computers store bought vs build own

[missyusa]

I would be interested in your thought of whether you think
building your own computer vs buying a store bought deal
is the best buy for the monies?
I realize it depends on what you want in it..
but lets start with Pent. 4... build vs store bought build
any ideas?
thank you

[NotQuiteHere]

My honest opinion....... is how much effort you wanna put in. Building it yourself could definitely save you a lot money depending on the parts, and the sources. However, its more hassle than just going out and buying one that someone has already done all the work on.

I'd build one...... but thats becuase I dont mind the hassle, and at least I know everything thats in my system, know how its hooked up, etc.

[RamonGTP]

Years ago it was cheaper to build your own... This is not the case today. You can get a complete PC without monitor for around $300 these days. Building your own will cost about the same now as a comprable store bought, in some cases maybe a bit more. However, for my purposes, the benifits far outweigh the costs. PC's I build have always performed better and been more stable than any pre-builts. I also know EXACTLY whats in there and absolutly nothing is proprietary.

[NotQuiteHere]

What he said is true...... a $300 dollar PC will cost you $300 to build. A higher end sytem is the one that can come out cheaper. For instance, my mother was looking at a $3000 PC. I told her to let me check what it would cost to build. In the end, I built the PC, with only new parts, and only brands I trusted to be fo quality, for approximately $2500

[Omardeth]

in the low end , store bought is the best deal . the software is where you get killed . but for the high end you can build a better pc for way less .

[John Prophet]

Build it.

Although saying you start with P4 automatically makes the price a lil higher than AMD.

[jmichna]

missyusa,
Welcome to TechIMO.
What does your heart say? Do you want to learn more about PCs? Is this an area that interests you? Or, are you just trying to minimize costs, in which case, whether to build or not depends on your budget, as other above have indicated.
It's tough to build a cost-competitive lower-end system because what you may be able to save in hardware costs gets mitigated by the expense of the OS and other software you'll need to install.
Building PCs is fun... and can be challenging and even frustrating.
It offers you the opportunity to research and select every component, find the best pricing, and then the satisfaction of putting it all together and having it work. Plus, you will amaze and astound your friends!

[Gilthanaz]

It also depends on what you will want out if the machine in the future. Upgradeablility is often an issue with pre builts. If you buy a $400 dell computer for example, youll be without an AGP slot and kinda screwed graphics wise. The advantage to building would definately be that you know what hardware you have and its what you picked out. As RamonGTP said, you dont have to worry about the commercail garbage bundeled with a pre built PC. Just stay away from places like Alienware, ect. If you want a performance machine, you can build it or have somone else build it for you for almost half the price.

[Bill in SD, CA]

From an upgrade standpoint building allows to take into consideration the future and better allocation of funds especially if those funds are limited.

For example a mother board with built in graphics and an AGP slot would allow you put more money towards storage, memory, better processor, larger PSU, etc.

You can always a few months down the road throw in a high end graphics card when more funds are available.

Bill

[Martoch]

Hi missyusa, Welcome to TechIMO!!!


I agree that there are many good inexpensive systems available these days, but when you look inside the box what do you see?
Memory sticks that only have "made in korea" written on them...um, what brand is that again?
Motherboards with no room for expansion whatsoever...no thanks.
Oh man, that power supply isn't even enough for me to upgrade my hardware!

See what I'm getting at? You don't pay a lot for pre-built systems, but then again, in most cases you don't get a lot either.
The software can cost you a bit, but not if you already have it...which I'm sure most people who can build their own systems do. Who cares about the support packages? You've got TechIMO!


I recommend Dells to my buddies that know NOTHING about computers and that I won't be able to help out...but otherwise, build build build!!!


Just my $1.09

Mike