So I've grown slightly weary of buying Dells and am seriously considering building my own from scratch. Obviously it's less hassle to just buy a Dell and have it built and delivered to my door but I'm interested to get people's opinions on whether it's cheap and generally better to build it myself. I might be going down a proverbial rabbit hole, since I've never done it before.
^ If you never even open up your PC case in the past... I'm not so sure if it's a good idea to build your own... Maybe you can consider asking a friend to help you get the parts and pay someone to build it for you..
Buy it. the old one i assume your using now.. open it up and play around with it, upgrade it if you can, that's how you learn.
Well, if you don't need a computer immediately I would open up your old one and play around with it. Its a great learning experience. You can get more with your money if you build it yourself. However, if you are in need of a upgraded/new computer then just buy it.
BUILD...with many parts you can reuse (Case, Power Supply, Hard Drive, DVD Writer, Mouse, Keyboard, LCD) you can save money on those. Lets say in 2 yrs you want an upgrade, you can buy a better CPU (and keep using the same board & RAM) and because when you buy a new PC from Dell or any retailer, you will be give the whole set and the old stuff will get thrown away = a waste... i have since bought my $200 Thermaltake case that will fit in any E-ATX, ATX, mATX, boards and all i do every two years is change the board, cpu and ram and keep the rest as is... plus building one is relatively easy, 30 mins on putting the stuff "together" and 20 mins to install Windows 7
Do a bit of research on building your own system. Don't just jump into it. A couple random google searches: http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/ http://www.pcguide.com/byop/ If its something that has your interest, then go for it. If not, then just get a pre built unit. Knoc
Definitely BUILD! Like Noasian mentioned, the main advantage is the re-usability and the possibility to perform small upgrades without having to replace the whole system. Also like the guy that runs to hell (apparently 121 times) said, it should be cheaper if you do your homework while shopping for components. It's ok if you have never done it, we all have to start from somewhere. The most important tips I can give you are to RTFM and to be patient Everything is documented, but usually people panic and do not bother reading the manuals. It would definitely help if you have someone to help you out the 1st time around. To give you an idea how things would go, check the following clips: PC Gamer UK Rig (part 1) PC Gamer UK Rig (part 2)
i say build, but what kind of dell machine a you currently using? if its only of them desktop computers, there isnt much stuff you can reuse as alot of the stuff is custom made for that case. if its one of the towrs you're likely can reuse case, power and HDD. the rest you need to buy.
In the past, building your own systems were cheaper. Now-a-days, it's much more cost effective to buy a pre-built system, unless you're an enthusiast. How do I know this? I used to work with the IT department at my college for a few years. In the past, the IT department would build and maintain the machines in house. Now-a-days, everything is either Dell or Compaq. The average user won't notice a huge improvement in minor hardware upgrades, it's the upgrade to an entirely new platform that really catches their attention. Even with custom built machines, you'll get to a point where upgrade is no longer an option and you have to start off fresh. With that said, if you're just an average user (meaning you don't do anything resource intensive IE: websurfing, word processing, watching movies or casual gaming), you won't benefit from building your own system. However, if you're an enthusiast that enjoys building machines and milking every last bit of performance from what you have, building is the way to go. My point is, don't build because you think it's cheaper, build because you enjoy it.
I would build to, you have to start from somewhere, pc building isn't like the old days, it's much easier now, there are lots of guides and people to ask, like here.
"proverbial rabbit hole"...?..-huh ive taken apart an old comp before...its was ubbbbber fun..... actually putting it back together was another thing...
i agree with kontra, building ur own system isn't actually that much cheaper now as the manufactuers don't make that much money from each desktop due to competition. however, building is cheaper if u want the best machine as u can often get those rele good parts slightly cheaper than buying it pre-built but for basic machines, it's prob cheaper to buy. also, yes u can use parts from the old machine but sometimes with new motherboards, they may not fit in the case and after a few years u may not be able to re-use as many of the parts as u thought u would.
^ hahaha nopes....i have tripped over wires of 2 diff. comps and it broke...the I.T guy @ school used to hate me....-lol
not really beacuse school has to buy parts from larger IT companies like Microserve, Compugen, Sudden Services, CDW, therefore the prices are high, very high...if you match exactly the same parts (model wise) on pre-built systems VS. you own build, you will find it is still cheaper and GO GREEN people, reuse parts when you can and save money, plus with the Windows 7 for $40 USD, thats a steal (as long as you have a educational email address from school, it will work) if you have been using Dell, they most likely be using a brand of board called Foxconn, and they are cheap, and huge with factories, all the sockets in the Intel-based boards are manf. by Foxconn, same as Sony Ericsson phones ever since a couple yrs ago. Back then a G31 board was only $70 compared to other brands @ $100+ to get and 3 yrs straight exchange warranty from Foxconn. With a sub-$100 board, you will get everything onboard, as many of the pre-built systems are anyways. What i am saying is even start off fresh, the price will still be cheaper in the end. Remember when you buy OEMs (Dell, Compaq, HP) you will get a lot of junk software pre-installed where it is suppose to help you but they just use up your memory and whenever I got these PCs, I format including the hidden partition and install the OS and create my image myself. When I got my netbook, I ereased everything and installed my OS on it, now it is on Windows 7 PRO and it runs smoothly. On the other hand, if you want a laptop, BUY is cheaper than BUILD. BTW, I hate building my PC, but I will save whatever I can. not really an issue with the boards, ATX & mATX will stay, and they haven't got into E-ATX yet and the other ITX don't count as they aren't standards in the industry...if you are talking about the size on drives, then nope, those are standards but the connectors will be different, but hey, now is the SATA world, everything will be in SATA, SATA2, SATA3 so u have a long way to re-use parts. my thermaltake case was purchased since the Intel C2Q (Q6600) era and still have plenty of room to upgrade and now even the i5s or i7s board will take it, thats like 2 yrs already, plus the next i8s/i9s will still be on the standard ATX, with another 2-3 yrs, thats 5 yrs worth already.
So I managed to spec out a comp that's about $100 bucks cheaper than a Dell with similar specs but I had to pick out the worst components possible. Are you saying you would rather do that than spent the extra 100 bucks for a Dell? And yes, it comes with a lot of bloatware but what's stopping you from removing it?
cost is one thing, but we also have to take into account the level of expertise of the individual... not saying OP is a novice, but by buying a premade computer, say from dell, you buy more than just the hardware. you buy the technical support, you buy the warranty. Assuming he made his PC, and a BSOD happens. not everyone are as hands on as we are, not everyone will try or know how to solve the problem. with a dell, you call up the techies, they help you troubleshoot, in a non-technical language. worse case, you send it back, they fix it for you. you get one prepackaged, you get service to maintain it, and there's no effort needed on your part. perfect for the non-comp savvy. same thing with a car. i know jack shit about fixing a car, except for the basics. i get extended warranty, i have them do it for me. worth it imo. that extra 100 bucks isn't being thrown away, it's being used =)
I would suggest buying one that is closest to your need. Computers have come down so much in price that it's almost a time waster to build. Slapping parts together is the easy part but the fine tuning can get long and laborious. Unless you need a super tricked out gaming rig with custom case mods it's quicker and easier to buy. My 2 cents.
