Building or buying?

[kidcool321]

i know most of u will say build but when u look at the market i say y build u can get a comp for like 500 with top tech. so can u guys give me resons y i should build or buy a pc?

 

[SoylentG]

The comps that are $500 with top tech are not complete. They have flashy numbers, but poor performance. They might boast 256MB video, but it's not a 7800, much less a 6800. You really know the quality of a system you build yourself, and the value is generally equivalent at worst. Typically, you can get a good deal of savings, and better performance on a DIY comp.

 

[cubby1223]

For a base computer, you're never going to beat OEM prices. But with every upgrade from the base models, building your own system becomes more & more attractive. Take a $300 Dell & you're never going to duplicate that. But build an Athlon64 3700+, 300gb hd, 2gb ram, 7800gt video, and the build-it-yourself price is hundreds less than Dell's.

 

[montag451]

I find that to build a system, you do lots of research on finding quality (not top of the range stuff, but quality) parts.
That is satisfying when you know that your system is less likely to lose your data cos of a screwup with the psu or hdd or mobo.
Also, it is easier for me to build a system to be how i like it, not how the shop will think i will like it, with £2000 of crappy software cluttering up the hdd/registry etc.

When PCWorld supply £500 computers, believe me when i say they don't use a £70 psu, and a £100 mobo etc etc.

 

[cubby1223]

montag's got a great point - if you don't know what you're looking at, you could easily build a much worse system yourself than what you buy from Dell. I had a friend of mine take the initiative to build his own, and he ordered a PC Chips motherboard, Maxtor white label hard drive & generic ram, and he's now wondering why it locks up frequently...

 

[talyn00]

for me it depends what you are going to be doing with it. If you're going to be gaming or doing something that requires high performance (graphics or video editing) I'd build. If you just need a machine to surf the web and do word processing, I'd just buy a cheap dell.

 

[helpmeout]

Researching and selecting the parts was fun, and the building was easy. It booted right up, the only software ever installed was my choice, and it's been running for over a year now completely trouble free. That's something none of the three mid-grade Dell's I've owned ever did. Build, you'll enjoy it.

 

[pontifex]

if you don't know much about computers or only need something for like in an office where they will only be doing word processing, excel, email, and internet browsing, i would say buy from a place like Dell. You can't beat or it would be hard to beat Dell's prices for low end or everyday PCs.

if you know what you're doing with computers or want a good pc or parts for less money, or want a gaming PC, then building yourself is the way to go. when you get into PCs built by places like Alienware for a gaming PC, its way overpriced.

 

[jeepnut24]

IF you know what you are doing and getting into, then build.
Otherwise buy, less compatability issues, but less upgradeability.

Also when building warrenty issues are often an issue.
Buying you deal with a single warrenty usually and there is a service number to maybe help you.

 

[cubby1223]

Originally posted by: jeepnut24
Also when building warrenty issues are often an issue.
Buying you deal with a single warrenty usually and there is a service number to maybe help you.

That is the very reason I stopped trying to save every last $$ with pricewatch & just started buying everything from Newegg.

 

[mountcarlmore]

warranty is not an issue with building... when you buy from newegg, they store your order online in your account, so whenever you need an rma, the reciept is very easy to find. the warranty on most components is three years, while dell charges to have three years, and the tech support i get from ocz, albatron, ati, etc... is a hell of alot better than i ever got from dell. also, youre mistaken if you think oem's even for basic use are easy, they have tons of bloatware that will make your pc run as unstable as if you visited a trillion porn sites without any protection. building is hassle free if you know what youre doing.

 

[SuperSilicon]

You build so you get what you want, instead of junk.