Building vs Pre-built

acctingman · Oct 21, 2014

Hello

I'm trying to figure out how building your own beats a pre-built, when the prices are damn near the same and the pre-built is all name brand components.

Is it just the satisfaction of building it yourself?

I have ZERO desire to build a PC. Much rather have it arrive and my doorstep ready for me to plug it in and go.

So, to the more experienced......tell me how or why it's better if I order my parts over buying fomr here if it's the same price AND the same components?

http://costco.cyberpowerpc.com/system/CSINTEL1

TheDualshock · Oct 21, 2014

Usually, building a PC is a little cheaper but pre-builts are getting closer and closer in price.
The thing about building a PC is that you gain experience and the joy of building one.

If you don't have an interest or trying to build one by all means go ahead and buy a pre-built.
That seems to be the best option for you as it's plug and play (not counting OS installation as they are usually pre-installed)

tomr4lph · Oct 21, 2014

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gWtFYJ $680 compared to $805, similar spec, $125 less.

USAFRet · Oct 21, 2014

For all of the prebuilts, you have to really look at ALL the parts. Usually, they are deficient in the small things people don't notice.

In this one -
"350W PSU" No name and too small
USB 2.0

For me, the dividing line is around $550. Any less, prebuilt. Any more, build.
Depending on use, of course.

ubercake · Oct 21, 2014

I was going to say cyberpowerpc is a good place where they can build for you. There are a few others out there.

When you build your own, there is a feeling of reward and you get to pick EXACTLY every component you want in the PC. If I remember correctly, you can't choose the brand/make/model HDDs they throw in the PC for you at cyberpowerpc. Other than that, they offer a decent selection of components. If I were to use them, I'd have them build with the OS on an appropriately sized SSD (120 or 128GB) and then add additional SSDs and HDDs on my own. Make sure you don't pick a bargain power supply from them either.

pecul1ar · Oct 21, 2014

Some of the pre-built companies I know offer extras like 24/7 techsupport, free this and that, some form of help for the warranty, etc.. that give value to their service. They'll offer it all in one go - no other parties to talk to. Downside to some is they might not want you to open the box for tinkering/personal addons, and will place all sorts of stickers or whatnot on the casing/parts.

Building yourself, its just like LEGO man haha! But yeah, the knowledge and experience will be useful when you build another box or add-on more things to an existing one. Sometimes there are promos when you buy specific parts at Newegg or the other ones, where they cut the prices or add other items (I remember a video card with a SSD giveaway promo mentioned here at uncle Toms some articles ago.)

Anyway TL;DR Prebuilt can offer extras and you only talk to one source;Building yourself will help you gain knowledge for future builds.

I'd suggest to you to read the System Builders Marathons here at uncle Toms, where they have cost tiers and share (self)building woes/successes.

System Builder Marathon Q3 2014: Budget Gaming PC
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-budget-gaming-pc,3943.html

junkeymonkey · Oct 21, 2014

the thing with a prebuilt is theres no guarantee it will take any upgrades like a nice vid card and then your stuck with something that's sub par and cant do a thing about it

look over the threads of hp dell and whoever and see the ones that got cards and find they don't work this is why we do custom builds and not prebuilts
good luck

beoza · Oct 21, 2014

There's nothing wrong with buying prebuilt systems some people are like you and have no desire to build a PC, they want to just plug it in and go. Us builders we like to tinker and tweak our systems for best performance, we like having all of our options on the table. Being able to pick and choose which parts will compliment the other gives us the best bang for our buck. We're not limited to the choices a system builder gives us; we can pick the case including color in some cases, memory, motherboar, GPU, CPU (AMD/Intel), cooling air or water, OS Windows 7/8/8.1 or Linux (pick a flavor there's hundreds with Linux) It's basically the geeks version of tuning a car for best performance/racing. The system you linked is pretty decent, however I would make 2 suggestions. 1. upgrade the PSU to the Corsair or EVGA. The standard ones they use are usually junk. 2. depending on what you play or intend to play that R7 250 is underpowered, consider upping it to either the R9 270 or the Nvidia 750/750Ti.

junkeymonkey · Oct 21, 2014

you mean like this guy??

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2343126/guys-evga-gtx-750ti.html

or this guy??

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2341820/dell-690-precision-signal-gpu-desperate-frustrated-dane.html

lots of them to look at that like these

acctingman · Oct 21, 2014

beoza :

Yea, I'm changing the PSU and the video card.

I'm looking over the system I'd pre-order and my main concern is the ability to add more RAM, video card and a PSU in a couple years and it looks like I would be able to with that machine.

menetlaus · Oct 21, 2014

There are many benefits and drawbacks to each. Depending on the end user - some are better off with a prebuilt, others with a custom build.

At the lowest prices - no one can beat a prebuilt system as they can use volume discounts to get the lowest costs on cheap PSU's, Motherboards, cases, ram - all of the lowest quality - but without the volume discounts a general user cannot get parts for less than twice (roughly) what they pay.

Time - Someone who makes $12M/year might be better off to go with a high end pre-built as they do not have to source the parts, assemble, test, and if issues are able to have someone else do the warranty work/RMA. Alternatively someone with lots of free time (and little $) and some interest in building/knowing what is going on in their PC would be better off to buy their own.

Quality - prebuilt tends to focus on marketing #'s over quality parts. A 600W PSU is not equal to every other 600W PSU - but you rarely see the brand (let alone model) of PSU that goes into a prebuilt. For virtually the same $ to a mid-range prebuilt model, someone can put together a system with similar specs but vastly higher quality case, motherboard, PSU, and other parts.

