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Geek Culture / Buy Or Build

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AlexI
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Posted: 27th May 2006 13:51
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Is it cheaper to buy a PC or build PC (i already have a hard drive) ?
Thanks,
Alex


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indi
22
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Posted: 27th May 2006 13:59
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whenever you buy a prebuilt machine someones wages, shoprent,elec,phone etc are factored in. I cant see a shop building it for you for free.

umm excuse me but are you for real? seems like a simple question, perhaps your skills are not in that field so forgive me if i find the question obvious.

IF you buy parts over an 8 week period saving the larger components for the last purchases they may actually be a little less in price.

eg I had to buy a A8n -SLI Deluxe for a machine at a freelance position and it dropped price after a few weeks saving $30 AUD.

If no-one gives your an answer to a question you have asked, consider:- Is your question clear.- Did you ask nicely.- Are you showing any effort to solve the problem yourself 
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Richard Davey
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Posted: 27th May 2006 14:43
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It will always be cheaper to buy the parts yourself. I love building PCs, but my current box was purchased (from Scan.co.uk, whom I would seriously recommend). Yes they had to be paid to build the box, but it also includes a very good warranty, so if any part of it dies in the next 3 years, they'll fix it free of charge. This is probably the one and only true benefit of buying pre-built.

My current rig is an AMD FX-60, with 2GB of Corsair ram and an XFX 7900 card. The motherboard is SLI capable, but I've not gone down that route just yet. It's all in a gorgeous Temjin case, with a Tagan modular PSU. The build quality was extremely good, very tidy and excellent air flow. I could not have done it any better, and if I'd built it myself I'd have had no recourse had I accidentally blown the CPU or something (£650s worth of CPU at that). Anything lower-spec, I'd have done it myself.

Bite my shiny metal ass
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TDP Enterprises
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Posted: 27th May 2006 17:56 Edited at: 27th May 2006 17:57
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i think its only cheaper to build it yourself if youre building a high end comp, i bought my comp (AMD 2600+ 64mb geforce 4, 512mb ram, 80gig hdd) for $300 about 2 or 3 years ago and doubt i bet i could have built it for the same price, but i could spend the same money abd have it built for me!

Snow Wars is making its return, check out the Game Design Theory board for more info...
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Represent
20
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Posted: 27th May 2006 17:59
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Much cheaper to build it yourself. The only company I would buy it premade by is CyberPower Systems because they are around ~$100 less then building it yourself sometimes. Good deal, I got one 3 years ago and its still alive and kicking, came in less then a week. Very good service and warranty. But other then that building it yourself is way better. Plus you can upgrade or mod whenever you want and wont lose warranty on everything, jus what your playin around with.

Formerly: xTransworldx & Modest Mouse
Support RPGTK!http://www.toolkitzone.com
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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 27th May 2006 18:27
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Generally cheaper to build yourself, unless:
You're stupid and start skewering the motherboard with screw drivers
Or
You decide to build it wearing your favourite nylon Manchester United football shirt.

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Robin
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Posted: 27th May 2006 23:25
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WOW!

cyber powersystems are amazing!! I'm starting to save up already lol Love the ASUS Vento case...looks sweet

Robin


Also check out: http://www.robinsgames.com
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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 28th May 2006 01:18
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http://www.asusclub.co.kr/asusclub_image/product/image/Case/Vento3600_red/main.gif

That one? Initially I hated it and I THINK I still do... The design just looks really bulky and OTT...

This is the case I have:
http://geizhals.at/img/pix/35912.jpg

Plain and simple, but fantastic and removing heat!

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Robin
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Posted: 28th May 2006 01:33
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haha - yeah that's the one
s'pose it is a bit bulky...but it looks seriously mean lol Looks good in black.


Also check out: http://www.robinsgames.com
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TKF15H
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Posted: 28th May 2006 01:50
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Round here (Brazil), depending on what you're aiming for, it may be cheaper to buy a pre-built machine than to build one yourself. This is because, let's say, a shop adds 10% to each part sold separately, but only 6% per part sold in a whole system.
The machines that you'd find pre-built, however, are usually crud as gaming PCs. (AMD Sempron64 3000+, ASUS motherboard, 512mb kingston RAM, 40gb HD, 16 inch monitor, cheap and crappy case/keyboard/mouse, everything else on-board, R$1200.00). To get a decent PC, all parts have to be bought seperately, and it comes at around R$2000.00. (AMD Athlon64 3500+, ASUS, 1gb kingston RAM, 120gb HD, 16 inch monitor, good case/keyboard/mouse, Radeon 9600XT)

DC emulator code size: 9MB. Compiled: 4MB.
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Posted: 28th May 2006 06:21
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Quote: "cyber powersystems are amazing!! I'm starting to save up already lol Love the ASUS Vento case...looks sweet"


lol see. everytime i see something on getting a new comp i recommend them because they are insane. especially for price and performance, and looks, and they have amazing service (lmfao, i feel like a salesperson).

