Question: reason for building a custom desktop?

[Schadenfreude]

So the question - the punchline if you will - is already said.

Why do you guys do, what you guys do?

I guess my main reason I ask is that the budgeting doesn't seem to make sense to me; OS', Linux withstanding, typically cost $100 and up, counting OEMs - I try to calculate a custom-build but the cost difference of the OS alone (in this case Win7 as I play PC games) kills it for me; accounting for that, I don't see any incentives to build a custom PC over a pre-built one.

So, a more specific follow-up question; when building a system, is budget a priority for you guys? And how do you guys account for the OS' price as you budget a system?

 

[mfenn]

Fuck, I had a nice response typed out but I accidentally clicked the Anandtech logo instead of switching tabs

Anyway, you're not going to be able to beat Dell for a general usage machine. However, the cheapest Dell that you can get with a 5870 costs $1229, the cheapest with a 5770 is $829. You can build a comparable gaming system for much less. As far as the OS goes, many people on the boards participate in the various MS promotions to get reduced price (legit) copies of Windows and many are also college students that can get the OS for next to nothing from their universities.

For me, it's the tweaker aspect that keeps me into it. I love spec'ing out systems and thinking about different configurations (probably why I hang out on this damn board so much). Even if building your own were to become significantly more expensive than prebuilt, I would still do it because I like to have complete control over the component selection.

 

[TheStu]

I specced out a complete system (sans keyboard and mouse) for my friend for about $850 all said and told.

LED backlit 1080p 21.5" screen, 530W PSU, quad core, 4GB DDR3, 4890 GPU, 500GB HDD, and case. I have trouble matching that with a pre-built. Sure, with me building it for him I am now his tech support, but I would have been anyway.

There are times when a pre-built is the best option. They can usually win out at lowest costs, and not everyone can, or is willing to spend the time to research and then build their own computer. With a home-built, you have the option to re-use existing parts, and build to specific needs. I could not have easily found an OEM system that would be usable as a hackintosh, but for a few hundred dollars I was able to get a new mobo, CPU and RAM set that would (allowing me to reuse my PSU, GPU, HDDs, case). $200 for a new system.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Because building a server with 15TB of storage would cost me too much otherwise. And I enjoy needing someone else's help to move, as my computer is a two-man lift.

 

[Blain]

I tend to build according to what I need/want and let a budget develop along the way.
I'm not a big gamer, but build more towards...
* Quality components
* CPU & HD performance weighting
* Quality components

 

[melek-taus]

for me personally i just love building pc´s.

And i cant buy a high end prebuild pc for under 1000 euro.

build i am making =

i5 750
asus p7p55d
4gb gskill ddr3 1600
5850 1gb
500 wat ocz stealth xstream
1tb wd sata disk
nzxt lexa s case
artic cooling big ass cooler

this build will cost me 750 euros without the psu cuz i already have it. But a prebuild that resembles it will cost me over 1200 euro here. So i can safe over 400 euros on a build.

And i have the parts i prefer like an asus mainboard. prebuild will mostly have cheap parts in it. Not to say they are worse but they arent the best either. And u can configer it to ur own likings. Like i love to have an awsume gamers case wich i want to choose and well thats mostly not the case if u get a prebuild.

I love to see the insides of my pc and do some cable management and have some flashy parts in it.

Only benefit u have from buying a prebuild is the tech support from the company or the stuff u get with it. tft screen mouse keyboard etc. But thats only if u buy a cheap computer. If u want a high end gaming system go build your own and dont let companies rip you of.

 

[WildW]

Like other hobbyists who like to tweak their cars, build models, or whatever else, I guess some of us enjoy the doing of it as much as using the end result.

Another difference between building your own and buying pre-made is that my own build changes little by little as time goes by. I just changed to a new motherboard and CPU, but my case/PSU/graphics card/hard disk/etc all stayed the same. I can stay up to date and it was a lot cheaper than buying a whole new pre-built PC.

 

[TwinsenTacquito]

$!!

 

[elconejito]

Echoing what some others have said... You can't compete with pre-built for general-use (read, cheap) computers. I can't come anywhere near a $399 Dell or HP computer. You're right the cost of the OS alone kills the price (unless it's a rebuild and use the previous license or go linux...). And in a lot of cases, it's really easy to say "just call Dell" when something goes wrong.

However, for myself, there are two big reasons why I build my own computers. First is the cost. None of my machines are "low-end" since I do a lot of freelance graphic design work at home, and you really start to see the savings when you build high-end systems. The price gouging on RAM, hard drives, and GPUs by OEMs is ridiculous (although, I realize they gotta make a profit somewhere so I'm not hating).

