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Is building your own PC still the way to go?

KBGaming

I was looking at prices for pre-built PC's such as the Dell XPS series, and I compared the price of it's specs to the prices of a PC you would build yourself with the same specs. The price seems to be the same. Is building your own PC still the cheapest way to go?

If not, why do people do it?

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You may find a pre-built machine cheaper than building your own, but it's all about tinkering. Being able to do whatever you want with your machine(OCing for instance) and having your machine EXACTLY the way you want it. Also, if you look around, you should be able to find parts cheaper in certain stores than others.

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With pre-built if you want to upgrade then you might be limited. Also you would exactly know all the parts in it, such as the the Mobo. With your own PC you have full access to everything in your PC and the satisfaction you built it yourself :)

Setup: i5 4670k @ 4.2 Ghz, Corsair H100i Cooler, Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB Ram @ 1600 Mhz, MSI Z87-GD65 Motherboard, Corsair GS700 2013 edition PSU, MSI GTX 770 Lightning, Samsung EVO 120 SSD + 2TB&1TB Seagate Barracudas, BenQ XL2411T Monitor, Sennheiser HD 598 Headphones + AntLion ModMic 4.0

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DIY PCs are also much easier to upgrade. Besides the fact that you can make sure you buy a power supply with extra wattage, for example, you also know every component that went into the computer. It is also partly aesthetics. When you build your own system the cases are better, you can build with a color scheme in mind, etc. And you get geek cred.

[spoiler=My Current PC]AMD FX-8320 @ 4.2 Ghz | Xigmatek Dark Knight Night Hawk II | Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 | 8GB Adata XPG V2 Silver 1600 Mhz RAM | Gigabyte 3X Windforce GTX 770 4GB @ 1.27 Ghz/7.25 Ghz | Rosewill Hive 550W Bronze PSU | Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 | Samsung Evo 250 GB SSD | Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD | ASUS VS239H-P | Razer Deathadder 2013 Partlist

 

LTT Build-Off Thread: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/35226-the-ltt-build-off-thread-no-building-required/

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It's not about being cheap or not, in most cases it's more expensive. People build their own PCs cos they like having the freedom of choosing their own components.

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When my parents bough a pre built system i found that the specs were good but certain parts of the system were very cheap, for example the motherboard and the case, the motherboard was cheap and had no room for upgrading your system like an SSD or good graphics card and the case was made from cheap plastic.

My specs:Fractal Define R4, i5 2550k, Asus GTX 560ti 2GB, Samsung 840 pro 120GB SSD, 16GB Corsair Vengeance RAM ,Seagate Barracuda 2TB, Corsair 600w PSU

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You could. I built my own just because I like messing around with tech. And its super fun!

Life is pain. Anyone who says any different is either selling something or the government.

 

----CPU: FX-6300 @ 4.2ghz----COOLER: Hyper 212 EVO----MOBO: MSI 970A-G46----PSU: OCZ 600watt----CASE: Black Corsair C70----GPU: Sapphire 7870 dual fan ghz edtion----2 random HDD'S----A couple fans here and there. Mouse: Gigabyte M6900-------Keyboard: Logitech G105-----Mousepad: Steel series something something.

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All of the above aswell as it's a great learning experience. For me, when i first built my machine, i watched so many how-to videos; but decided to just go straight in and do it. Everything turned out fine, but not without some little hiccups but i came out of it feeling awesome as i've just built something myself when i could've gone the "lazy" option and just brought a less powerful system off the shelf. Don't get me wrong, many companies sell very good pre assembled PCs, but i feel you can only really "connect" with your PC if you make it up yourself and tinker with it, sorting out all the little imperfections. Maybe it's just me, who knows? :D

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If you get a pre built computer from a larger company such as Dell they will tend to use sub par components such as the power supply and motherboard.

