Buy or Build??

[Griz]

OK, so i decided that i want a new PC.

In the past, i've always upgraded my pc, or built new pc's for other people, myself because i've always thought it'd work out cheaper. So when i decided to get myself a new pc, my first thought was "where should i buy the components from to build it?".

Then i read a review in this month's PC Format of THIS pre-built system (a Core2Quad, 8800GTX, 2GB RAM etc for ?2,198.43), and PC Format reckoned it was a great deal, so after moddifying the spec a bit to suit what i wanted, i set about finding out whether it'd be cheaper to BUY OR BUILD...

Pricing all of the following components from Scan (because it's cheap, great service and not too far from where i live so i'd save on shipping fees).

CPU: Core 2 Duo E6600 (retail) = ?198.21
Motherboard EVGA NF680i = ?187.40
GPU 768MB XFX 8800GTX = ?416.98
RAM 2GB Corsair TwinX-6400C4 = ?180.53
HDD 2x 400GB Western Digital SATA-II = ?171.56
DVD-RW Lite-On 18X = ?22.50
FDD Sony Black FDD = ?4.34
PSU Tagan 900W = ?151.58
Case NZXT Zero = ?98.69
Monitor Viewsonic VW2025WM = ?271.43
Speakers Creative Inspire T7900 = ?61.56
Flash Reader Scan All-in-one = ?5.28
OS Windows Vista Home Premium = tbc, but 'leaked' prices indicate ?185

This gives a total separate / Build price of ?1,955.06

The same spec at Cyberpowersystem.co.uk gives a price of ?2,059.78 but comes with a 5% rebate, which brings the price down to ?1,956.79.

So, which do you normally do, BUY or BUILD, and what would you do in my case?

 

[JFry]

If it comes with any kind of warrenty then I'd say just buy it.

 

[CyberPitz]

If you can do it yourself, build it. If you have no clue and nobody around you knows how? Buy it.

 

[NeptuneUK]

Building yourself is cheaper, more fun and educational!
Also, it's risky. If you break the PC you cant take it back and have it fixed, but some people like taking risks! If you know whats wrong with the PC if it breaks then the particular component that has broken can usually be replaced on warranty if you havent buggered it about!

Edit: because the price difference is minimal you might as well buy it.

 

[Qonfused]

Build.

 

[nofx]

build
when you buy from anyone they will use the cheapest parts, but if you build yourself you know whats going in your system and the quality.

 

[Murray_H]

Some companies do a 'buy the parts off us and we'll put it together at a price' offer. I did that with mine, saved me hassle and was only about ?30 IIRC.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

Buy and mod to your liking (making sure you know what you're getting)

 

[Alan00000]

Buy it like me , Its very educational as well when it breaks down in the first week of owning it ,then messing with everything to get it to finally work . I LOVE IT!!!
I also purchased from ibuypower.com saved 5% and is pleased in the end.
heres a pic
core2duo e6600, 2gig ram pc 6400 , 8800gtx , P5sli Asus motherboard. wow i just played farcry at highest settings possible at 1024x768 flawlessly. It kinda looks like Crysis at high settings

 

[DEATH eVADER]

I build mine, my dad buys his. But he tends to cannibalize the parts that I don't need anymore.

Best I can do I suppose considering I don't pay board rent?

BTW, where did you get that PC Case, it looks like its a jet engine. I saw one in Maplins, but I think I could get it cheaper/

 

[Griz]

Thanks for the comments all.

Like most have suggested (and the poll), i would normally build my own - i've been building and upgrading pc's for myself and other people for over 10 years now, so i think i'm done with the "educational" side of it.

However, this time, given that the price difference is so minimal and i can get to pick and choose my spec (so i know there's only quality components going in there) and the 3 year warranty, i think i'm actually gonna buy it pre-built D:

N.B. The last time i actually bought a pre-built pc was around 1993 (i think) from Escom (who subsequently went bust). It was a 486 DX2-66 and i paid around ?1200.

 

[Asuka]

Depends on the Service Plan.

 

[Griz]

Depends on the Service Plan.

It just says "3 year Limited Warranty plus lifetime technical support" - wonder what they mean by "limited warranty"... :|

 

[Fliko]

Can only bring it in a few times I imagine

 

[Asus]

Personally I always build it but that is because I don't like pre-built PCs. I want to pick out the parts not what is given. Looking just at a comparable pre-build PC (regarding comparable CPU, memory and GPU add-on) building it by myself might cost a little more. But then I don't get the hardware parts/features I want. Then again going with a brand name performance Pre-Built PC will cost you a lot more.

If you are iffy about maintaining your PC then obviously buy it pre-built.

 

[Murray]

Judging by the results of my own personal experiences. BUILD. Period.

 

[DevgruSeal]

Based off my personal experiences with CyberPower, build it. I returned one of the $1100 suckers I bought from them quick. The piece of crap was extremely unreliable, crashed at every blinking turn, froze up randomly, and was simply not powerful at all. Support was horrible as well. <rant> Spent an hour just to ask if opening the case voided the warranty. They wanted all my credentials. My order number. My name. My email. My whatever else. Just to see if opening my case to put a DVD drive in it would void the warranty! </rant>

After I returned it and got nearly all my money back, I built my own computer for about $100 more, and got a MUCH more powerful video card, and it is as reliable and powerful now as it was ~15 months ago when I built it!

When other companies build it, you might get a neat case wiring job, or warranty and support, but you can get that if you build it yourself as well...

But I have to say, it was so much fun building it. Fun learning experience. Nothing like the smell of fresh electronics, am I right?

 

[Griz]

Well, i've changed my mind.....i'm gonna build it myself for a number of reasons:

1) i want better RAM than CyberPowerSystem offer (i'm after Corsair Dominator PC-8500)

2) i'm not that keen on any of the cases they're offering - currently favouring the XClio A380, same as Alan000000000000000000 (is that enough 0's ?? ) but i'm open to recommendations!!!

3) i want to be sure that i get all the manuals / software etc (and the leather suitcase that the PSU comes in!!! :O )

Gonna get the parts later this week. :cheers:

btw...don't forget, i could still do with some recommendations on a case...

 

[DevgruSeal]

You could buy OEM products if you really want to save money. They don't come with any boxes or manuals, but you can usually find the manuals on the manufacturer's website...

OEM, simply put, is just the hardware and nothing else It comes with a warranty, but no support (Like OEM Windows XP SP2), but again, you can usually find better support from the internet

 

[Griz]

Decided to build in the end. Bought most of the components today, just waiting on a Koolance CPU water cooling block to arrive tomorrow and then i can put it all together!!! :bounce:

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/2391/newpcqj2.jpg