Building vs. Buying Computers

raoul_1101

raoul_1101

Member
I know that all of all of us here prefer to build our own computer- you open a lot of doors (possibilities) that way. One of the biggest things people say is 'its cheaper if you build your own'. Recently, I tried a little research on my own and found interesting results. From what I found, it always ends up about the same cost building and buying the same computer, and sometimes even more to build it. I'm just wondering some of your guy's position on this. Anyone who acutally does out the math, that's even better.
 
Building a computer can be cheaper than buying one - or more expensive. More importantly in insures that your system is made from generic parts and that makes upgrading and repair easier and cheaper than with factory computers. It also allows unlimited customization which is useful to people that know what they want.
 
I've been doing some math lately - and for the low end models - 300 - 400 dollars - I don't think you can touch them having to pay about 200.00 for O/S - Case - and PSU.

Add another 100 bucks for inexpensive CPU and MOBO

Add a 300GB HDD, Optical drive, Productivity pack, 1-2GB RAM and you can't touch a low end as I do the math. The downside is you have a BIOS that you can't OC to maximize your processor - and have alot of DELL / HP software lurking around in the background.

Mid to upper level PC's you it looks like you can save money with a better MOBO - and CPU - and leaving hardware you don't need / want and taylor the money you spend to the function you most need. I'll let others weigh in with more credibility on that issue though - but for the low ends - I don't see how you can compete on anything but higher quality with self built maybe a slightly higher clock speed on the CPU.
 
Yea, well with the bigger companies like Dell, HP, Compaq, etc., they can all get OS licenses for there computers cheaper than any normal person which is a big money saver for the lower end computers. With that I completely agree.

@FMW- I completely agree with your point as well. It allows for unlimited customization in every way, as well as making repair/maintenance easier (in some cases, but not always).

But what I'm getting at more- If someone who isn't huge into computers, but for some reason wants a high end computer, if not for customization and related issues, why would anyone build their own computer rather than simply buying a bare bone kit/name brand computer?
 
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I was actually a part of his research and i think u dont understand what he meant buy pre-made computers they are custom, as in they are not made by dell or hp. So they are still over-clockable.
 
yes, sometimes it is actually more expensive to build your own computer than to buy pre-built (they come with monitor, OS...etc). but by building your own, you get to choose all your parts. for e.g. for dell, their motherboard are almost always the very basic. and pre-built not very upgrade-friendly because the parts are really basic (mb and psu especially).
 
raoul_1101 said:
@FMW- I completely agree with your point as well. It allows for unlimited customization in every way.

But what I'm getting at more- If someone who isn't huge into computers, but for some reason wants a high end computer, if not for customization and related issues, why would anyone build their own computer rather than simply buying a bare bone kit/name brand computer?
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You didn't understand what I meant by using generic parts makes upgrades and repairs easier and cheaper?
 
Building a computer is not cheaper per se. That is no longer the case. Typically when you build a computer you tend to buy quality parts and it drives up the cost of your build. OTOH, when you buy a prebuilt system you generally aren't getting the highest qualify of parts either. It goes both ways. I say it depends on support and warranty. Build it yourself you are on your own for support and warranty is through each individual part's company. You buy it you can call them for support and if it breaks under warranty you can call them as well and they will have a tech fix it for you.

It really just depends on what you want to do and what you are comfortable with.

My last build started out as $700 but by the time I got all the parts I wanted it was nearly $1400. So, in my case building it was definitely not cheaper.
 
FMW:
Well, I kind of disagree with that part. IF you build a computer using standard, well known parts, then you will be able to troubleshoot individual pieces of hardware alongside other users who have the same pieces.
But, if you have the exact same system as 200,000 other people, then any problems you have are guaranteed to have been solved or troubleshot before.
Idk, explain what you meant in a little more depth?
 
Depends how you look at it.
If you want a PC for $400, you would probably find buying will be better.
However, if you got a < $700 budget, you would probably find it cheaper to build it yourself.
 
the problem with using not well known parts is that you find it hard to pin point the problem. like the other day, i was helping my friend check if he could upgrade his CPU. i did a google search of his MB and came up with nothing, beside a few forum posts that contain the name of the MB. he is using a Dell btw.
and as for support and warranty, do you really need it? I put together this com for almost a year now and i've not run into any trouble hardware-wise.
 
I've looked into this a bit with companies like ibuypower and i think cyberpower too. The custom computer companies. They're builds seem cheaper, until you ask them for 4gb instead of 3gb of ram, and its somehow a $100 upgrade. They do this with other menial upgrades too. Just go through their site and build one and see how quickly the price jumps on things that would cost a builder only a few bucks instead of what they're asking.
 
Glliw said:
I've looked into this a bit with companies like ibuypower and i think cyberpower too. The custom computer companies. They're builds seem cheaper, until you ask them for 4gb instead of 3gb of ram, and its somehow a $100 upgrade. They do this with other menial upgrades too. Just go through their site and build one and see how quickly the price jumps on things that would cost a builder only a few bucks instead of what they're asking.
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Yes this ibuypower was one of the companies that we were looking at, and compared all the parts and prices on newegg and it came up to about the same price as if we made it ourselves.
 
raoul_1101 said:
FMW:
Well, I kind of disagree with that part. IF you build a computer using standard, well known parts, then you will be able to troubleshoot individual pieces of hardware alongside other users who have the same pieces.
But, if you have the exact same system as 200,000 other people, then any problems you have are guaranteed to have been solved or troubleshot before.
Idk, explain what you meant in a little more depth?
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Manufacturers have proprietary parts made for their computers that don't fit generic computers and generic computer parts don't fit their equipment. That means that upgrades have to be made with the manufacturers' parts and prices. There is nothing superior or more stable about the parts the manufacturers use. There is simply proprietary design. Try to put a standard mainboard in an HP case, as an example. It doesn't fit.
 
fmw said:
Manufacturers have proprietary parts made for their computers that don't fit generic computers and generic computer parts don't fit their equipment. That means that upgrades have to be made with the manufacturers' parts and prices. There is nothing superior or more stable about the parts the manufacturers use. There is simply proprietary design. Try to put a standard mainboard in an HP case, as an example. It doesn't fit.
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Ahh, that makes more sense. But, you're saying they don't use generic but proprietary hardware? That I didn't know, I never thought companies manufactured their own pieces, but simply bought and re-branded them
 
i dont think the real reason to build a pc is for the price rather the price vs. what you get. you can get every thing you want how you want with out buying the pc and then buying that part. i went to newegg and put together a pc (not everything i want but most of it) with a i7 cpu for just under $900. the cheapest i7 pc that i have seen on the shelf is over $1200.
 
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