Buying vs building

taikvei · May 24, 2015

hi all,
so i recently decided on getting a desktop pc, and was looking into building one. using choosemypc.net and my budget, it came up with this: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/9Z2qJx i couldn't find any already-made (a bit scared of building it myself) ones that were even close to the specs and of similar price. until today. I found an e-bay shop from Germany selling really good rigs for really good prices, such as this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GAMER-PC-INTEL-CORE-i5-4670K-R9-280X-3GB-8GB-DDR3-1600-1TB-24x-DVDRW-Computer-/151155616946?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_77&hash=item233193acb2 or this one (a bit over my budget, but would be willing to splash out an extra 50ish £ for it) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GAMER-PC-INTEL-CORE-i7-4790K-R9-280X-3GB-8GB-DDR3-1TB-Komplett-System-Computer-/161356158918?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_77&hash=item25919397c6
so my question is, how come they are so cheap? seems like the price is almost the same as building it myself, if not cheaper, so I am wondering if there's some catch (can't understand german)? the reviews they have on e-bay are good, but i couldn't find any non-ebay reviews. could it be the parts are stolen or defects or something that will go bust in a month or two? is there any reason I shouldn't insta-buy one of those pc's ?

Woody1999 · May 24, 2015

Me suggesting a pre-built computer is against the whole ethic of these forums, so I'm going to try and convince you to build for yourself. You'll save a tonne of money, and in fact it is pretty easy. There are so many guides around on the internet nowadays, it's pretty hard to mess up.

For a £520 budget, I would recommend this build:

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/shL2GX

A vastly better motherboard and power supply, but lacking an SSD. The SSD can always be a later upgrade, as it is the easiest thing to upgrade. The better motherboard and power supply will allow the use of the most powerful graphics cards on the market, and access to Broadwell CPUs once they come out.

Woody

taikvei · May 24, 2015

I am totally up for it, but the pre-built ones seem to have a much better cpu and a better gpu. I would probably add an SSD sometime down the road, and the only reason I am willing to splash out 500£~ ish is because it looks like a huge bargain. Is it not actually? The i7 4790k and r9 280x alone are ~400£ as far as I've looked.

My "true" budget is around 600£, but that's including a monitor/headset/mouse+keyboard, and maybe even an SSD. I was looking at an G3258 processor with a R280, as I presumed that would be plenty for most new games, and maybe some that will come out in the next while as well to go on medium/high at 1080p at a decent FPS. I am used to playing everything on low, so that would still be a great improvement, and then I could just upgrade the parts slowly as time passes and I need more bang?

USAFRet · May 24, 2015

so my question is, how come they are so cheap?

1. They can buy parts in bulk cheaper than you can

2. Because they cheap out on parts that the buyer does not notice.
This is the main issue. For instance...all 750W power supplies are not the same. But the number looks good.

Building your own may or may not be cheaper. But you will choose each and every part that goes into it. Rather than relying on whatever junk that dude in Germany has on the shelf that day.

Also, you will know exactly how it was put together, rather than relying on the 19 year old new kid, who came in with a hangover that day.

taikvei · May 25, 2015

Okay, what about if i buy one of those e-bay computers, and slowly swap out the * PSU and add an SDD? Or are there more parts that should be swapped out and it's just not worth it at all?
If so, can anyone recommend me a build for 600-700£ which would include a monitor/keyboard & mouse/ headset?
Finally, what are the general opinions on custom pc companies? I like the idea of them because of some of them offering 5-month financing which would result in only 30£ or o more total, but I would be able to afford a sytem up to 800-900£ then.

USAFRet · May 25, 2015

taikvei :

You end up buying parts twice.
PSU, case, who knows what else.
In addition to probably poor build quality.

Anything over £400, just build your own from the start.

Mac070 · May 25, 2015

I'd personally build one . You'd get better performance with the parts you buy. Bang for your buck I guess. Custom built pc's will last longer too. You get to choose what you want instead of paying more towards a manufacture prebuilt pc that doesn't have all the specs that you want .

taikvei · May 25, 2015

Okay, that's enough to convince me to build one myself. Can anyone recommend me a build for 600-700£ which would include a monitor/keyboard & mouse/ headset?
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/WDsLLk
This what I'm currently looking at, but I would prefer it to be a bit cheaper. Are there any change you suggest making that wouldn't sacrifice so much performance and would be cheaper? For example, what about a G3258 processor which I would OC later on? This would mean a cheaper mobo and the CPU is cheaper as well, and I could upgrade it later with more ease maybe?

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