voiding your warranty regardless of where you get it from, so I'm not sure how that applies.

Price is pretty much all I talked about. Since the price is the same for what you are looking for just go with the prebuilt.

It's not surprising that these components are about the same cost because they are on the low end of the market for the latest Intel parts...

 

[Maverick2002]

Yes, with regards to high end parts (i7 975, GTX 295, etc) Newegg ends up being cheaper, but most people aren't going to get that. I just wanted to bring this up as a possible alternative.

 

[imported_Scoop]

Reasons why I wouldn't buy that is

a) Intel motherboard (would never buy an Intel brand board)
b) 600W PSU (probably a cheap unit that just does to job and is probably noisy as hell)
c) 500GB HDD (which one is it?)
d) case (ok, it's a case? how is the cable management etc.?)

So you probably already figured I like to choose my components pretty precisely.

 

[Nahsavtoo]

Not sure what you are using that mchine for. I just went to their website and tried to price out the machine I want to build and they didn't have some of the things I have listed for my computer. Theirs ran about $1850ish and mine is currently running about $1600ish and, like Scoop says I know exactly what I am getting. That website has several interchangeable brands (eg Corsair or other major brand) that I do not care for personally.


But if you are looking for a midline computer or don't particularly care what brand/quality of item you get then I am sure it is a good thing to go with.

Seems to me that the higher end you go the wider the difference in price there is (eg cheaper to build your own).

 

[damage424]

I bought a pc from them I believe in '07. Worst PC decision I ever made. PC wouldn't start up when I first got it, had to send it back and when I get it back again.... it didn't work again, so I had to send it back AGAIN. When it finally started working, the PC made tons of noise. On games that did not need an awesome gaming rig, my rig just couldn't handle it. It would give me hiccups on all the games I played on it. A year later, the whole PC was just shot and a bunch of hardware started failing on me. I'm still mad at how much money I spent to only get a crappy PC. I learned my lesson since then... and I will always research my products to the fullest and build my PC's myself.