Opinions on my build vs buying from Costco

[KLC]

I currently have a 7+ year old desktop with a Q6600 CPU that I built myself. I've also built my three previous PCs but it's been a while. I've been thinking about something new the last few months. I do mostly office work, some media consumption, Canon 70D photos using mostly Lightroom and a little Photoshop and some occasional video editing using Sony Vegas Pro. No gaming of any kind.

Here is the build I was thinking about:
Intel Core i5 6500
Asus Z-170A motherboard
Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
Samsung 850 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Western Digital Blue 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
Fractal Design Define R5
SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold
Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)
PCPartPicker total price: $970

I will use the integrated graphics and Intel cooling and reuse my DVD drive. I know I could save money on the motherboard but since I generally keep my PCs for a long time I wanted USB 3.1 support and this mb also has displayport. I'll be getting a new monitor sometime, probably a 27" with higher than 1080 resolution, so I wanted the flexibility built in but I'm open to other motherboards with similar options. I have a desk with a built in cabinet for a full sized PC so I have no need to go smaller form factor. And I like the R5 because it has the ports and controls on the top edge which is most convenient for that kind of cabinet, and because it doesn't look like a cheap transformer from ToysRUs, but if I knew of a cheaper one with similar layout I could be convinced. I haven't researched memory too much, I just picked that set without too much investigation. Any comments about that build would be welcome.

Here's where Costco comes in, on their website right now they have this:

http://www.costco.com/Dell-XPS-8900-Desktop-|-Intel-Core-i7-|-4GB-Graphics.product.100228633.html

Dell XPS 8900, Core i7 6700, 32gb ram, NVIDIA GTX 745 4gb gpu, 1tb HDD, $850.

I would buy a Samsung SSD, I'm not sure if the mb for this supports m.2, and the 4tb HDD which would add about $300 to it, making it $1150, or about $150 more than the self build.

Pros with the Dell, i7, 32gb ram, warranty (although what happens to the warranty when I put in an SSD as the OS drive?), prebuilt.
Pros for the self build, cheaper, known standard, high quality parts.

I should mention that I have developed a movement disorder over the last 10 years called an intention tremor. Doing anything with fine motor control, like building a PC with tiny screws, etc, is a little challenging and not too fun but still doable.

I'm not sure which route I'll take but I would be interested in any opinions about my build or about the Dell.

 

[UsandThem]

It really just comes down to:

1. Build your own.

-Generally better build quality (case, motherboard, airflow). You select parts based on what you need or want.

-You have to build it and possibly deal with defective parts and troubleshooting. You will be your own techinical support. Parts will have 1-3 year warranties, but you would have to ship them to manufacturer's RMA centers.

2. Buy pre-built:

-Costs less

-Generally more basic than building your own (more limited motherboard, less airflow, slowest ram speed). Everything has been designed to work together.

-If you mess something up, all you have to do is restore it to the factory image. A Dell program tells you when your drivers need updated.

-Computers at Costco have 2 year warranty (1 year from Dell, 1 year from Costco). You plug it in and go. No need for troubleshooting; if it doesn't work you aren't the one stuck figuring out what is wrong.

Also, I have seen that Dell at $699 directly from Dell Home several times on Slickdeals. It just depends if you need it now, or can wait for a sale.

 

[postmortemIA]

the Dell has at least limited PSU and does not come with the SSD... So you're looking for $200+ at these two.

IMO prebuilt will come 10-20% cheaper, not more. I'd rather buy more quality parts for that much

 

[KLC]

I should start checking for Dell deals if I'm serious about that route. My company has a "deal" with Dell, employees can buy direct and get a company discount. I've never seen anything worth buying, the discount is small and as good or better prices seem to be easily found outside the corporate wall.

 

[UsandThem]

Yeah, those corporate discounts usually aren't that great.

Dell usually has very good limited time sales around holidays.

I use Slickdeals (you can filter deals just for desktop computers) and edealinfo.com when I get serious on looking at pre-builts and laptops.

This past Presidents Day, I bought a Dell Inspiron 7559 for $700 that had:

i7-6700HQ
960 GTX video card
1080p IPS screen
1 TB hybrid hard drive
8 GB ram
6 hour battery

The sale lasted about 10 hours before it sold out.

 

[UsandThem]

Here was the latest deal they had. It is expired now, but you can see what you can get. $550 after MIR:

http://slickdeals.net/f/8722615-del...in-10-550-after-25-slickdeals-rebate-free-s-h

It only has 8 GB of ram, but you could throw in another 8 GB if needed, but most people do not need 32 GB like in the system you posted.

 

[UsandThem]

the Dell has at least limited PSU and does not come with the SSD... So you're looking for $200+ at these two.

IMO prebuilt will come 10-20% cheaper, not more. I'd rather buy more quality parts for that much

Yeah, I typed out my response on mobile. Not sure why I had 'costs less' under build your own.

Mid-afternoon brain fart, I guess.

The Dell XPS 8900 should come with a 460w power supply. I'm not sure who they use, but I know it won't be a high-end unit like a Seasonic, but would be fine for running the system with the low-end video cards they come with.