Home-Built vs. Store-Bought PCs 1132
Greg Searle asks: "I'm going to be in the market for another PC soon, and have been watching the prices drop and the power go up over the years. There are a lot of 'bargains' out there, but then I heard that the best and least expensive PC's are 'white box' systems that are custom build by small, local companies. This got me thinking, I know how to put together a PC from scratch, why don't I just do it? This should save me quite a few bucks, and I get the exact system I want. My question to you: Where is the best place to order the parts (case, MB, drives, etc.) over the web? I am familiar with sites that sell typical consumer products, but have no idea where to start to get raw parts. I'd prefer one site that sells everything, but wouldn't be surprised if there are some specialty sites that provide the most bang for the buck for a particular piece. What do you think?"
Home Build! (Score:2, Interesting)
There is more to building your own PC than just the price.
Building your own PC gives you a lot more options, and it is fun! (if your a geek :-)
Home Built (Score:2, Interesting)
I've always built my own. Typically I find that it actually costs a little more then a mass market PC, but I get exactly the options (video card, PC card, etc) I want, and don't have to pay for any bundled stuff I didn't want.
I typically price all my parts through Pricewatch [pricewatch.com]
mwave.com (Score:1, Interesting)
They usually don't have the lowest price on pricewatch for any given component, but they're usually pretty near it. I don't mind paying ~$1-5 more for ordering from someone I've worked with before.
Building yourself is the way to go!
www.TechBargains.com and Newegg.com (Score:2, Interesting)
Try the Shuttle SFF (Score:2, Interesting)
http://www.shuttle.com/english/default.asp
Re:I guess I'll go out on a limb... (Score:2, Interesting)
I built a new system; Aluminum case w/450w PS, window and flighting key, AMD XP2000+, MSI KT3 Ultra-ARU, 512 Mb PC2700, Lite-On CDRW, Lite-On DVD, MS Trackball, and Keyboard. I migrated the 2 30Gb drives, LAN and video cards from my old system. Total outlay = $720.00.
DVD and CDRW came from Newegg [newegg.com]. Motherboard, CPU and RAM, case, KB and trackball came from Fry's Electronics.
Re:$450 from dell (Score:2, Interesting)
least expensive? Definitely! (Score:2, Interesting)
Their prices are already waaaay lower than someplace like Future Shop, and they also handily beat out all the local dealers. I have no experience with Dell, so maybe their prices are good, but with NCIX's system packages there is no "mix-and-match" parts - they have these systems ready to go. Configure them if you want. I was on there the other day and to put together a bare bones, 850 Duron system was $400 CDN (minus monitor/keyboard). That's about $250 US!
It cost me less to get them to ship a samsung stick of ram (that's with an $11 CDN shipping charge) to where I live than it did to get it through local dealers.
Thus you have it all - prebuilt or configurability, good components that you want, and best of all cheap price. Oh, and they also have minimum 1 Year warranty (you can buy more). "Building" it yourself is definitely the way to go if you can find the right dealer.
Rolling Your Own (Score:3, Interesting)
The price was great and the specs looked great compared to other similarly priced systems. When I got it, I found that everything inside was junk. Ultra cheap memory, crappy hard drive, no-name shit-bag mobo, ultra crappy video card, etc. Needless to say I was very disappointed. I believe things have improved in the "white box" deparment since then, but you still get what you pay for.
When you build your own you get a few benefits:
- You know exactly what's in there. No searching around for obscure drivers for no-name parts that no one has ever heard of.
- You get top quality in every part you use (up to your budget).
- Buy the "retail" version of a part and it will almost always come with a one year warranty.
- Personal satisfaction!
- No small time vendor to go out of business and not honor your warranty or provide service.
- A computer with better specs than the "white box" system for roughly the same price that is 2-3 times better in quality.
So while it may not be the cheapest option outright, I believe you get the most for your money in the long run. I build 5-10 computers a year now for family and friends (and occasionally myself...).Some tips when building your own:
- Beware of online retailers, some are reputable, some are not. When I built my first computer I bought at the lowest price I could find from all over the country. I got more than a few parts that were obviously returns from previous purchases. It cost money to return and some would not take back. Be careful who you buy from. (I found a local dealer who is as cheap or cheaper than what I can find online that I always buy from now.)
- Do your homework on parts. Visit tech sites like Tom's Hardware, anandtech and others to find out what parts match what you are looking for.
- Be careful of OEM buys. It usually means they come with no accessories (like cables, drivers, software bundles, connectors, etc). Often the price of the extra stuff will make up for the difference in price between retail and OEM.
- Also remember that retail boxed items usually come with a warranty. OEM usually does not.
- Tax often offsets shipping. Nowadays a lot of online retailers will charge tax even if they don't have to and pocket the money. Buying locally you pay tax yes, but it's often the same cost or cheaper than shipping.
