When was the last time you bought an off-the-shelf computer?

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BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
63,428
11,758
136
Just a couple of years ago. I bought a Dell for my wife.

While I probably COULD have built one with similar specs as cheaply...she WANTED a Dell...so that's what I bought.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
57,682
7,906
126
While I probably COULD have built one with similar specs as cheaply...she WANTED a Dell...so that's what I bought.

I haven't looked in awhile, but as of 06 or 07, it was hard to build a machine cheaper than Dell. The reason to do so is for overclocking, or picking very specific parts. For the average user, there's little point.
 

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
50,061
720
126
Forgot about a "computer". It was either 1983 or 1984. Bought a Colecovision computer. Tape drive but I don't remember any other specs.
 

Leros

Lifer
Jul 11, 2004
21,867
7
81
I haven't looked in awhile, but as of 06 or 07, it was hard to build a machine cheaper than Dell. The reason to do so is for overclocking, or picking very specific parts. For the average user, there's little point.

If you want a low-end machine, then a big box brand will likely be cheaper than what you can build. They have the advantage of being able to buy components in massive quantities at a discount.

Once you start getting into higher end computers, it then becomes cheaper to build your own.
 

OverVolt

Lifer
Aug 31, 2002
14,278
89
91
These days its all about graphics cards. Dell wants at least $1,000 to put a mediocre graphics card in. Meanwhile you can skimp on all the other parts and make a $800 machine with a $300 graphics card and play games better than a $1500 dell.

So just depends.
 

Leros

Lifer
Jul 11, 2004
21,867
7
81
RAM is overpriced too. 4GB is default. Upgrading to 8GB is $100 more. Upgrading to 16GB is $300 more. Whereas I can buy 16GB of RAM for $80.

* all numbers are fictional, but the idea stands
 
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olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
50,061
720
126
These days its all about graphics cards. Dell wants at least $1,000 to put a mediocre graphics card in. Meanwhile you can skimp on all the other parts and make a $800 machine with a $300 graphics card and play games better than a $1500 dell.

So just depends.
This.
My last build I was all set to buy a Dell. But couldn't get a decent video card or processor unless I bought an alienware at about 2 or 3k.
I ended up building my own.
 

ultimatebob

Lifer
Jul 1, 2001
25,135
2,445
126
Last year. Dell had a Black Friday deal on an XPS 8500 with a Core i7 that made it $150 cheaper than I could build my own at the time.

I just put a better video card in it, and reused the crappy video card in another PC.
 

mnewsham

Lifer
Oct 2, 2010
14,539
428
136
Last year. Dell had a Black Friday deal on an XPS 8500 with a Core i7 that made it $150 cheaper than I could build my own at the time.

I just put a better video card in it, and reused the crappy video card in another PC.

That's what happened last time I bought a dell as well, ended up getting an i7, 5770, and 8gb ram + a 23" monitor for something like 800. Which at the time would have been 1,100 or so building myself.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
67,931
12,383
126
www.anyf.ca
I never actually did. Well unless I count my first computer which was technically my parent's that bought it back when I lived with them. Was around year 2000 or so and they bought a prebuilt Pentium 3 computer. Though it seemed kinda custom built, it was from a local business. Was not a HP, dell, packard hell, or emachine etc. I used to hate working in that computer because the power supply was sideways and actually covered most of the motherboard, was a stupid design, not to mention the giant slot processor with a tiny little fan. haha.

Later on I built an AMD 2000+ system that served me for many years, and I don't really remember the ones after that, it was just newer generation of the AMD processors so like 3200+ etc... My last PC was an AMD Athlon X2 that was built when AMD was ahead. My current computer is less than a year old and I went with Intel this time, a core i7. My server is actually a core2quad. That was built in 2008 if I go by the date on some system folders, which seems about right. Due to build a new one.

