Performance Help--- Dell vs. Build my Own

[Groasd]

I'm not sure if this is the correct area to post this thread, but I think it is as I need help figuring out if Dell is worth it or not.. Anyway, to the real problem.

My father is having such a hard time believing that buying parts from amazon or newegg is much cheaper and cost effective than just buying a computer from Dell... He is complaining that nothing I've told him refers to the performance differences, and wants hard evidence and something to read that says building my own is better at gaming, stronger, and overall better. So far, he says, he's only seen things online saying building my own is cheaper, this and that, but he wants to know: is it ACTUALLY worth it in terms of gaming to spend $800 (my budget including a monitor, and a monitor ONLY) on building my own computer, or is it better to go ahead and buy a dell? He also thinks that if I buy parts online, and try to build it myself, something will go wrong and the parts won't go together... I already know the answer, but he wants to READ that I'm right.

Thanks a lot guys for the help, and I hope I get an answer soon, as he wants to buy me a Dell XPS 8500 more than letting me build my own.

Also, here's what I wanted in my 800$ build:

CPU: AMD FX 6300
MoBo: ASUS M5A97 AMD Motherboard
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Blue 8gb (2x4) DDR3 1600
Hard Drive: Western Digital Blue 1TB
Case: Rosewill Challenger U3
Video Card: MSI Twin Frozr OC AMD Radeon HD 7850
PSU: Corsair CX500M (My dad hates power cost, so I had to go with Modular)
Monitor: ASUS VS238H-P 23in. 2ms response time monitor

PS: I didnt need a DVD drive or windows 7 because my friends are letting me use theirs.

 

[MidnightDistort]

You might get better answers for the build in the http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum-31.html

but to answer your question most pre built machines from HP, Compaq and Dell use cheap parts. I always recommend that if you can build your own machine to do it that way. Especially the PSU's it's far better to get one that won't short out on you. Of course all PSU's die eventually, but there are some inferior models and sometimes i'll see them in Dells or in HP's.

I am not sure what you meant by power cost but an efficient PSU will only take what your hardware needs while an inefficient PSU like the kind they throw in prebuilt Dells, HPs, ect.. tend to drain more than what is really needed. You can have an efficient PSU at 1,000 watts but it will only take what is required, say 240 watts, while an inefficient PSU of the same rating might take more than 240 watts. If you got more questions you can ask in the systems forum.

Building your own is always at risk one of the parts won't work (defective) but that's no different from buying a prebuilt one and it won't work either. Since this is your first build ask as many questions. It's best to get advice on how it should be built and what kind of things you'll need to look out for.

Bottom line is, it's more cost effective to build your own vs buying a prebuilt machine. Depending on what you are doing it probably costs about the same, more or less expensive depending on the parts you need/already have. But in the end you'll know your system inside and out and plus when you go to install Windows, Linux or whatever you won't get all that bloatware pre built machines have. I will add that you want to save and install those software discs that come with the motherboard/gpu and whatever else as they come with drivers.

 

[jamesjohnson8]

My experience with dell has been nothing but bad news. I bought an Alienware laptop from them a couple of years ago, for the first few months it was fantasti, about 4 months into ownership BAM...the screen breaks, then BAM.....the graphics cards stops responding, then BAM it wont turn on.

Problem after problem. I know computers break so I gave Dell a call. The first hour I spent entertaining myself whilst waiting to be sent through to a representative, the second hour I decided to play some xbox, the third hour I gave up. When I did get through several days later I was told that there was nothing they could do unless I take out their "premium warrent" even though it was still less than a year old at the time.

Eventually after arguing for some time they agreed that there had indeed been a manufacturing fault and they sent out an engineer. Needless to say I dont buy Dell anymore.

To answer your questions, and to give your dad an idea of what he's letting himself in for. It really depends on your skill and how technical you are. Computers go wrong, they break, if you built it yourself then atleast you will know that computer inside out and be able to identify the problem.

With the help of the internet, anyone can build a computer these days the issue comes when somthing stops working or goes wrong. To put your dad a rest, why dont you go by your local computer repair shop and run your setup by them? They'll most likey give you the heads up with any problems you might encounter and may even suggest some alternatives??

Anway, my 2 cents.

 

[MidnightDistort]

My experience with dell has been nothing but bad news. I bought an Alienware laptop from them a couple of years ago, for the first few months it was fantasti, about 4 months into ownership BAM...the screen breaks, then BAM.....the graphics cards stops responding, then BAM it wont turn on.

Problem after problem. I know computers break so I gave Dell a call. The first hour I spent entertaining myself whilst waiting to be sent through to a representative, the second hour I decided to play some xbox, the third hour I gave up. When I did get through several days later I was told that there was nothing they could do unless I take out their "premium warrent" even though it was still less than a year old at the time.

Eventually after arguing for some time they agreed that there had indeed been a manufacturing fault and they sent out an engineer. Needless to say I dont buy Dell anymore.

To answer your questions, and to give your dad an idea of what he's letting himself in for. It really depends on your skill and how technical you are. Computers go wrong, they break, if you built it yourself then atleast you will know that computer inside out and be able to identify the problem.

With the help of the internet, anyone can build a computer these days the issue comes when somthing stops working or goes wrong. To put your dad a rest, why dont you go by your local computer repair shop and run your setup by them? They'll most likey give you the heads up with any problems you might encounter and may even suggest some alternatives??

Anway, my 2 cents.

Yeah, i forgot to mention there are computer shops that can build PC's for you, depending whether if there's one in your area. There's a few sites but i never bothered to check them out considering i know how to build my own now. The other benefits of building your own is that you get exactly what you want for the price. With every prebuilt machine it never has enough RAM in it and i find it a waste to replace the existing RAM just to max out what the motherboard can take so its' better off getting what you want vs getting something you know you might replace in a few years. If you're good with building things, know a bit about electronics and wiring it's no hassle and most of it is just a puzzle that you have to figure out.

It's quite a bit of fun and if you got an old desktop that is practically useless or dead, take it apart, put it back together again and you'll get an idea on how they are put together.

 

[Groasd]

Thanks guys. My dad read these answers and I think he's pretty convinced... We're gonna to our local computer shop and ask them about these parts, and if they look fine in the same case. Again, thanks a bunch

 

[MidnightDistort]

You can also ask about the parts in the systems forum http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum-31.html

You'll get plenty of opinions and options there but your local computer shop will most likely build it for you. Note: some computer shops might exaggerate or tell you something completely wrong so feel free to ask in that systems forum before making a decision. When building my own desktop i didn't ask questions and before i joined on here i didn't know low/cheap PSU's could be bad or a waste of money so it's always a good thing to just ask and get several opinions before deciding on parts for your build.

 

[hang-the-9]

If you have the PC built by someone, it will end up pretty pricy unless they don't charge a bit extra for the parts and maybe $50 - 100 for the labor. Don't forget about cost of Windows for it. Parts will fit in a case with no issues, just get a mid or full tower case. This could be a good start http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qKls although I would lower RAM to 8 gig and add a Radeon 7770 for some good gaming power on a lower budget. Shoudl be about $600 for the whole thing.