I don't even know how anyone could legitimately think a prebuilt PC is a good idea ever except in the case of laptops and school computers.
Fancy looks are [B]nothing[/B] unless you're an idiot. Even then you can still have a great case with all the LED's and whistles you want with custom.
Even if I needed a computer just for browsing the internet I'd go custom.
It's not one side or the other because prebuilts and builds satisfy a different purpose and mindset. There doesn't need to be a debate, different strokes for different folks.
[QUOTE=RichyZ;46193616]prebuilts are cheaper than building your own these days lol[/QUOTE]
what if I end up with one of the parts being defective because they built it incorrectly? or put in parts that were more pricey than I need them to be, ending up being more costly?
I don't want to risk a defective PSU or a lower end motherboard bricking my system. And I [b]REALLY[/B] doubt it's that 'cheaper', who told you this? You're paying for the parts + the building, not just the parts.
I'd rather be confident with really good parts. I go as far as trying to research parts as much as I can. Rather than paying extra for something that is falsely advertised as "Good"
[QUOTE=RichyZ;46193616]prebuilts are cheaper than building your own these days lol[/QUOTE]
That makes no sense.
[QUOTE=J!NX;46193605]I don't even know how anyone could legitimately think a prebuilt PC is a good idea ever except in the case of laptops and school computers.
Fancy looks are [B]nothing[/B] unless you're an idiot. Even then you can still have a great case with all the LED's and whistles you want with custom.
Even if I needed a computer just for browsing the internet I'd go custom.[/QUOTE]
Some cases Pre-Builts can be as good as one you build yourself. Mine is a Pre-Built, where I got to pick and choose all the parts that went into it. Before I bought it I went over to Newegg and put the exact same shit in my cart, and it was $50 more expensive. The site offered free shipping and a warranty on everything
And I know me, I can't do a clean wiring job to save my life.
I got it and it's been great.
Now you can get an I5, 8GB of RAM, 1TB HDD, a Motherboard to support it, a nice case, a 212 Evo Coolermaster, R270 2GB video card, Keyboard, Mouse, Headset for $650 on the same site, as long as you have your own copy of windows. Have your own card already you can just exclude a video card
CyberpowerPC, for those wondering. If you don't trust yourself with building it yourself, wait for the holidays and absolutely go for CPPC, it's about the same price if not cheaper from all the deals, and mine's been top notch for nearly 3 years now. I've since upgraded the video card, though
As for pre-builts you see in Best Buy, stay the fuck away from that garbage. It almost hurts to know that computer components are being used in such a way
Mine is totally pre-built. I walked into a store, studied each part of this PC one by one, and I was satisfied by them and the total price. I've had this PC for almost two years and it's been the most reliable thing I've ever been on. I know, it's just luck though.
[QUOTE=J!NX;46193696]what if I end up with one of the parts being defective because they built it incorrectly? or put in parts that were more pricey than I need them to be, ending up being more costly?
I don't want to risk a defective PSU or a lower end motherboard bricking my system. And I [b]REALLY[/B] doubt it's that 'cheaper', who told you this? You're paying for the parts + the building, not just the parts.
I'd rather be confident with really good parts. I go as far as trying to research parts as much as I can. Rather than paying extra for something that is falsely advertised as "Good"[/QUOTE]
that, and you have no idea how to maintain or service the innards of your computer at all
build it yourself and you're set
I actaully got my pc build for me just cause I wanted free warranty. Although I am going to upgrade it tomorrow with a nice GTX970 instead of the HD5750 I have now.
Prebuilts are shit though, you are better off choosing parts and then paying a company to put it together.
Once upon a time, I used to insist on building my own machine but can't be bothered with it anymore. I lost track of fiddly things about the same time bus speeds for memory became a thing. (~33/66 mHz, I believe.)
Even though I am dirt poor, I measure the cost in the time it will take to figure out all the newer generations of specs that share the same plug shape and which ones are worth messing with.
I spent a few days last year trying to figure out Nvidia's model number scheme to see if I could squeeze something decent out of $50. I ended up with a GT 610 and now realize my mistake.
Fuck all that. I'll just save up for some consumer grade best buy shit box. Got better things to do than try to keep up with an industry that changes everything every few months. And since I don't really care for the modern FPS games, I don't think I'll miss out on much.
I would never consider buying a performance machine built by some random person (company?) that operates off a webpage though. I've worked with enough self proclaimed PC techs to not trust them.
[QUOTE=RichyZ;46193893]also lol acting like building a pc makes u a hardcore ~geek~
its basically legos lmao[/QUOTE]
Until the house of legos doesn't work properly. If you follow a step-by-step guide to make up for the lack of hobbyist/expert knowledge required, you're gonna very quickly feel extremely lost when the computer won't boot, quickly freezes or something else happens. Testing components of the computer again and again until you can single out the human error or faulty part (and judging which of them is the problem) isn't gonna be easy if you're clueless about computers and stupidly listened to someone telling you it's like legos for adults.
I've seen people painfully crawling through guides and then being just one inch away from exploding when the box doesn't work and they don't know how to fix it. To them it would have been completely worth the pay for the convenience of having a prebuilt that's been tested to work, has all the components they need, and comes with a warranty. It would have saved them sooo much time and anger.