The other reason is customization. I always have multiple drive setups in my rigs, lots of RAM, etc. And usually in order to get lots of RAM or HDD space you end up buying the bigger "package" which includes a lot of stuff you don't want. By building it myself, I can choose to forgo the big beefy video card (I don't game much) and instead spend that money towards more RAM, or better CPU. Not even mentioning hard drive slots, and internal layout to fit a bigger GPU, more HDDs, etc in a case that was built to fit *only* what it came with out of the factory.

Then there are other minor (but still important) reasons. Like upgradability. On a custom rig it's really easy to pop in a new CPU or mobo. Or add more RAM. You can't always do that with a pre-buiilt. Yet another is OC-ability. You can't even FIND a 4Ghz CPU in the stores. And when you can get what is essentially a "free" speed increase of 20-30% (sometimes more) that's hard to beat. Then there is the appearance and look of the case.

 

[M0RPH]

I'll tell you a secret. Some of the people here get around that OS cost by pirating Windows. If they had to buy a Windows license they would think twice about building that budget box.

 

[Axon]

I'll tell you a secret. Some of the people here get around that OS cost by pirating Windows. If they had to buy a Windows license they would think twice about building that budget box.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Rq-7zEVuwI

Anyway, generally, prebuilts can beat virtually any deal at the lowest of the low end, but it's wildly overpriced at the high end (which if you're getting, you're porbably gonna wanna dink around with anyway). I just looked at one of their alienware gaming desktops, and I could destroy it in price and build quality.

 

[caspur]

I've posted this before, for higher end desktops, buy refurbished machines. Wait for sales on slickdeals, etc.

It can also be advantageous to sell off parts from over-specced prebuilts. Many high end prebuilts may come with 12gb of ram. If you sell off some of the excess DDR3, hard drive (trade for SSD for example) to recoup some of the cost.

So (with some work) you can get a refurbished i7-920 based system for less than $600. So basically you are leveraging the cost savings from a large OEM on chips, MB, etc. with reselling some of the higher profit parts to offset privately purchased SSDs, better video cards, etc.

Let's face it, no one here buys the volume of a large OEM in terms of hardware or OS. So, you do the next best thing. You combine the best of both worlds.

 

[caspur]

After searching through some archives, if you remember the Acer Predator sale last year for a new system (i7-940 water cooled system). If you sold off high margin parts on that, you could have swapped processors and gotten the total cost below $700.

Even with all the factory parts on it, it still was a great deal for a prebuilt with OS.

 

[paperfist]

I'll tell you a secret. Some of the people here get around that OS cost by pirating Windows. If they had to buy a Windows license they would think twice about building that budget box.

It's $100 for Windows...

Plus you can re-use it over and over (unless the policy has changed). The disc Dell gives you (if any) typically can be used on other hardware unless you hack it up.

For me custom built offers:
3 year warranty on most major part if not longer vrs Dell's 1 year.

The ability to spec out your own hardware. Want an X-Fi sound card? Check. Can't do that with Dell. Want a split, wireless keyboard? Check. Can't do that with Dell. Want a 2 TB drive instead of a 650GB? Check. Can't do that with Dell.

Plus at least with Dell (sans Vostro) it comes with so much pre-loaded crap software that it runs at the fraction of the speed it should.

You also have virtually no personal preferences on pre-builts. Like a certain case? You're stuck with cookie cutter models.

There's just greater flexibility with building your own and these days it's virtually painless to do.

 

[sandorski]

Cost is the biggest factor. At least half my System Upgrades use Old Hardware, like Drives, PS, Case, kb/mouse, Monitor, Video Card, possibly more depending on other factors. I suppose that's more than half, but whateva.

 

[Schadenfreude]

Cost is the biggest factor. At least half my System Upgrades use Old Hardware, like Drives, PS, Case, kb/mouse, Monitor, Video Card, possibly more depending on other factors. I suppose that's more than half, but whateva.

I think that's a valid reason to order custom components; but only if you already have the hardware. Would it be different/make budgeting sense for someone who, like me, does not have any components (save for a monitor and some speakers) lying around?

And even if you already have a pre-built machine, can't you use/change out its components (I'm thinking CPU/RAM/HDD is a given - but what about its case/PSU? Is it permanently attached?) later on?

As far as the OS goes, many people on the boards participate in the various MS promotions to get reduced price (legit) copies of Windows and many are also college students that can get the OS for next to nothing from their universities.

I've seen those promotions happen onyl when new versions come out - how often does this normally happen? And how can I, as a working chump, get in on these deals?

I'll tell you a secret. Some of the people here get around that OS cost by pirating Windows. If they had to buy a Windows license they would think twice about building that budget box.

Ah, that makes sense.

 

[sandorski]

I think that's a valid reason to order custom components; but only if you already have the hardware. Would it be different/make budgeting sense for someone who, like me, does not have any components (save for a monitor and some speakers) lying around?

