What's generally cheaper: To build a PC yourself or buy a Branded one ???

[navi310]

Hi Guys!

Just wondering what's generally cheaper:

To build a PC yourself or buy a Branded one (like Dell, HP, Sony VAIO etc.) ???

I'm asking because I have a Sony VAIO PC that came with a lot of Software and Hardware which I never use (I use only Windows XP Home from its Recovery DVD). I used them at the beginning but now that I've found much better Software, I never use it.

So, could anyone suggest what's cheaper and better and how much, roughly, could I save or lose by building a PC myself??

Thanks a lot in advance.

[MJA]

here in the US these days its cheaper to buy PC from store/online.

[navi310]

Thanks MJA.

What software do Dell PCs come with?

[manono]

Hi-

Although I've been building my own for years now, I don't pretend to be an expert on the differences in cost between home built and store bought. Although I've heard it said that you can build your own more cheaply, I'm not convinced. Dell and those folks buy in such volumes that they get their parts much more cheaply than you or I. In addition, they "give" you all that crummy useless software which they've been paid to install, and which you have to spend a lot of time getting rid of. That balances with them having to make a profit and having to provide tech support afterwards. Maybe as far as cost, it's a wash.

On the other hand, by building your own you're sure of the quality of the parts you install, you're not stuck with any proprietary stuff making upgrades difficult, if not impossible, you use only what you want, and not what they think you want, and you can build a machine ideally suited for the purposes for which it's intended. There's also the satisfaction that comes from having researched the project thoroughly, bought the best parts at the best prices, and built the perfect machine for your needs.

[MJA]

Thanks MJA.

What software do Dell PCs come with?

alot of crapware .

[on30trainman]

IMO it is cheaper to buy a branded one. But that said, I have been building my own PCs for almost twenty years and will keep doing so. I can configure it with the hardware and software I want. Swap things from the older one that are still state of the art. Also am not afraid to open it up to add something without worrying about a warranty. And mainly do not have to uninstall all the crap software that comes with branded units - at least the Dells that I am familiar with. Building your own is not for everyone. You need to research the hardware items, do a lot of price checking and if it doesn't work initially there is no one person/company that you can call for help. So far my experiences have been mostly positive - one case of a bad CPU that was quickly replaced and another case of incompatible memory module that was also exchanged quickly - that is in about 20 years and about 8-10 PCs. Probably helps that I have/had (now retired) 35 years of experience as an EE in digital circuit design.
As said this has been my experience. What do others say?

[MJA]

I think parts are cheaper in the US than overseas

[thinger62]

I've built probably 20 to 25 over the last three years. And, I spend a lot of time scouring deal sites for the cheapest (money-wise) components. Even with that, I cannot usually build one for the price of a Dell 'special.' I've bought 10 or 15 Dell's too, but only at rock-bottom prices. I can come close if I can build a Linux box, but nobody I know wants that. Having said that, for my own computers I'd much rather build my own.

[navi310]

MJA wrote:

I think parts are cheaper in the US than overseas

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I think EVERYTHING is cheaper in the US than overseas ...[/quote]

[t0nee1]

I build my PC's so I can install what SW I want, and not all that bundled crap.....All parts from Newegg.....

[Dubber]

It's cheaper to buy a complete system but there are benefits of building your own.
I build mine 'cos I have full control of what H/W I choose, how much upgradable I want it to be and not to get stuck with proprietary parts. In the end, I pay a little more for a better system.

[mjack425]

I've been building computers for years, but that's because I put what I want in it; but it might be better to buy a already build system, as they are pretty cheap, now, than years back.

[TBoneit]

Buy a Dell if you are the type that more or less leaves it as delivered hardwarewise.

If you buy a Dell order the discs, then you'll get a Windows disc and a drivers disc and so on. One advantage of the Dell Windows XP disc for example is it installs activated so you can do it every 3 months if you desire and never have to deal with activation. BTW it will not install on non-Dells so don't bother trying.

A Dell is reasonably reliable and usually very Quiet. It will also be cheaper than building your own. Loss of control over Brand and model of DVD burner for example.

I just repaired 2 Dells Wednesday, 1 Desktop and one laptop. Not hardware, as always, Malware infestations. Backup data, and in this case use the system restore to wipe out the user partition and restore back to like delivered including all bundled s/w and drivers. Do Windows updates, restore data and done. I beleiev the system restore part took about 15 minutes and used a Dell branded version of Norton Ghost. The security updates took longer and that's on a 12Mb Cable internet connection.

