Building a Computer vs Pre-Built Computer

Ganchrow · 05-29-07, 01:10 PM

Originally posted by austintx05

Still on my search for buying a new machine. I have been approached by a family member who has built 6-7 of his own desktops. For the $600 that Dell quoted me on a desktop package, he has quopted me the same price with better components for the same total dollar.

Now the nice thing about buying a pre-built machine is the warranty you get, but since this is a family member I know it would be like having tech support for life...lol, but I know he takes pride in his computers and have no doubt that he would fix if there ever was a problem.

Has anyone ever built their own computer? Since I am just wanting an internet machine, should I expect any problems?

Thx

Check out the Dell Outlet store for refurbished PCs. http://www.dell.com/outlet

learn2play · 05-29-07, 01:12 PM

I build my own all the time. Easy to maintain and easy to repair. bad part about those store warrentys is that you can never upgrade your own machine or hire someone to do it. Meaning any new bell or whistle you wanna add in the machine will need to be installed by a Dell Service center and no one else. The stick a seal on you tower in key places that if the are removed or damage your warrenty is then void.

Plus you always can get a better computer built for the price you pay at Home Depot or Best Buy for a pre-made.

austintx05 · 05-29-07, 01:20 PM

* the final price of the built machine would include a 17" flat vs a 15" in the Dell

I like the idea of having a built machine that is customized, no extra AOL programs or any non sense that I would not put on it myself....either way it is an investment and I want to make the right decision.

Dhuepaxuz · 05-29-07, 01:22 PM

Build your own. The experience is always nice.

Many think, building your own PC will save you a few $'s, that's wrong for the only reason that you'll always want something different or better.

Good luck on what you decide.

austintx05 · 05-29-07, 01:28 PM

I am not rwally saving any extra money, just having a custom machine with soem upgrade parts for the same price as a factory model.

pico · 05-29-07, 01:43 PM

i built my own desktop..i have to say, i learned a lot form the experience. now everytime something goes wrong, i know exactly where the problem is. but building one is not always cheaper. i have order different parts from different companies, so the shipping charge for the whole system was about 200-300 dollars. plus i went all out and bought the best parts, so it turned out to be couple of thousands dollars. on the up side, i have used that pc for over 5 years and still working fine.

if you have kids or none tekkies in the house, get a pre-built one...in case someone else screwed up your machine, you can always call up customer support.

austintx05 · 05-29-07, 01:46 PM

no kids, but like I said he would fix it if anything was to go wrong

jjgold · 05-29-07, 02:02 PM

Just buy one online where you can configure it, building is a waste and always issues

austintx05 · 05-29-07, 02:06 PM

Originally posted by jjgold

Just buy one online where you can configure it, building is a waste and always issues

how many computers have you built?

what were the issues you had to deal with?

Dizzy · 05-29-07, 02:09 PM

I build my own and my familys desktops all the time. You will not save much money.........if any at all. You will get better parts and have the pleasure of knowing that it is custom built.

Dont worry about the warranty because each individual part that you buy should be covered by its own warranty anyway. If your family member knows his stuff then he should be able to identify any parts that cause a problem down the line and have them replaced for you.

And as the guys already mentioned, its a rewarding educational project

crackerjack · 05-29-07, 02:14 PM

If you have a family member who knows what he is doing it's probably worth it to have him build a computer. We bought a Dell and had a few problems with it. But I also built my own and because it was the first time, there were some serious hiccups. Overall though, I learned a ton and the machine has been running great for a long time.

austintx05 · 05-29-07, 02:59 PM

Thanks for the input.

austintx05 · 05-29-07, 03:00 PM

I wouldn't mind learning how to build one either for future info.

RickySteve · 05-29-07, 04:11 PM

I've built several PCs and would never go any other route. If you aren't on a timeframe, it can be dirt cheap picking up the components as they go on sale.

austintx05 · 05-30-07, 02:14 AM

Thanks RickySteve...I will let you guys know how it turns out!

onlooker · 05-30-07, 03:52 AM

Build it yourself. I will never buy a desktop that was pre-built. Don't listen to JJ about the so called "issues". If you know what your doing, you will have less problems then a pre-built machine.

If its just going to be a internet box, then don't go crazy on the the parts.

Here are a few sites I buy from:

NewEgg
ZipZoomFly

Just put a .com after their name and you will be on your way. They usually have free 2 day shipping on most parts.

jjgold · 05-30-07, 06:00 AM

Most do not know what they are doing, you will have issues believe me, just go buy one its way easier and cheaper.

austintx05 · 05-30-07, 10:08 AM

jj - plz stop responding, you do not know what you are talking about.

jjgold · 05-30-07, 10:53 AM

I once bought a pre built one for some guy that said he knew what he was doing, I go home and try to get on net and he forgot to put in ethernet card. I took the mother fukker and smashed it through his window and he gave me my mone back and then flew up to comp usa and bought a compaq and never looked back. I never ever have issues with compaqs

tblues2005 · 05-30-07, 11:35 AM

austin if you have any shops around you that just builds computers from scratch that would be best for you to do there. I would look in the phone book and call some of them, I have one that is custom built the way I like it and I had a problem last year right around the world series and he got it fixed for me for a decent rate, I think you always get a better system if you have it custom built, you just say the way you want it done and then it's done. It seemed to me that the ones you get from Dell only last say a few years and then it tends to go out on you. If you have it custom built then you can expand it and the warranty is still good on it also, without a hitch from a personally owned shop. I hope I helped you out some and i hope you get a good system for the price, but if you go to them retailers they can charge you quite a bit compared to one of these personally owned places when they can build it for about the same price but with better part and most of the time they last longer too.

Ganchrow · 05-30-07, 11:54 AM

Whatever you do, compare the price you'd be paying for components with Dell Outlet.

If you're looking for a basic Internet box, you can probably find a "scratch & dent" at Dell for around $275 for a P4 3.2 GHz with 1GB Ram and a legit copy of XP Home (less for some flavor of Celeron). Perhaps you could pay slightly less if you were to build it yourself, but would it really be worth the hassles?

isetcap · 05-30-07, 11:56 AM

Originally posted by Ganchrow

Whatever you do, compare the price you'd be paying for components with Dell Outlet.

If you're looking for a basic Internet box, you can probably find something there for around $275 for a P4 3.2 GHz with a legit copy of XP Home (less for some flavor of Celeron). Perhaps you could pay slightly less if you were to build it yourself, but would it really be worth the hassles?

Very good advice here guys.

sergfro · 05-30-07, 12:19 PM

if you're looking for a video card i have a 7900gt laying around. I upgraded to a 8800gts

jjgold · 05-30-07, 12:38 PM

Not any video card works in a pc, there are many factors needed to be in place to use a video card and many , many are not compatible with the system your currently using.

RickySteve · 05-30-07, 03:31 PM

Originally posted by jjgold

Not any video card works in a pc, there are many factors needed to be in place to use a video card and many , many are not compatible with the system your currently using.

You can't pull a video card out of some ancient 386 and expect it to run Vista, but virtually any card manufactured this century will be at least minimally compatible with XP.

austintx05 · 05-30-07, 10:37 PM

I just noticed a lot of Toshiba laptops are expandable up to 4gb of RAM...very nice feature...

Cyclone · 05-30-07, 10:53 PM

If we haven't yet exhausted this topic, I have had a Dell desktop for five years and it has been great. Nothing I couldn't fix by finding a patch somewhere, which is good because I know almost nothing about how they work. I used to work for the US government, and once they gave us some refurbished Compaq laptops which were a nightmare.