Stuff always looks easy after you've gotten the hang of it, but that doesn't mean your experience and knowledge flows into the general public.
[QUOTE=TheTalon;46193751]Some cases Pre-Builts can be as good as one you build yourself. Mine is a Pre-Built, where I got to pick and choose all the parts that went into it. Before I bought it I went over to Newegg and put the exact same shit in my cart, and it was $50 more expensive. The site offered free shipping and a warranty on everything
And I know me, I can't do a clean wiring job to save my life.
I got it and it's been great.
Now you can get an I5, 8GB of RAM, 1TB HDD, a Motherboard to support it, a nice case, a 212 Evo Coolermaster, R270 2GB video card, Keyboard, Mouse, Headset for $650 on the same site, as long as you have your own copy of windows. Have your own card already you can just exclude a video card
CyberpowerPC, for those wondering. If you don't trust yourself with building it yourself, wait for the holidays and absolutely go for CPPC, it's about the same price if not cheaper from all the deals, and mine's been top notch for nearly 3 years now. I've since upgraded the video card, though
As for pre-builts you see in Best Buy, stay the fuck away from that garbage. It almost hurts to know that computer components are being used in such a way[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Loadingue;46193819]Mine is totally pre-built. I walked into a store, studied each part of this PC one by one, and I was satisfied by them and the total price. I've had this PC for almost two years and it's been the most reliable thing I've ever been on. I know, it's just luck though.[/QUOTE]
I've heard of so many tech shops being utterly shit that there are 0 reasons to trust them
but good ones do exist that have sense and also actually care about customers.
it's really truly a wonderful thing to see that too (if it isn't a family business they probably don't care about you)
I'll be honest when I first got my current computer it was a prebuilt. Now i've made so many changes and additions to it that it pretty much seems like a custom build.
Was looking to build a PC, checked out refurbished computers national chains were selling, found one that was pre-built but cost as much as the components. Turns out the reason somebody had returned it was because they'd screwed a thumb screw in the wrong place so one of the panels was ever so slightly out of place. I removed the thumb screw and it popped right back in.
As someone who has built their own system and bought pre-built, they each have their advantages. Building your own system means you have an intimate understanding of exactly the parts you are using. It's also cheaper. The advantages of a pre-built system are obvious. It really does just come down to whether or not you as a consumer trust someone else to build your computer and are willing to pay a premium for said someone else to put it together and ship it to you whole. I will say that the premium has come down dramatically over the last few years. Just looking around at different builds and comparing them to the market prices, you end up only paying $100-$200 more, which is a large percentage of the overall build, but for some consumers that peace of mind and convenience is worth it.
Personal anecdote: I've built and bought pre-built systems before and frankly given today's market it is very difficult to recommend against buying pre-built. Absolutely keep building computers if that's what you like doing, as I said it's advantageous in a number of ways. But the era of laughing out pre-built owners as saps who got conned by Dell or Alienware is over. The people who mark up the cost of components before putting them in ~xtreme~ cases still exist but there are plenty of options for people to mix and match and have someone build their computer for them for slightly more than what they would pay otherwise.
Basically, build if you want to save some money and know more about your computer. Buy pre-built if you are willing to pay $200 more for the convenience and peace of mind. Just make sure you trust the company and compare prices. Don't buy a $1100 computer for $1999.
newegg deals
[QUOTE=RichyZ;46193616]prebuilts are cheaper than building your own these days lol[/QUOTE]
They actually aren't unless you're a fucking schmuck lol
[QUOTE=gk99;46199719]They actually aren't unless you're a fucking schmuck lol[/QUOTE]
Actually they can be if they have a bunch of advertising deals by installing loads of adware and limited software trials onto the computer.
[QUOTE=J!NX;46194204]I've heard of so many tech shops being utterly shit that there are 0 reasons to trust them
but good ones do exist that have sense and also actually care about customers.
it's really truly a wonderful thing to see that too (if it isn't a family business they probably don't care about you)[/QUOTE]
My experience with CPPC has been good enough that I'll be using it again when it comes time to get a completely new rig. The price, especially during the holidays, is even cheaper than building the shit yourself, and worst case scenario if it's fucked up in some way, you can RMA it or the individual part no problem. You can get it with a completely formatted HDD, which I didn't, and all that was on my rig was Windows. No bullshit adware and Antivirus was thrown in separately, not installed. Windows disc, key, motherboard chipset drivers, video card disc (Who needs those now days) all came with it
[QUOTE=Naelstrom;46199912]Actually they can be if they have a bunch of advertising deals by installing loads of adware and limited software trials onto the computer.[/QUOTE]
That still fits into "paid too much for a product of a quality lower than the price"
I suggest prebuilts to less tech savvy friends and family members. If I build them a computer then I'm on the hook for tech support and the moment they download a virus they're on my ass. If they buy a Dell I can tell them to call those assholes up and it's not my problem.
Thing is, when you buy prebuilt you also buy warranty and 24/7 tech support. Sometimes, that's the better deal.
But I bought my computer from PC Specialist, specifying what parts I wanted. It's neither DIY or pre-built. Checkmate, RPShit
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