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All of the above aswell as it's a great learning experience. For me, when i first built my machine, i watched so many how-to videos; but decided to just go straight in and do it. Everything turned out fine, but not without some little hiccups but i came out of it feeling awesome as i've just built something myself when i could've gone the "lazy" option and just brought a less powerful system off the shelf. Don't get me wrong, many companies sell very good pre assembled PCs, but i feel you can only really "connect" with your PC if you make it up yourself and tinker with it, sorting out all the little imperfections. Maybe it's just me, who knows? :D

This is EXACTLY why I want my next system to be built myself. I've done pretty much all you have said as well as make wish lists on Amazon with the parts I want to get :P

Setup: i5 4670k @ 4.2 Ghz, Corsair H100i Cooler, Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB Ram @ 1600 Mhz, MSI Z87-GD65 Motherboard, Corsair GS700 2013 edition PSU, MSI GTX 770 Lightning, Samsung EVO 120 SSD + 2TB&1TB Seagate Barracudas, BenQ XL2411T Monitor, Sennheiser HD 598 Headphones + AntLion ModMic 4.0

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This is EXACTLY why I want my next system to be built myself. I've done pretty much all you have said as well as make wish lists on Amazon with the parts I want to get :P

 

I feel ya dude - i did the same haha. I probably could still find my wishlist somewhere. DO IT!!

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If you build your own you know what is making what noise and the machines quirks and tweaks. Its like owning a dog. But 10000% better.

 

Edit: I better stop before I get prophetic.

Life is pain. Anyone who says any different is either selling something or the government.

 

----CPU: FX-6300 @ 4.2ghz----COOLER: Hyper 212 EVO----MOBO: MSI 970A-G46----PSU: OCZ 600watt----CASE: Black Corsair C70----GPU: Sapphire 7870 dual fan ghz edtion----2 random HDD'S----A couple fans here and there. Mouse: Gigabyte M6900-------Keyboard: Logitech G105-----Mousepad: Steel series something something.

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In my opinion, the most valuable part of building your own computer is knowing exactly how everything is laid out.  You get a pre-built and you don't necessarily know the manufacturers of all your components, what kinds of warranties each component has, or all the little ins and outs of each component.  And if you care to modify the cabling for any reason, you have to pick apart the system to see where everything goes and how everything is routed, and that's not fun.

 

Any joe schmo can buy a dual 780 rig and brag about it, but it's more respectable when you assemble and design your rig yourself.  And it's a lot more self-fulfilling.  Getting a pre-built is lame, you unbox it, plug it in, maybe reinstall Windows, and that's it.  Where's the fun in that?

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I feel ya dude - i did the same haha. I probably could still find my wishlist somewhere. DO IT!!

I am :D After I finished all my exams I'll get my results back around the 22nd of August. Then if they are good then my Dad said he'd let me build my own PC and help me paying for some of it. I might even post it here when the time comes for some feedback :P

Setup: i5 4670k @ 4.2 Ghz, Corsair H100i Cooler, Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB Ram @ 1600 Mhz, MSI Z87-GD65 Motherboard, Corsair GS700 2013 edition PSU, MSI GTX 770 Lightning, Samsung EVO 120 SSD + 2TB&1TB Seagate Barracudas, BenQ XL2411T Monitor, Sennheiser HD 598 Headphones + AntLion ModMic 4.0

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I am :D After I finished all my exams I'll get my results back around the 22nd of August. Then if they are good then my Dad said he'd let me build my own PC and help me paying for some of it. I might even post it here when the time comes for some feedback :P

 

Wooo - good luck in your exams dude, GCSE or A-Level? I'm currently doing my A2s so finish them next week! For sure, make a build log when you get all the parts. :) In risk of derailing the thread, i shall leave it here - feel free to PM me if you want. :D

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Building your own will always be cheaper and let me explain.  Finding a prebuilt that has the all around quality that a custom has is nearly impossible.  A 500 dollar prebuilt PC will not have an 80+ power supply, will often use a bulldozer CPU and a very entry level graphics card.  Building your own you can cut corners.  Get cheaper ram, get a basic case that has decent quality and add a fan or 2, you don't need an overkill power supply just 80+.  It may end up costing the same, but you will get better performance and quality with upgradability as well!