But I still suggest disks as a backup in case the hard drive dies.

I couldn't build one for the prices they have on some of their specials. Computer with 19" Flat panel display I couldn't build even using the cheapest parts at wholesale and forget about the OS cost.

When I started in spring of 1996 where I am now we thought it a bad day if we didn't sell more than 1 build to order PC. Now if we sell one new PC a week it is uncommon. We sell more used PCs than new. All the revenue now is parts and mainly service. What a change 11 years has made.

I still build my own but that is because they are always incremental changes. One time new Burner, another time New drives, another time memory upgrade, another time Motherboard and CPU, another time something else.

I bought a really nice Lian-Li Aluminium case years ago and it still serves me well. It can hold a total of 12 drives and has 4 fron USBs etc.

If I was going from scratch I'd have to look at Dell.

Many HP desktops have Asus Motherboards BTW. I haven't looked inside the new ones though.

Cheers

[edDV]

It's cheaper to buy a complete system but there are benefits of building your own.
I build mine 'cos I have full control of what H/W I choose, how much upgradable I want it to be and not to get stuck with proprietary parts. In the end, I pay a little more for a better system.

I agree. I tend to mix and match parts upgrading portions of a machine at a time rather than build a machine out of all new parts. The cost of the OS and software make the home made computer more expensive. That and labor. Hardware adds up to about the same as a store bought system.

The benefit is you get to buy the best parts and be your own system administrator + repair shop.

[redwudz]

I like to change my computer around and add things, so I have always built them. But I can't assemble a computer for much less than $500US that has decent specs, and that doesn't include the monitor. But at least I have major name brand parts and they are easy to change out if needed. I can buy several 'factory' models for less than that, often with better specs. (On paper anyway.)

And I would rather put 'crap' on my computer myself than have a computer manufacturer pre-install it for me. Even with my HP laptop, I wiped the drive and installed XP home instead of deleting all the stuff HP installed, none of which I wanted.

Now there may be a cost savings when building a higher end computer over a 'factory box'. But not at the low end, IMO.

[thecoalman]

I haven't priced anything in few years but will be shortly. Anyhow at that point in time if you wanted the cheapest available branded had no competition. However if you wanted anything with a lot of juice the branded ones were ridiculously over priced. Not sure if that's the same today.

I took the middle road and bought from a smaller manufacturer that offered high end PC's a lot less than the majors were offering them for. It wasn't much more than what it would have cost me to build it myself.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

If you already have a good monitor, it's cheaper to build it yourself.
If you need a monitor, it's cheaper to buy from Dell/Gateway/etc.

[AlecWest]

The reason storebought computers (online or off) are cheaper is because costs are subsidized by bloatware developers in exchange for loading their crap on systems. If you do your own builds, you're free to install what you like. Unfortunately, if you only do a small number of builds, you're likely to face ordinary shelf prices for parts and peripherals. But, there is a third alternative - a third-party system builder who does "volume" builds.

My new computer is due to arrive on my porch sometime early next week (it's in transit now via UPS). I bought it through Georgia Computer Workshop. Their website allows persons to build systems part by part. GCC then verifies that all parts are intercompatible and builds it. Because they are a volume builder, they pay less than shelf prices. And, every system they build comes with a 3-year warranty. GCC also has the advantage of having a "10-of-10" rating from Reseller.com - so they apparently please a lot of customers.

PS - I'm using my laptop now. My old system was given to a friend, with everything wiped out and a fresh install of Win2k Pro SP4. Can't believe how fast that OS is compared to both Win98SE and WinXP Home.

[thecoalman]

Another reason they are so cheap is the large manufacturers are getting steep discounts on what is soon to be outdated components . The computer equivalent of the clearance rack.

[SLK001]

It's cheaper to buy one from a vendor. That said, it's better to build one yourself. The reason that a vendor is building cheaper machines, is that they put the cheapest, lowest quality and vilest crap into them. I've only bought one computer from a vendor, and that was for my first PC (a 4.77-8 MHz PC clone - in 1984).

If you build your own, you can pay slightly more for:
1) a better power supply,
2) more memory than just the minimum,
3) a higher performance processor,
4) a better video card,
5) a larger hard drive,
6) a better quality CD-R/DVD-R drive,
7) a higher quality case.

