Custom Built PCs vs Manufacturer Built PCs

[Geekazoid]

Hi guys,

Just thought I'd start an interesting poll to see which you think is better value for money or best bang-for-the-buck. I have an inkling of how I think this will end up so it'll be interesting to see the end results.

[ViruZ_HUN]

custom PC 100% cheaper and better hardware

[pewpewmerica]

Custom built. Not only is it cheaper, it is also a lot of fun to build it.

[Cacao]

Is this a joke? What do you expect the response to be on a hardware forum?

[JamesIsBatman]

Custom built is waaayyy cheaper. And you have the ability to choose any parts you want. Sometimes manufacturer built pc's don't give you a wide range of parts to choose from

[YellowDragon]

Depends actually, I got the initial parts for my computer through cyberpower and then dismantled it from there. They were having a large sale and I got most of my rig cheaper then just buying all the parts from newegg at the time. (Saved about $325 bucks) If the Manufacturer has a large selection of parts and is cheaper I will go with them, it all depends on market price to me if they both offer similar parts.

[TheRetiredSlave]

It depends on what you want.. If you want an ultra high-end PC custom tuned to exactly what you want to do with it, building yourself is the way to go. Most likely a prebuilt PC will be too generic for your specific needs, and if it does have high-end specs it will also most likely be much more expensive..

 

If you want a generic ~$300 PC for light web browsing, it might not really be worth your time to figure out a custom rig. It can be easier and more efficient to just go to a store and pick up a simple tower.

[ProGearUk]

If you build your own pc there are no labour costs. No rubbish warranties and you get to choose components that will last unlike most of the stuff that the prebuilt people will have in the computer's they sell. Also with a custom computer you get to choose the style you want and make the pc how you want it to look. I personally like a clean looking pc which is why I choose the Fractal Design Define R4 for my case which has no branding on it at all. 

[WorldDominator]

custom PC 100% cheaper and better hardware

 

100% cheaper = free. Learn to math.

[Geekazoid]

I wasn't trying to make anyone annoyed, merely just seeing what peoples preferences are. There could be a couple of people on here who prefer to go with a prebuilt system. I myself have a prebuilt system. I have upgraded the GPU 3 times and doubled the RAM but obviously now I'm looking to go for a custom rig as I myself are finding it more cost effective to do so.

[smjpl]

I wasn't trying to make anyone annoyed, merely just seeing what peoples preferences are. There could be a couple of people on here who prefer to go with a prebuilt system. I myself have a prebuilt system. I have upgraded the GPU 3 times and doubled the RAM but obviously now I'm looking to go for a custom rig as I myself are finding it more cost effective to do so.

 

Some people may prefer a pre-built system but I doubt you will find those people here. With regards to which is better value? A pre-built system can't be better value. Pre-built systems have to cover profit, labour, overheads etc. so it basically can't be better value. 

 

100% cheaper = free. Learn to math.

Learn to English  :P 

[Glenwing]

Some people may prefer a pre-built system but I doubt you will find those people here. With regards to which is better value? A pre-built system can't be better value. Pre-built systems have to cover profit, labour, overheads etc. so it basically can't be better value.

 

Well, it can, depending on the price range of the components, because OEMs get their parts at vendor discount prices.

[smjpl]

Well, it can, depending on the price range of the components, because OEMs get their parts at vendor discount prices.

I suppose it could but I would say that is only for low end systems where the production quantities are huge. For a gaming PC (or just half decent PC's), I doubt it could ever be better value. They wouldn't sell enough pre-built gaming PC's to get high performance OEM parts at a low enough cost to beat a custom built one. If you were to take any pre-built gaming PC then I would assume you could put the same parts together yourself for a cheaper price. 

 

In saying that, the thread just say's PC, not gaming PC. 

[WorldDominator]

Learn to English  :P 

 

Mine was a play on the internet phrase, L2P, so I didn't need to use proper grammar, sir.

[Glenwing]

I suppose it could but I would say that is only for low end systems where the production quantities are huge. For a gaming PC (or just half decent PC's), I doubt it could ever be better value. They wouldn't sell enough pre-built gaming PC's to get high performance OEM parts at a low enough cost to beat a custom built one. If you were to take any pre-built gaming PC then I would assume you could put the same parts together yourself for a cheaper price. 

 

In saying that, the thread just say's PC, not gaming PC. 

 

Yeah, I was thinking super cheap PCs are the only category that applies to as well.  When someone wants a $400 PC for home I usually just point them to Dell xD I would end up having to recommend parts so crappy that it's better to have the OEM warranty on the stuff anyway.

[smjpl]

Mine was a play on the internet phrase, L2P, so I didn't need to use proper grammar, sir.

 

Ah so I am the fool . I was thinking it was a simple mistake anyway. I'm not down with all you youngsters and your lingo, plus I'm a sucker for proper English (even though I screw it up most the time myself). All in good fun though. :P