Build or buy premade?

[Monetrun]

I'm trying to get the best PC for my money, but I'm still not sure whether to buy a prebuilt Dell from Best Buy or build my own. I think the main question is whether the GPU on the store bought PC will be adequate for viewing video, movies and gaming 2-4 years from now. I'm replacing a very old desk top that is starting to crash more and can't handle the iphone videos, can't even run Runescape, and needed to have Wow turned down to the lowest settings. Will the self built PC last longer because of the better graphics card? Does the build look ok or have I made it needlessly expensive?

I'm comparing the following 2 options

1) Buying a Dell XPS (3rd gen i7 processor 3.4ghz, blu-ray disc, bluetooth, and 12MB memory but a less powerful graphics card.)
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell---XPS-Desktop---12GB-Memory---2TB-Hard-Drive/5773263.p?skuId=5773263&id=1218694832826
$1,109.99

2) My own PC build:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/iVkc

CPU Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core $214.98
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i53570

CPU Cooler Noctua NH-C12P SE14 65.0 CFM $39.99
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhc12pse14

Motherboard ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 $134.99
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z77extreme4

Memory G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $54.99
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f312800cl8d8gbxm

Storage Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $88.98
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-hd103sj

Video Card HIS Radeon HD 7850 2GB $174.99
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/his-video-card-h785qn2g2m

Case Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower $93.89
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-rc922mkkn1gp

Power Supply SeaSonic 620W ATX12V / EPS12V $81.99
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-m12ii620bronze

Optical Drive Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer $17.99
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-optical-drive-sh222bbbebe

Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Full (32/64-bit) $158.99
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-gfc00019

Total cost $1,061.78

 

[emperor piehead]

build your own pc is the best you pick every part with plenty of choices. on the motherboard drop down to a h77 board and get a hyper 212+ cpu cooler. the rest of the build looks pretty good if you want you can get a ssd for a boot drive.

 

[sephirothmk]

The prebuilt Dell has a locked processor and an absolute trash graphic card. If you want to buy a stronger graphic card you may have to replace your PSU too, so the Dell may end up costing way more than the self-built version.

Not to mention that you can buy a K version CPU and overclock your self-built PC to be more powerful than the Dell one.

 

[excella1221]

If your goal is getting the best bang for you money, then a pre-build PC will never be the choice.
Yes, the build you made is way, way better. Though a few comments:

- If you'll be overclocking, you'll want the 'K' version of that CPU. If not, get the i5-3450 or 3550.
- CPU cooler gives me another reason to assume you're overclocking. The Hyper 212 EVO is a good, cheap alternative.
- With the cooler comes another point- low profile RAM so the heat fins won't conflict with the cooler.
• G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)
• CORSAIR Vengeance Low Profile 4GB (2 x 2GB)
- 620w PSU is a bit too much. You can get the XFX Core Edition PRO550W

Everything else checks out.

 

[dudewitbow]

why the pricier g.skill ripjaws. ram prices are at a low. 1600 timed Ares and other Ripjaws are like ~40-45$

 

[Monetrun]

why the pricier g.skill ripjaws. ram prices are at a low. 1600 timed Ares and other Ripjaws are like ~40-45$

Good question. I switched to two of the g.skill ares recommended above which are a lot cheaper and have good rating still. Thank you!
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f31600c9d8gao

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

What I tell people is that with a custom, you will spend more, but I think generally when it comes to consumer grade systems, you will get a better pc for your money. Maybe not in terms of specs, but I would say in longevity as far as how well the PC will last and not break down on you. That is my opinion.

As far as that price and prebuilt vs custom, custom definitely. That 7850 vs that 640 graphics card, you might as well line up a ferrari vs a chevette.

 

[proton007]

Choice components, better warranty, more bang for your buck.

 

[Monetrun]

Thank you all for your help. I've decided to build and that i dont need wireless or blu-ray and that i want a too end GPU. Here's my updated build. I'm not sure if I will be overclocking, but I added the k processor in case I want/need to someday. I upped the memory to 16gb and went with cheaper thinner memory.

I looked everywhere for a better motherboard and for a mouse to add, but I couldn't find anything better than tha asrock and my existing mouse/keyboard.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/j70F

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i53570k

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rrb10212pg1

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z77extreme4

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f31600c9d8gao

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-hd103sj

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/his-video-card-h785qn2g2m

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-rc922mkkn1gp

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cmpsu550vx

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-optical-drive-sh222bbbebe

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-gfc00019

 

[Monetrun]

Best answer selected by Monetrun.

 

[excella1221]

Hi! Thanks for the best answer.
Some final comments:
- Based on what the PC will be for, you won't need 16gb of RAM. An 8gb(2x4gb) 1600MHz of RAM is plenty already. Trust me.
- That HDD you chose is only SATAII. Get a Western Digital Caviar Black or Blue instead.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Also, if I might make one tweak. Personally I'd avoid the ASROCK board. My friend did an AMD build, but used the ASROCK 990FX which is supposed to be an upper end board I think for AMD. The long and the short was he didn't have as good of a warranty, and when he added an SSD to his PC, the audio on the board stopped working. He researched, I guess it was a common problem. He ended up buying a sound card, but then returned the board to ASROCK, bought a new Gigabyte board, and sold the replacement ASROCK, been happy ever since.

Me personally, Gigabyte is my choice. Even their low end boards have been solid in builds I've done. My current board is a Gigabyte SLI board, Socket AM2, but let me drop in an Athlon II quad core. My board is around 5 years old, working perfectly. I anticipate my next upgrades to be a new power supply and a video card, something in the range of a radeon 6950, 7850 or GTX 660 to max out my system before I finally give in and drop in a new chip, board and ram. Everything else in my machine has been upgraded or replaced except my board, still solid as a rock.

Also, if you decide to get a cheaper board and 8gb of ram instead of 16, get an SSD. Dude, you will love it. I put a 60gb in my system as a boot drive, relocated all my documents, music etc onto my 1tb drive. It just makes everything smooth.

 

[excella1221]

IMO, defected motherboards are usually just hit and miss. If you google problems on Gigabyte and/or ASUS 990FX, you'll see there's alot as well.

Also, +1 on the SSD. My suggestion is the Vertex 4.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Definitely the SSD is a good upgrade. Mine I got a 60 gb from Microcenter for 50 bucks(house brand), and it has been a good upgrade. Though I now see 60-64gb for 30 bucks sometimes.

 

[Sidian]

People will always push you into building it yourself, but it's not for everyone. Some places, such as Scan in the UK, and I don't know probably Newegg if you're American, are willing to build a PC to your EXACT specifications, merely requiring you to send them a link to a basket of all the parts you want in the build.

For the grand total of about £50 or $80, you get the following

- Several hours of your valuable time saved
- No hassle - you won't have to deal with sending any broken parts back and waiting for them to return, no need to spend ages diagnosing problems if your PC won't turn on etc
- A 3 year all-encompassing warranty (parts come with individual warranties but it's nice to have this too)
- They'll even overclock it for you which is included in this price, saving you even more time tweaking voltages and whatnot

For me this is more than worth it. But if you really enjoy building PCs or you are dead set on getting the absolute optimal bang for buck, then the choice is clear. Still, I don't think it's as clear cut as people make it out to be and a pre-built system is definitely worth considering.