Buy a Dell or Build My Own System?

[MrChad]

I've been a big fan of building my own PC for a while now, but some of the latest Dell deals have me rethinking that position.

[*]A 2.4 GHz P4C Processor (~$180)
[*]Office XP (~$200-250)
[*]Windows XP (~$100)
[*]Radeon 9800 (~$300)

I don't know about you, but by my math, that's $800 worth of stuff that I can get for around $600. That doesn't even include the HD, case, motherboard, RAM, or CDRW. The money I save could be used to easily upgrade the RAM and sound card, and I get a quiet system with tech support and a nice warranty (which I might not have for OEM parts in a do-it-yourself situation). Seems like a no-brainer to me.

 

[Regs]

, the only way I see if you build AMD system.

How so? An Amd 2800+ is just around the same price of a 180 dollar 2.4C Ghz northwood. And that's the only difference other then the mobo.

Yes Dell does sometimes have good deals. However, you sometimes don't need all the parts you are required to pay for nor the 1-3 year warranty.

 

[Vcize]

I have a Dell and a self-built computer with similar specs...Though I haven't actually run any benchmarks on the two, I get noticeably better performance out of my self-built machine, even with similar specs...

Not to mention it will be much easier to upgrade.

The only advantages to the dell are:
1. Tech support
2. Warranty

 

[Regs]

And lets be honest about OS's and Windows Office. Goto a PC store and you will see a sign posted up on the wall that states half of the people who use Windows pirated it. So you can imagine most of that group belongs to the people who build their own systems.

 

[bluemax]

A few bits of information to the clueless....

One, Dell uses quality parts. Not cheap motherboards, power supplies, hard drives or RAM... GOOD NAME BRANDS!
IIRC, MSI makes Dell's mobos. Yes, they are altered slightly... the power supply and motherboard plugs are the only things altered and you can get adapters for almost $nothing if you wish to change motherboard or power supply.

The case is efficient, quiet and well made. Maybe it doesn't hold 10 drives, but the hooded CPU fan does a super job of keeping things cool and quiet. And it's a sure nicer looking case than anything less than a $100 Enermax case (or something else well above the "cheapo" ugly cases.)

The OS may be included on a restor disk, but guess what? It's in its own directory! Yes, that means you can install the OS totally independantly of all the restore crap. You even have to go through the normal driver stuff Windows install would. You only get the Dell drivers (and bloatware) if you do the "restore". Install from the seperate "windows" directory, you got a totally normal install.

You get a system in totally matching black colours.

No, unfortunately, you can't overclock. For some people, this is probably for the best. Little Timmy who just discovered overclocking and wants to try a 1132MHz FSB would be better off NOT having the overclocking options.

The price! Sometimes it's a darn good deal BEFORE you consider the price of software! When I bought my P4 machine over two years ago, the $1000 Canadian it cost was worth it for the hardware alone! But I got Windows ME and Office XP on top of that! There's no way I could have put this system together with the software for anything CLOSE to that!

Speaking of price, it's nice to have financing options. You can even pay it off early with no penalty.

And the service... woo.... my monitor started displaying some flickering lines on the bottom of the screen, so they replaced it. The new monitor was a complete fuzzball (fuzzy, fuzzy) and they replaced it again - this time with a free 2x upgrade to a Trinitron. Both times they were shipped overnight. I actually had three Dell monitors sitting in my living room until they came to pick up the other two! I would have been wise to get the extended warranty but I let the service lapse so I'm on my own now. Not that I lack the technical prowess (I've built systems for years, even a Shuttle box recently.)


So, while maybe not perfect, I would take a Dell over any other pre-built system. Absolutely. Quite often over a self-built rig!

 

[tyipengr]

Honestly, it depends on the amount of crap you wanna put up with in building a new system. If you can't handle any bad crap going awry, get a Dell.

The Dell, in this case, will deliver less performance. RAM latency is higher, non-Hyperpath (no PAT) mobo but that is about it. I am guessing you are going for the Dimension 4600 which does not come in the larger, prettier Dimension 8300 case but the case the value Dimension 2350 comes in so you have to think about that too.

And while on the topic of looks, you can't get a PC to look as good as a Dell. Ok, I am sure a couple of you will come up with some crap about painting cases, lights, painting the drives but you can't get the fit and finish that comes with a Dell. The colors actually match. One shade of black is actually the same shade of black that runs throught the finish. Don't have to deal with the difference between Antec AMG or Antec Black with Lite-ON Black and Pioneer Black. Even with the drive bay cover you know it still will matter to you.

I've been going through the same dilemma but this time around I am choosing to go with the custom build just because the cost savings isn't as great and I would be ending up with alot of stuff I just don't want. Maybe it is the same for you.

 

[snidy1]

Build yourself a great system. Dells suck

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: snidy1
Build yourself a great system. Dells suck

Read above... search for the word "clueless".

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: TronX

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.

many people around here swear by crucial. they have a reputation for high quality ram. they have overclocked well in the past, i'm not sure about currently.

dell offered the WD 1200JB as soon as it came out. "almost no speed or cache" my ass. they've always offered the latest generation IDE drives. oh, look at that, they're currently offering a JB drive as well!

as for the power supply, dell is rating it honestly, which is much more than you'll find most power supplies being rated. a dell 250 is generally better than everyone else's 300s. they don't want service calls due to people adding things like 3 harddrives to their p4 3GHz with radeon 9800 pro.

as for dell cases not fiting other boards, i've got an ecs k7s5a running in one.

sounds like your only beef is that you can't overclock. overclockability != quality. quality means things start to fall apart in a year, capacitors start leaking, the hard drive fails. hell i had a dell on for 5 years before i decided running it wasn't worth the electricity it ate up.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: TronX
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.

sounds like you lost your windows disc and you're blaming dell for it. and whoever you spoke to is a moron, customer service can send out those discs for $5 a piece, just with no license number.

