Is it worth it to build your computer?

[Raduque]

Originally posted by: pinion9
They throw in a PSU rated at 500 Watts PEAK power, while it really only produces 250 RMS.

PSUs aren't rated in "RMS", that's amplifiers. PSUs are rated by amps*volts per rail, added together for an aggregated peak wattage.

For the OP, it can be cheaper to build your own, but I think the biggest reason to do so, is so you can choose and know exactly what goes into it. My most recent build was a mobo/cpu from a $350 compaq. The mobo has s939 and PCI express x16, which is more then you can expect from most cheap cpmputers.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: DaRkLoRd666

Originally posted by: Heen05
i built this one, and i love it, but im seeing some that are really pretty awesome at all these stores for 1700 and less. all of these PCs have better stuff than i have, and are all considered good, with the exception of the graphics card, which is decent.

is there a point to building your computer anymore, with all these damn companies getting products so cheap?

discuss.

its funny how they dont tell you the latency of the ram they give you

funny they dont tell you the manufacturer

funny they can charge you an extra $200 for windows

funny that they rip you of on the cost of hardware about $400

funny how altogeather they rip you off $600

with $1700 i could build a machine that is almost top of the line with the X1900XTX or 7900GTX with amd64 3700+ or +4000 and GOOD ram

EDIT: also the LCD moniters dell GIVES you really suck, the contrast is good but its 25ms (thats more then u get over the INTERNET)

Dell's LCD's are probably the most popular brand of LCD of AT'ers.

 

[13Gigatons]

Originally posted by: Raduque

Originally posted by: pinion9
They throw in a PSU rated at 500 Watts PEAK power, while it really only produces 250 RMS.

PSUs aren't rated in "RMS", that's amplifiers. PSUs are rated by amps*volts per rail, added together for an aggregated peak wattage.

The question is it continous and what is the power rating at high temps.

 

[evenmore1]

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: DaRkLoRd666

Originally posted by: Heen05
i built this one, and i love it, but im seeing some that are really pretty awesome at all these stores for 1700 and less. all of these PCs have better stuff than i have, and are all considered good, with the exception of the graphics card, which is decent.

is there a point to building your computer anymore, with all these damn companies getting products so cheap?

discuss.

its funny how they dont tell you the latency of the ram they give you

funny they dont tell you the manufacturer

funny they can charge you an extra $200 for windows

funny that they rip you of on the cost of hardware about $400

funny how altogeather they rip you off $600

with $1700 i could build a machine that is almost top of the line with the X1900XTX or 7900GTX with amd64 3700+ or +4000 and GOOD ram

EDIT: also the LCD moniters dell GIVES you really suck, the contrast is good but its 25ms (thats more then u get over the INTERNET)

Dell's LCD's are probably the most popular brand of LCD of AT'ers.

For cheapness...

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: JSFLY

Originally posted by: Heen05
i built this one, and i love it, but im seeing some that are really pretty awesome at all these stores for 1700 and less. all of these PCs have better stuff than i have, and are all considered good, with the exception of the graphics card, which is decent.

is there a point to building your computer anymore, with all these damn companies getting products so cheap?

discuss.

Show us one of the specs of the machines your talking about and price and I'll build you one with equal performance at a cheaper price.

Linky.

That's refurbished and therefore isn't a fair comparison as it has been marked down from its initital value.

It also comes with a 3YR warranty.

That's nice but it still isn't fair in this comparison. I agree that it's a good deal, but comparing baiscally "used" product to new is not a good way to compare costs. One could hope to find a comparitive system they can put together via all refurbished parts, but that would be rather rare.

 

[spikespiegal]

its funny how they dont tell you the latency of the ram they give you

Because only losers who ride a skateboard to their fast food job care about RAM latency anyways. I don't know the RAM latency in the servers I support, but they don't have LED fans in them either. Maybe they need faster RAM and glowing IDE cables?

