Hello. Although I have no job right now and no money to buy stuff, I want to build my own PC someday with just the parts. I was wondering if it’s really cheaper to build your own computer or if it’s cheaper to buy it from a site. www.cyberpowerpc.com from PC Gamer magazines seems pretty good. I went to newegg which is the only site I trust to buy stuff from, and calculated how much it would cost to buy the parts for a PC from newegg and do it myself, and how much it would cost to have cyberpowerpc build it, and it was hundreds cheaper to have cyberpower do it.
Also, is it possible to take everything out of my Dell Dimension E520 and put it in a new case, or does Dell build it so it pretty much can’t be customized? Thank you.
I’ve been building my own computers for years, and from what I’ve learned, as long as you don’t add the O/S to the price of your build, homebuilt should always be cheaper.
If Cyberpower is cheaper for the equivalent materials, then by all means, have them build it for you! They’ll have to worry about warranties, tech support, and everything else, instead of you…
or does Dell build it so it pretty much can't be customized? Thank you.
From what I've seen, Dell has their manufacturers build mobo's to "fit" their cases specifically. Sometimes you might be able to buy a case that has mounting holes that will fit their mobo, thus allowing you to transfer the parts into a new case, but it's a hit or miss situation. If you have a generic case lurking around, try pulling the Dell mobo out, and see if you can line up some mounting holes (if not all of them) with the generic case. If so, you'll probably be able to do it. If not, you'll need to buy a new mobo from newegg or wherever, then transfer the rest of the parts into the new case with the new mobo.
Personally, I haven’t purchased a computer from a “system builder” my entire life. I built my first when I was 16 (Had a computer when I was 8, I was the only one I knew that had a computer) and I haven’t looked back since. Usually, I can build a computer with better performance, and better components than the “system builder” companies for a lesser price, but the O/S is usually the deal breaker.
When I have to pay $100-400 for Windows, they usually have it thrown in like a free upgrade or something. I guess they get really good deals being a partner with M$.
Anyway, if Cyberpower is cheaper, then go with it. Just make sure that the warranty is decent enough for your standards.
+1 … although my first PC was from Acer (1995 but I had other non-PC computers since 1978), everyone of them since then has been built by me.
It is cheaper to build them yourself but you must know what you are doing as the only warranty is your own work. Otherwise, building your own computer could become more expensive if you make too many mistakes that could ruin some parts and/or void warranties on damaged parts.
Another place to check for parts is TigerDirect. I have ordered many times from them without any problems.
I too have built my own system for some years, but this time round I bought one through CyberPower but from the UK end cyberpowersystem.co.uk. I was impressed with the configurability of the system and it was that which drove me to building my own systems long ago, at that time custom builds were very expensive.
However, I found CyberPower were reasonably priced, yes I could possibly have got the individual parts a little cheaper but you have the hassle of sourcing those parts and paying multiple shipping charges to get all the parts. So for that reason I decided to reduce the hassle. Not to mention I bought XP Pro SP3, pre-installed another hassle free option.
I have had the system just over a year and not a bit of trouble with it.
For my Vista system I went to a local PC store and chose what I wanted according to my budget and I am very happy with it. I’ll be returning October 22nd to purchase Windows 7 Home Premium from them.
My old XP Home system that nobody wants now was custom built in a PC store that I worked in for a while back in 2002.
They provided a warantee on parts and labor as per the manufacturer’s parts and their own.
Computers have never been cheaper to buy, so if you want to use one intensively find a good one from a reputable vendor who will give warranty and good support like Scythe says so you can work away uninterrupted. There are some really good units being put our by manufacturers nowdays and like you say often cheaper that it would cost you to build.
But building computers is one of the joys of life. Build one and you can keep doing it forever. For first time best to start hacking together old stuff people dont want any more, while you also have your good unit that you purchased to do your computer work on. Lots of old stuff around everywhere nowdays so you can make mistakes while you learn - you can test with one stick of ram and 10 or 20 Gb HDD, refurbished motherboards are cheap, power supply units likewise, and cd units. After a while you will be starting to envisage that first good one to build with serious specs, and there you go always building towards better and better setups. But always have one good unit aside for your computer work because there is a lot to learn also just through usage - learning software is very important when it comes to working hardware. Plus no good to be building a PC without a working unit readily at hand to check stuff out on the internet. I think most important thing is have a good working unit to one side, away from your work project.
Building Dell’s are no good unless you work in Dell shop. Buy Dells complete and use immediately.