How will u buy a computer?

[faye]

Dear all.,

I want to know, in my case, i want to get a cpu, motherboard, ram, videocard, harddrive, case and psu.

should i buy them with retail boxes?

or

ask the store to put them together for me? if i do this i may get a 85% to 90% discount(at least some gifts).

if i buy them seperately i end up need to pay more BUT i will get all the fancy retail boxes..(hey i love to collect those fancy boxes and i know it is useless once the hardware is installed )

however, i do get a stronger feeling that a retail product has a higher quality than bulk products.. because if i ask the store to put them together for me, they may gimme bulky or even used products. u never know until u open the case, and after u open the case, u will void the warranty(some stores do this)

so what do u think?

 

[Confused]

If I was in the US, i'd order all the parts from Newegg, and put them all together myself, providing I knew what I was doing. If i didn't have a clue, I'd get a Dell


Confused

 

[Brian48]

Generally, there's nothing wrong with OEM products. I assume that's what you mean by "bulk" items. The only difference between the OEM and retail counterpart is the pretty packaging, software bundle (if applicable), and factory warrantee. My opinion is that if you don't trust this store to put your PC together using the properly with decent parts, I wouldn't trust them to touch my PC period.

 

[jrphoenix]

I agree with what was said here..... OEM is cheaper however, you may miss out on some software. Example... if you buy an OEM version (if you can) of an ATI card you would not get the Half life coupon and other sotware. With a DVD you ususally get software to play movies with the retail package. With a retail processor you usually get a fan and heat pad?

The products is the same though if you don't need the software and can live without the shiny box 🙂

 

[RaNDoMMAI]

I wouldnt buy a brand name pc because i like different cases.

There are some very nice looking cases nowadays. Eye candy=)

also, i like building comps because i find it fun and when something goes wrong i usually know what it is and can fix it.
If i cant fix it, then i ask the great anantech ppl and they can help me fix it without voiding any warrentys or anything. Lunging trhe computer back to the store for something simple sucks.

~RaNDoM

 

[Special1Sauce]

Meh Depends on what you want. I'd personally build but whatever you prefer.

 

[n0cmonkey]

I think my next machine may be built for me... Haven't decided yet.

 

[Lonyo]

I'll be building all the way, more customised, and more fun.

Just upgraded my machine, and now almost all the parts are different from its original config (RAM is the same, but that's going to go by Thursday, soundcard is still in there, but I'm using onboard sound, and the modem is still there for another month until I get BB), the only things I'm still using are the keyboard, case, mouse and PSU, almost all the internals have gone, thats why i prefer building my own.

 

[JohnPaul]

Well, my opinion is likely bias since I always build my own and have never bought a prefabricated computer. EVER!! IMHO, you should build your own with quality parts with warrenties, and then if anything goes wrong you can always RMA the item in question and fix it yourself. That way you know what the quality of the items and worksmanship that went into your system. That is just what I would do though. It all depends on how well you know computers and if you are truly comfortable building one. Good luck either way though.

 

[Twofootputt]

I was nervous the first time I assembled my own. Now I can come here or elsewhere for help & opinions. It's almost more fun when it doesn't cooperate, then you can try to track down the problem & learn more about how it all connects & interacts. Good luck.

 

[Nebor]

ask the store to put them together for me? if i do this i may get a 85% to 90% discount(at least some gifts).

Um, I'd definitely go for a $400 machine that had a P4EE (cost for you, $150) and Radeon 9800 XT (cost for you, $40.)

You'd be stupid not to have the store build it for you if you were recieving an 85-90% discount. Hell, you should be buying stuff non stop and selling it on ebay.

 

[Corporate Thug]

there is no difference in quality between retail and OEM

 

[PanzerIV]

Originally posted by: faye
...however, i do get a stronger feeling that a retail product has a higher quality than bulk products.. because if i ask the store to put them together for me, they may gimme bulky or even used products. u never know until u open the case, and after u open the case, u will void the warranty(some stores do this) so what do u think?

Do you think a factory like Dell or Compaq wants all of those "fancy boxes" either?? No, they don't so they use OEM (bulk) components. Therefore what you get is the same stuff minus the fluff hence the cheaper price.
If the store is giving you used parts then that is an ethics issue with the store and some place I would NOT shop.

 

[faye]

Nebor, u caught me!, i mean 10% to 20% off.

hmm.. i like putting them myself too. Just like playing Lego.. I have no problem building them but without a car, i can't get all the stuffs all at once(fancy boxes).

of course getting a more reliable product is everyone's wish, but if u can get a discount on the same quality product just without a box, then it is a different story. actually delivery isn't a problem, i can get the store to deliver all the parts to my door though, just to pay a little extra.

Friend told me to get a Dell, but i love to build a PC of my choice, i have a feeling that Dell only has 865G in the package.

i know OEM product is a standalone product, without softwares(most). what i mean bulky is lower quality of the same card. it is just a feeling that bulky is "cheap" card.

actually i don't know any reliable stores.. all my friends buy parts from the internet. but here i live in Hong Kong, the shipping fee may cost more than the items. SO, i want to buy products locally.