Island Dog

Join Date 06/2003

+1048

PC's: Do You Buy or Build?

Buying a new PC is something that some people dread, and makes some people rejoice. In today's market there is such a wide variety of choice as far as computers go. You can literally pickup a brand new computer for just a couple hundred dollars, as well as easily spend several thousand dollars on a high-end system. However, people taking the time to build their own PC seems to be as popular as ever.

With just a handful of components you can easily put together a very powerful system for much less than buying its equivalent at retail. With prices of items such as processors and RAM at very low prices, I think it's an option anyone who has some "mechanical" ability should consider.

The last retail PC I purchased (aside from laptops) was around the time Windows XP was released. I went and bought a nice new Compaq with a whopping 15" LCD and CD burner. After a few months it just couldn't handle some of the games I wanted to play, so I picked up a new video card and popped it in the AGP slot, and I think that is where the idea for me to build my computers from now on started.

Since then I have built a couple of PC's, with the latest just being a few months ago after the previous system decided it didn't want to work with me anymore. Luckily I was able to salvage a few parts such as the DVD burner which saved me a few dollars, and I was able to build a nice Core 2 Duo system for just a few hundred dollars. The best thing is the old PC still has some working parts, and once I pickup a new motherboard/CPU I will be able to pass that computer on to my kids to replace their aging desktop.

So my question to the community is......do you buy or build your PC's?

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Jafo

Join Date 03/2001

+1846

Last/only PC I bought new was a P100 with Win3.11....a 'while' ago.

These days I prefer to kill my own....

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I built from 1995 to 2005. At that point my time became more valuable than the cost of a PC and I bought. Looking at the PC I bought though . . I've replaced almost all of the componants.

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I've never built my own, but have had the interest ever since I bought a gateway back in college that had several problems. Luckily, though stupidly, I had bought a three year warranty, so I kept getting replacement parts for no add'l charge. After replacing them, I came to find I enjoyed getting to tinker inside the machine, and have relished getting new components since.

I've no doubt that I can find a bounty of information through a simple google search, but does anyone have any particularly good reference resources for building a machine, as I think I'd like to tackle that my next time out of the gate?

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I bought a gateway back in 93 and every computer since then has been homebuilt, it’s a lot of fun. There are a lot of junk components out there, and they can really cause a lot of heartache, so I research every component. Reading all the reviews, professional and consumer to get the most bang for the buck.

I build a new one every year so practically all my family has a cheap hand me down. They buy the case, monitor and keyboard and they’re good to go. My latest computer has the nvidia 8800 GTX and it runs HOT, so I decided to try water-cooling. Now it’s starting to get a little complicated but it’s still fun.

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I have built my own PCs since 1988. The last prebuilt I bought was a Leading Edge model D purchased in January 1985. I still buy prebuilt laptops however.

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I've been building my own for years. I'll never go back. And as Hawkeye said above, I haven't built any laptops, but I wish it was easier to do so.

does anyone have any particularly good reference resources for building a machine, as I think I'd like to tackle that my next time out of the gate?

This link seems to have most of it covered.

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I keep hitting the disintegrate button because I am jealous of you guys that can build your own stuff. If I could I would, but I cant so I won't.

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My job is PC building and repair. I recommend you to build your own only if you know how to properly do it.
You can't even imagine what disasters people does...

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thomassen

Join Date 01/2003

+10

I bought my computer from Dell four years ago. After that I've bought the components when friends/family has asked me to sort out a computer for them.
My last computer I got myself was one I won as part of a contest. Case, mobo, RAM and gfx card. I just had to add the last parts myself.

My Mac Mini I bought is somewhat annoying as it doesn't have a WLAN card and there's NO SCREWS to open the damn thing with. Apparently I need to crawl to an Apple store to get it fixed unless I want to pry it open myself...

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I built my last two machines myself, but my current one is a custom built machine that I bought. I found that it is actually cheaper to buy custom built than building it myself.

If anyone can give me a hint as to why custom built machines are cheaper (at least here in Switzerland they seem to be) than the sum of their parts (without OS or crapware pre-installed), please feel free to do so.

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Zoomba

Join Date 11/2002

+114

I've gone back and forth. I built my first from-scratch PC in 2000, and upgraded it in bits and pieces until it completely died (power spike) in 2004. I had also built a few other misc use machines to tinker with in that same period. When the machine croaked in 2004, I bought a Dell to replace it and have been using it since.

In the next year I'll be getting a new PC since the Dell is really on its last legs. As to whether I'll build or buy, I'm not sure.

Building:
+Cheaper
+Infinite control over components
+Sense of accomplishment pieceing everything together and turning it on
+Knowing exactly what's in my PC
-Dealing with individual components that may be DOA
-Frustrations of hardware incompatibilities
-90 day part warranties only
-Slicing your hands to shreds fitting parts in a case/onto the motherboard

Buying:
+Easy. Go, select bits on the configurator, click submit.
+Warranty. If anything dies, I can send it back or call support. Typically longer than 90 days.
+Parts guaranteed to work together. They don't usually let you pick incompatible parts
+Comes pre-assembled. Saves hands from hell
-Usually 15-20% more expensive
-Less control over what you get
-Takes longer to get your PC since there is time for building and testing added
-Sometimes they use generic parts in places that are of lower quality and more prone to fail.

I know one thing, if I go the buy route, it won't be a Dell. Too many custom shaped parts making it impossible to replace key components. And they put in strange wattage power supplies.

