Posted April 17, 2021 Budget (including currency): Not a factor for this. I know the main things I want, and am trying to figure out how not to completely overpay for everything. Country: Canada Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Gaming, Fusion 360, Civil 3D So, I've been looking to upgrade since late 2019/early 2020, and it's just been the worst timing as we all know. Spent a lot of time waiting for the next gen cards and CPUs, then waiting for all this to blow over, etc. And now the advice seems to be to look at prebuilts. I know prebuilts tend to be a couple hundred over the base parts, covering assembly and warranty and such, but my numbers aren't adding up. I'm running 1080p 144hz, and looking for something with a 3070 or 3060ti to cover those frame rates reliably for a while. I find things like this ($CAD) Then I go on PC Part Picker, and price out everything but the GPU: Plus maybe $800 for an MSRP RTX 3070, would make this around $1550-1600. With a roughly equivalent AMD CPU, faster RAM, and a 2TB HDD. Am I missing something important in my build? Or is the Prebuilt Tax really $600 CAD right now? My situation is such that I'm only kind of hurting for the upgrade. I'm running a GTX 970, so I'm still alright most of the time and I can probably wait for the market (or a lucky GPU drop) if I need to, hence wanting to compare to an MSRP GPU. But these prices are confusing me. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted April 17, 2021 They're using a more expensive motherboard and CPU, though you're right that the CPUs are pretty comparable in performance. You also haven't included a CPU cooler and Windows key. So maybe the prebuilt tax is more like $500 Canadian in this case. Still shows you why prebuilts are not normally recommended. There may still be better prebuilt deals around, but this certainly isn't the worst you could pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted April 17, 2021 For starters, you're not comparing identical parts. That's inaccurate. Second, you have to compare what's available on the market. They know it's one of the only ways to get a GPU, and they've priced their systems accordingly. If you went with Dell there's less of a prebuilt tax. CPU: Ryzen 9 5900 Cooler: EVGA CLC280 Motherboard: Gigabyte B550i Pro AX RAM: Kingston Hyper X 32GB 3200mhz Storage: WD 750 SE 500GB, WD 730 SE 1TB GPU: EVGA RTX 3070 Ti PSU: Corsair SF750 Case: Streacom DA2 Monitor: LG 27GL83B Mouse: Razer Basilisk V2 Keyboard: G.Skill KM780 Cherry MX Red Speakers: Mackie CR5BT MiniPC - Sold for $100 Profit Spoiler CPU: Intel i3 4160 Cooler: Integrated Motherboard: Integrated RAM: G.Skill RipJaws 16GB DDR3 Storage: Transcend MSA370 128GB GPU: Intel 4400 Graphics PSU: Integrated Case: Shuttle XPC Slim Monitor: LG 29WK500 Mouse: G.Skill MX780 Keyboard: G.Skill KM780 Cherry MX Red Budget Rig 1 - Sold For $750 Profit Spoiler CPU: Intel i5 7600k Cooler: CryOrig H7 Motherboard: MSI Z270 M5 RAM: Crucial LPX 16GB DDR4 Storage: Intel S3510 800GB GPU: Nvidia GTX 980 PSU: Corsair CX650M Case: EVGA DG73 Monitor: LG 29WK500 Mouse: G.Skill MX780 Keyboard: G.Skill KM780 Cherry MX Red OG Gaming Rig - Gone Spoiler CPU: Intel i5 4690k Cooler: Corsair H100i V2 Motherboard: MSI Z97i AC ITX RAM: Crucial Ballistix 16GB DDR3 Storage: Kingston Fury 240GB GPU: Asus Strix GTX 970 PSU: Thermaltake TR2 Case: Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX Monitor: Dell P2214H x2 Mouse: Logitech MX Master Keyboard: G.Skill KM780 Cherry MX Red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted April 17, 2021 4 minutes ago, dizmo said: If you went with Dell there's less of a prebuilt tax. there's also a reason for that... please quote me or tag me @wall03 so i can see your response motherboard buying guide psu buying guide pc building guide privacy guide ltt meme thread folding at home stats pc: RAM: 16GB DDR4-3200 CL-16 CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 @ 3.6GHz SSD: 256GB SP GPU: Radeon RX 570 8GB OC OS: Windows 10 Status: Main PC Cinebench R23 score: 9097 (multi) 1236 (single) don't some things look better when they are lowercase? -wall03 hello dark mode users goodbye light mode users Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted April 17, 2021 It really depends on who you're getting it from. If you get it from somewhere like Memory Express where they charge a flat rate (typically an hour of shop time) for assembly services you're only paying like $50 CAD on top of part costs. If you get from someone like Origin, Alienware etc. they a charge markup on each and every component which could be several hundred dollars. However, you still have to look around and look at what you're getting. Some prebuilts may only be like $100-200 over what it would cost to assemble it your self with the same component selection. Though a large issue with prebuilts is you're paying for a lot of stuff that you typically don't need, a large portion of the cost may be on a really fancy motherboard that is functionally the same as one that is $200 cheaper. They're (typically) not as optimized as they could be for a given budget/price