Buy or Build?

[Bruha]

I need to upgrade my computer, but I'm not sure if building a system is any better than buying one from Dell, HP, etc.?

I use my computer for day to day tasks (email, web browsing, Word, Excel, etc.) and a little bit of Photoshop CS6 work for basic image editing.

I'm looking at a 4th gen i5 system from Dell for around $629 that comes with 8GB ram and a 1TB hard drive.

I've looked around a little bit and I'm not sure that I can build a system with those components for any cheaper, so I thought I'd ask.

Also, maybe I'm thinking I need more than I really do. Would an i3 suit me just fine for these functions? I don't do any gaming on the computer any more and don't see it happening any time soon with my two little ones running around.

Thanks for the help.

 

[4745454b]

In your case buying is fine. I haven't looked at the lower end i5s, but I think there are some just north of $150. Toss in a $60 motherboard ($210), 8GBs of ram ($270), $30 case ($300), 1TB HDD ($360), DVD drive ($380), and a cheap PSU and you are just north of $400, probably somewhere around $450 once you factor in shipping. The quality of this computer compared to the Dell, HP, etc should be better as you'll be able to pick exactly what parts you want. The other issue is you'll need to then spend another $100 on an OEM copy of windows. So final out the door is somewhere arund $550. Or you can spend another $70 and get that one. With a warranty and no building issues. Personally I swore off ever buying a computer again. I ENJOY building a computer and I prefer knowing EXACTLY what parts are inside of it. As long as you can afford the $70 just buy one, and instead of building the computer, take the little ones to the park and enjoy the time with them.