Is buying a pre-made computer all that bad?

[kyzen]

I've been needing a new computer for awhile now, and was considering building one till I went into Best Buy and saw various big-brand computers containing the processor I want (Core 2 Duo) for a significant amount less than it would cost me to build. In the past I've always built my computers... but with these prices I don't know if I can justify that anymore

Anybody else run into this problem? What have you ended up doing?

 

[FoBoT]

there is no problem
buy one or don't , no big deal


we won't kick you out of the geek club just because you buy a store bought computer


i have a compaq at home that my wife uses (but i won it at an office x-mas party a couple years ago)

 

[tfinch2]

My parents bought a Core 2 Duo HP and they are very happy with it.

 

[drinkmorejava]

It depends what you're going for, I mean, for $500 with an lcd and warranty and windows, it's normally a pretty good deal. For gaming systems never, but I let my parents buy a computer and everyone has been happy for the past two years.

 

[Al Neri]

yup, eom.

 

[BCYL]

Be sure to check other components of the PC before you buy (e.g. video card, harddisk, etc)... I find a lot of these cheap pre-built PCs uses integrated motherboards with video/sound already on it, which MIGHT make upgrading an issue later on...

 

[Brainonska511]

I have no problems with buying a big brand computer if you don't want to build one, don't have the time to build one, or found it cheaper with a big brand. I have 2 Dells at home (but both from my pre-building days), but I would buy another one again if it was a good deal.

 

[vi edit]

For entry/mid level machines, I think you are better off just going Dell.

I just helped some friends buy the following box:

XPS 410
Core 2 Duo 1.86
250 gig SATA
1 gig RAM
16x Dual layer burner
DVD-Rom
256 meg 7300 series Geforce
XP Media Center
13-in-one media reader

Price was right around $500.

If I upgrade my box at some point, I'll probably go the same way. I think the line gets blurred a little more on very high end machines where profit margins tend to be a little more padded.

 

[us3rnotfound]

They feel slower than if I built my own, in my experience. Not sure if it's all the software they preload on it or cheaper components.

 

[lyssword]

just make sure they have an expansion slot for a vid card (pci-express) so if your comp can't run the game u don't have to buy a new mobo, just put vid card and you will b good to go

 

[Pacemaker]

The reason geeks like to make their own computer comes down to control and upgradeability. Pre-made systems tend to give limited control of the system components and little upgradeability (even if they can be I have been bloodied by many a dell. Stupid sharp edges). However, if you are aware of these issues and are ok with them, there is no reason not to get a pre-made system.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: us3rnotfound
They feel slower than if I built my own, in my experience. Not sure if it's all the software they preload on it or cheaper components.

For what I do with mine a P3 would be fast enough. The only reason for getting a more powerful computer for most people is so it can run the bloated MS OS.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: us3rnotfound
They feel slower than if I built my own, in my experience. Not sure if it's all the software they preload on it or cheaper components.

Software preloads are a *HUGE* factor. I always reload without all the crap they come pre-installed with.

 

[ryan256]

It all depends on what you're after. My gaming rig which I built recently contains the PSU and DVD drives from my previous computer and I didn't need a monitor. Plus I wanted a high performance machine and could built it cheaper than buying it premade. But if you need a complete midranged computer (box, monitor, keyboard, speakers, windows, ect.) then yeah buying a premade will get you the most for your money.

 

[dullard]

The lifetime of a typical computer geek:

1) Buy premade.

2) Build your own.

3) Realize that building is often costlier and isn't always worth the effort. Sure you'd like to do it for fun, but you just don't always have the time. You don't have the time to put into the build, and you don't have the time to spend hours searching for the next hot deal and weeks waiting for the deal to be active just so that the home-built is on par with the price of the premade. Buy premade.

4a) Be happy with the premade or,
4b) Realize you were stupid and bought a premade that can't do what you want. In this latter case, you should be ashamed.

Hopefully you end up in 4a.

 

[vi edit]

"Upgrade" is a dead word to most PC users. They don't upgrade. They replace. They spend $400-$500 and hang on to the box for 3-5 years. Then they just give it to their kids and buy a new one.

People aren't upgrading video, or RAM, or CPU's, ect. They are just replacing the whole box.

Home builders are a micro-fraction of the PC market.

 

[kyzen]

Good to know... yeah this would be for a gaming machine, and I'm fully aware that I'll need to pop in my own graphics card, and probably some more RAM. I'm presently gaming on (when it works) an Athlon 2800+ w/ 1.5 gigs of PC3200 RAM, and an AGP x1300.

Prebuilt seems the way to go then (with an immediate reformatting to ditch the bloatware).

 

[Conky]

I'll never buy a pre-made computer for myself with the only exception being a laptop.

I am always upgrading and improving my system... usually to improve it's performance in gaming or encoding.

Those $500 deals that include a 15" LCD and a color printer are great for grandma or for someone who only wants to email/surf the net but not for gamers.

 

[mugs]

I have one. It's my HTPC. I bought an Acer tower and added a few things to it. It's very quiet.

 

[Tom]

My experience is you don't really need to reformat, just uninstall the bloatware.

One of the cost advantages of a prebuilt is the included operating system, and reinstalling from scratch with some other operating system means you lose that.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Tom
My experience is you don't really need to reformat, just uninstall the bloatware.

One of the cost advantages of a prebuilt is the included operating system, and reinstalling from scratch with some other operating system means you lose that.

It usually takes longer to uninstall the 9 billion apps than it does to pop in the recovery CD, grab a beer, and come back in 20 minutes. Plus you don't have to worry about having apps not fully uninstall and leave bad registry keys and rogue folders all over the place.

 

[aircooled]

Back when pre-made computers were over $2000.00 and we could build one for under a grand, then that was cool. Nowadays I just recommend grabbing a brand name one unless it's for heavy gaming (then you can still go pre-built and just buy a good vid card).

 

[DaShen]

The older you get, and the less you play computer games, the more practical it is to buy a prebuilt machine.

 

[GTaudiophile]

For laptops, what other options do we have? I just helped my boss buy a HP laptop. I own a HP laptop.

But believe me, when I buy such a machine, the first thing I do is format and reinstall. My biggest gripe about such companies is that they should have no right to install anything I don't want on a PC I have purchased and is my property. If I order Windows XP, fine install it. If I order Office, fine install it. If I do not order Norton AV or AOL, then it should NOT be installed.

 

[MemoryInAGarden]

Originally posted by: DaShen
The older you get, and the less you play computer games, the more practical it is to buy a prebuilt machine.

Not necessarily. You could want to have a system tailored to your specific tastes via case selection, HTPC capabilities, etc. Not all people who build their own PCs have a desire to game.