build or buy?

[theomms]

i am going to get a high performance PC. my question is this:

should i build a my own system or just buy a Dell(or other brand)?

i know if i build my own i would be able to get better performance, but what would it cost when compared to the dells?

for example, would i be able to get a computer better than the Dell XPS 600 for a price tag that is less? (loaded dell is $3K Dell home)

when i say "better" i am refering specifically to: the processor, video card, RAM, HDD

i have built a handfull of computers over the last five years so i understand the process and head aches that maybe related to building your own rig, but honestly i dont mind any of that. i would much rather piece together my own system, but i dont want to finish putting together my PC any realize that i ripped my own self off by spending more than i could have bought a pre-fab system with better stuff inside.

thanks for reading

 

[DaveSimmons]

You can't beat Dell for an office PC with a legal copy of Windows, especially if you go to a deals site like GottaDeal.com or the Hot Deals forum here.

If you want a gaming PC, or mixed-use with gaming as the most CPU-intensive task, then Dell is out because they only sell intel. Read the CPU tab on the main AT site to see how badly intel lags behing AMD A64 (single and X2) in gaming.

 

[shortylickens]

Go to e4me.com and get the fastest computer they have. Its only 500 bucks and it has a PCIe slot. All you need to make it a gaming machine is a good 3D card.

 

[sniperruff]

dell on sale = cheapest.

 

[n7]

Buying prebuilt = better deal to an extent, but you get less upgradeability & crappier quality parts.

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: n7
Buying prebuilt = better deal to an extent, but you get less upgradeability & crappier quality parts.

dell uses mostly pretty decent parts and are silent. as for being upgradable or not, most of the time you just slap on a new vid card or some more ram or a new HD, which you can do on dells.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Definitely build your own. It's a great experience, it's fun, and you get to customize every aspect that goes into your system

 

[theMan]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
Go to e4me.com and get the fastest computer they have. Its only 500 bucks and it has a PCIe slot. All you need to make it a gaming machine is a good 3D card.

hey, that is a good idea, THIS looks pretty good. just buy a 7800gtx, or a x1800xt and you've got a beautiful rig.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: sniperruff

Originally posted by: n7
Buying prebuilt = better deal to an extent, but you get less upgradeability & crappier quality parts.

dell uses mostly pretty decent parts and are silent. as for being upgradable or not, most of the time you just slap on a new vid card or some more ram or a new HD, which you can do on dells.

Sure

 

[Deathcharge]

build your own dude at least you know what goes in and you can easily trouble shoot rather than relying on the vendors support it sounds like you know what you are doing good luck

 

[theomms]

thanks everybody

i will just have to do it the hard way:

figure out exactly what i want and then compare it to the pre-fabs out there (price and components)

i hope it adds up to me building my own

thanks again!

 

[Fraggable]

Dell will only be a better deal on a desktop over building one if you can find a huge coupon code and get like $600 off. Besides, Dell uses mostly Maxtor HDDs and in my experience, no-name RAM, Intel mobos, and Intel processors which means no OCing (because of the mobo).

 

[natto fire]

Yeah, Dell's are great for low-end because of the buying power they have for low-end parts. If you want all-out performance and have 3 grand to throw around, you are going to want to build your own system. Especially if you are going to be gaming, which AMD happens to be dominating in lately, not to mention that the X2 is far superior to Intel's dual core solution atm. Plus a good readily available NForce mobo will leave you with O/C headroom, something you will not get with a Dell. They are pretty much stuck on Intel and non-O/C (but reliable) mobos. At 3K you are almost getting in SLI range, unless you want to buy an awesome display, which I would reccomend over SLI anyday. A 7800GTX and Dell 2405fpw would treat you very nice

 

[akugami]

Dell uses the cheapest parts they can find for their average system. Generally these parts are still pretty good and will work fine for 90% of the people. I'm sure the "gamer" systems they have are a cut above but those systems are also insanely expensive and you're better off getting a custom built system (either built yourself or from a computer shop, like a mom&pops or something online).

