Cheaper to go custom?

S

skizzerhands

New Member
I've always ran with my handy dandy direct from dell systems...

It's bout time to get a new computer....

Custom, however I'm afraid of the trial and error situation concerning matching parts and whatnot... obviously I don't know where to start learning... can somone please point me in the correct direction with some urls?

cool thanks,
:cool:
skizz
 
To awnser the title, custom is almost never cheaper. People go custom to get what they want or too overclock.

If by matching parts you mean finding good parts read reviews and ask here.

Good sites for reviews are www.tomshardware.com
www.computerpoweruser.com (I don't think you have to be subscribed for some of the features)
other people can probbably add more.
 
691175002 said:
To awnser the title, custom is almost never cheaper. People go custom to get what they want or too overclock.
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WHAT!?!?!?!?!? I could build a computer the same as a Dell 3000 and cut off $100 dollars. Just cuz it doesn't say Dell on it (not something to be proud of :P, )and the bios ain't ****ed
 
You sure, Dell can go waaaaaaaaaay cheaper because all their parts are OEM.

AHHHHH now I can only post one message every 60 seconds... crazy rules... (i just replied to your .000000000000000000000000000016% what is a conspiracy thingy..)
 
691175002 said:
You sure, Dell can go waaaaaaaaaay cheaper because all their parts are OEM.
Click to expand...
I am quite sure

AHHHHH now I can only post one message every 60 seconds... crazy rules... (i just replied to your .000000000000000000000000000016% what is a conspiracy thingy..)
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I know. I have instant email notification. :rolleyes:
 
Here is a dimension 3000,
and here is an equilivent system from newegg

CPU $168
XP Home $94
RAM $55
HDD $58
Monitor $100
Mobo $60
Total- $535
Dell price-normal $639, on sale $575
Keep in mind that this is comparable, it is actually a little better because you could do a lot more with it, and it would have an actual bios.
 
True but you can almost never beat deals from dell, dells pc is already assembled, it has a warrentee so you dont have to phone every company...

also you didnt add a case and psu. I'm sure your computer can tie a dell in benchmarks without those :P
 
The reason I built my own was initally, I could do it cheaper than dell or anyone else. However, I started looking into the bits and pieces that went into these retail computers and for the most part they use very low quality parts. I ended up buying quality parts (from newegg.com, ebay, and other vendors) and building a computer that suits my needs (and wants) exactly.

ARAMP1
 
i sorta did mine on my own. i picked out what i wanted and payed a company to do it cause i didnt know how to that well at the time
 
You guys rule...
I gotta a 3rd world dimension 2350

... only 256mg of ram.. and I think its starting to rott due to the molasses-like performance... I've heard ram rotting is a common problem among the elderly ram community...

I'm totally going to have to build one... thanks a ton for the input... now i suppose newegg.com is the popular computer part distributor?
 
skizzerhands said:
now i suppose newegg.com is the popular computer part distributor?
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Yes, I also use zipzoomfly.com. Little cheaper sometimes, and free shipping. Depends where you are, though
 
newegg is good. What is your buddget and what do you do on the computer? We can sugest parts and stuff like that if you want.

(yo bobo check out my 39 layers of brackets in the ctf post!!)
 
691175002 said:
newegg is good. What is your buddget and what do you do on the computer? We can sugest parts and stuff like that if you want.

(yo bobo check out my 39 layers of brackets in the ctf post!!)
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yo 87634786234, check your PM inbox :P

Yeah, we could use a budget and intentions, many people (not necessarily me:rolleyes: ) are really good at finding the right parts
 
Hrm... well like everyone else, I wanna get the best bang for my buck, and also want a small country ruleing hell beast machine....

But if it comes down to numbers preceeded by a dollarsign i'd prolly make my max bid at $700, depending on how large of countries it could take over...

3.x ghz
1-2gb ram <----for massive multitasking purposes
harddrive <----got an extra 120 gb ata

Dual monitors is a must, simply because I can't go back to just one, but for this new system perhaps THREE monitor adaptor deals

I'd like to game... but I'm always preoccupied with otherstuff.... so serious action crazy videocards are not needed...

Hrm... reviewing what I wrote...I suppose I'm tr ying to convey a general idea, i'm hardware iliterate...

this forum rules
u guys rule
rock on
skizz
:cool:
 
So i'm assuming that you want an intel (because with multi monitor's you probbably do some processor intensive stuff)

By "got an extra 120 Gb do you mean you already have an hd? Because if you do and you can buy 2 more you could go raid 5 (my favorite of course). I suggest you google raid 5 and raid 0 or all of the raid's and see if you like them.

For the video card do you want a special "dual output" card, They have special drivers and capabilities for dual monitors. Also do you already have both monitors and do they need dvi signals?

You will never fit 3 monitors into 700$ so I assume If you want 3 you will buy them seperatly?

Thats it for now...
 
Well, I've been torn between a Mac and a custom computer, and I think I'm leaning towards custom. Heres why...

From Newegg, I can get the following system:
Antec Sonata case w/ power supply... supposedly whisper quiet
Athlon 64 1.8ghz, 3000+
GOOD compatible mobo
Radeon 9800pro
Samsung 17" TFT
M-Audio Delta 410 soundcard
Windows XP
1GB Crucial Ram
200GB Western Digital hard drive
Windows XP
NEC double layer 16x DVD-RW

All for around $1300

Blows an iMac G5 out of the water hardware wise, just doesn't have OSX, and find me any prebuilt computer with comparible specs for the same price...
 
asb819 said:
Well, I've been torn between a Mac and a custom computer, and I think I'm leaning towards custom. Heres why...

From Newegg, I can get the following system:
Antec Sonata case w/ power supply... supposedly whisper quiet
Athlon 64 1.8ghz, 3000+
GOOD compatible mobo
Radeon 9800pro
Samsung 17" TFT
M-Audio Delta 410 soundcard
Windows XP
1GB Crucial Ram
200GB Western Digital hard drive
Windows XP
NEC double layer 16x DVD-RW

All for around $1300

Blows an iMac G5 out of the water hardware wise, just doesn't have OSX, and find me any prebuilt computer with comparible specs for the same price...
Click to expand...

It looks like a nice system but you should really make your own thread. You will probbably get more relevent posts and right now you are thread hijacking.
 
Well, 69... let's see...

The guy who posted the topic asked if it is cheaper to go custom. People were sharing their experiences and giving opinions, and since, unless I missed something, the topic was still open to discussion, I decided to share my plan so as to help the starter of the topic. Perhaps I didn't make myself clear -- I didn't mean for my post to be about Macs or even anything remotely unrelated to the topic. It was just a list of parts that I am considering buying and the total price: $1300. My post was simply meant to put it all into perspective for Skizzerhands -- he seems to want similar products as I do, and as you can see, $700 is not gonna cut it.

Thanks for the "welcome." I guess I won't be sticking around this forum.

Good luck with your computer, Skizzerhands.
 
Well then I am sorry and may have been a little quick in my descision. I thought that you were asking for opinions about your system and sugested that you create a new thread. Either way, it was nothing personal and I don't really see why you would leave just because one person said you were thread hijacking.
 
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