Formerly: xTransworldx & Modest Mouse
Support RPGTK!http://www.toolkitzone.com
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re faze
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Posted: 28th May 2006 15:46
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i dont trust myself enough to build a pc without doing something stupid. i have replaced hard drives and ram chips, but i probably moved with much more precision than was necessary.

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Megaton Cat
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Posted: 28th May 2006 15:51
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Building your PC might be cheaper, but it's a huge pain in the ass replacing broken parts.


It's like a Megaton Cat radar, 24 hours a day.
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indi
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Posted: 28th May 2006 16:09
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motherboards used to scare me when i was younger. I destroyed a 486 back in the day when a screw fell into the machine and made the whole thing blow smoke signals.

If no-one gives your an answer to a question you have asked, consider:- Is your question clear.- Did you ask nicely.- Are you showing any effort to solve the problem yourself 
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hyrichter
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Posted: 28th May 2006 16:25
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I hear people going on about how buying a prebuilt computer is better because if anything goes wrong, just send it back, blah, blah. Don't they realize that most computer parts you buy come with a 3 year warranty? Most RAM has a lifetime warranty as well. Of course, you have to be careful not to fry your computer when you're assembling it, but most things snap into place so easily that's it's rather hard to get it wrong. My nephew did manage to fry (actually melt) a MB and some RAM because he was able to force it in backwards, but it was an old computer anyway, so it was no big loss..

Anyway, I've always built my computers. I can't imagine trusting someone else to get all the parts right. And it only takes about 30 mins to put everything together and then a couple hours to install Windows and all your software.


Do not click the red button
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Dazzag
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Posted: 28th May 2006 20:13
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I don't know why people bother with flashy cases. I mean mine are as far hidden as currently possible (they are big box things - I mean c'mon...). Now I'm completely wireless the obvious next step is completely hiding the computers in my in-the-wall cupboards. Only downside is of course it isn't *completely* wireless. Still need to get the wires from the video cards (desktops, not my laptops obviously). Slightly annoying that. Oh, and must get wireless printer at some point. Is there such a thing as a wireless scanner BTW? Hmmm.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Represent
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Posted: 28th May 2006 20:45
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I like my comp to look nice but perform better. In my case, I got my comp and all the LED fans and other nice perks came free so I jus took advantage of that. If its another stick of RAM or a light, i would take the stick.


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Robin
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Posted: 28th May 2006 20:49
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I just customised a sweet system on that cyberlink website...came to nearly £5,000


Also check out: http://www.robinsgames.com
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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 28th May 2006 22:53
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Robin - do you know how much of a kick ass system you could get if you spent £5K at Scan or Aria? Lol...

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Megaton Cat
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Posted: 29th May 2006 02:58
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Dazzag: Wireless monitor? Trust me, you don't want that.


It's like a Megaton Cat radar, 24 hours a day.
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Posted: 29th May 2006 05:59
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Quote: "I just customised a sweet system on that cyberlink website...came to nearly £5,000"


wtf lol thats alot. I made an insane system for only $4999 so isnt that alot less then like £5,000? btw its cyberpower lol


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Robin
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Posted: 29th May 2006 15:00
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haha yeah was seriously cool though. Athlon64 Fx 60 Dual core, 1TB HD 2x512MB graphics cards in Sli, physics card, gaming HD, sound system etc.

Ok here's a test:
Computer on cyberpowersystems.co.uk with the following specs comes to £793.13 INC VAT & delivery

------

Case: Hot New! ASUS Vento 3600 Mid-Tower 420W Case (BLACK COLOR)
CPU: (939-pin) AMD Athlon™64 3200+ CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
Motherboard: (Sckt939)Asus A8N5X nForce4 Chipset SATA RAID PCI-E w/GbLAN, USB2.0, &7.1Audio
Memory: 1024 MB (512MBx2) PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR MEMORY (Corsair Value Select or Major Brand)
Video Card: NEW !!! NVIDIA Geforce 7600 GS 512MB PCI Express x16 Video Card
Video Card 2: NONE
Monitor & LCD: Edge10 F199 19" Multimedia 8ms Color TFT Active Matrix LCD Display Monitor
Hard Drive: 250GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive
Hard Drive 2: NONE
Optical Drive: SONY DWQ-30A DUAL FORMAT 16X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR)
Optical Drive 2: NONE
Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

------

Ok, now I've just added nearly all those parts to a shopping list on scan.co.uk, and it comes to: £729.51 inc VAT and del.

