BUY or BUILD

[Amber]

Hi,
Thanks for looking at this

OK I Build Computers for a hobby, my buddy Dave want a new system and he thinks it would be a better computer from Dell or Getaway
I have tried to explain why I bereave that I can put together a Better system for the same or less cash

He is looking at spending about $1900
He also wants a LCD so that will push the price up, but I see 3 hot deals
On the other category

Help me explain to "Dave K."
How Dell and the Cow get all the money too run those T.V. Adds

 

[SemperFi]

Myself I would NEVER buy a built system. I do the same thing.

Most of the time everything works out great for both parties. I built one for one of my friends who knows enough about computers to be scary. He is on aol and clicks everything he sees apparently. He had like 8 programs that were starting on boot that he had downloaded. I told him I wanted to put Win 2000 on it for him because he doesn't game at all and leaves it on all the time. Then he tells me he was talking to computer admin at work and he said 2000 was not more stable than 98. My point here is sometimes it is better to let them pay for the tech support in the price.

On the other hand what I ususlly tell them is dell or whoever, is selling you the video card for $x.oo. Same for every componet in the system. Now the video card say Geforce 4 costs you $150 I think that is low but you get the point. Dell charges the buyer same value for thiers but is it as good probobly not. If they don't understand that refer to the paragraph above. Sometimes after the free software it works out to be better value if the software is good. Thats when they have to decide if they want a high end rig.

Semper Fi

 

[WW]

just tell him to make sure he is comparing apples to apples when he is comparing building vs. buying.

Dell might have a great prices on a 2.0 ghz system...but the video is low end (or worse, integrated in the motherboard), the hard drive is the slower than what you'd buy, etc etc. You really have to look at each component to figure out if it's a good deal or not. Go to newegg and price out an equilavent system.

But, here's a word to the wise...be very careful about helping your buddy to decide to build a new computer. You will become the free tech support ....for life. If something ever happens to the system, it's your fault.

Just send him a few links to some hardware sites, let him read some component reviews, and some tutorials on building a system. Now, if he doesn't want to, or won't try to learn about it...he should call Dell or Gateway immediately!

 

[cholley]

if you look at the ad's of dell, gateway ect, they only advertise cpu speed and hard drive size,
they will be more than happy to sell this sytem to you at their chepo price, they don't tell you what the system won't do for you.
they will sell you an LCD but is it better than a crt for games- no
in order to get a good system from dell or that pony tail freak you need alot of cash and you need to know everything about computer hardware.
so the best bet is to build so you know the shortcuts taken and pick your own system limitations/capabilities.
you in no doubt can build a better system for less. once you start to add and remove things from an oem's package you also run into additional costs.
if your friend is dead set on an oem check out www.buy-atlas.com
they make both the cheepo box all the way up to best of the best

 

[scottrico]

If you do not know how to build a pc yourself than buy on from dell or whoever.

Or better yet,
have them show you how to build yourown.
It is a great feeling to know you built it yourself.

There is nothing nicer than a rig with no corporate logos on it.

BTW
I have seen lots of good deals for less than 1900, with a lcd screen.
A friend got a dell with 256 md rdram (not ddram),p4 2200, 15 in lcd, geforce 2, 60 gigs hd(western), and soundblaster audgyfor 1200 and change (250 rebate).
You don't need a geforce 4 because you can't do any good gaming on a lcd anyway.

 

[jugornot]

It is not as simple as all that. I would venture to say you can not build a comparable system for the same price or less. But You can build a better system for not much more. All the hot deals in the world cannot add up to the buying power of dell. And you must remeber to include software if building an apples to apples system. You could probably build a same cost system if you don't install software. But then it is not a fair comparison.

Then I come to to my biggest reason I do not build systems for friends or anybody else. I fix computers for people all the time and hardware is seldom the problem. Most people are their own worse enemies. I don;t have the time or patience to babysit the non savvy users who want me to build them systems. I have built an entire network for my wife's classroom and I seldom have to work on any of these computers. Basically ten months of the year they run everyday with no tech support from me. The school also supplied her with a DELL to connect to the school network and internet. It is totally useless. Her kids won't even use it unless they have to for a networked test or something. Evrytime I go to her room for maintainence ( I just pulled down the network for lockup over summer vacation), which is usually 2 times but I may visit one other time if I have new hardware, everything is running great and I ask her if there have been any problems. The only thing I saw last time that required my attention was that the server was badly fragmented. Oh and by the way did I mention that this is a self contained special ed class of trainable mentally handicapped students? And my wife is technically chllenged. You can build way better computers. But are you willing to take the tech support on also. Is your guarantee as good as Dell's? Or are you a glutton for punishment? HTH

 

[poolshark]

If your buddy cant see that what you can build is better than a Dale then he doesnt need a real good computer to start with. I have always said that another word for stubborn is stupid.
I have always said that " golf is like sex ; YOU DONT HAVE TO BE GOOD AT IT TO ENJOY IT"

 

[Belis9]

yeah but when you build your PC, guess who has to replace every part that fries because you aint got a warranty :\

 

[SemperFi]

That would be the company who sold you the componet or the manufacturer depending on what it is and how long you have had it. The only thing I have had go bad is hard drives. I have never had a return refused yet.