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i professionaly build my own, this way i get what i want and i know for a fact it is going to work and not have a million and one problems like the HP's,compaq's and dell's do plus i can install any OS i want on it with out having to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars more.and if something goes wrong for example a massive hardware failure such as the PSU blowing up on me i can take out the PSU and replace it with a newer and more powerfull one with out the fear of void any warranty's.the only major con: though you have a warranty for each part, each part only has a certain amount of days/months and sometimes years you can return it to the store or manufacture for a replacement part.if the warranty wears out you abosolutly can not get a extened warranty for that part.buying a system you can always upgrade the warranty for a additional 3 to 5 years or so for a added few hundred $$ were as a part such as a video card,motherboard ETC. you can't.

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I have been building my own PC's from scratch since 1999. I got so fed up with the "brand name" PCs that had all their proprietary junk in the machines....I decided enough was enough. I generally build a new one every couple of years. I do a lot of research before buying any of the components. I have never had any problem with DOA parts, or parts dying on me. I also build PC's for members of my family too.

Now...if I could only figure out a way to build a laptop...I use my laptop a lot, and wish I didn't have to put up with all the proprietary junk in them.

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If I can, I build. I've never got a laptop to build, just premade, but it can't be hard. BTW: I got my own laptop for my bday KICKASS!!.

Also, When the computers up and running, I install XP Home SP2, not Vista.

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Zoomba: You still have a warranty on all the part you buy yourself, they just aren't all blanketed under one company. So that just becomes a little easier to deal with.

Personally I build and will as long as I can keep up with the technology. Not only do I build for myself but I build for almost everyone I know, from parents to girlfriends to friends who don't know computers. Its just such a huge advantage to be able to fully customize a system and get the most bang for the buck that I couldn't see doing it any other way. I am still waiting for easily constructable laptops...

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Depending where you buy from, you can get pretty good control over components.
My last purchase was from CyberPowerInc. Customer support on the build sucked, but the warranty was good for the card reader that failed.

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Uhh is both an option?

I bought parts at ENU store, and for 20 bucks fee, they built it for me. I can build it myself, I'm just lazy and 20 bucks is cheap.

Benefits: Central warranty, quality build ( them ENU folks usually know what we talking about! ) as well as kickass computers.

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I've put together 4 systems over the years, (1) 386, (2) 486s and a Pentium II 1.3
I remember building the first 486 where I spent big bucks (at the time) for a BOCA Research video card with outstanding AutoCAD drivers and the best Sound Blaster card on the market at the time.........the 2 were never able to coexist (IRQ problems as I remember) and I ended up with some crap sound card (Turtle Beach or something like that). Lately I order what I want from the retailers and let them make sure they work together.

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Last/only PC I bought new was a P100 with Win3.11....a 'while' ago.

Same here, except Win95. It was an Acer, and I picked it up for a steal of $1100! (in 1996).

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Zoomba

Join Date 11/2002

+114

Zoomba: You still have a warranty on all the part you buy yourself, they just aren't all blanketed under one company. So that just becomes a little easier to deal with.

Typically you end up with a 90 day standard manufacturer warranty on a per-part basis. When you buy a fully assembled PC you typically have at least a year (if you're not super-cheap), and often even longer. I got the 2 year service on my Dell and it paid for itself as soon as my hard drive gave up the ghost.

The convenience is there of having it all under one warranty, plus the warranty typically is a bit longer. When a Dell or something has issues, you can just ship the whole darn thing back. When you're dealing with individual part warranties you have to do a lot of dianostics yourself to figure out what died.

I have the know-how and the ability to do all the support myself, but after spending a day smacking my head against an IDS, or a web server that wants to misbehave, the last thing I want to do is be troubleshooting my own PC.

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I build, but buy prebuilt laptops.
In fact, I built a PC last night, and managed to get it working fully the first try, and didn't cut myself!

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starkers

Join Date 05/2004

+1153

With all the crap and bloat in propriety brands, I'd never ever buy a pre-built PC, not in a million years....unless they paid me to trial it, of course.

The only pre-build I've had was a beautiful black beast from IBM, no extras or bloatware, just the OS and proggies I needed/wanted. However, my needs outgrew it and my next machine was a custom build from my fav puter shop which, I'm happy to say, for my/our next PC, is about 800 meters from my front door.

My third and current machine is one I built and have constantly upgraded myself...and, touch wood, it has not caused me any hardware related issues at all. I also built and upgraded my wife's machine, which has been trouble free and still runs after a year in use...not bad for somebody who'd never even operated a computer before 2003, much less seen the innards of one to know what went where.

Although I can do it myself, my hands don't work so well these days, and my/our next machine(s) will be custom built by our fav techie, who charges us no extra for labor when he supplies the parts.

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(IRQ problems as I remember)

That dates you! Most dont even know what they are, or ever need to learn either!

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I have always build my systems, except for my wife's laptop. My present system is about 2.5 years old. Here are the specs:

XP Pro SP2 + Firefox - Intel D925XCV MB - P4 2.8 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, HTT, socket 775 - WD 36GB SATA HD - WD 250GB USB2 External HD - 2GB Crucial DDR2 PC2-4200 RAM - Sony DRU-710A DVD±R/RW - Plextor CD-R Premium - XFX GeForce 7900 GT / 256MB GDDR3 / SLI / PCI Express - Samsung 19" LCD - Antec SOHO server case with 430W PSU.

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The only prebuilt pc I've had was the Compaq I got in 1999, was my first computer. I then replaced the 4gb harddrive with a 60gb and added more ram. The thing was just a slow POS and it was dying, so a couple friends sent me some parts and my uncle helped me build one with that (think that was like 3-4 years ago). Been doing that ever since...I hope to do a full upgrade on this one soon.

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