It's cheaper to buy nowdays though but I still like the flexibility of building. There's no way you are fitting an add-on video card inside a prebuilt computer let alone 2 for SLI. They use crappy power supplies, and don't have the physical room as video cards now use at least 2 slots and are very long. Most prebuilts are also low profile cards only and you're lucky to even have a spare slot on the motherboard and spare power supply cable to feed the video card.

If I need a PC for a very specific purpose then prebuilt is probably the cheaper way to go. I can fully see why businesses go that route and if I ran a business I would go that route too. For servers though I'd probably go with more modular custom systems and have spare parts. It's incredible how prebuilt servers are so proprietary and they rape you for things like hard drives and ram.
 
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Chaotic42

Lifer
Jun 15, 2001
33,929
1,098
126
My dad bought me a 60MHz Pentium I in 1995. I've never purchased an off the shelf computer.
 

Fern

Elite Member
Sep 30, 2003
26,907
173
106
I don't think I've purchased an OTS pc.

The first few pc's I had custom built to my specs, since then I've built every one.

Fern
 

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,689
2,811
126
2 months ago. My last 6 computers have all been off-the-shelf computers. 2 Dell, Asus, Acer, Samsung, and Lenovo. I think the last computer I built was back in 2004 or so. I really don't have problem with building my own. But building my own stopped making financial sense around the year 2000. That's when I discovered the various Hot Deals sites and realized it was cheaper to buy a computer on sale than building my own. I still built my own for couple more years since I was still an enthusiast but once I outgrew that phase, I haven't looked back. Until building my own becomes cheaper again, I don't see myself building another computer.
 

mnewsham

Lifer
Oct 2, 2010
14,539
428
136
2 months ago. My last 6 computers have all been off-the-shelf computers. 2 Dell, Asus, Acer, Samsung, and Lenovo. I think the last computer I built was back in 2004 or so. I really don't have problem with building my own. But building my own stopped making financial sense around the year 2000. That's when I discovered the various Hot Deals sites and realized it was cheaper to buy a computer on sale than building my own. I still built my own for couple more years since I was still an enthusiast but once I outgrew that phase, I haven't looked back. Until building my own becomes cheaper again, I don't see myself building another computer.

Depends what you're doing, for basic web browsing, email, etc. then a simple 500-600 pre built is just fine. For gaming and some higher end photo/video editing work it is still much cheaper to build your own.
 

coloumb

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
4,096
0
81
Few years ago - 2 small form factor Dell PC's for my wife's parents - they are snow birds and I was growing tired of being "tech support" for 2 different configurations.
 

Cuda1447

Lifer
Jul 26, 2002
11,757
0
71
I mean... I've bought laptops from best buy before, but I picked out what I wanted before I went in. Does that count?
 

IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
69,544
27,851
136
I was just thinking about customization. Would it be wrong to put a "turbo" sticker next to the reset button on my coworker's new desktop?
 

Farang

Lifer
Jul 7, 2003
10,914
3
0
A few days ago. Before that a few months. I barely look at the specs because they are just work computers.. easier to buy prebuilt and can take care of anything I do.

Back when it mattered I would self build and be really discerning.. now I get no performance issues with even the cheapest prebuilds. Just make sure enough RAM
 

Imaginer

Diamond Member
Oct 15, 1999
8,076
1
0
If it includes laptops and tablet PCs as a computer, February of this year.

If it is a desktop system, never.
 

Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
13,141
138
106
2006-ish. Bought a cheap Compaq AMD system and threw an X2 in it. It was ~$300. Got another one a couple months later and did the same thing.

The motherboard/cpu/ram from one was sold here, the case was tossed. The other one is still doing duty as my HTPC.
 

TwiceOver

Lifer
Dec 20, 2002
13,544
44
91
My current desktop, probably 6 months ago. Dell
Optiplex Outlet deal. Quad i5 16gb ram win7 pro it was a good deal. I don't play games. Just need the CPU for video crunching.
 
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