 

[Amber]

Thanks for all the in put

I build about 10 systems a year an have a good handle on how to
as for the hot deal hardware
the last system had:
$129 19''.$30 Lite-on 24X CDRW,$120 80gig HDD with PCI ATA card,$50 Epson 820 photo ,free 42 bit scaner.$35 Lite-on DVD,$49 7 bay 400w case
if you can get prices like that from Dell please tell me how

and for software
I wouldl only like too talk about the hardware end
Thank you

 

[Belis9]

I work for the company that does dells technical support as well as spare parts.


I would never buy a dell.

 

[2336]

From what I've heard the specials that Dell and Gateway advertise are basically systems that are cobbled together from the left-overs from thr previous model lines that they are phasing out. Basically they are clearing the warehouse. I'd have to agree with WW - be very careful when dealing with friends. Unless you are very generous with your time make them understand that if you build a system for them that tech support can be extra. On all systems I build I give a one year warranty on hardware and as long as the customer brings the PC to me I'll repair it for free. If I have to go to them it's $15.00 for every visit! Cover your butt and don't let yourself get taken advantage of by your non-computer knowledgeable friends.

 

[compudog]

Same here 2336. I build PC's through a partner friend and have done 14 so far this year. We offer the initial set-up at delivery time. We make the customer (usually friends) understand that if they screw it up we'll fix it the first time for free, every call after that is at $35.00/hr. You cannot compete with the big guys. No way. The buying power that Dell & Gateway etc have makes it impossible. You can put together a great PC around the same price but never have the same software bundle that the big guys offer. The one way you can sell a customer on the idea is with great support. You have to remember that when building for a friend, they will expect you to support them all the way.

 

[Gretzky]

ok. I am pleeding with you dont buy from Dell, GateWay, or ALienware. I bought systems from all 3 of those vendors and ur paying so much just for the name of company. Many of the parts are generic and when you build your computer you know whats in it and you know that the parts that you got will last you. I had a computer from Dell and it broke down the same day that i got it from fedex, i had to replace 5 things from my alienware PC and gateway had all generic parts in my computer. Listen to your friend and let him built you a PC that will work well.

 

[Kingofcomputer]

BUILD but buy from Dell,
for hard disk, cd-rw, dvd, monitor, networking, they've even better price than newegg when there is % off discount + coupon.

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: Belis9
yeah but when you build your PC, guess who has to replace every part that fries because you aint got a warranty :\

Well my self built desktop is better covered by warranties than my POS Hewlett Packard notebook!

Most components in my system have a 3 year warranty. So if someting fries I can usually get a free replacement. And I gather I would probably get it with a lot less hassle than someone trying to replace a component through Dell or Gateway.

I had a drive die in my desktop machine that I built. I sent it back to Maxtor with an Advance RMA and had it in two days. However, with my 14 month old Hewlett Packard, I have to spend $70 to replace the crappy ass hard drive that died since that POS only has a 1 year warranty.

 

[Amber]

rudder,
you have that right,newegg will cover any parts for the first 30 days
and they are very good

but Dave is still thinking getting a Dell Dude !!

 

[cholley]

well whatever system your friend comes away with, just make sure it will do the work or play the games it's intended for now, or in 6 months, cd recording, dvd's, high end graphics, whatever.
i sold retail pc's for a while and it was often difficult to explain what the diffrences were to people and the cost diffrence between the econo box and one with greater potential is around $200.
but often times when you buy from a big oem and the sell you an all integrated machine, you cant simply upgrade certain items when you want. so you need to know what you need up front.
if you build yourself, you can say buy a motherboard with alot of options and skimp on cpu,hard drive size or video or sound and then upgrade later and tailor your system as you develope more uses for your machine and not pay up front for options you may never use.
as for warranty issues, you have the option of buying some retail package parts and get good support, 3yrs cpu, video cards some have lifetime warranty, and hard drives get 3-5 years.
but watever the choice is even if it's dell make sure it's money well spent, however take a look at www.buy-atlas.com, they have good bundles at nearly every price point.

 

[Amber]

the last system I built:
AMD 1800 XP
MSI K7T266 Pro2
512mb DDR Kingston RAM
Gainward Gforce 3 TI 200 AGP
2-80gig Moxtor 7200 RPM ATA 133 HDD
32X Lite-on CDRW
16X Lite-on DVD
ATA PCI card
Round IDE cablesNice 7 bay case with front USB
19" Mag Monitor
Epson 820 Photo Printer
Visioneer 8100 Scanner
all for $1200

 

[Triumph]

I stopped building computers for people because they bitch at ME when THEY f*ck their machine up. Then they bitch more because I am not a 24 hour service to come fix it. Dells and Gateways are good enough, let them bitch to someone else when they screw something up. Something to think about.

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: Amber

but Dave is still thinking getting a Dell Dude !!

Well I hate Best Buy with a passion, but I did almost consider getting one of their VPR Matrix PC's. The had a p4 1.8ghz, 512 meg, 80gig, cdr, dvd, geforce2, etc., with monitor and printer for $899. I would get that before I got a dell just because it has a real video card that can be upgraded! But luckily I smacked some sense into myself and will be getting some new stuff from Newegg shortly.