[Prebuilt / Homebuilt] Regarding which is more cost effective

[allthosemiles]

I've been currently looking into either making or just purchasing a decent prebuilt system but i'm not sure which way would be the most cost-effective. For 900$ I can get 16gb of ram(up-gradable to 32gb) and a 3.00 intel quad core with only an on board graphics card. I'm just wondering if its possible to build a system for less than that. (This feels like a very noob question to ask so my apologizes ahead of time)

 

[Raiddinn]

$900 is a solid budget range.

Are you bringing anything forwards from previous computers?

Monitors cost a pretty penny and so does Windows 7. Those will take a huge bite out of the budget if they aren't carried forward. Keyboards and Mice nibble away at it too.

What all does the $900 have to cover?

If you are taking anything forwards, especially the big ticket stuff, its likely better to build your own.

Let me know your current situation and I can advise better.

 

[jitpublisher]

What do you want to do with the PC when you get it built?

 

[sosofm]

You can build your own pc and to be more performant than that prebuild.
MOBO : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
CPU : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
MEMORY : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233199
GPU : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948
PSU : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017
CASE : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147144
HDD : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148767
DVD-RW : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
OPERATION SYSTEM : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
TOTAL : $885.91 without rebates.
For 30$ more you can have 16GB memory.

 

[duxducis]

Homemade = you got to know what you doing.. be prepared for probles that can come up

You get system in store plug in and enjoy,. thou you wont get bang for your buck,
It all depends on your skills or if some1 can help you out to avoid frustration

my two cents anyway

 

[allthosemiles]

http://www.walmart.com/ip/ZT-Systems-7643Mi-Desktop-PC-with-Intel-Core-i7-2600-Processor-Office-Home-and-Student-2010-16GB-Memory-2TB-Hard-Drive-Blu-ray-ROM-and-Windows-7-H/17480200 ( i know its walmart but its decent. Best buy charges way to much usually)
@Raiddinn Probably not. I currently have a Geforce GT 240 1.5gb PCI-E card I might use. Monitor wise I have my own and its LCD so idc about that really. I have my own mouse and keyboard and I'll keep them. I have a copy of windows 7 that's legit and i can use that.
Pretty much I just started playing sc2 and there are other games i'd like to try (not like skyrim) but at least be prepared for the future of gaming to an extent. And the computer I linked is pretty decent and I could expand with it given its specs.
@jitpublisher ^ pretty much that.
@sosofm That's really not to bad. o.o
@duxducis Yeah i know with homebuilt usually you're hit a wall of some kind. I've worked on computer for a while now and I understand what needs to be done and I know how to find the information to fix what needs fixed so. I have no problems putting it together and etc, its just money wise that i'm a little worried about.

 

[Raiddinn]

How big is your current hard drive?

My own entry into the build list

Motherboard = $133

GIGABYTE GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128495

Processor = $215 ($194 if you want 2500 no OCing)

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

RAM = $40

Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT51264BA1339

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148347

Video Card = 212

GIGABYTE GV-N560UD-1G GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125401

PSU = $71

XFX Core Edition PRO650W (P1-650S-NLB9) 650W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207014

Case = $50

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

DVD = $19

ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3899435&SID=skim1402X558040Xaea039adad414c6405887fa2688ce579

Total = $740 after rebates with no HD.

If you don't want to use an old hard drive laying around, add this

Hard Drive = $85

Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148767

which totals to $825 after rebates.


Compared with sosofm's build you pay about $50 more, but you get a better video card, RAM with hugely lower failure rates, a better brand motherboard, a PSU from a better OEM (without modular, though), and a more respected case brand and model.

I don't really think 16 GBs of RAM is called for, but the other 8 of the same kind can be had for another $40 if that is your thing.

Basically it is just a small step up in each area for a small step up in cost.


Also, Sosofm - Please don't suggest people use System Builder OEM CDs for computers they intend to build and use themselves. It is illegal for people to use these CDs this way according to the license. The finished computer must be sold and they cannot be resold (so you can't sell it to your buddy for $1 and they sell it back to you for $1). It says this about half a dozen times in the license agreement and is the official (often reiterated publicly) stance of Microsoft.

 

[allthosemiles]

My current is only 80gb sata. but my secondary is 300gb so i could probably use that. I know that 16 seems like a lot I just wondered if it would even be worth it this early. Because nothing requires that much and uses that much but it could be helpful in the future. Just looked at the MB and it does support up to 32gb of ram. o.o Which is nice, my current build is 32bit and only supports up to 4gb. >__> Old dual core Pentium ht. that video card you have up there is def better than my current so that would probably be a better idea.

 

[Raiddinn]

I would use the 300gb as your boot drive and wait out the HD prices. Natural disasters in Asia shutdown their ability to produce any/all hard drives which caused a price spike.

It is now more expensive to get a 500gb hard drive than it used to be to get a 2 TB hard drive.

Half a year from now, the production will hopefully have been able to meet the demand backlog and the prices will hopefully come down to normal again. You should be able to hold out with the 300GB for that long and then get a 2TB at that time and just transfer all your data onto it from the 300GB.

 

[allthosemiles]

Oh wow. o.o I did not know that actually. Well that saves some money there at least. From the look of what you posted and the other guy posted parts wise it looks better than what I had posted from walmart. Plus i've heard that usually the PSU and HD go bad in walmart computers rather quickly. And the graphics card is usually crap >.> Well from this thread I can say i'll defiantly make a computer instead of buying a pre-built. Thank you all.

 

[allthosemiles]

Best answer selected by allthosemiles.