I've been building a lot of rigs over the years, and I'm on the fence in terms of DIY. Right now I'm building budget servers because Dell/IBM/HP, etc. are overpriced in that market, and I don't like what they have to offer. For more general workstations, I'm leaning towards E-machine, and Dell when they have a bad quarter and are throwing in free LCDs. Unless I drop down to PCchips and ECS class motherboards, I can't beat their price when they're desperate. A few years ago I'd mock E-machine and Gateway, but right now they build decent entry class PC's.

Unfortunatley, the enthusiast PC market is mostly devoted towards gamer concerns than building quality components. I know for a fact if I were to deploy 100 Dell Precision workstations and 100 DIY Asus based rigs, I'd spend a more time RMA'ing dead motherboards with the DIY rigs. Been there - done that.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: 13Gigatons

Originally posted by: Raduque

Originally posted by: pinion9
They throw in a PSU rated at 500 Watts PEAK power, while it really only produces 250 RMS.

PSUs aren't rated in "RMS", that's amplifiers. PSUs are rated by amps*volts per rail, added together for an aggregated peak wattage.

The question is it continous and what is the power rating at high temps.

Right. I'm sure that's what pinion9 actually meant.

But truth be told, most of the PSU's you find in a Dell or eMachines, etc. (Delta, Lite-On, Bestec, etc.) are actually more realistically rated than MOST off the shelf units.

For example: I'd rather have a Bestec 300W from an eMachine than an Aspire, Deer or Powmax "400W."

 

[Jdog1718]

I personally think building your own is much better. Obviously gaming and high end rigs are much cheaper and customized by building it yourself. The problem I have with prebuilt systems is reuseability and expandability. Has anyone ever tried rebuilding a dell? The motherboard, floppy, and power supply are pretty much never going to be able to leave the case they were built in. The motherboard screws only line up with the tray they made and the tray only fits that dell case. You cannot replace a power supply (lets say you get a better video card and need more power) in a dell because they have the fan/AC plug different than others and you can't have a power supply with a rocker switch. I prefer being able to update and add components to my pc reguardless if its my gaming rig or the PC i built for my mom.

 

[skooma]

Get a great psu and case that will last and do your research and long term, building your own with smart upgrades pays off with better performance at comparable if not lower overall cost.

edit- except on the low-end, where the dells/hps etc are almost impossible to beat.

 

[Raduque]

Originally posted by: Jdog1718
I personally think building your own is much better. Obviously gaming and high end rigs are much cheaper and customized by building it yourself. The problem I have with prebuilt systems is reuseability and expandability. Has anyone ever tried rebuilding a dell? The motherboard, floppy, and power supply are pretty much never going to be able to leave the case they were built in. The motherboard screws only line up with the tray they made and the tray only fits that dell case. You cannot replace a power supply (lets say you get a better video card and need more power) in a dell because they have the fan/AC plug different than others and you can't have a power supply with a rocker switch. I prefer being able to update and add components to my pc reguardless if its my gaming rig or the PC i built for my mom.

Have you been in a recent dell? They're using standard parts these days, because it's easier and cheaper for them, then to make custom non-ATX spec parts. As far as I've heard, the only thing that uses non-standard parts is the Dimension XPS Gaming lines, because the PSU has it's own air tunnel in the bottom of the case.

I'm willing to bet money you could drop any off-the-shelf matx mobo or PSU you want in a recent non-XPS Dell.

 

[tcsenter]

While Dell's memory modules aren't designed for overclocking, I've purchased several memory modules pulled from Dell's (or Dell warranty replacement) on Ebay; PC3200 DDR and PC4200 DDR-2 modules. All have been quality 100% JEDEC standard modules (Spectek, Micron, Samsung Original, and other first tier DRAM manufacturers). The 512MB PC3200 modules I received were CAS2.5 instead of cheaper CAS3.

The build or buy question is much easier to answer if the computer will be one's own vs. building for someone else who is paying for it. The personal/subjective satisfaction of DIY/BYO doesn't transfer to someone else when they take delivery of the computer, making it harder (damned near impossible) to build entry-level or budget systems as a business or source of income and compete with the big OEMs (unless you are building a few hundred PCs per month).

