What are the advantages of building your own computer?

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dude807

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Today I looked up the prices for all the components i'd need to build myself a brand new work computer. Then i looked at hp's version of the computer i was building and it was nearly 100 dollars cheaper. How does hp make their computers so cheap? Do they cheap out on parts they dont specify on such as motherboards, psu's and hardrives? Or are they really the better deal? Here's my build vs the hp computer.

Intel Core i3 4130

windows 7 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

4 gb ram.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

Corsair Carbide Series 400R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

ASRock H87M Pro4 LGA 1150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Western Digital 1tb hard drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2W0...

Corsair 420w psu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

And here's the hp computer: http://shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Desktops/HP-Pavilion/E6S58AV?HP-Pavilion-500-200t-Desktop-PC&jumpid=ba_r329_hhocse&aoid=44661&003=6663635&010=E6S58AV#ABA&ci_sku=E6S58AV#ABA&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw=

Is my build worth the extra money, or should i buy the hp? Which will last longer, perform better, and be more reliable.
 
Solution
Blaise170
HP is an OEM so they get their parts for much cheaper than consumers or make their own. You also must realize that they skimp out on some parts in most cases. My parents have an HP computer that used two unknown RAM manufacturers and a FOXCONN PSU (terrible quality). The motherboards are often proprietary (they are made by an OEM only manufacturer known as Pegatron).

There are several benefits to building yourself. You can learn how your PC actually works and replace parts yourself if they fail. Also it is much cheaper. This build below would completely blow the HP out of the water for only $30 more.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core...
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Blaise170

Blaise170

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HP is an OEM so they get their parts for much cheaper than consumers or make their own. You also must realize that they skimp out on some parts in most cases. My parents have an HP computer that used two unknown RAM manufacturers and a FOXCONN PSU (terrible quality). The motherboards are often proprietary (they are made by an OEM only manufacturer known as Pegatron).

There are several benefits to building yourself. You can learn how your PC actually works and replace parts yourself if they fail. Also it is much cheaper. This build below would completely blow the HP out of the water for only $30 more.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2P Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: GeIL EVO Veloce Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Apex SK-393-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $493.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-24 13:38 EST-0500)
 
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Solution
RazerZ

RazerZ

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I agree building a PC is a great idea. Blaise170 summed up my thoughts, but I would like to add that with a custom built PC you can continue to upgrade it. The only thing is that building a computer requires an OS and that's an extra $90, so keep that in mind. The PC you build your self will always last longer, perform better, and be more reliable ;).

Blaise's build is good for gaming, but doesn't include an OS. Since your original post did not have a graphics card I'm going to assume it is just for home and office use, so here's a build I put together that is cheaper than the HP and has quality parts:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-DS2V Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $471.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-24 13:53 EST-0500)
 
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Blaise170

Blaise170

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Great point. For an office only build, I'd get something like this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A6-6400K 3.9GHz Dual-Core Processor ($68.53 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-HD2 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: GeIL EVO Veloce Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Apex SK-393-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $396.43
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-24 14:01 EST-0500)
 
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RazerZ

RazerZ

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That build is a good one, in fact it is identical to the office build I have at home :lol:. Only thing I would change would be to get the Antec One case for $5 more because it has a cleaner look to it imo.
 
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dude807

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Thanks for the responses! You two answered my question perfectly. I also liked how you each gave me builds to reference to. You both gave awesome responses but since Blaise answered my question first i'm going to have to pick his post as the solution.
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Not only that, but the operating systems are overloaded with bloated drivers and so much garbage software that you really don't need that makes the OS almost unusable, and if you go to format to wipe out the crap software, you lose a lot of the machine's intended functionality. And the cases make upgrading completely difficult and in some cases near impossible.
 
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