Are you seeing a trend?

[redwudz]

SLK001, you should add in the accomplishment of creating a new computer by yourself and bringing it to life, along with the satisfaction of having built it 'your way'. The factory boxes are built to minimize costs and maximize profits. Quality is often as low as they can get away with. No fault of the companies that produce them, that's competition. But by assembling your own machine you always get exactly what you want.

[fritzi93]

If you already have a good monitor, it's cheaper to build it yourself.
If you need a monitor, it's cheaper to buy from Dell/Gateway/etc.

Exactly. Also, when I built this one, I transferred a floppy and some hard drives and optical drives, and since the mobo has capability for DDR or DDR2, for the time being it's running two 512 modules of DDR from the last computer.

As others have mentioned, you can upgrade incrementally when building your own.

[thecoalman]

is that they put the cheapest, lowest quality and vilest crap into them.

Depends on the vendor and the price you're paying, not sure about the mega builders like Dell but if you look around at the smaller builders you'll find many examples of good builds. Check my computer specs, thats pre built back in 2003 except the graphics card. Which was installed early 2004, it came with a AIW 9800 but they replaced it because I couldn't get it to capture any of my tapes. .

Only thingI have had to replace on it was a few fans and the PS. The original PS was a Fortron 520W model. Supposed to be a good manufacturer...

[thinger62]

If you already have a good monitor, it's cheaper to build it yourself.
If you need a monitor, it's cheaper to buy from Dell/Gateway/etc.

I'd have a hard time building just a tower for the price I can get a Dell X2 dual core tower with 1gb, 160gb and dvdrw for, with OS (around $350, depending on what special is running). If I could, I know it wouldn't be as quiet. Having said that, I'd rather spend a little more and build my own, even with similar specs.

[edDV]

I guess my bias is I'd rather deal with at the component support level rather than with Dell, HP, etc. not knowing the component spec. The first 15 minutes of a support call seems to be educating the first level tech so he can get the second or third level tech on the line.

[isogonic]

you can buy a decent "branded" inexpensive computer these days, but like has been said there full of useless crap and no windows cd , just a reinstallation cd. i prefer to build my own. if i ever due buy one this could come in handy:

format C:
or
http://www.lifehacker.com/software/download-of-the-day/banish-crapware-with-the-pc-dec...ows-256387.php

[SatStorm]

"Branded" PCs are cheaper. They also have less hardware issues.
On the other hand, those PCs are so ..."yesterday" (is this the correct US term?) regarding hardware. I wouldn't buy a branded PC for this hobby here (video encoding), but I would suggest it to my girlfriend, my mother or even my young cousin, a typical student

It's all about on what and how you wish to use your PC.

[TheFamilyMan]

I'll assume that since you're even asking this question that you're not in the ranks of the 'enthusiest', in which case the cheapest and easiest way to get a computer is to buy a brand-name, ready to use system. Something no one has mentioned about building their own computer are the potential headaches that can arise with subtle 'integration' issues with the components and/or software that can drive you insane. I'm sure most DIY'ers can relate for at least one system they built.

I have a custom built system and I love it: I know every detail of every component and have it tweaked for maximum performance beyond the original system specs. Even though it's almost 2 years old, it holds its own just fine by today's standards. And yes, I did have a few bumps along the way.

[AlecWest]

Something no one has mentioned about building their own computer are the potential headaches that can arise with subtle 'integration' issues with the components and/or software that can drive you insane.

Well, I hinted at it in my post. Rather than build it myself, I chose a 3rd party volume builder precisely to avoid intercompatability issues that might arise ... letting geeks who know the components they sell make these decisions (which they warranty for 3 years).

P.S. Just checked UPS tracking and my new system arrived in my city at 11:30 last night. So, I suspect it will be delivered Monday (unless they do Saturday deliveries).

[navi310]

My new computer is due to arrive on my porch sometime early next week (it's in transit now via UPS). I bought it through Georgia Computer Workshop. Their website allows persons to build systems part by part. GCC then verifies that all parts are intercompatible and builds it. Because they are a volume builder, they pay less than shelf prices. And, every system they build comes with a 3-year warranty. GCC also has the advantage of having a "10-of-10" rating from Reseller.com - so they apparently please a lot of customers.

Thanks a lot, AlecWest. Great website. I think it's the best option for me.
Thanks a lot again.