Can You Still Build a PC for Less?

[IGBT]

Text

Don't believe me? Just try building yourself a Pentium-4 based system for less than you'd pay for any basic Dell Dimension PC. See, every day Dell buys a gazillion hard drives, optical drives, motherboards, and so on, so it gets a better unit price for these components than you do for your single purchase. The fact is, without cannibalizing half of your current PC's parts, you can't touch Dell when it comes to building a cheap PC.

That said, I recently stumbled upon the satisfying realization that when it comes to high-end systems, there's still some wiggle room. Apparently this is the market where PC builders--both big and small--like to pad their margins a bit, so you can still save some bucks by doing it yourself.

 

[Chacranajxy]

Originally posted by: IGBT
Text

Don't believe me? Just try building yourself a Pentium-4 based system for less than you'd pay for any basic Dell Dimension PC. See, every day Dell buys a gazillion hard drives, optical drives, motherboards, and so on, so it gets a better unit price for these components than you do for your single purchase. The fact is, without cannibalizing half of your current PC's parts, you can't touch Dell when it comes to building a cheap PC.

And Dell can't touch me when it comes to building a decent PC. If I wanted the absolute ghettoest PC I could get, yeah, I'd go to Dell. But if I want something relatively inexpensive that's actually good and doesn't have all of Dell's preloaded crap, then the only real option is to build it.

 

[theMan]

Originally posted by: Chacranajxy

Originally posted by: IGBT
Text

Don't believe me? Just try building yourself a Pentium-4 based system for less than you'd pay for any basic Dell Dimension PC. See, every day Dell buys a gazillion hard drives, optical drives, motherboards, and so on, so it gets a better unit price for these components than you do for your single purchase. The fact is, without cannibalizing half of your current PC's parts, you can't touch Dell when it comes to building a cheap PC.

And Dell can't touch me when it comes to building a decent PC. If I wanted the absolute ghettoest PC I could get, yeah, I'd go to Dell. But if I want something relatively inexpensive that's actually good and doesn't have all of Dell's preloaded crap, then the only real option is to build it.

well put.

 

[Hyperlite]

Originally posted by: IGBT
Text

Don't believe me? Just try building yourself a Pentium-4 based system for less than you'd pay for any basic Dell Dimension PC. See, every day Dell buys a gazillion hard drives, optical drives, motherboards, and so on, so it gets a better unit price for these components than you do for your single purchase. The fact is, without cannibalizing half of your current PC's parts, you can't touch Dell when it comes to building a cheap PC.

I think we all know this, and none of us care. Its about quality.

 

[Fox5]

$300 Dell....
AMD Sempron CPU/motherboard combos can be had for $70.
$20 video card.
$15 for the 256MB of ram.
$40 for the 80GB harddrive.
$10 for a crappy CD drive.
$30 for case + 300W power supply.
Keyboard and mouse combo for another $15.
Buy an OEM version of Windows online for $60.
That's $270 there, and $30 really isn't enough for a 17" monitor, but the a socket 754 sempron would be far more powerful than the 2.5ghz celeron dell uses, so what if it costs a bit more. In the past, cheap athlon xp/nforce 2 IGP combos used to be an option for this, but their prices have risen due to their discontiuation.

 

[EagleEye]

Originally posted by: Fox5
$300 Dell....
AMD Sempron CPU/motherboard combos can be had for $70.
$20 video card.
$15 for the 256MB of ram.
$40 for the 80GB harddrive.
$10 for a crappy CD drive.
$30 for case + 300W power supply.
Keyboard and mouse combo for another $15.
Buy an OEM version of Windows online for $60.
That's $270 there, and $30 really isn't enough for a 17" monitor, but the a socket 754 sempron would be far more powerful than the 2.5ghz celeron dell uses, so what if it costs a bit more. In the past, cheap athlon xp/nforce 2 IGP combos used to be an option for this, but their prices have risen due to their discontiuation.

Plus the dell has $50 shipping that you left out.

 

[OdiN]

Why would I want a $300 computer? The performance would completely suck...and I want something that performs good.

At my shop I'm selling Athlon 64 systems with 17" LCD's for $1200. These are custom built by me. Of course...around here we usually get things a bit cheaper because we don't have to purchase XP Pro and that right there is $140 of the price.

 

[bamacre]

I don't care what you want, a cheap PC, or even a higher-end PC. I've found, that if you know what you're doing, Dell's prices cannot be beat. The only negative is that they don't offer AMD cpu's.

I've built plenty of systems, and my new PC is a Dell 9100. I added some more ram and a 7800 GTX, and boom, I gotta great gaming system for less than a grand.

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: bamacre
I don't care what you want, a cheap PC, or even a higher-end PC. I've found, that if you know what you're doing, Dell's prices cannot be beat. The only negative is that they don't offer AMD cpu's.

I've built plenty of systems, and my new PC is a Dell 9100. I added some more ram and a 7800 GTX, and boom, I gotta great gaming system for less than a grand.

Maybe I can't beat the price but I can sure beat the crap out of them performance wise.