 

[Slammy1]

I went through this with my mom. Found a cheap deal in the spec range I was designing towards and bought her an HP instead. She's really happy, after some uninstalls and reinstalls it runs like a champ. Unless a friend wants something high end, I just watch for deals and set it up for them. Actually, friends are a good outlet for buying my used systems, then I just build another for myself.

 

[Amaroque]

I will always be happier building my own PC's. Actually the main reason is the BIOS. I feel like I'm shut out of the basic hardware with any OEM board.

For any non tweaker, I reccomend an OEM PC though.

 

[d3lt4]

I will never buy a prebuilt computer. Most of them suck at OC's and that's like my favorite thing to do on computers, and for the money a high end system is way cheaper to buy yourself. Prebuilts are better if you are just going online or whatever, but they aren't for me.

@the thread starter: if you want a gaming rig for $1700 you can definately get better than prebuilt. Their mobo's, ram, gpu, and PSU's are all like marketing items and not worth it.
for example they have a 500w PSU, but the rails are very unstable. They have 512mb GPU, but it is ddr2, 128bit. Then they have 2gb of ram, but the timings are like 12-12-12-73(slight exaggeration). Then they give you a mobo that doesn't OC worth anything, not that most people need that.
hmm, end of rant.

 

[imported_goku]

Originally posted by: tcsenter
Is it worth it? If your budget ceiling (not including tax and shipping) is:

Under $400 = definitely not

Between $400 and $500 = probably not, but depends (less room to work)

Between $500 and $600 = probably, but depends (more room to work)

Over $600 = definitely

This assumes 'worth' is tangible and/or objective (price, performance, features), and does not include subjective 'worth' such as warm and fuzzy DIY feelings.

I disagree, what system can you get for under $200 that can play counterstrike source decently? Thats why I had to build my friend his computer cause he had a $150 budget and was eventually stretched to $200 cause he was desperate for it therefore couldn't wait for parts.

 

[fire400]

if you're building a really cheap priced system, you want to go with a manufacturer that does automatic parts for multiple systems, they are generally called "cloning companies."

however, I will guarantee that unless you are getting a very (I mean very and cannot excessively use words beyond VERY) good discount on a higher priced computer, you are not usually going to find a better deal than a computer you could put together yourself.

the reason why, is because more people would settle for a cheaper priced computer than spend the extra amounts of money on a solid monster machine. then again, consumer who don't have that great of computer knowledge prey on mid range systems with mediocre system performance and usually come with very "weak" graphics cards, yet sleeker looking cases. and then the high priced systems, supposedly to carry the latest computer technology, are made by companies like ABS, Falcon Northwest, Alienware, Monarchcomputers, Sagernotebooks, etc. - they will put on a heavier price tag. Often times you are getting less for than what you pay for, but guys like Sagernotebooks might be different, since they specialize in high end laptops, price from $900 to over $3,000, and mobility is one thing that desktops will never achieve in our current day, the ability to carry with you a system to serve your mobility needs without the extra bulkiness and messy wires.
I am confident that most enthusiasts here could build a faster system and far more reliable desktop system than what Alienware could offer right now (provided money and seemless effort). All you have to do, is take their parts from a highend gaming rig, and calculate in price what you get when you buy your own hardware and software to put together to make have a rig of your own custom-built savvy needs. Basically, you're paying Alienware to assemble and test for you a system they have agreed on their own standards to play the latest games. Not to mention, order parts for the system, preload it with software, provide tech support and all of that stuff you know a company will need in order to be successful and sell to their target market groups, gamers, workstation users, common (budget) user, etc.

You gotta know your math when it comes to technology and base it on feelings, like how fast you want it to run and how much money you have available, how long you've decided to wait, how much longer you decide to search for, etc.

My old math teacher once said:
"You need to know math, or else you're going to get ripped off."

 

[pkme2]

I built 4 rigs within a year. Isn't it fun when everything works. The best part is the tweaking, making it run better. Switching around stuff and having fun. Just like having s@x!