One of my biggest gripes with Dell's are that I haven't met a Dell system with a good optical drive yet. I have replaced the optical drives on two Dell's already because they wouldn't read retail audio CD's, some movie DVD's and DVD's that I burned. I can see if it was a little finicky with burned DVD's but I would have to say if you can't read retail CD's and DVD's your crap sucks. I've had this problem from CD's drives to CDR/DVD hybrids to DVD burners on all Dell's I've used.

Dell's make great cheap business sytems or a general non gaming computer for the family but as a gamers system, look elsewhere.

 

[imported_Shepherd]

Originally posted by: theman

Originally posted by: shortylickens
Go to e4me.com and get the fastest computer they have. Its only 500 bucks and it has a PCIe slot. All you need to make it a gaming machine is a good 3D card.

hey, that is a good idea, THIS looks pretty good. just buy a 7800gtx, or a x1800xt and you've got a beautiful rig.

Is that Emachine a good set up? Would you be able to oc or upgrade it in the future with say a x2 when prices drop?

 

[alimoalem]

unless u have one of those 35% off dell coupons, i think the cutom built would be cheapest

 

[theomms]

Captain_Howdy you read my mind. here is what i am thinking after about an hour of shopping

PSU: silent PSU $150.00 (need to look more)

Mobo: MSI nForce4 SLI (939) K8N Neo4 Platinum SLI $169.00

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4400CDBOX - Retail $525.00

GPU: LeadTek GeForce 7800GTX 256MB $468.00

RAM: something on 4 DIMMs (haven't looked yet) $200.00-$500.00

Case: ARCTIC Silentium 2 $120.00 (its quiet, but not sure if it will fit GPU. it looks kinda small) all i care about is quiet. is water cooling quiet?

Display: dell 2405fpw $800

HDD: something sataII 80Gig 10k (haven?t looked yet) $200.00

Optic: DVD+_r 16x (haven?t looked) $100.00

Sound: onboard $Free (Wahoo!)

Other costs: $200-$bankrupcy

total: About $3033.00

how do you think that compares to the a Dell XPS which will cost about $3200.00?(after most recent 15% off coupons) the spec differences in the dell would be Intel Pentium-D 840 (3.2Ghz, 800Mhz fsb), and 2gb ram (4 dimm).

Am I forgetting anything?
Do you think my prices are way off?

Let me what you think!

 

[ribbon13]

Let's fit your bill a bit better.

PSU: Seasonic S12-600
Powerful, efficient and quiet.

RAM: G.Skill F1-4000USU2-2GBHZ
Keep it to 2 DIMMs. 2GB of DDR500.

Optic: BenQ
A lot of fellow members I respect reccomend this one now-a-days

 

[theomms]

thanks ribbon 13. i will take your word for the DVD drive (i dont use cheap media so i am not to worried about which drive i end up with as long as it burns at full speed).

The PSU looks good but i could not find how quiet (or loud) that PSU is rated at (any thing les than 25db will work). anyone know?

I am a little ignorant about Ram so i am wondering how DDR500 Ram will compare to the RAM in the a dell? "DDR2 SDRAM at 667Mhz"(from Dell.com)

thanks!

 

[ribbon13]

That PSUs is #1 for people who are anal about noise. It's the poster child for a quiet PSU. Review

THe RAM can't really be compared because it's DDR2, and AMD isn't using DDR2 yet. They haven't had a need too. The built in memory controller on A64 cpus has been very effective. But you'll be happy to know that it's pretty much the best deal on RAM, being $50 cheaper than the best 2GB DDR500 kit money can buy, which the exact same performance.

 

[l Xes l]

FTW

 

[lexmark]

what mobo is that, and how many pci/pcie slots are available?

 

[theomms]

thanks krnxpride83 i will keep my eyes open for deals on there. i may have found one already! (what does FTW stand for?)

->lexmark here is the link for the mobo at newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130487

 

[lexmark]

thanks dude! how did you go about finding which mobo that was? i dont see anything in the emachines specs

ftw- for teh win

 

[firewolfsm]

dell and other companies will cheat you on your memory quality and motherboard. if you want a performance pc either build it yourself or get one from ibuypower.com the value pro is a great computer, and with some customization on their site, it will beat anything from dell.