Asus Vento 3600 Red Case Hi Performance Gaming w/o PSU £79.99 £93.99
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Socket939 Venice Core, 2.0GHz, 512KB Cache, OEM £67.32 £79.10
1GB (2X512MB) Corsair TwinX Pro LED, DDR PC3200 (400), 184 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 2-3-3-6
512Mb Asus 7600GS Mem Clock 540 MHz, GPU 400 MHz, 12 Pipes, D-Sub DVI-I S-Video/TV Out
19" Video Seven L19WA Silver/Black TFT, 1440x900, 8 ms, 500:1, 300 cd/m2, Speakers
250 Gb HGST (IBM/Hitachi) 0A31636 Deskstar T7K250, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 8MB Cache, 8.5 ms, NCQ
Sony DWG-120A10 Ivory 16x16x4 DVD±RW Dual Layer DVD Writer OEM UK
ASUS A8N-SLi Deluxe NF4 SLI, S939, PCI-E (x16), DDR 400, SATA I / II, SATA/IDE RAID, ATX
600W EZ-Cool Silent pPFC Power Supply PCI-E + SATA AMD & P4 Ready 12cm Silent Fan ATX12v Ready


Yeah, I know some of the parts don't match and I've probably missed out things somewhere/things won't work together. Anyway, you'd save about £70 Which isn't too bad. Depends on if you trust yourself to put it all together....


Also check out: http://www.robinsgames.com
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Dazzag
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Posted: 29th May 2006 21:21
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Quote: "Dazzag: Wireless monitor? Trust me, you don't want that"
Yeah, getting a decent rate from a 1600x1200 LCD would probably suck. Just love the idea of having nothing but LCD monitors on desks with wireless mice and keyboards. We had something similar in our old offices which had a conference room with a huge back screen projected screen build into the wall (must have been about 80+ inches as it was almost as big as my projector screen). The wall was actually compartments that opened up, and several computers were inside all linked to the screen (behind the scenes obviously). Then had a huge table that had a wireless keyboard and mouse (as well as a laser pointer that could work with one of the PCs). Using a remote control you could decide which PC to use, TV channel, even the light and window shades control. Course we used it to watch sporting events when we should have been having meetings

But my point is there wasn't a computer to be seen. Clean environment, totally minimilistic, but everything was there to use. Awesome.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Robin
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Posted: 29th May 2006 21:34
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Wouldn't it be cool if there was a way to transfer power wirelessly. Then you'd be completely wireless


http://www.robinsgames.com http://www.darkbasicgames.com
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Dazzag
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Posted: 29th May 2006 21:39
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Meh, if the PC's are behind the scenes, and the screen is built into the wall, then all you have left is the keyboard and mouse really (ignoring printer/ scanner etc here). Wireless mice and keyboards can last months (my old LogiTech one used to last several months on a couple of batteries). Or just have rechargeable ones that recharge in another compartment (nicely away). Dig them out and have enough battery for quite a while. My current rechargeable mouse for example can run for about 3 weeks without a charge apparently.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Megaton Cat
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Posted: 29th May 2006 23:14
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I got a wireless mouse/keyboard duo and the wireless mouse is terrible for gaming - you ever get that problem?

Had to end up switching back to my usual cable-optical.


It's like a Megaton Cat radar, 24 hours a day.
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Dazzag
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Posted: 30th May 2006 01:29
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Mine seems ok. Pretty much the same as my old wired ones. Although I've never had a proper dedicated gamers mouse. I found the mouse mat could cause problems with an optical mouse. Even ones that are marked as "perfect for optical" can cause jumping.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Phaelax
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Posted: 30th May 2006 09:35 Edited at: 30th May 2006 09:37
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this is my case


Generally its cheaper to build the PC yourself, but if want an entry-level budget PC, its very tough to compete with Dell prices. I took a $359 Dell desktop with monitor included and tried to build an indentical system. I succeeded at $360.

Quote: "cyber powersystems are amazing!! "

If thats the same company that makes the cyberpower UPS, then I despise their crappy products. I've bought 2 top of the line models and both have failed.

"Using Unix is the computing equivalent of listening only to music by David Cassidy" - Rob Pike
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AlexI
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Posted: 30th May 2006 11:04
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I think i will get this PC it seems quite good, http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/567_313564.html


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indi
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Posted: 30th May 2006 12:07
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dazzy was that the MS powerpoint pointer one?

Ive seen that gadget but it only impressed the suits who thought it was the next cold fusion reactor.

If no-one gives your an answer to a question you have asked, consider:- Is your question clear.- Did you ask nicely.- Are you showing any effort to solve the problem yourself 
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Phaelax
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Posted: 30th May 2006 19:53
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Just remember when buying a prebuilt system, you don't always know what brand of parts you're getting. At least most won't state their mobo brands and such.

"Using Unix is the computing equivalent of listening only to music by David Cassidy" - Rob Pike
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Dazzag
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Posted: 30th May 2006 19:58
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Quote: "dazzy was that the MS powerpoint pointer one?"
I assume so as I never really used it myself. We always presented our stuff on Unix fullscreen text based windows. Only ever used it to freak out the newbies by shining the laser in their eyes. Only the PMs and directors ever used it in meetings, and it always looked like PowerPoint.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Posted: 30th May 2006 22:15
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Quote: "If thats the same company that makes the cyberpower UPS, then I despise their crappy products. I've bought 2 top of the line models and both have failed."


hell no lol ik that they are bad its a different company.


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