Price Comparison Across UK Pre-Built Suppliers

[Dravinian]

These are the ones I could find, sorry if I missed one you like.

 

Price Comparison across UK computer pre-built websites

 

I figured I would do this for myself to get the best price, and thought sharing my research may assist someone in the future.

This is a PRICE COMPARISON ONLY…I am not vouching for any of these sites in terms of reliability or customer service.  Do your own research before handing over lots of money!!

 

Each of these sites do ‘pre-built’ machines and that may be a better option.  However, I wanted to see how they did with a particular specification.

 

Methodology: I went for what I wanted, my core specifications, my minimum requirements.

 

CPU:               i9-9900k

GPU:               GeForce Nvidia 2080 Ti

RAM:              32gb DDR4

 

From there, I tried to match brands and models, but where I couldn’t get the exact same make/model for a part, I sought to obtain a price equivalent – so matching price rather than brand.  This was not always easy due to the way these websites list items which compare prices rather than give prices.

 

I tried to avoid buying storage as there is too much fluctuation...also I don’t need it, but it wasn’t always possible.

 

I will make brief comments about the site, ease of use etc. and the build after each one.

 

Please bear in mind this is a sample size of me.  It is a specific build and each site may be better on other specifications, you will have to test for yourself.  This is just sharing the information I gathered to assist anyone who might want this sort of information.

 

Given how long this post is, and how similar all of the builds are, I did a TL:DR box for ease of reference on pricing.

 

You should look at each specification to see the differences in components so that you can decide whether the price difference is warranted, sometimes it is, and sometimes I did not feel that it was…for example some builders have ASUS ROG Strix 2080 Ti cards, so that will add a couple of hundred pounds to the build – details are all listed below.

There are two boxes, one is in the order that they appear in the post, and the other is by price lowest to highest for ease.  All prices include VAT and delivery, but double check yourself.

 

Post Order

 

FiercePC	£2,257.90
Overclockers UK	£2,868.88
PCSpecialist	£2,337.00
ChillBlast	£2,860.29
ScanUK	£2,474.05
DinoPC	£2,546.32
CyberPowerPC	£2,842.80
ComputerPlanet	£2,334.44
Gladiator PC	£2,616.89
Punch Technology	£2,299.60
Paclicomp	£2,726.57
Novatech	£3,046.20

 

Price Order

 

FiercePC	£2,257.90
Punch Technology	£2,299.60
ComputerPlanet	£2,334.44
PCSpecialist	£2,337.00
ScanUK	£2,474.05
DinoPC	£2,546.32
Gladiator PC	£2,616.89
Paclicomp	£2,726.57
CyberPowerPC	£2,842.80
ChillBlast	£2,860.29
Overclockers UK	£2,868.88
Novatech	£3,046.20

 

FiercePC

 

CPU:               i9-9900k

GPU:               GeForce RTX 2080 Ti

Case:               CoolerMaster MB530P

PSU:                Corsair HX1000i 80+ Platinum Modular

RAM:              32gb Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000 DDR4 4x8

MB:                 ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-F Gaming ATX

Cooling:          Corsair Hydro H100i

 

Price: £2,257.90

 

Overall, the site is pretty easy to use – menu based with drop down images showing a small selection.

 

There is an error currently on the website, where despite choosing the highest end PSU, and it being including in the price, the PSU doesn’t show up on your final specification.  I would double check before ordering that the correct PSU will be installed if this error continues.

 

Overclockers UK

 

CPU:               i9-9900k

GPU:               GeForce RTX 2080 Ti ROG Strix OC

Case:               CoolerMaster MB530P

PSU:                Corsair HX1000i 80+ Platinum Modular

RAM:              32gb Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000 DDR4 2x16

MB:                 ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-F Gaming ATX

Cooling:          Corsair Hydro H100i

 

Price £2,868.88

 

Oddly, despite not buying storage, Windows 10 is not removable from the build specifications.

 

This is near identical to the Fierce PC build.

 

It does have the ROG Strix GPU, and two less RAM sticks but same total RAM (32gb).

 

PCSpecialist

 

CPU:               i9-9900k

GPU:               GeForce RTX 2080 Ti

Case:               CoolerMaster MB530P

PSU:                Corsair RMx1000w 80+ Gold Modular

RAM:              32gb Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000 DDR4 2x16

MB:                 ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-F Gaming ATX

Cooling:          Corsair Hydro H100x

 

Price: £2,337.00

 

Site was very easy to use and navigate.

 

The GPUs were limited to Nvidia brand, didn’t appear to be any other brands available (MSI/ROG/Zotac etc.)

 

The power supply options were slightly different, so opted for the RMx 1000w as an equivalent.

ChillBlast

 

CPU:               i9-9900k

GPU:               GeForce RTX 2080 Ti ROG Strix OC

Case:               CoolerMaster MasterBox MB510L - Black & Red

PSU:                Corsair RM850x 80 PLUS Gold 850W

RAM:              32gb Corsair Vengeance LPX 2666 DDR4 2x16

MB:                 ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-F Gaming ATX

Cooling:          Corsair Hydro H100x

 

Price: £2,860.29

 

Site was slick, and easy to use, but very limited in options.