range. CPU: Intel i7 - 5820k @ 4.5GHz, Cooler: Corsair H80i, Motherboard: MSI X99S Gaming 7, RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB DDR4 2666MHz CL16, GPU: ASUS GTX 980 Strix, Case: Corsair 900D, PSU: Corsair AX860i 860W, Keyboard: Logitech G19, Mouse: Corsair M95, Storage: Intel 730 Series 480GB SSD, WD 1.5TB Black Display: BenQ XL2730Z 2560x1440 144Hz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted April 17, 2021 Just now, wall03 said: there's also a reason for that... Yes, non industry standard parts. However if you don't plan on upgrading then it's not an issue, and really, a lot of people just rebuild the entire thing when their system needs updates anyway CPU: Ryzen 9 5900 Cooler: EVGA CLC280 Motherboard: Gigabyte B550i Pro AX RAM: Kingston Hyper X 32GB 3200mhz Storage: WD 750 SE 500GB, WD 730 SE 1TB GPU: EVGA RTX 3070 Ti PSU: Corsair SF750 Case: Streacom DA2 Monitor: LG 27GL83B Mouse: Razer Basilisk V2 Keyboard: G.Skill KM780 Cherry MX Red Speakers: Mackie CR5BT MiniPC - Sold for $100 Profit Spoiler CPU: Intel i3 4160 Cooler: Integrated Motherboard: Integrated RAM: G.Skill RipJaws 16GB DDR3 Storage: Transcend MSA370 128GB GPU: Intel 4400 Graphics PSU: Integrated Case: Shuttle XPC Slim Monitor: LG 29WK500 Mouse: G.Skill MX780 Keyboard: G.Skill KM780 Cherry MX Red Budget Rig 1 - Sold For $750 Profit Spoiler CPU: Intel i5 7600k Cooler: CryOrig H7 Motherboard: MSI Z270 M5 RAM: Crucial LPX 16GB DDR4 Storage: Intel S3510 800GB GPU: Nvidia GTX 980 PSU: Corsair CX650M Case: EVGA DG73 Monitor: LG 29WK500 Mouse: G.Skill MX780 Keyboard: G.Skill KM780 Cherry MX Red OG Gaming Rig - Gone Spoiler CPU: Intel i5 4690k Cooler: Corsair H100i V2 Motherboard: MSI Z97i AC ITX RAM: Crucial Ballistix 16GB DDR3 Storage: Kingston Fury 240GB GPU: Asus Strix GTX 970 PSU: Thermaltake TR2 Case: Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX Monitor: Dell P2214H x2 Mouse: Logitech MX Master Keyboard: G.Skill KM780 Cherry MX Red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted April 17, 2021 1 minute ago, dizmo said: Yes, non industry standard parts. However if you don't plan on upgrading then it's not an issue, and really, a lot of people just rebuild the entire thing when their system needs updates anyway I would also add the worst support and warranty service on the face of the planet. lol CPU: Intel i7 - 5820k @ 4.5GHz, Cooler: Corsair H80i, Motherboard: MSI X99S Gaming 7, RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB DDR4 2666MHz CL16, GPU: ASUS GTX 980 Strix, Case: Corsair 900D, PSU: Corsair AX860i 860W, Keyboard: Logitech G19, Mouse: Corsair M95, Storage: Intel 730 Series 480GB SSD, WD 1.5TB Black Display: BenQ XL2730Z 2560x1440 144Hz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted April 17, 2021 Author True that the CPU isn't exactly the same. I would have grabbed one with a 3600, but the only one they have with that is $400 more than the one I posted. CPU cooler - 3600 comes with that, I believe, and I see no real reason to upgrade given what I've heard. Windows key is fair, but I don't need a new one so... I'm also now realizing that tarifs might come into play here, since a lot of these SI's offering prebuilts are probably in the states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted April 17, 2021 Author Alright, so what I'm seeing here is that I'm not crazy, though. If I can wait, I probably should. If I can afford an extra $500, then this is an option. Fair? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted April 17, 2021 4 minutes ago, trag1c said: I would also add the worst support and warranty service on the face of the planet. lol Eh, not like you really get any better warranty from anyone else. Plus the chances of needing it are quite slim. CPU: Ryzen 9 5900 Cooler: EVGA CLC280 Motherboard: Gigabyte B550i Pro AX RAM: Kingston Hyper X 32GB 3200mhz Storage: WD 750 SE 500GB, WD 730 SE 1TB GPU: EVGA RTX 3070 Ti PSU: Corsair SF750 Case: Streacom DA2 Monitor: LG 27GL83B Mouse: Razer Basilisk V2 Keyboard: G.Skill KM780 Cherry MX Red Speakers: Mackie CR5BT MiniPC - Sold for $100 Profit Spoiler CPU: Intel i3 4160 Cooler: Integrated Motherboard: Integrated RAM: G.Skill RipJaws 16GB DDR3 Storage: Transcend MSA370 128GB GPU: Intel 4400 Graphics PSU: Integrated Case: Shuttle XPC Slim Monitor: LG 29WK500 Mouse: G.Skill MX780 Keyboard: G.Skill KM780 Cherry MX Red Budget Rig 1 - Sold For $750 Profit Spoiler CPU: Intel i5 7600k Cooler: CryOrig H7 Motherboard: MSI Z270 M5 RAM: Crucial LPX 16GB DDR4 Storage: Intel S3510 800GB GPU: Nvidia GTX 980 PSU: Corsair CX650M Case: EVGA DG73 Monitor: LG 29WK500 Mouse: G.Skill MX780 Keyboard: G.Skill KM780 Cherry MX Red OG Gaming Rig - Gone Spoiler CPU: Intel i5 4690k Cooler: Corsair H100i V2 Motherboard: MSI Z97i AC ITX RAM: Crucial Ballistix 16GB DDR3 Storage: Kingston Fury 240GB GPU: Asus Strix GTX 970 PSU: Thermaltake TR2 Case: Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX Monitor: Dell P2214H x2 Mouse: Logitech MX Master Keyboard: G.Skill KM780 Cherry MX Red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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