Buy a pc or build it?

[qandaseeker]

hi, i want ot buy a computer and ive been told its cheaper to build it myself rather than buying direct from store like dell, hp etc. Is this true?

what do i need to take into account when buying components?

i dont intend to play extreme games on it, but i need it to be fast and smooth.

thanks in advance

[chrisrob]

If you google, "build your own pc", you get a number of websites that will help, including a forum dedicated to it.

[barry1010]

These days computers are so cheap it can't be much cheaper to build it yourself.
If you don't want the computer for high end gaming or specialised video editing, buy one off the shelf. At least you'll have some sort of guarantee and it will come with an operating system and other software.

[andy-hughes]

With the rapid decrease in the cost of tehcnology, you could easily buy a computer with the spec. you need for little, if any more cost than the basic components. That way you will have a manufacturer's experience, as well as a guarentee - neither of which you will have if you buy your components, and self-assemble.

If you are self-assembling for anything other than the pleasure of doing it - including saving money - I wouldn't bother - it's not worh the time and bother.

[VHG]

I agree with the others, in fact it is often cheaper to buy one pre built than build it yourself.

Companies like Dell etc buy their components by the thousand, so can drive the price down from their suppliers.

You, on the other hand, have to buy your components one at a time from ebuyer and other companies.

There is no way you can buy the parts yourself cheaper than Dell and others can buy them.

The main advantage you get from building it yourself is that you get to pick and chose all the individual components, plus you have a much better idea of how a computer is put together and therefore are more likely to be able to fix it.

The main danger of building it yourself is that if you put it all together and it does not work, you do not have one company you can go back to to get it sorted out, you need to do it yourself.

[rojash]

It used to be that you could easily build a computer for less than the cost to buy one. Margins on computers these days are tiny (sometimes less than 10%) so the chances of saving by building are minimal - especially if you cost in your own time!

The only reason to build your own is if you want a particular spec that's not readily available, or just for the sense of achievement.

Keep in mind too, that if you build and you're not an expert, if anything goes wrong (even if it's not your fault) you're going to have a hard time sorting it.

[ACtheTROLL]

agree totally - some good advice from some experienced people
now my two pennyworth
spec a machine ... from a supplier - google the bits ...
you might save �50-70
(obviously they make profit on bulk rates ... but it's you who is paying full price)

the O/s will eat most of what you'd save ..(bulk oem versions are very cheap)

if it breaks ... you have to make your best guess - return bits ---- wait ... and if you are wrong start again.
faulting is done with spare bits not pure logic

I have a machine that started life as a 486
it's currently a p4 - and in getting there I've had some horrendous arguments with suppliers ... it was faulty when I opened it ... no it wasn't - yes it was ....
certainly in the early days compatibility was also a real factor

now I'm getting bored
but I've done this for more than 20 years ...

my quad core is a mesh ... goes like a demon ...
5 days it was on my desk - took 10 mins to fix together ... crysis up and running in 20 mins

but I've got to admit ... it wasn't much fun just taking it out of the box.

if it's a hobby ... get the bits ... learn how they fit together ... you'll have a much better understanding of what's involved..

if it's economics ... use google - read a mag buy a system