 

[Chacranajxy]

Originally posted by: bamacre
I don't care what you want, a cheap PC, or even a higher-end PC. I've found, that if you know what you're doing, Dell's prices cannot be beat. The only negative is that they don't offer AMD cpu's.

I've built plenty of systems, and my new PC is a Dell 9100. I added some more ram and a 7800 GTX, and boom, I gotta great gaming system for less than a grand.

So you're saying you had to upgrade the dell right out of the box?

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: Chacranajxy

Originally posted by: bamacre
I don't care what you want, a cheap PC, or even a higher-end PC. I've found, that if you know what you're doing, Dell's prices cannot be beat. The only negative is that they don't offer AMD cpu's.

I've built plenty of systems, and my new PC is a Dell 9100. I added some more ram and a 7800 GTX, and boom, I gotta great gaming system for less than a grand.

So you're saying you had to upgrade the dell right out of the box?

Sure. It's a Dell 9100, I paid 399.xx shipped for this..

P4 630
1GB DDR2
Dual DVD (rom and burner)
128MB x300
Win MCE

I added another GB of ram ($80), and added a 7800 GTX ($460).

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: bamacre
I don't care what you want, a cheap PC, or even a higher-end PC. I've found, that if you know what you're doing, Dell's prices cannot be beat. The only negative is that they don't offer AMD cpu's.

I've built plenty of systems, and my new PC is a Dell 9100. I added some more ram and a 7800 GTX, and boom, I gotta great gaming system for less than a grand.

Maybe I can't beat the price but I can sure beat the crap out of them performance wise.

Throw enough $$ money into a PC and sure.

 

[imported_goku]

Originally posted by: EagleEye

Originally posted by: Fox5
$300 Dell....
AMD Sempron CPU/motherboard combos can be had for $70.
$20 video card.
$15 for the 256MB of ram.
$40 for the 80GB harddrive.
$10 for a crappy CD drive.
$30 for case + 300W power supply.
Keyboard and mouse combo for another $15.
Buy an OEM version of Windows online for $60.
That's $270 there, and $30 really isn't enough for a 17" monitor, but the a socket 754 sempron would be far more powerful than the 2.5ghz celeron dell uses, so what if it costs a bit more. In the past, cheap athlon xp/nforce 2 IGP combos used to be an option for this, but their prices have risen due to their discontiuation.

Plus the dell has $50 shipping that you left out.

plus dell doesn't use a video card, it's integrated.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: goku

Originally posted by: EagleEye

Originally posted by: Fox5
$300 Dell....
AMD Sempron CPU/motherboard combos can be had for $70.
$20 video card.
$15 for the 256MB of ram.
$40 for the 80GB harddrive.
$10 for a crappy CD drive.
$30 for case + 300W power supply.
Keyboard and mouse combo for another $15.
Buy an OEM version of Windows online for $60.
That's $270 there, and $30 really isn't enough for a 17" monitor, but the a socket 754 sempron would be far more powerful than the 2.5ghz celeron dell uses, so what if it costs a bit more. In the past, cheap athlon xp/nforce 2 IGP combos used to be an option for this, but their prices have risen due to their discontiuation.

Plus the dell has $50 shipping that you left out.

plus dell doesn't use a video card, it's integrated.

This one had a PCIe x16 slot

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: bamacre
I don't care what you want, a cheap PC, or even a higher-end PC. I've found, that if you know what you're doing, Dell's prices cannot be beat. The only negative is that they don't offer AMD cpu's.

I've built plenty of systems, and my new PC is a Dell 9100. I added some more ram and a 7800 GTX, and boom, I gotta great gaming system for less than a grand.

Maybe I can't beat the price but I can sure beat the crap out of them performance wise.

Throw enough $$ money into a PC and sure.

I would rather spend a bit more money and have excellent quality components than to buy a Dell for gaming =/

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: goku

Originally posted by: EagleEye

Originally posted by: Fox5
$300 Dell....
AMD Sempron CPU/motherboard combos can be had for $70.
$20 video card.
$15 for the 256MB of ram.
$40 for the 80GB harddrive.
$10 for a crappy CD drive.
$30 for case + 300W power supply.
Keyboard and mouse combo for another $15.
Buy an OEM version of Windows online for $60.
That's $270 there, and $30 really isn't enough for a 17" monitor, but the a socket 754 sempron would be far more powerful than the 2.5ghz celeron dell uses, so what if it costs a bit more. In the past, cheap athlon xp/nforce 2 IGP combos used to be an option for this, but their prices have risen due to their discontiuation.

Plus the dell has $50 shipping that you left out.

plus dell doesn't use a video card, it's integrated.

This one had a PCIe x16 slot

So...you have to buy a refurbished one...meaning one that has already broken and had to be patched back together?