- Make sure you know what you are doing. Building a pc is NOT rocket science, especially with jumperless motherboards, but there are often little details that you may never have heard of or considered that can cause damage or frustrating hours of downtime. (40 vs 80 pin IDE cables. Master vs. slave jumper settings on drive. AGP slot vs. card voltage, proper cooling fans, etc.)
- Stay the fuck away from Fry's!
One note here, when you add a monitor into the equation, things get a little trickier. It's often VERY hard to build a system with a monitor for the same price as one you buy "white box". I invested in a nice monitor a while ago and it's lasted me 5 years (still going strong). I figure with the frequency I would have to replace a "white box" system upgrading my monitor as I go, it paid for itself over time.For reference, I just put together a DAW with ASUS P4T mobo, 1.8GHz P4, 512MB RDRAM, 2x40GB EIDE 7200RPM hard drives, GeForce 440 MX video, DVD/CD, ethernet, case for under $1000. I don't think I could find something that REALLY compared for anywhere near that price.
Re:Building it is cheaper (Score:2, Interesting)
I opted to not buy as many parts online due to risk of damage in transit, and return fees. My friend had a bad experience with that, and it ended up costing him several hundred more dollars. Instead, I found some small local vendors that had significantly cheaper prices, and I had a chance to inspect the products. I guess it paid off since my computer has been trouble free for 3 years now, despite my abuse.
For anyone who might like to follow the same route and happens to live in the Bay Area,CA, a couple good vendors are http://www.pixelusa.com and http://www.centralcomputers.com.
One last thing, before you begin buying everything and setting up, try comparing your target price with that of a vendor. There is a company, http://ibuypower.com, where a friend bought her computer. They have pretty good deals, so don't overlook it just yet! I've "built" a computer through them before (they offer a good amount of options), and upon looking at the price, it was pretty damn competitive, even with me searching for better deals around town.
Just my 2 cents.
Good luck and have fun building!
Re:newegg.com (Score:3, Interesting)
It's the GST. Many American merchants are not interested in registering for the GST, paying it, etc. or listening to WHINING when people refuse the shipment because there's all this tax on it.
Guy buys a $100 stereo - it comes in, the Canadian customs grabs it, decide it's worth $200 USD which is $300 CDN - let's see, GST, PST, fees - $340-$360... the guy looks at the final price and says "GAK!" and returns it or refuses the shipment.
Americans don't want to deal with that garbage.
Dude... You're getting a home built! (Score:2, Interesting)
There are a few things you should pay attention to when building your own computer.
1) Expect to pay more.
You can save money over a name-brand or white box, but if you do it right (by buying the highest quality components you can) you'll pay more.
This doesn't mean getting only 2.53Ghz P4's and nVidia Geforce4's. This means researching each component and selecting the best. If you've only got $50 for a CPU, do you get a 1.2Ghz Duron, or a 900Mhz Athlon?
2) If you buy online, don't use more than two merchants.
More than two merchants to get all your components, and any money that might've been considered a savings can be kissed goodbye in shipping charges.
Likewise, shipping monitors is expensive, and I find the price difference from local vs online to be negligable (YMMV).
3) Pay attention to what resllerratings.com has to say about a merchant.
These guys will save you a ton of headache.
Give preference to shops that have had plenty of reviews thrown at them and still maintain a decent rating (6.5+), and lower preference shops that only have a one or two reviews.
If you buy from an online shop, supply a honest review to resellerratings.com about your experience with a merchant.
4) Buy components that are known to work well with your favorite flavor of *BSD.
Why? Because if you do, you'll know your box will probably work nicely with pretty much any OS you throw on it, and will steer you away from things like Winmodems.
5) Overclock everything.
This is the sweet creamy center that is the oreo cookie of building your own computer.
Eek out the extra performance as you can only do with a computer that you built. Mild to wild, it's up to you, but definately squeeze out some extra power.
Dell... annoying commercials, low low prices. (Score:3, Interesting)
I was setting up a machine as a gift for a relative, and I ended up purchasing one via the "Dell@Home" discount program offered by my employer.
I was able to configure the machine exactly as I chose, including de-selecting the included WinModem, and increasing RAM+HD storage. Final price, after free shipping and a rebate, was less than I would have paid to buy the parts separately.
Another advantage to buying from a big commercial vendor, when I move out of state, my relative won't have to call me long distance or wait for me to visit in order to get technical support.
TIPS - HOW I DID IT. (Score:2, Interesting)
1) Checkout pricewatch. Look for shops with your area code, IF there is one in your area you can sometimes sweet talk them into giving you there pricewatch price without paying for shipping!
2) Don't buy a CompUSA case!
Lastly a question - Are you installing Linux or already have a Windows license to use?
IF NOT, you might want to consider Dell (www.abscomputer.com or pick up a Computer Shopper), as the cost of OS and other software will typically outpace any homebuilt savings from having to buy Windows.
Re:$450 from dell......paying your geek dues (Score:4, Interesting)