And even if you already have a pre-built machine, can't you use/change out its components (I'm thinking CPU/RAM/HDD is a given - but what about its case/PSU? Is it permanently attached?) later on?

1) Maybe, it all depends. If you really Shop around, you can probably put together a better system yourself. Even if you don't achieve that, doing it yourself always gives you far more specificity as to what Parts your system has.

2) Of course. The only complete System I ever bought was used in such a manner with some parts still used in 2 subsequent Custom Builds/Upgrades.

 

[Magusigne]

Here are my reasons-

First, I know where I get my parts and I know that when your buying a build from an e-tailor they tend to skimp some some parts. Also they restrict most forms over tweaking.

Usually the advantage to building your own versus a pre-build scales with price.

2000 e-tailor build would cost maybe 1000-1200 for someone to build it themselves.

 

[mfenn]

Here are my reasons-

First, I know where I get my parts and I know that when your buying a build from an e-tailor they tend to skimp some some parts. Also they restrict most forms over tweaking.

Usually the advantage to building your own versus a pre-build scales with price.

2000 e-tailor build would cost maybe 1000-1200 for someone to build it themselves.

e-tailer

 

[Schadenfreude]

1) Maybe, it all depends. If you really Shop around, you can probably put together a better system yourself. Even if you don't achieve that, doing it yourself always gives you far more specificity as to what Parts your system has.

2) Of course. The only complete System I ever bought was used in such a manner with some parts still used in 2 subsequent Custom Builds/Upgrades.

Well, let's put it this way; I've been looking at possibly purchasing this bad boy hurr and - it might be just me - I can't seem to match a custom component PC to this plus a discreet (low profile) GPU plunked in there.

So, challenge; can you guys spec a complete system/box w/ similar configs (Let's say . . . Win7 Home Premium, 1TB HDD and 6 Gig DDR3 RAM a *must*) w/ a similar budget (since I said add in a discreet GPU, let's say $650.00)? Or is it unrealistic?

 

[heyheybooboo]

It's $100 for Windows...

Plus you can re-use it over and over (unless the policy has changed). The disc Dell gives you (if any) typically can be used on other hardware unless you hack it up.
.....

I don't think you have ever read the OEM EULA.




--

 

[lxskllr]

I consider having the ability to overclock essential. I also enjoy the process, and like outfitting my machine with the exact parts I want. It's worth a small premium to me so I can get exactly what I want.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I agree on price, but not if you care about quiet for work PCs or the best value for a mid- to upper-midrange gaming PC.

Work bought me a Dell Vostro and it's a decent box but noisier than the A64 X2 I'd built before that and put into an Antec NSK4xxx case. Next time I'll probably build it myself again to get bigger, silent fans and a better CPU HSF.

For gaming, most places won't sell you a system with the best mix of parts -- if you want a $300 graphics card they want you to buy a $600 CPU to go with it. They'll also gouge you on extras like a second HDD, won't let you pick a good case, and often use second-rate motherboards unless you're buying a hideously overpriced $3,000 "extreem!" PC.

 

[mfenn]

Well, let's put it this way; I've been looking at possibly purchasing this bad boy hurr and - it might be just me - I can't seem to match a custom component PC to this plus a discreet (low profile) GPU plunked in there.

So, challenge; can you guys spec a complete system/box w/ similar configs (Let's say . . . Win7 Home Premium, 1TB HDD and 6 Gig DDR3 RAM a *must*) w/ a similar budget (since I said add in a discreet GPU, let's say $650.00)? Or is it unrealistic?

I like a challenge.

Here's two choices. The first very closely mirrors the Gateway.

The second is basically the same except you get a quad-core AMD instead of a dual-core Intel.

If you want to be strictly less than $650, drop down to the Athlon II X3 440.

Note that these have the same crap 5400RPM HDD ("variable RPM" is keyword for 5400-5900) that you would get in the Gateway. The case/psu that are likewise on par with the crap you get from Gateway. I would strongly advise upgrading them, but hey, you wanted me to give you the same shit you would get in a Gateway.

In all seriousness, I would drop down to 4GB of memory and use the savings to get a better HDD and PSU. See, that's the type of flexibility you get by rolling your own.

 

[Schadenfreude]

I like a challenge.

. . .

In all seriousness, I would drop down to 4GB of memory and use the savings to get a better HDD and PSU. See, that's the type of flexibility you get by rolling your own.

Whoa, awesome!

I completely hear you about dropping 6 gigs to 4; however I want to maintain the 6 gigs of RAM because I dabble in graphic design/3d modeling - yes, I read many thread that would suggest at least an i7 cpu, but I'm not that seriously into it (yet, anyhow) and the i3 seems good enough to handle most things (and I hear it OCs really easily). As I've crashed Illustrator due to insufficient RAM before, I think that should be my priority.

Anyhow, that is really close to the budget, I am genuinely surprised!