Custom or Pre-Built?

[stconquest]

After 2.5 years, one of my two 8GB sticks started kicking out errors.  I contacted Patriot and in two weeks, I had two new sticks.  I find that kind of weird.  Usually I would just buy a new product after a few years.  Free parts are free parts, I will take it.

[Johannes_Lazor]

I would recommend a prebuilt system, He needs a good tech support service if he works on it. Unless you are going to be the tech support for free and do a good job.

[stconquest]

I would recommend a prebuilt system, He needs a good tech support service if he works on it. Unless you are going to be the tech support for free and do a good job.

 

All tech support does it have you send in your PC, so then you are stuck without a PC.

 

Anything else is solved with the simplest of Google searches.  The fact is, the more issues you solve by investigating yourself the better.  You get smarter as time goes on.  You are paying Dell 30% extra to keep you dumb... not good

[Johannes_Lazor]

All tech support does it have you send in your PC, so then you are stuck without a PC.

 

Anything else is solved with the simplest of Google searches.  The fact is, the more issues you solve by investigating yourself the better.  You get smarter as time goes on.  You are paying Dell 30% extra to keep you dumb... not good

But he might not have time for it, Just becouse there is tech support doeant mean he should send the PC everytime there is a problem though, But it would give him more peace if mind to know that ig he cant fix it he can send it and have it fixed.

[stconquest]

But he might not have time for it, Just becouse there is tech support doeant mean he should send the PC everytime there is a problem though, But it would give him more peace if mind to know that ig he cant fix it he can send it and have it fixed.

 

Don't misunderstand me, I know what you mean.  I just cannot ever recommend it outside of a professional environment.  I know how easy it is to work with PCs.  I went through the early learning phases.

 

@Slottr came here because he knows there is a better way, and he is right.  Saying to go with the Dell because paying a ton more for their version of tech support is worth it, is not something we should promote.  It is borderline incorrect.

 

I just could never say:  Sure, it is a good idea to pay 30% more for a Dell home PC.  :mellow:

 

 

Look how cheap this thing is compared to the Dell.  You could even drop the i5 and save another $70 with an i3 4130:

 

No Rebates

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($178.99 @ SuperBiiz)  <<i3 4130 saves $70

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-S2H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($48.99 @ Amazon)  <<He does not need 8GB, 4GB will do

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($44.99 @ Amazon)  <<Change this to a 120GB SSD, same price

Case: Cougar MG100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($28.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: EVGA 400W ATX Power Supply  ($24.99 @ Amazon)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit)  ($89.99 @ NCIX US)

Case Fan: Kingwin CF-012LB 40.0 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($3.98 @ OutletPC)  <<Front intake

Case Fan: Kingwin CF-012LB 40.0 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($3.98 @ OutletPC)  <<Side intake

Total: $468.89

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-25 09:14 EDT-0400

 

Imagine a $380 PC that does the job well... $700 for the Dell.

 

It would be the fastest and most responsive PC his dad ever used... and might learn to keep it that way.

 

I guarantee you my PentiumD (2.8GHz) system runs faster than a hell of a lot of Dell Home PCs in the world today.

 

Note:  It is actually not running at the moment (fried PSU), but I got the parts to redo it... just lazy.