How much money can be saved by building your own system?

[Miles]

Beat me to it! I was just going to post that exact same guide.

Helped me build my first system recently

 

[SciPunk]

Oh yeah, just a couple more more things...

... in favor of buying pre-build... it's already got all the cables, and you know the parts are all compatible. The system will have been tested, it will at least start up after you plug it in.

... your system doesn't have firewire (1394) or any card readers. Most won't notice or care that these are missing, but some will insist on having either or both.

... beware people who make up their own numbers and claim they did research for you. The system you specked out is $1210... $13000 w/ WindowsXP home. Ad about $40-$45 for shipping. I just put together a $1000 system, but couldn't get a great video card or a great CPU. I had to settle for a 6600 and a single core AMD 3200+.

So the price is in the same ball park. The mfr gets a discount on parts by buying in bulk, but has to charge you for their labor. You can save on the labor by doing it yourself, but must pay the standard rate for parts.

And yes Miles, great minds do think alike.

 

[harlequin6791]

Not to debunk what you just stated but you dont always get your cables. Dell and others you have to purchase some cables seperately. Many people have just point and clicked on the system thinking it was complete only upon arrival they have to run to the nearest radio shack and grab some cables.

Also Pre built systems a lot of the time instead of giving you hard copies of the installed software they expect you to make a back up disk prior to using the system. Another cost saver for them and hassle for the user.

As far as the pc working when it arrives well it should. However things can happen in transit, knocking cards loose or ram. Depending on the knock it takes in transit it can even dislodge the hd from its delicate position.

Damage can happen to parts if you were to build you own as well dont get me wrong. But atleast you know what parts they are and can get requests for new ones rather than going through a middle man and returning the entire machine.

The quotes stated on this thread were without operating system software and I think thats been pointed out both times. From what Firewater listed as parts for his complete system the diy way saves him tons of money. He just needs to take the step.

 

[mdd1963]

"checking that I have the necessary tools,"


I.E., one screwdriver?

 

[michaelahess]

Hey, I already said that!

 

[scott_p]

Building your own computer is rewarding and gives you a nice knowledge of the components. It isn't very hard and many nice tips have been given. My suggestion is to read, read, and read some more. There are many forums set-up that are hardware specific, dfi-street.com is an good example. They would be a great resource for knowledge. Many have build guides of their own.

I was lucky enough to have a roomate in college many moons ago that taught me how to build a computer. My first build was am AMD 133 something or other. I remember paying $250 for a 250 MB drive way back when.

Keep reading and don't be afraid. The only time I destroyed anything building a computer was when I slipped with a screwdriver attaching my heatsink and scratched my motherboard. It cost me $80 for a new board and I learned to be a lot more careful.

 

[CeleryGoblin]

I knew something was out of place when I noticed I didn't need a sand blaster and a nail gun.

 

[steveosazninvazn]

Yeah, I'd have to say sites like ibuypower.com put up pretty good competition with us home-builders, but for me, building my own is mostly a thing of pride and knowing exactly what I put in.

 

[FireWater]

I am still stuck inbetween building it myself, and not building it.

If I build it myself I found this sweet water cooling solution Kingwin - Arctic Liquid Cooler, which I feel would be really easy to install, but at the same time I'm not sure really how to do it and I might just get it from cyberpower.


Maybe what I can do is try to dissasemble my curret system, and try to put that back together to see if it works. If I can do that, then I should be able to build a new one.

 

[conroe]

Oh boy, I have more parts coming today! Goody, goody!

Nothing better than parts waiting for me when I get home!!! :lol:

 

[MU_Engineer]

It depends. If you spend less that about $400, you will pay more for a custom-built (sounds much better than home-made, doesn't it ) vs. OEM machine. Once you get to more expensive machines, you save more. I saved about $200-400 by making my own machine, which cost $1200 without monitor. I really did it just because I wanted to do it and also to ensure that the components were all Linux compatible.

 

[bob5568]

If I was uncertain of my skills to build a computer, I'd stay away from water cooling. why add a potential complication? You aren't planning to oc from what I remember.

A fan with a decent heatsink will work fine.

Bob

 

[mdd1963]

"For a PC under $500, it's a hard to build your own, but for like a $1000, you can build a much better PC than what you would buy."

Damn finely put, Sir!

 

[conroe]

I'm sure this was said already, but when you biuld your own you can just upgrade now and then. OEM makes that harder. Since you have a computer now you may be able to just order cpu, mobo, and maybe the ram, video card or PSU working with parts you already have. Work at it in steps and not jump in with alot af money at once.

 

[Johnnygs]

Just do it!

It's not the money, you are going to spend more, but you will have a superior system. you will gain the knowedge and satisfaction of building your own system as you want it and you will be hooked. You will become a harware junkie like the rest of us.

That Dell has no tweaking allowed, you can't overclock it!

Dell does not sell AMD boxes!

It won't be littered with bloatware, you won't be spending hours tring to rid every last bit of AOL and other crap they were paid to put on it! (which is another reason oem's are cheap)

You will have a REAL Windows disk! (assuming you are not going Linux) instead of a cheezy recovery disk that puts back all the crap you spent hours getting rid of or a hidden recovery partition.

What are you waiting for?

No tech support? I think you can get faster, better answers in forums like this.

So, do some research

decide what you want

go to Newegg

get out your Visa

wait 3-4 days

AND BUILD IT!!!!

Then overclock the crap out of it!

Most importantly, have fun! :lol:

 

[FireWater]

I think there is some confusion here.

I never said I wanted a dell. I just said I was going to cyberpowerpc.com

 

[Johnnygs]

Sorry, after skimming thrugh 3 pages of what everybody else said I lost focus of your original question,

Still, don't be a chicken, it ain't that hard.

And the build and the learning is the most rewarding part.

DO IT!

 

[smedlin]

I think there is some confusion here.

I never said I wanted a dell. I just said I was going to cyberpowerpc.com

I researched a long time before I bought my computer. Actually, I "ordered" it.

I ended up getting a "bare bones" from monarch.com. They have tons of stuff to choose from. I picked a great case, nice power supply, mb and cpu. They are putting it together and giving it a 24 hour burn in as I type this. Total labor cost? $45. They will even flash the mb.

I'll pay $45 dollars to have somebody else do that then ship it for me. The shipping cost is on par with how much it would cost to ship those item (that case is a full tower).

I ordered the hard drives and memory (and a few other things) from new egg, those I'll put in myself.

 

[conroe]

Dang, you missed out on the best part. Realy more and more, building my own compters is about spending money. I can't stop.

 

[Rustol3um]

ok building and what not is fun the first time or two.. but i think the rush is gone after that. and getting excited at seeing parts arrive might mean u should get a hobby

Your comment is intriguing. You suggest the existance of a universal template for a stimulus and its resultant pleasures. I think you are suggesting that if I find it still fun after many builds, then I'm flawed (as compared to the universal template)? And its the flaws I would correct by "getting a hobby". You could be right.

I think my hobby will be philosophy of the universal template to happiness.

Now lets begin. I look forward to exploring the extra happiness derived from being one with the universal "is", vs the menial and less "significant" happiness derived more directly....from a direct measure of ones pleasure index. As the Borg, the honeybee, and the ant have demonstrated the power of the "collective", there could be something important here that I've so far dismissed.

Cheerio fellow collective members. Thanks for your contribution!

Bob

Well said Bob.......touche'