 

Could not choose Corsair 3000mhz RAM, only G-Skill at 3000mhz which was considerably more expensive (as it is RGB) so opted for slower RAM.

 

I also couldn’t match the PSU, so opted for something slightly smaller, rather than larger.

 

Again, ROG Strix GPU option available.

 

ScanUK

 

CPU:               i9-9900k

GPU:               GeForce RTX 2080 Ti EVGA

Case:               Corsair Carbide 110R Airflow

PSU:                Corsair RM850x 80 PLUS Gold 850W

RAM:              32gb Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000 DDR4 2x16

MB:                 ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-F Gaming ATX

Cooling:          Corsair Hydro H100x

Storage:           1TB Seagate (£37.99)

 

Price: £2,474.05

 

Site takes a little getting used to, but it does work well once you realise how it works.

 

Couldn’t match PSU so opted for smaller. 

 

Can’t choose to have no storage, but given the price difference it is not relevant.

Couldn’t match the case, they do not appear to stock CoolerMaster as an option in the custom set-up.  The Carbide is, I think, a reasonable equivalent.

 

GPU is an EVGA branded model.

 

DinoPC

 

CPU:               i9-9900k

GPU:               GeForce RTX 2080 Ti ROG Strix OC

Case:               Corsair Carbide Series 100R Silent Edition

PSU:                Corsair RM850x 80 PLUS Gold 850W

RAM:              32gb Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000 DDR4 2x16

MB:                 ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-F Gaming ATX

Cooling:          Corsair Hydro H100x

 

Price: £2,546.32

 

Site was easy to use and picking components was pretty straight forward.

 

Couldn’t pick the CoolerMaster case so got an equivalent.

 

ROG Strix GPU an option.

 

Lower wattage PSU as the H1000 wasn’t an option.

 

CyberPowerPC

 

CPU:               i9-9900k

GPU:               GeForce RTX 2080 Ti MSI

Case:               CoolerMaster MB530P

PSU:                Corsair RM850x 80 PLUS Gold 850W

RAM:              32gb Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000 DDR4 2x16

MB:                 ASUS ROG Z390 MAXIMUS XI HERO

Cooling:          Corsair Hydro H100x

 

Price: £2,842.80

 

Site was a little confusing, but paying attention to what was happening helped a lot.

 

The MB is a Maximus Hero XI, but I have no idea if that is the same as the ASUS ROG Z390-F I feel it is a close approximation.

 

Includes Windows, even without storage.

 

MSI branded GPU.

Could not match PSU so made the same choice as before.

 

ComputerPlanet

 

CPU:               i9-9900k

GPU:               GeForce RTX 2080 Ti

Case:               Corsair Carbide Series 100R Silent Edition

PSU:                Corsair RM850x 80 PLUS Gold 850W

RAM:              32gb Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000 DDR4 2x16

MB:                 ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-F Gaming ATX

Cooling:          Corsair Hydro H100x

 

Price £2,334.44

 

I really liked the website, clean and easy to use and fast to configure. 

 

Looked very similar to the PCSpecialist website.

 

PSU change was required.

 

Could not match Case to CoolerMaster

GPU Nvidia branded.

 

Gladiator PC

 

CPU:               i9-9900k

GPU:               GeForce RTX 2080 Ti ROG Strix

Case:               Corsair Carbide Series 100R Silent Edition

PSU:                Corsair TX850M 80 PLUS Gold 850W

RAM:              32gb Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000 DDR4 2x16

MB:                 ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-F Gaming ATX

Cooling:          Corsair Hydro H100x

Storage:           256gb M.2 PCI-E NVMe

 

Price: £2,616.89

 

Site was ok, but requires you to start with a base model and customise.

 

Case choices were limited, with no names unless you hover over, this is a pain if you are looking for something particular.

 

ROG Strix GPU.

 

Could not match PSU, so got as close as I could.

 

Could not de-select the NVMe drive.

 

Punch Technology

 

CPU:               i9-9900k

GPU:               GeForce RTX 2080 Ti

Case:               Corsair Carbide Series 100R Silent Edition

PSU:                Corsair RM850 80 PLUS Gold

RAM:              32gb Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000 DDR4 2x16

MB:                 MSI MPG Z390 Gaming Edge

Cooling:          Corsair Hydro H100x

 

Price: £2,299.60

 

Website was easy to use, but again have to build off of an existing platform, rather than starting from scratch.  However, you can change everything so it doesn’t matter. 

 

Is a bit annoying finding the right ‘base’ build that allows for the correct options (I accidentally choose a build that wouldn’t allow for the 2080 Ti as an option and had to start again.)

After that, slick and easy – actually really quick to get done.

 

No option for a ROG Strix.

 

Not sure PSU is the same, but close enough.

MB options were limited, but Z390 is close enough, I think, to previous builds.