 

[imported_goku]

When dell begins to sell AMD systems, then we'll begin to see either REALLY CHEAP systems or cheap systems that are a lot faster.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: goku

Originally posted by: EagleEye

Originally posted by: Fox5
$300 Dell....
AMD Sempron CPU/motherboard combos can be had for $70.
$20 video card.
$15 for the 256MB of ram.
$40 for the 80GB harddrive.
$10 for a crappy CD drive.
$30 for case + 300W power supply.
Keyboard and mouse combo for another $15.
Buy an OEM version of Windows online for $60.
That's $270 there, and $30 really isn't enough for a 17" monitor, but the a socket 754 sempron would be far more powerful than the 2.5ghz celeron dell uses, so what if it costs a bit more. In the past, cheap athlon xp/nforce 2 IGP combos used to be an option for this, but their prices have risen due to their discontiuation.

Plus the dell has $50 shipping that you left out.

plus dell doesn't use a video card, it's integrated.

This one had a PCIe x16 slot

So...you have to buy a refurbished one...meaning one that has already broken and had to be patched back together?

LOL, that's the catch.

You see Dell has a massive inventory control process. They operate on two hours of inventory. It says refurb, but it is brand spanking new and comes with a 1YR on site warranty.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: bamacre
I don't care what you want, a cheap PC, or even a higher-end PC. I've found, that if you know what you're doing, Dell's prices cannot be beat. The only negative is that they don't offer AMD cpu's.

I've built plenty of systems, and my new PC is a Dell 9100. I added some more ram and a 7800 GTX, and boom, I gotta great gaming system for less than a grand.

Maybe I can't beat the price but I can sure beat the crap out of them performance wise.

Throw enough $$ money into a PC and sure.

I would rather spend a bit more money and have excellent quality components than to buy a Dell for gaming =/

Actually, it's pretty high quality. Samsung memory (although I added Corsair VS), Seagate or Western Digital hard drives, Intel-made motherboards/chipsets, NEC or Phillips DVD burners. Power supplies are great, and I like the case designs.

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: bamacre
You see Dell has a massive inventory control process. They operate on two hours of inventory. It says refurb, but it is brand spanking new and comes with a 1YR on site warranty.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: goku
When dell begins to sell AMD systems, then we'll begin to see either REALLY CHEAP systems or cheap systems that are a lot faster.

I dunno. They must be getting Intel products insanely cheap. I don't think the differences between Intel and AMD cpu's are anywhere near as significant as people think. Are amd's faster, sure, not by as much as folks would like to imagine. I wish the competition was better between the two, I believe Intel is holding back. The Pentium M is proof enough for me that Intel could do better in the desktop than they are actually doing. But the $$ is coming in anyway, so why bother.

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: bamacre
I don't care what you want, a cheap PC, or even a higher-end PC. I've found, that if you know what you're doing, Dell's prices cannot be beat. The only negative is that they don't offer AMD cpu's.

I've built plenty of systems, and my new PC is a Dell 9100. I added some more ram and a 7800 GTX, and boom, I gotta great gaming system for less than a grand.

Maybe I can't beat the price but I can sure beat the crap out of them performance wise.

Throw enough $$ money into a PC and sure.

I would rather spend a bit more money and have excellent quality components than to buy a Dell for gaming =/

Actually, it's pretty high quality. Samsung memory (although I added Corsair VS), Seagate or Western Digital hard drives, Intel-made motherboards/chipsets, NEC or Phillips DVD burners. Power supplies are great, and I like the case designs.

The power supplies are not that great. The motherboards are not all intel made. I have seen my share of Dells with crappy Maxtor hard drives in them (yes..newer ones too).

 

[Cooler]

Low end dell != Gaming

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: bamacre
You see Dell has a massive inventory control process. They operate on two hours of inventory. It says refurb, but it is brand spanking new and comes with a 1YR on site warranty.

Yeah, I bet.

The sticker says refurb, the condition is not.

At times, Dell needs to move inventory, quickly, so they sell new systems as refurb's dirt cheap. Why? Well, they don't want to de-value "new" systems they sell to the public.

I have bought over 400 dell refurbs. I'd say 90% are physically brand new. And since the warranty is the same, and transferrable, IMO, they are the best way of finding cheap computers.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: bamacre
I don't care what you want, a cheap PC, or even a higher-end PC. I've found, that if you know what you're doing, Dell's prices cannot be beat. The only negative is that they don't offer AMD cpu's.

I've built plenty of systems, and my new PC is a Dell 9100. I added some more ram and a 7800 GTX, and boom, I gotta great gaming system for less than a grand.

Maybe I can't beat the price but I can sure beat the crap out of them performance wise.

Throw enough $$ money into a PC and sure.

I would rather spend a bit more money and have excellent quality components than to buy a Dell for gaming =/

Actually, it's pretty high quality. Samsung memory (although I added Corsair VS), Seagate or Western Digital hard drives, Intel-made motherboards/chipsets, NEC or Phillips DVD burners. Power supplies are great, and I like the case designs.

The power supplies are not that great. The motherboards are not all intel made. I have seen my share of Dells with crappy Maxtor hard drives in them (yes..newer ones too).

Well, I have to admit, I stick to buying higher-end systems, 8400's, 9100's, and now XPS 400's. The last one I cracked open had a 160GB Seagate 7200.7. Not the best, but not crap either. Almost all of the 80GB drives I have seen lately have been Western Digital's. Haven't seen a maxtor in a while.