**POLL** buy a dell or make your own computer, that is the question! :)

[MDE]

Originally posted by: Budman

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: Budman

if a dell machine cost 800 dollars and exact parts off newegg cost you 850, would you just buy the dell

If a dell came with the same overclockable parts I can get at newegg but for cheaper? I would get the dell then.

you missinterpreted the thread.

no I didnt you said exact parts.

you didnt say similar parts or comparable parts,you said exact same parts.

Dells are not, have never been, and never will be overclockable. Even if the parts are the same you won't be overclocking the Dell.

 

[thomsbrain]

i'd do self made. make the difference $150 and i would definetely give the dell some thought, though.

 

[grant2]

i'm no overclocker, so i'm saving myself the $50 + hassle.

 

[WobbleWobble]

Originally posted by: Jiggz
A self builder will always build cheaper systems regardless if the pre built ones are sold by Compaq, HP or Dell. The only time you will spend more is when it comes to installed software. But hardware wise, own built will always end up being cheaper. The trick is to buy parts from different vendors. If you try buying all your parts in one store you will end up paying more. Think about it, by building your own you obviously saved money because you do not pay yourself while the pre built ones paid people to build them at leas $150.00 for each system. And to top it all off, upgrading is easy since you built it yourself. Last time I bought a computer case was back in 1996! I've changed cpu and mobo about 6 times. From the Pentium 133 mobo and CPU to Athlon XP 2800+. Now that's a lot of money saved not to mention the experiences learned along the way.

Some of the hot deals from Dell have been pretty good. At times, the CPU alone is worth almost as much as a Dell hot deal.

 

[drag]

I always go self made.

I save my money and get name brand parts, instead hoping that the so and so sound card chipset from Dell is the same as the so and so sound cards with the same name. They are not always the same. I know what I put into it and if I do good research into my parts I can get stuff that won't go obsolete and still be usefull years from now.

Plus instead of my money going to Microsoft (which they have enough already) I can save it and buy a extra 256 megs of ram for what I save. Since I am a linux user the bundled software is more then useless to me.

 

[sandorski]

I never build a whole system at once. Video card here, cpu/mobo/(ram if needed) there, new hard drive, or whatever, so even if I wanted to I couldn't even afford a Dell. That said, given $850, I think most people could put together a better system for their needs simply by overclocking a slower part, getting a more appropriate Video card, or by going with an AMD system.

 

[Moohooya]

I'd guess it would be more than an extra $50 to do a home built as Dell get large volume discounts, and they only ship 1 or 2 boxes. Home built you miss the discount, and you'll get many more boxes. Also the software that comes on a Dell would cost much more if you bought if off the shelf.

That said, I don't want a dell, and I'd be happy paying more money to get the machine I want without the software I don't want.

 

[dexvx]

If it was for me or for very close friends, I'd build.

If it was a recommendation, I'd tell them to get the dell.



But FYI, some dell's are overclockable, namely the Dim 4600 and the 400SC. Both of those have available software that adjust the PLL's frequencies for the FSB.

 

[cockeyed]

Originally posted by: PaveHawk
I would build my own, yet insist that relatives go buy the Dell.

Ditto

 

[DaveSimmons]

I'd pay Dell extra to save me time and effort, except they've never offered the mix of parts I want, just something "close" to it, with really annoying lapses like only offering DVD+R not dual-format +/-.

 

[Swanny]

I'd make my own. The only time I'd buy Dell is for a spare type system I don't really care about. Also, I can almost always build cheaper than Dell because they use Intel and I use AMD

 

[novice]

I would definitely go for self made for my personal use. At least that way, I know who to blame if there are any problems. Also, the Dell uses proprietary cases and motherboards that don't lend well to upgrading. I still like my 3 enlight cases, even though I have replaced the power supplies in all 3 of them. Dells are for people who don't know anything about computers, and for those people they are fine. But most people reading Anandtech are willing to try and learn about computers, in the hope that they can at least fix their own, if not assemble components from scratch. All 4 of my home systems are home built, and 3 of them have been totally upgraded, retaining only the floppy drives and maybe CD=Rom drives. Everything else has been replaced. Not really possible in a dell. Although, for the next upgrade, I may have to consider building an all new system to take advantage of features not available on my current systems.

 

[Rebel7254]

The only way prices between building your own and a Dell would be comparable is if you were building an entire system at once. If you already have a system and are just upgrading, you usually will upgrade each part or a few parts at different times. For example, I just got new CPU/mobo/RAM/HDD and built it myself. I kept my power supply, sound and video card, CD and DVD drive, the floppy drive, and the case. A Dell with the same specs as mine (mobo/CPU/RAM) would cost 66% more than what I paid Newegg.

All that said, definitely build it myself.

 

[Vernor]

Dell effectively boycotts AMD.

'nuff said.

 

[newbiepcuser]

depends on my budget.


If 850 includes the price of a legit OS, then self made vs Dell. 850 would be a good deal for home built PC with everything.

 

[Budmantom]

Often times if you watch the "hot deals" you can do a lot better than saving $50.

A month ago it was a P4 2.6ghz, 512mb 80gb hd, 52x cdrw, 9800np(people where getting the pro) and xp for $499.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: Twista
self made

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: sunase
Put me with the self made for myself and Dell made otherwise group (although personally I had my relatives buy Gateway since I had to call Gateway once for a friend's comp and was impressed they solved something I couldn't). Most of the problems my relatives were constantly bugging me with were the stupidest things, even poor tech support has a good shot at it and often they handle some of the most time consuming and boring stuff like swapping expansion cards around to clear resource conflicts.

The components are going to substandard in the Dell, but let's face it, the majority of computer users do nothing more than office and web browsing so having a motherboard with a few percent more performance and tweaking options is just useless for them. I wince when I see the crappy, fuzzy LCD my sister got saddled with compared to my vibrant CRT, but she doesn't even notice. Reliability might be a stronger argument, I would never accept not choosing my own hard drive company for example...

Same thing goes for people who can't tell the difference between a 60Hz refresh rate and 120Hz. 60Hz is almost painful for me to just look at for under a minute. 85Hz or more for me.


For the original question - for me or close family (close distance too), build it myself. Anyone else - Dell, Gateway, Comqrap, etc. Tech support's (me) time is limited.

 

[BeauJangles]

I used to say self made in a second, but, lately, i found myself not caring what was inside my computer. I don't play games that often anymore and I would rather have a computer that is 110% reliable and has someone ELSE to do my tech support. Once upon a time my harddrive company mattered, but lately, I would have no qualms about buying Dell.

 

[OverVolt]

Well since the Dell probably came with a 'restore' disk being able to install WinXP again after a mobo/cpu/HDD upgrade out weights the $50 i saved awhile ago.

 

[igowerf]

I'd only buy Dell if they had the exact configuration that I want but they usually don't. I love the warranty on my laptop. I never have to worry about something dying on it. Dells are nice and I wouldn't hesitate to get one for a family member.

 

[jessieqwert]

Or better yet, wait for a Dell deal with a 9800.
Then transplant an older GeForce in to it.
Keep the 9800, sell the Dell.
In my case that was the same as a free 9800