is it cheaper to build a pc or should i just but this one for gaming?

[TKBurst]

http://www.microcenter.com/product/467635/G313_Desktop_Computer
I dont know how to build one but I can learn or pay someone or is it worth it to buy one how much more will it cost?

 

[Math Geek]

generally what you get by building it yourself is better parts all around. they usually skimp on power supplies, ram and other things you don't think of.

picking the parts yourself makes sure you get quality all around. and often it is cheaper as well. that is a pretty good price overall but it more than likely includes an founder's edition 1070 and a cheap power supply. any future upgrade and you'll need a new psu more than likely.

 

[dudio]

That's a great price and I'd bet you can't do better building it yourself. The only thing I'd confirm is the CPU cooler. In the pics, it shows a Cooler Master EVO 212, but it's not listed in the description or specs.
As for the PSU, the pics show a decent EVGA 500watt, but again not listed specifically as that

 

[Eximo]

In this case they have it priced appropriately. If you include the OS, Case, and power supply you are saving perhaps $100.

That said, they don't list the CPU cooler, power supply, memory, etc. What they tend to do is put together machines from whatever they can get cheapest in bulk.

So for roughly the same amount and building it yourself you can get higher quality parts.

 

[Math Geek]

did some lookiing on part picker and it is a good price for sure. will easily break $1000 on similar parts. of course i chose quality ram, psu and such. hit $1000 before the case and windows, plus that one has dvd drive, wifi and all those bells n whistles built in as well. pretty cheap mobo which won't oc to a high degree but still will handle a moderate oc as well.

overall, if you can't/won't built it yourself, this is a pretty good choice for the money.

 

[TKBurst]

In this case they have it priced appropriately. If you include the OS, Case, and power supply you are saving perhaps $100.

That said, they don't list the CPU cooler, power supply, memory, etc. What they tend to do is put together machines from whatever they can get cheapest in bulk.

So for roughly the same amount and building it yourself you can get higher quality parts.[/quotemsg]
they use
Gskill v series DDR4-3000
evga 500w psu
and a hyper 212 evo cpu cooler

 

[Math Geek]

it's even showing a zotac 1070 which are very nice as well, other pic shows an MSI aero. so no generic FE card. i'd say go for it since you can't build it yourself for that price.

only looks to skimp on the psu but that is an easy upgrade down the road if needed. not the worst psu out there but def budget level.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

At that price range, you'd be much better off with a self built. That MoBo for example has a cheap audio sound subsytem and expandability is limited. The case is real bottom of the barrel.... but it will generally cost more... frankly I am surprised at the < $1000 price for what they did put in it (480 GB SSD / DDR4-3000). For what I would be comfortable putting in it, the cost would be close to $1,200 and that's leaving out the garbage muse and KB, as well as the card reader.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($227.49 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A SLI PLUS ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($123.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 1070 8GB XLR8 Video Card ($379.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M ATX Mid Tower Case ($73.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ B&H)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.88 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($88.58 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N15 PCI-Express x1 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter ($16.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1193.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-06 13:06 EST-0500


Here I have only changed the things I thot were substandard

MoBo
Case
PSU

I don't recommend wireless on a desktop and don't know what they used for wireless.

On the other hand, I'm a bit wary as ... in the home page they say they are providing the MSI Z170 PC Mate ... it has an ALC 887 sound codec ... on the specs page they say they gave ya ALC 1150 ... that's 2nd one is a lie.

 

[Math Geek]

that's about what i came up with myself. for $200 less, that pre-built looks pretty good to me really. only the psu is questionable but not really a problem. but that's why he asked, to get all the opinions

 

[Eximo]

I did a build with general quality parts, came out to $1120 or so.

A fairly good holiday deal from Microcenter I would say. They probably buy a lot of hardware at this time of year and can get very low prices. Also right on the cusp of another Intel release so they are probably trying to move all their Z170 and Skylake stock.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I couldn't live with Case / MoBo and PSU.

I mean when ya look at what ya get for the money, it certainly worth it, but a few exceptions:

The case is hard to look at and real cheapo
I wouldn't want to push PSU too hard
The MoBo is limited and has cheap sound subsystem
The lied about some of the specs

 

[littleleo]

The deal of designing your own system is getting to choose and design all the parts you want in your new rig. You can choose the brand and model of the motherboard, CPU, RAM, SSD, Hard Drive, optical drive, case, power supply...
It is not so much to save money but the ability to choose the best qualify parts for your build.

When you buy a prefab system generally the manufacturer makes compromises to reach a price point or get rid of old inventory. A brand of the RAM or SSD or other component may not be listed, so they can sub the cheapest parts in at the time of your order. I've bought one prefab unit a 286 model and it was a pain. They motherboard manual didn't match the motherboard so to add RAM I had to call the manufacturer and wait on hold for hours to get a tech to get the right setting on the motherboard it was a nightmare. So for me after that one experience I've built all my own rigs ever since. I'm not saying all prefabs are bad or junk, I just like to know exactly what is in my rig.

 

[gillhooley]

It all depends on how much time you want to spend on building it or if you want a decent out of box ready to go system. Don't forget the warranty factor. Microcenter will be easier to deal with if something goes wrong than, mail in individual parts to the manufacturer. I prefer to build, but the microcenter one is good for a prebuilt.

 

[littleleo]

There are different types of warranties too. Some small or new system houses may only offer a "Depot" warranty. This means you have to remove the part yourself and send it to them for them to repair or replace it. There is a labor warranty and a parts warranty. Labor warranty is for errors in assembly that cause the system to fail. Parts warranty is from the part's manufacturer and is just for the part itself. Different parts will have different length of warranties. Like retail CPUs normally come with a 3 year warranty, and OEM or tray CPUs usually come with a 90 day warranty. WD blue drives have a 2 year warranty and WD black have a 5 year warranty. Kingston has lifetime warranty on their RAM other brand may offer a 1year, 3 year, or other length warranty. So different brands can have different warranties and different models of the same brand can have different warranties.

Now Gil mentioned the warranty issue I just gave you a peak down that rabbit hole, lol.