Will building my own PC really save me a lot of $$$?

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noxnoctum

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I don't really care about the challenge aspect or fun of building my own. I've never tried before either so it might be a bit of a headache. But if it saves me a lot of money I'll probably give it a shot.

If my total budget is $1000 for the whole thing including Windows 7 (no need for a monitor) how much money would I be saving by building it on my own?

Thanks.

EDIT: Clarification -- this is for a gaming PC.
 
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LucoTF


That site is fairly good at picking up the cheapest prices, but it's not perfect :)

Matt's build was great for the price, but now that you've said your budget is a little flexible I can take matt's build and tweak it:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.29 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: RAIJINTEK THEMIS Evo 65.7 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150...
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herrwizo

herrwizo

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It depends on how much a company tries to rip you off by including cheap power supplies and sub-par components and charging them like the real thing. In general, this varies from 20-50%. Sometimes even more. What will the build be used for? If for gaming, this is what you can get for $1000:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($178.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.49 @ Directron)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card ($338.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.93 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($86.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1031.23
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-27 05:51 EDT-0400

Now, compare this with pre-builts and judge for yourself ;) BTW, congrats on your decision. You will also learn a lot.
 
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Matt Dobe

Matt Dobe

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Of course you would save a lot of money. Companies may get components for cheaper than you would as a consumer but they would add a big markup and the labour costs for building and testing add on quite a lot.

This is probably (others will have slight variations) the best performance you can get for your budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.29 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($78.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($68.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($319.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Azza SIRIUS ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($45.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.78 @ Directron)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1014.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-27 05:51 EDT-0400

It is also an overclockable build so you can easily get your CPU up to 4-4.5Ghz with that CPU cooler.

Here is a prebuilt off newegg - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883101018

Intel Core i7 4790 (3.6GHz)
8GB DDR3 2TB HDD
Windows 8.1
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 1.5 GB

They are always unbalanced systems... a locked i7 4790 CPU with a last gen graphics card (which you can't even buy anymore as they have been superseded)...

The unlocked i5k in my build is better performing (the i7's hyperthreading) doesn't help you in gaming and also you can't overclock that i7... The 760 is about 2 years old and can play games at 1080 (roughly high/ultra settings) but the 970 in my build is the latest gen enthusiast graphics card. Will play almost anything at max settings and 60fps.

Also you won't get a solid state drive in the prebuilt as you would in the custom build. SSD's boot you into windows in about 8 seconds from a cold boot!

And you get absolute BS on ebay - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Liquid-Cooled-AMD-FX-4350-4-2Ghz-AM3-Quad-Core-Gaming-PC-Computer-8GB-RAM-HDMI-/170956070975?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27cdc6a03f

Marketing a terrible low end FX 4300 chip by watercooling it... this would give you less performance than an i3 budget build at $400 (nevermind 1000$!)
Also the GPU in that build is low/mid level... these people are making such a massive profit off the untechy customer.. it makes me mad.

 
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USAFRet

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The other part is....you get to pick out each part, instead of a predetermined list. Far too often, they skimp quality on some part that no one notices (PSU).

Also, once you build it, it is no longer a 'black box'. You know exactly how everything went together. So if something eventually breaks, you'll have a far greater clue of how to fix it.
 
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noxnoctum

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Ok you guys have sold me :p.

What level of difficulty are we talking? Am I looking at a cooking ramen-level of challenge, scrambled eggs, or fixing lasagna?

My biggest concern is that I don't know what precautions I need to take when I'm messing with everything. I.E. what parts I need to avoid touching, when to ground myself, what I need to be very careful about putting in correctly, etc. etc. etc.

Is this really something I can do on my own without assistance just off of google/youtube/forums?
 
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noxnoctum

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Thanks for this that is very helpful. I take it this is all compatible already? What brands should I shoot for on Newegg? Does brand matter much?

I have a bit of wiggle room budget wise so if I am right below a big bump in the cost/value curve a heads up would be awesome.

 
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herrwizo

herrwizo

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Unless you are a thunder-wielding superhero, it is very unlikely that you will destroy anything by merely touching it. The only precaution you need is to touch a large grounded metal surface, like a radiator or similar. Not hard to do at all and there are always people on forums like this one or youtube videos to help you. And motherboard manual, of course.
 
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LucoTF

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An i5-4690k and a gtx 970 (and an SSD and 8gb ram) is a top build and you've got all that for $1,000

Any further investment is into diminishing returns really
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Couple months ago, I taught my 10 year old grandson how to do it. He did 95% of the work.
 
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noxnoctum

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So if I buy exactly everything on that list am I good to go? Although speed is not a huge priority the sooner I can get this thing up and running the better.

Just to re-ask what's probably obvious already -- everything on there is compatible with everything else right?

I'm also a bit hesitant to get Windows 8 -- I've heard it's more mobile focused and I really like Windows 7. And ya this is for a gaming PC - should have made that clear earlier on.
 
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LucoTF

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Matt's build is great with a couple of small tweaks
 
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USAFRet

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With Win 8.1, you can make it look almost exactly like Win 7. Boot directly into Desktop, and rarely see the Metro interface.
 
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noxnoctum

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Such as?

Do I need to shop around or is that site a dragnet for the cheapest available for each part?

Stepping away for a bit I'll be back in ~hour.

Thanks for all the help I really appreciate it.

 
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LucoTF

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That site is fairly good at picking up the cheapest prices, but it's not perfect :)

Matt's build was great for the price, but now that you've said your budget is a little flexible I can take matt's build and tweak it:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.29 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: RAIJINTEK THEMIS Evo 65.7 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($133.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($68.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.49 @ Directron)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($82.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.78 @ Directron)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1196.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-27 06:47 EDT-0400

Better motherboard, case, cooler and power supply. And if you don't like windows 8 then get 7, it doesn't even matter because windows 10 is out in a few months and all 7 + 8 users get to upgrade for free anyway :)
 
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USAFRet

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That particular site generally finds the lowest price for any particular part.
Personally, I'd change the case. Primarily because I know nothing about that particular one. Other than that, it looks like a solid build.
 
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Matt Dobe

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Thanks Luco for the improvements!

I think this is much better. I tried to fit the most important parts into your budget but these tweaks make sense.

OP, if you use PCpartpicker it will try its best to let you know if there are any compatibility issues. And obviously you can trust the reknown posters such as Luco, USAFRet and herrwizo to give you solid information.

I would be excited to build this rig, would be an awesome piece of kit.
 
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noxnoctum

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Ok so -- bit later than an hour but I'm back! I will be buying this ASAP when I wake up tomorrow, I'll keep this thread updated hopefully as I'm sure I'll need some help once I get everything ready to put together.

Thanks again seriously - very much appreciated.
 
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juniiflow

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Do you use classic shell? or another program? kind of want to know what method you are using.
 
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Rhushi Joshipura

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A 750w is wayy overkill for this build , get a seasonic m12ii 620w bro , it would be cheaper and better, i am running a kinda same build or almost same , and btw i am 15 and with mere youtube i got my pc up and running in 1 day (didnt eat the whole day though :p) soo if a 15 year old can do it without any guidance in one day , i am pretty sure anyone can , all the best doe , and u do realise after the build is up and running, you will look at it amd just get goosebumps u can easily call it your very own and be proud of it :)
 
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