Buy a Dell or Build My Own System?

[AgaBoogaBoo]

I have two options now for about the same price.

Option 1
Antec Sonata Case with True380 Power Supply
Asus P4P800 Deluxe Motherboard with BIOS to enable PAT
2x 256MB Corsair XMS RAM Retail
Pentium 4 2.8C with HT and 800mhz FSB
I have set aside about $330 for video card and will wait for price drops

Option 2
Dell Case
Intel 865 Board without a way to enable PAT
2x 256MB RAM PC3200, who knows what latency
DVD Burner
Pentium 4 2.8C with HT and 800mhz FSB
Radeon 9800 Non-Pro

The Dell system also comes with a 30GB and XP Home which I won't be using because I have a 120GB 8MB Cache drive and XP Pro. I have a CDRW and TV Tuner card right now as well.

The difference in the two is that with building it, I get faster performance due to the ASUS board leading the charts in many places even faster than the Asus P4C800 875P board and the ability to now enable PAT with the new BIOS, not to mention getting to build a system rather than getting one already built. The Dell system, comes with a free DVD burner upgrade as well as a 9800 non pro, which could be just like the 9700 TX they sold which is slower than the 9700 non pro. I want to build it but my dad wants me to think this over and he'll go with what I say and asked me to get opinions from other people. The Corsair RAM is obviously Cas 2 latency.

EDIT: Money is not a problem because everything will be paid upfront right then and with the parts I buy, everything is retail so I hopefully won't have any problems. The only thing that might not be retail is the video card.

EDIT 2: I won't be overclocking at all.

 

[TronX]

It sounds like you know enough to just build it yourself.
Buying a Dell would only help in 2 ways.
1. Payments
2. Warranty
3. Time saved not building

The Cons of buying the Dell would be.
1. Can't upgrade unless though Dell.
2. Get less Quality parts

Building it yourself would help in other ways.
1. Can save money.. some times not always.
2. More power for the same money.

The cons of building it yourself would be.
1. RMA returns
2. Parts that die after 30day OEM warranty
3. Having all the money now to buy everything.

All that said.. I'd build it yourself. It would give
you something to do this summer. You can also mod
the computer and give it crazy lights and windows
without killing any warranty contracts with Dell.

I think googlegear.com still has a few 9700 Pro cards in stock!
Better hurry!!!

 

[brunswickite]

build, just buy retail stuff so you have ~1 year or more warrenty
cheaper, takes only a few hours, and can customize exactly to your liking

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: TronX
It sounds like you know enough to just build it yourself.
Buying a Dell would only help in 2 ways.
1. Payments
2. Warranty
3. Time saved not building

The Cons of buying the Dell would be.
1. Can't upgrade unless though Dell.
2. Get less Quality parts

Building it yourself would help in other ways.
1. Can save money.. some times not always.
2. More power for the same money.

The cons of building it yourself would be.
1. RMA returns
2. Parts that die after 30day OEM warranty
3. Having all the money now to buy everything.

All that said.. I'd build it yourself. It would give
you something to do this summer. You can also mod
the computer and give it crazy lights and windows
without killing any warranty contracts with Dell.

I think googlegear.com still has a few 9700 Pro cards in stock!
Better hurry!!!

I'm going to get everything retail except possible the video card, and pay everything upfront. I'm leaning towards building it just because I want to build my system, higher quality parts, and like mentioned by brunswickite, I get to pick everything to my liking. And Yes, I get more performance by building since I can enable PAT.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Another plus of building it yourself is you can get a dual-format burner or DVD (-) instead of the (+) that Dell offers.

 

[TronX]

I only tell people to by Dell if I know they don't
have all the money and are not smart enough
to be getting into this sort of stuff. That and they
would be asking me so many questions I'd just
be saving myself time..heh It's bad of me but
very true.

Get a case with Windows and use those Modded
round cables. Toss in some Antec light fans and
maybe a light tube.. hmmm.. sweet.

And the best part... cough

You can overclock the sh!t out of those 2.8C
CPU's so long as you get ram that can run that
high of an FSB speed. Are those XMS DDR's 3500 or
3200? I'd say try Geil Golden Dragons but they don't
work very well on Asus boards, but you could use
a Abit IC7-G board.

Anyway.. Building it yourself is the way to go.
Might not save money, but the quality in parts
will more than make up for it later.