$ - at the high end (>$1500) the prebuilt guys do not have the volume discounts and have to pay for someone to assemble, test, and warranty the system. So a user can put together an equal system for much less (often $200 or more) - BUT any issues/RMA has to be done themselves.

Technical ability - If you can't use a screwdriver safely it is hard to built your own system. Likewise if you cannot handle an OS install. Or if you want to be able to call someone for support.

acctingman · Oct 21, 2014

I find it odd that so many people keep bringing up less than quality/no name brand components on pre-built when I see (at least the one I'm looking at) has the options for name brand components AND the prices are about the same compared to ordering online.

This leads me to believe that the DIY jockey's have a bit of tunnel vision? I'm sure, for the most part, it's more fun and satisfying to build your own and possibly cheaper with better components, but yet when someone (like myself and who is a bit of a novice) goes against the grain, the "pros" (not all, but most) won't acknowledge that some pre-builts are just as solid as building your own (I've seen this across multiple PC forums).

I don't mean to ruffle any feathers....most of you on here know what you're talking about and your experience speaks volumes over my paltry know-how when it comes to PC's.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this post!

Food for thought, at least for me and my purchase (still deciding on what route to take, honestly....)

USAFRet · Oct 21, 2014

acctingman :

For instance, for the linked PC in the original post....the PSU
"350watt" No mention of brand or model. Lacking that, assumed to be crap. Change it, and the $805 price goes up.

Sure, you can change it from the default, but then the price ratio changes.

Same for the case. No USB 3.0 ports. Yes, it is a black case that looks a whole lot like 500 other black cases out there. But the small things matter. What are the internal dimensions? Is it limited on what future GPU you can put in it? What CPU cooler size?
Unknown.

But sure. Some people don't want to or are not ready to build a PC from a stack of parts boxes.
If that is you, that is not a terrible PC. I've seen far worse, both store bought and custom built.

junkeymonkey · Oct 21, 2014

well get a prebuilt and see how it goes you buy you try you live and you learn

im not saying its all bad but I did want to point out the short comings when you want that new high end card and find its not going to work and there you sit wih a $300+ card collecting dust

so get one and see it will do as you expect or leave you holding the bag

heres my disclaimer on that after it its all your own risk

some models of store bought computers [dell.hp,acer,ect..] may come with a ''locked or fixed'' bios and may not allow you to change certain hardware as a video card.. this is done to protect them from undue warranty claims and refunds .this is not done to hurt you but to protect them. you really need to see if that upgrade has been proven to work in your model first before you invest money in it .. there are a lot of these threads here at toms to look at some models will allow upgrades and some dont.. and a lot of guys here say ya ya ya when is really no no no...it would be sad you spent $200 on a card that wount post after you installed it as most find out. then get told its your psu and you spend more and end up right back where you are now, but its up to you good luck..

you got to know the the boards in these computers are not like the ones we use to do custom builds witch are open to upgrading with in the boards compatibly . the bios is custom made for there design and just for the parts they authorize to be used on there computers there only guaranteed to work as is out of the box as you bought it ,..

acctingman · Oct 21, 2014

That case is USB 3.0 at least that's what the specs say online

beoza · Oct 21, 2014

You might want to also think about the cooler, the stock intel is barely adequate at keeping the cpu cool, get one of the 2 Asetek, or the Corsair H60. You'll be much happier with the closed loop water cooler and it should be relatively quieter. My stock intel HSF made a racket when it got toasty. It looks like it's using a standard ASRock motherboard so you shouldnt have any issues with any upgrades in the future. With a better PSU, GPU and Cooler you'll have a good system to last you a couple years.

acctingman · Oct 21, 2014

I'm curious to know what short comings you're talking about?

acctingman · Oct 21, 2014

beoza :

I've priced the machine with several upgraded components and I still can't beat it on NewEgg.

So, that ASRock Z97 Pro4 board on the pre-built I'm looking at has its BIOS locked or fixed for that particular online vendor? How is that the case? If so, then why wouldn't it be locked/fixed if I ordered from NewEgg?

If CyberPowerPC has them altered shouldn't they, by law, state that somewhere?

junkeymonkey · Oct 21, 2014

as long as the bios comes from asrock it should be good as one like we get from newegg

but like with boards like hp dell and such you see there bios comes from them not from the board manufacture as with asus gigabyt e asrock msi

they write ther own bios for there products and that's where it can be a fix involved with them

acctingman · Oct 21, 2014

junkeymonkey :

I guess I could call CyberPowerPC and ask them directly!

junkeymonkey · Oct 21, 2014

I would feel safe with the prebuilt with a custom aftermarket board in it like the asrock you said it has

ubercake · Oct 21, 2014

Cyberpowerpc uses the manufacturer's BIOS. They don't write their own. They even send you the motherboard box in the box with your tower along with the boxes for your other components outside of the processor (or at least that's been my experience with them).

acctingman · Oct 21, 2014

ubercake & junkeymonkey.....thanks for confirming that!

junkeymonkey · Oct 21, 2014

really what your getting is a custom build that they put together for you , not a prebuilt as in hp acer dell .. but it never hurts to ask to be sure a e-mail is cheap

acctingman · Oct 21, 2014

junkeymonkey :

I see what you're saying now and understand the differences! Thanks again for the knowledge!

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