 

Paclicomp

 

CPU:               i9-9900k

GPU:               GeForce RTX 2080 Ti EVGA

Case:               CoolerMaster Master Box 5

PSU:                Corsair HX1000i 80+ Platinum Modular

RAM:              32gb Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200 DDR4 2x16

MB:                 ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-F Gaming ATX

Cooling:          CORSAIR H100i V2 Extreme AIO Water Cooler

 

Price: £2,726.57

 

This was a relatively easy site to use, the detailed breakdown of what YOU have ordered requires putting something in the basket and clicking on a + sign which was a tad annoying. 

 

There is free overclocking included from 3.6ghz to 4.4 – 4.6ghz.

 

There are a number of free games to select as well.

RAM is faster, no choice for 3000mhz Corsair Vengeance RAM

 

The GPU is branded EVGA

 

Novatech

 

CPU:               i9-9900k

GPU:               GeForce RTX 2080 Ti ASUS Dual OC

Case:               Corsair Carbide 275R

PSU:                Corsair RM850x 80 PLUS Gold 850W

RAM:              32gb Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000 DDR4 (4x8)

MB:                 ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-F Gaming ATX

Cooling:          CORSAIR H100i

Storage:           Seagate BarraCuda 1TB Desktop Hard Drive 3.5"

 

Price: £3,046.20

 

Website was ok, again with the base model you have to customise from, though once inside all items are customisable.

Have to buy storage whether you like it or not.

 

PSU choices were slim so reverted to previous selections.

 

Couldn’t find the same cases used before so had to accept a 275R.

GPU is EVGA branded.

 

--------

 

End.  I hope the formatting carries over, or this will be terrible to read.

[boggy77]

look at ccl online as well.

[Dravinian]

CCL Online

 

CPU:               i9-9900k

GPU:               GeForce RTX 2080 Ti EVGA

Case:               Corsair Carbide 275R

PSU:                Corsair HX1000i 80+ Platinum Modular

RAM:              32gb Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000 DDR4 2x16

MB:                 MSI MPG Z390 Edge AC

Cooling:          Corsair Hydro H100x

Storage:          Adata Ultimate 256gb SATA SSD 2.5"

 

Price: £2,950.42

 

This is the best website that I have used, the others could learn a lesson from this one.

 

Still had to choose a base model to configure, but all options open (except storage).

 

No CoolerMaster that I could see, but other options across the choices were actually larger than any other sites.  I would put this down to the way in which the site is laid out during configuration, which makes it easier to add larger lists of components (I felt some of the other sites were limited by lay out).

 

Had to buy storage, so bought the cheapest.

[Dravinian]

Not sure whether I can attach this document or not.

It is an excel spreadsheet, it is the same information as printed above, except now you can filter the information.

 

This allows you to see is the cheapest place for a ROG Strix GPU, or the cheapest place with a 1000w PSU etc.

 

Just makes life a little easier when trying to make judgements.

 

Also means if anyone lists any further sites to try, I can update the spreadsheet.

PC Builder Comparison.xlsx

[king113]

there is a genral rule if you want a good pc dont buy pre build build it yourself or let someone who know how to do it do it for you  
well unless you have deep pockets !

[Dravinian]

I did the whole 'parts picker' process, for the same parts, the price is near identical to buying from a builder.  You are not saving £1,000 like you used to 10 years ago when I used to build my own.

 

The only difference is that they take the risk of screwing it up and the tedium of cable management (if this is not your cup of tea), instead of me.

 

For the paltry difference, it makes no sense to do it myself.

Do it yourself, go on parts picker, match the parts set out in this thread, and come back and post your results.

 

Not alternative parts, not parts that are nearly the same but actually less powerful or from some bizarre chinese company no one has heard of, but the exact same parts from the well known brands listed above, brands you can have confidence in.  You will find a total near £2,100.

 

OK, you might be paying a company £100-£150 to put it together for you, but that is hardly a lot considering the GPU is £1,000+ and the CPU is £500, and one missed press, one bent pin, one mistaken bend and you have a lump of worthless metal with no way of recouping anything.

 

For that money, it is insurance.

[Dravinian]

I just did it, all those parts, with green across the board, which I am not entirely sure about but I think it means the best price available for that part.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i9-9900K 3.6 GHz 8-Core OEM/Tray Processor	£484.47 @ Scan.co.uk
CPU Cooler	Corsair H100i PRO 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler	£101.99 @ Box Limited
Motherboard	Asus ROG STRIX Z390-F GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	£189.99 @ AWD-IT
Memory	Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	£130.43 @ Overclockers.co.uk
Video Card	Asus GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11 GB ROG Strix Gaming OC Video Card	£1213.67 @ Overclockers.co.uk
Case	Cooler Master MasterBox MB530P ATX Mid Tower Case	£89.95 @ AWD-IT
Power Supply	Corsair RMx 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	£114.99 @ AWD-IT
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	£2325.49
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-09 18:17 BST+0100

 

£100-£200 for a company to build it, test it and ship it to you in perfect working condition, who you can contact for support and return it if it doesn't work.

 

That level of peace of mind is worth £100-£200 for me.