 

[Regs]

I saved a lot of money building my own. However I made a few mistakes in hardware choices right off the bat which caused me to waste money. So if you choose to build your own just make sure you research your hardware out until you feel certified in what you are getting and what you will need.

 

[vaporize]

Why don't you want to overclock your CPU? The "C" processors are not only good overclockers but Intel designed them with overclockers in mind. Increasing the FSB wont reduce the computer's health but make sure you don't increase the Vcore. Or, are your Indian parents too worried of OCing because they think it will destroy the computer? I know you can make them understand why you want to overclock because a couple of months ago you were able to pursued them that you want to build a computer.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: TronX
The Cons of buying the Dell would be.
1. Can't upgrade unless though Dell.
2. Get less Quality parts

less quality parts?!?! wtf are you smoking? the case is one of the best made, the motherboard is an intel (the KING of quality motherboards) the processor is intel, the ram is crucial, the hard drive is 1 of the 3 remaining drive makers, the ATi card is sapphire just like everyone else. i mean, if you want to insult dell at least do it in a way thats not completely made up and false. as for upgrades, it will take any northwood p4 and it has PCI and AGP slots just like any other computer does.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: vaporize
Intel designed them with overclockers in mind

sure they did.

 

[newbiepcuser]

How is it cheaper building a comparable P4 system compared to Dell with legit OS? A lot of you guys claim its cheaper, the only way I see if you build AMD system.

Dell is always having pretty nice deals.

 

[OverVolt]

WOW, this thread is going CrAzY!

OK as i see it, your prolly better of building it yourself. You get a full copy of windows (not a "restore" CD) That doesn't say Dell 10times every startup. (i know the business and higher up models have Full Win Copies) And a PC you build on your own is gonna be more customizable.

Dell PC's for good for the people they are meant for, there not so great for people who like to tinker round with their PC's, or overclock. Thats really the reason to build your own. I know i wouldn't be happy at all with a Dell if i bought one.

I'm not gunna say much about the quality of Dells parts, i don't like the way they do things, but thats just my opinion.

BTW the OEM OS's you buy are Legit, their not pirate copies you can pick em up for around $150 for XP Pro at any local PC store (some are but i haven't seen any)

 

[TronX]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: TronX
The Cons of buying the Dell would be.
1. Can't upgrade unless though Dell.
2. Get less Quality parts

less quality parts?!?! wtf are you smoking? the case is one of the best made, the motherboard is an intel (the KING of quality motherboards) the processor is intel, the ram is crucial, the hard drive is 1 of the 3 remaining drive makers, the ATi card is sapphire just like everyone else. i mean, if you want to insult dell at least do it in a way thats not completely made up and false. as for upgrades, it will take any northwood p4 and it has PCI and AGP slots just like any other computer does.

Crack just like everyone else?what else would we be smoking?

Yes, less Quality parts. The Dell Case is good for the Dell motherboard but it?s not made to fit other boards so upgrading is a negative.
Then Again I said ?Parts? and by that wtf are you smoking? The Intel board might be quality as far as stable goes, but then again for me you can?t overclock so it?s crappy, less quality in my eyes. Talk about some less quality ram, crucial makes some of the cheapest stuff around. You would be lucky to even overclock higher than default speeds. The hard drive is always the slowest and most cheap drive of WD or Maxtor with almost no speed or cache to speak off.. And lets not talk about the low watt PSU's. I was not putting Dell down by saying less quality, one mans junk is another mans treasure. I?d rather people buy an AlienWare than a Dell.

 

[Deuce24]

build yoruself, better quality, plus its a great experience. I love it.

 

[pm]

FWIW, the newer Dell's run very quietly. The fans seem effective at getting rid of heat, but the thing barely sounds like it's turned on.

 

[TronX]

Originally posted by: newbiepcuser
How is it cheaper building a comparable P4 system compared to Dell with legit OS? A lot of you guys claim its cheaper, the only way I see if you build AMD system.

Dell is always having pretty nice deals.

I'd say it's cheaper if your only upgrading, but your right.
The cost of an OS and such really makes it about the same
if not more at times. Then again if your buying a DELL you
get a restore disk and not an OS disk, so sooner or later your
going to buy that WinXp OS again.. some day...sigh.