 

[bluemax]

I like how you think, ElFenix. One thing's for sure, I totally gave up the idea of making my own computer business work. If you can't get a bunch of service work, you're doomed. Competition from awesome places like Dell is just too tough to make a decent living.

If you can put together something on the Dell page, it's a super deal and the components you want, don't think twice about ordering... it's nice to know that whatever you order is going to WORK, and work well at that. The extended warranty is cheap (DIRT cheap compared to Best Buy / Future Shop!!) and gives you top-notch protection and service. Like I mentopned before, they really upgraded me when they replaced my slightly bad monitor with a really bad monitor. The Trinitron would have cost me another $200C at the time I purchased. I got a free CDRW too, in lieu of Windows XP. (I wiped WinME and went back to 98SE... still on it now, though it's all messed up and just ripe for WinXP.)

I've got to replace the fan in here though... it's starting to make an annoying buzz that's quite noticable. Fortunately, it's just ONE fan.

 

[o0LoRdHyPnOs0o]

Try a place called www.cyberpowerinc.com real cheap and nice stuff,i wish i went this way instead of building my own.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

While we're on the topic, do the motherboards and everything that come with Dells use their own proprietary sockets and things because personally, I don't like the Dell case and maybe somewher ein the future, I'll change it to a case I like.

 

[Hardtarget]

have you thougth about a different company? I woudl recommend Gateway. There are only 2 things I do, build my own or gateway. I sorta do one then the other then back again. I love gateway, they have had good customer service, they support a 4 year old computer on the phone even though it's way past its warranty. Also back when the pentium 4 1.8As came out gateway had them going out on the day of, and they have been supporting that sytem really well. Anyways I enjoy building my own as well as gateway. Swap it up lol. It seems like you might want to order a computer form dell or gateway this time around and then maybe in a few years when your out of yoru parents house and paying for the computer youself build it yourself. then if you make any mistakes you can only blame yourself as opposed to your father being out of a grand.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: Hardtarget
have you thougth about a different company? I woudl recommend Gateway. There are only 2 things I do, build my own or gateway. I sorta do one then the other then back again. I love gateway, they have had good customer service, they support a 4 year old computer on the phone even though it's way past its warranty. Also back when the pentium 4 1.8As came out gateway had them going out on the day of, and they have been supporting that sytem really well. Anyways I enjoy building my own as well as gateway. Swap it up lol. It seems like you might want to order a computer form dell or gateway this time around and then maybe in a few years when your out of yoru parents house and paying for the computer youself build it yourself. then if you make any mistakes you can only blame yourself as opposed to your father being out of a grand.

Well, we get some deals with Dell and so that is why I'm going to be buying through either them or building it.

 

[overclockerking]

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: overclockerking

I've always admired the great long blank posts.

 

[overclockerking]

I would definitly build my own system. It is a good experience. Plus for the same price of a dell, you could build an awesome machine! And I agree that while it takes time, it certainly gives you 100% more flexibility. I love to overclock, so I would hate to have a dell.
dells are hard to upgrade.
A good place to get parts is www.pricewatch.com or at Fry's.

 

[nick1985]

listen to the man

 

[overclockerking]

I have always admired long blank posts.

Thnx!

 

[overclockerking]

Go with a homemade system.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: overclockerking
I would definitly build my own system. It is a good experience. Plus for the same price of a dell, you could build an awesome machine! And I agree that while it takes time, it certainly gives you 100% more flexibility. I love to overclock, so I would hate to have a dell.
dells are hard to upgrade.
A good place to get parts is www.pricewatch.com or at Fry's.

no, you really can't. especially if you're shopping at fry's.


part of the draw of overclocking is not paying for an expensive processor but getting the performance of one anyway. over the last week you've been able to get a 3 GHz i865 dell for about $800 with radeon 9800 and office and windows. even overclocking a 2.4 isn't going to get you that much performance for that cheap.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: AgaBooga
While we're on the topic, do the motherboards and everything that come with Dells use their own proprietary sockets and things because personally, I don't like the Dell case and maybe somewher ein the future, I'll change it to a case I like.

What about that though?

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: AgaBooga

Originally posted by: AgaBooga
While we're on the topic, do the motherboards and everything that come with Dells use their own proprietary sockets and things because personally, I don't like the Dell case and maybe somewher ein the future, I'll change it to a case I like.

What about that though?

by proprietary sockets what do you mean? it does use an odd power supply plug layout, but you can get an adpater for that. they use a ribbon cable for the front panel connector but theres no standard for that and a few motherboards actually come with that layout anyway. thats about it.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: AgaBooga

Originally posted by: AgaBooga
While we're on the topic, do the motherboards and everything that come with Dells use their own proprietary sockets and things because personally, I don't like the Dell case and maybe somewher ein the future, I'll change it to a case I like.

What about that though?

by proprietary sockets what do you mean? it does use an odd power supply plug layout, but you can get an adpater for that. they use a ribbon cable for the front panel connector but theres no standard for that and a few motherboards actually come with that layout anyway. thats about it.

So I'd still be able to later down the road take the parts out and put it in another case? I wouldn't mind getting a new power supply for it either.