 

[tcsenter]

I disagree, what system can you get for under $200 that can play counterstrike source decently? Thats why I had to build my friend his computer cause he had a $150 budget and was eventually stretched to $200 cause he was desperate for it therefore couldn't wait for parts.

I delineated along budget ranges or ceilings, building the best PC one can for the money (even if it falls short of desired performance), rather than building to certain performance criteria without regard for cost.

I've seen well featured Compaq Presario SR series with Sempron 2800+ ~ 3100+ on sale for $299 (after rebates) that used NVIDIA T-Force or ATI Express 200 Graphics with an available PCI Express slot. If the integrated graphics is not sufficient, one could spend $50 extra to throw in a PCI Express card that would significantly improve gaming performance.

What did you build for $200? I have a difficult time getting a build under $300 using older technology (Athlon XP) and budget AGP cards (Radeon 9250 or 9550), unless I charge nothing for build labor. Windows XP Home (OEM/DSP) and an 80GB hard drive alone are over $100, that assumes there is a good rebate deal on the hard drive.

 

[sportzforlife3]

if you're looking for a $500-700 computer, buy it.

if you're willing to spend $1k building is your best option.

mobo's are better, graphics card will be better, RAM won't be value (hopefully), and no spyware at startup.

 

[Shadowknight]

I prefer building my own if for no reason if makes swapping parts easier. Pre-built machines from places like Dell uses proprietary cases and PSUs. If the PSU goes bad, you can't necessarily just drop in one you buy yourself. Some cases are built to only take small PSUs *sold by Dell )or whoever), or have the PSU connection setup so that it will fry the motherboard without an adaptor or a proprietary PSU. Also, if later on you want to use a different motherboard, it usually won't fit in cases made by pre-built companies.

 

[imported_goku]

Originally posted by: tcsenter

I disagree, what system can you get for under $200 that can play counterstrike source decently? Thats why I had to build my friend his computer cause he had a $150 budget and was eventually stretched to $200 cause he was desperate for it therefore couldn't wait for parts.

I delineated along budget ranges or ceilings, building the best PC one can for the money (even if it falls short of desired performance), rather than building to certain performance criteria without regard for cost.

I've seen well featured Compaq Presario SR series with Sempron 2800+ ~ 3100+ on sale for $299 (after rebates) that used NVIDIA T-Force or ATI Express 200 Graphics with an available PCI Express slot. If the integrated graphics is not sufficient, one could spend $50 extra to throw in a PCI Express card that would significantly improve gaming performance.

What did you build for $200? I have a difficult time getting a build under $300 using older technology (Athlon XP) and budget AGP cards (Radeon 9250 or 9550), unless I charge nothing for build labor. Windows XP Home (OEM/DSP) and an 80GB hard drive alone are over $100, that assumes there is a good rebate deal on the hard drive.

Yup, since hes a friend I charged nothing for the labor..

 

[tcsenter]

Here's your answer: (from Circuit City July 4th circular)

Compaq SR1830NX

OEM ASUS mobo (ATI RS482)
1GB DDR400 (up to 4GB total)
200GB 7200RPM HDD
Dual Layer 16x DVD Writer with Lightscribe
Built-in Flash Card Reader
Integrated ATI Xpress 200 Graphics
Available PCI Express x16 slot
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (legal license)
Includes 17" Flat Screen CRT

$380.00 after discounts and rebates

There were other deals from various retailers, including $299 for Sempron systems with 512MB DDR, 160GB, GeForce or ATI integrated graphics, and 17" CRT monitor.

 

[Powermoloch]

I love my first build and it still runs like a champ and spent around 1500 ~ afaik with all the upgrades and stuff

but with my new rig...slightly cheaper and much more quieter...lol

Dell 5150 w/ 2007FP
1.5 gig of ram
intel 630 cpu
altec lansing speakers
ati 550 pro
belkin wireless adapter
evga 7600GT KO

all under 1000 ~

 

[akshayt]

get intel conroe and don't get anything less than 1800xt/1900xt/1950xt