Last time I called them about my Laptop they sent me a new Harddrive
because it was bad. But they said they could not send a OS
disk because it came with the system. Sounds like a bunch of
@##@ to me. So I had to buy Win200 Pro out of my own pocket.
"Dude I got a Dell Laptop and they screwed me over...doh"
I'd like to see that one on TV.

A Dell is not a bad buy.. I can think of many others that
would be far worse.

 

[JammingJay]

Even without OCing, building your own system gives you quite a bit more flexibility in terms of getting what you want and adding personal touches. (I vote, BYO). To Dells defense though, their upper line computers are pretty solid considering its actually cheaper than building your own with those formulated deals floating around. Either way you're going to be getting a fast system so congratulations to you on your new purchase.

BTW I believe Dell rates the 250watt ps on a median output while most others rate theirs on maximum. In another words, its probably a good 340-350w PS.

 

[x3m]

Originally posted by: TronX
It sounds like you know enough to just build it yourself.
The Cons of buying the Dell would be.
1. Can't upgrade unless though Dell

Actually, you're allowed to do whatever ju like to with your Dell.. you don't loose your warranty even if you change mobo i think.

But I would have build myself, much better to know exactly what parts you have in the box. And it's much funnier

Just my 2 cents

 

[J Heartless Slick]

I usually recommend that people buy Dell, unless they are enthusiasts who enjoy building and working on computers.
For most people, the benefits of getting technical support, a warranty, and a turn key system out weigh the positives of a self built system.

If the system is for your family save yourself the headaches and buy Dell.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: vaporize
Why don't you want to overclock your CPU? The "C" processors are not only good overclockers but Intel designed them with overclockers in mind. Increasing the FSB wont reduce the computer's health but make sure you don't increase the Vcore. Or, are your Indian parents too worried of OCing because they think it will destroy the computer? I know you can make them understand why you want to overclock because a couple of months ago you were able to pursued them that you want to build a computer.

Why do you care if I overclock or not? And if you can prove to me that Intel designed it with overclockers in mind, I'll give you a $1.... if they did, wouldn't their motherboards let you OC? Does my parents being Indian have something to do with this? They are Indian, so am I, and I'm proud. Listen, for a 15 year old, 2.8Ghz with an 800mhz FSB and Hyper Threading is enough.... *sigh*

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: TronX
The Cons of buying the Dell would be.
1. Can't upgrade unless though Dell.
2. Get less Quality parts

less quality parts?!?! wtf are you smoking? the case is one of the best made, the motherboard is an intel (the KING of quality motherboards) the processor is intel, the ram is crucial, the hard drive is 1 of the 3 remaining drive makers, the ATi card is sapphire just like everyone else. i mean, if you want to insult dell at least do it in a way thats not completely made up and false. as for upgrades, it will take any northwood p4 and it has PCI and AGP slots just like any other computer does.

Exactly. I opened up my brother's computer which cost him $400 or $500 new which came with a monitor and it even has a nice Seaga te drive! It was an emachines too. Many of those companies offer nice deals and they arebuilt with high quality parts.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: OverVolt
WOW, this thread is going CrAzY!

OK as i see it, your prolly better of building it yourself. You get a full copy of windows (not a "restore" CD) That doesn't say Dell 10times every startup. (i know the business and higher up models have Full Win Copies) And a PC you build on your own is gonna be more customizable.

Dell PC's for good for the people they are meant for, there not so great for people who like to tinker round with their PC's, or overclock. Thats really the reason to build your own. I know i wouldn't be happy at all with a Dell if i bought one.

I'm not gunna say much about the quality of Dells parts, i don't like the way they do things, but thats just my opinion.

BTW the OEM OS's you buy are Legit, their not pirate copies you can pick em up for around $150 for XP Pro at any local PC store (some are but i haven't seen any)

DIdn't I say above in Edit 2 I'm not goi g to overclock? OC'ing is NOT in my mind the slightest bit...

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

With Dell, they will be giving a 30GB HDD and a DVD burner.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: Deuce24
build yoruself, better quality, plus its a great experience. I love it.

Thats what is wanting me to build. Its fun to build a computer but OTOH I can get a DVD burner and an extra HDD with Dell....

 

If you want best bang for the buck then call Dell. Your still better off building your own so you get what you want and install what you want.