Specs: Core I7-2600K @ 4.5GHz @ 1.35V, 4x4GB Corsair Vengeance Black 1600MHz CL9, Cooler Master Evo 212, MSI Z77 Mpower Motherboard, Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 Vapor-X @ 1000/1400, Cooler Master HAF 932 Blue Edition w/ 3 Cougar Hydraulic Bearing 120MM fans (2 up top 1 in the bottom) replaced side panel with a window, and rear fan with a Cougar Hydraulic Bearing 140MM, Cooler Master GX 650 80+ Bronze PSU, Samsung DVD-RW, Samsung 840 Pro 128GB SSD, Seagate 750GB SATA III 7200RPM

 

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Well, while it might not be cheaper.. you have longer warranty (3 years+ for every virtually every part), get the exact computer that fit your needs, and higher build quality.

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The problem with pre-built computers is they have a margin of profit they have to make on each unit, to do this they source the cheapest components they can get there hands on, not to mention the very little care and attention that goes into putting them together...i have worked on a lot of pre-built rubbish in my time and i have yet to see one i would take home and call my computer.

 

Stay away from, Dell, Alienware, acer, Packard Bell, hewlett packard, advent, E-systems...to name a few.

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Hell yeah

yup your profile pic matches your comment superbly ... i can also say that prebuilts from big companies are more expensive ... reason being you won't see a high end asus motherboard in them neither would you see an 80+ gold power supply, also if it is an apu setup very rarely  you would get fast enough ram  

(1) high frame rate (2) ultra graphics settings (3) cheap...>> choose only two<<...

 

if it's never been done then i'm probably tryna do it. (((((((Bass so low it HERTZ)))))))

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I think most of us do it because it's fun and very rewarding; not because of the price.

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Building your own PC is one of the most satisfying experiences for me in the world. I can't change my hardware every month, but a lot of my friends can and I always help them as they can't change a bulb alone. I feel like an obstetrician delivering a child every time. You know you build it with your own hands and it's alive (mostly)! I'd pay a few extra bucks to have the option to choose parts myself and in my country there always is a flow with the pre-build PCs. They are either with 2GB RAM and an i7, or 16GB RAM and and i3, or i7-3770(non-K) with z77 chipset and....integrated graphics. There isn't one balanced build. This may not matter to you, but believe me, if you build a PC once, you will never buy pre-build PCs again :)

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Yes, As I play with the dials on my NZXT HUE. You dont get dials on pre-built machines.

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might be the same price because they used low quality psu that can't handle an upgraded gpu, low quality motherboard little to no expansion, low quality bad airflow case that  and terrible customer support. 


msi h77ma g43 

i5 3470

Coolermaster hyper 212 evo push+pull

Powercolor 7950 pcs+ @1100 mhz core 1400mhz mem

Coolermaster haf 912 advanced 120mm rear, 200mm top 200mm front

Corsair vengeance 2x4gb 1600 MHZ

Windows 8 64bit

Silverstone essentials 500w ST50F-ES

Samsung dvd drive

2x 250GB Hitachi RAID0

Seagate Barracuda 2tb

LG IPS235p

Razer Blackwidow

Razer Deathadder


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I was looking at prices for pre-built PC's such as the Dell XPS series, and I compared the price of it's specs to the prices of a PC you would build yourself with the same specs. The price seems to be the same. Is building your own PC still the cheapest way to go?

If not, why do people do it?

Have never seen a prebuilt with same specs are a custom at the same price. They are always terribly balanced. they throw an i7 with 16gb of ram with a gt630 4gb and a slow 1tb hdd. They just build the pc to have the nicest looking numbers because the people don't know any better


msi h77ma g43 

i5 3470

Coolermaster hyper 212 evo push+pull

Powercolor 7950 pcs+ @1100 mhz core 1400mhz mem

Coolermaster haf 912 advanced 120mm rear, 200mm top 200mm front

Corsair vengeance 2x4gb 1600 MHZ

Windows 8 64bit

Silverstone essentials 500w ST50F-ES

Samsung dvd drive

2x 250GB Hitachi RAID0

Seagate Barracuda 2tb

LG IPS235p

Razer Blackwidow

Razer Deathadder


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