Is it worth it to try to build your own pc?

[Mo0o]

Looking to build a budget rig for my parents for only web surfing/email. Lookin at some cheap Dells. Should I try to get one of those or spend the time to try to build my owN?

 

[Azndude2190]

Well you learn alot from building your own computer...but some people are meant to go with pre-built pc...judjging from your situation a pre-buit one would ne ideal...

Happy New Years!!!

 

[mike3uz]

Well if you like picking out the parts and knowing exactly whats in it then yea. But for gaming you can beat dell.

 

[diapickle]

Cost wise you won't beat Dell for a web/email machine. I'd say go with Dell.

 

[alevasseur14]

The key word her is parents. Unless you like spending hours on the phone with them trying to figure out what the error message on their screen says, go with Dell. Let their techs handle it...

 

[InlineFour]

dell FTW

 

[EagleEye]

Originally posted by: InlineFour
dell FTW

 

[mauiblue]

Get a Dell. But I think if you do get a Dell, you still will be called on when something goes wrong

 

[amol]

i was going to build my parents a computer, but when they changed their mind and decided they just wanted a budget computer, i just customized a Dell online.

i think building is only worth it if you want a performance machine.

 

[caz67]

Building your own PC can be very rewarding. It's a good feeling, when you boot up for the first time, and it all works..

 

[wpshooter]

I would say in the situation that you describe, DELL would be the answer BUT remember if you buy one of those bargin basement $399 DELL machines, you are getting exactly what you are paying for, a lower end computer, which for the most part is not going to have much upgradeability and also, not going to have a very long life, but these days what computer does. It is also, going to have a tremendous amount of junk software on it which will tend to take a good portion of it's computing resources.

Still, I would say get them the DELL, this would be a good place for them to start.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Mo0o
Looking to build a budget rig for my parents for only web surfing/email. Lookin at some cheap Dells. Should I try to get one of those or spend the time to try to build my owN?

You can always shop in the For Sale/Trade forum for a PC.
There are a couple Mac Minis there.

 

[Jaihahih]

My P4 2.0 dell is still running. THe most stable computer in my house (probably cause I dont' use it )

 

[CraigRT]

Nothing wrong with going Dell for that purpose. They are just fine for the average user. Even I have no problems with them (Just not for myself)

 

[Deinonych]

Originally posted by: alevasseur14
The key word her is parents. Unless you like spending hours on the phone with them trying to figure out what the error message on their screen says, go with Dell. Let their techs handle it...

QFT

I never build machines for my parents. The support calls would be horrendous.

 

[SuperSilicon]

I built my perants machine, but I would say if you don't have prior experience building and no friends that live close to help you threw it I would just go with dell. They have some really cheap prices on web surf machines that come with monitors.

 

[theMan]

building a pc is most valuable when you already have the monitor, and the keyboard, and printer, etc. but, if you dont have those, you can get them with a prebuilt vitually for free.

 

[imported_koop]

Originally posted by: alevasseur14
The key word her is parents. Unless you like spending hours on the phone with them trying to figure out what the error message on their screen says, go with Dell. Let their techs handle it...

I agree a pre-built PC with professional tech support is the way to go, but instead of Dell I am going to say go HP. For about the same amount of money you can get an HP Athlon64 versus a Dell CeleronII that will perform better. Since Dell started charging for shipping total price is about the same, and while HP never made flat out bad PC's since the merger with Compaq their product line has become really quite good.

 

[JDrake]

Originally posted by: InlineFour
dell FTW

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

I built a budget rig for my mum, and she's just fine with it. She's not very computer literate, but she's only asked me questions about it a couple of times. I never had to play tech support for her.

Plus, you can almost certainly get what they'd need for less dough if you build it yourself. Go with a Sempron chip & Biostar 6100-M7. Some generic RAM, a SATA hard disk, cheap Fortron Source PSU, NEC ND-3550A, and the cheapest case you can find. If you insist on being legal, pick up a copy of Windows. A used monitor should do just fine (they run about $50-$60), but a new one shouldn't be much more than $100. Overclock that sucker and let it loose.

 

[Ayah]

Dell is probably still the king of mass produced cheapy systems

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Originally posted by: Ayah
Dell is probably still the king of mass produced cheapy systems

It's really not. Building your own is almost always cheaper.

 

[KamiXkaze]

Originally posted by: Mo0o
Looking to build a budget rig for my parents for only web surfing/email. Lookin at some cheap Dells. Should I try to get one of those or spend the time to try to build my owN?

It all depends on what your parents needs are.

Simple computer that will do web surfing and a few things here and there get a dell or great computer with lots of upgradeability and the latest and greatest in software DYI away.

KxK

 

[Saint Nick]

Dell is probably cheaper for web + email. You can get one for like $400 without a monitor. I'm sure if you built one it would be a little more expensive. Maybe not?

 

[bigboxes]

Unless you use a bootleg WinXP you cannot build a cheaper pc than dell. They have you outleveraged when it comes to price. Accept that and move on. Dell sucks, but if all you are gonna do is surf the web and use it for e-mail then Dell is fine. Just make sure the machine you configure has enough ram. Their cheap-o systems come with an inadequate amount of ram. Make sure you change that or get the cheapest machine and then buy a stick of cheap ram. If anyone ever plans to do anything of value (outside of websurfing and e-mail) then it's best to build your own. For the cheapest available system you can't beat dell.