Is It Worth It To Build Your Own Computer

if you are only going to be typing, emailing,or listening to music, then buy one from Dell or Best Buy.

if you are gaming or doing any kind of multimedia work(video, photography, music), then you should buy it part by part.

Is is economically worth it for the same machine to build it, other considerations aside?

Computer buyer wrote:

Is is economically worth it for the same machine to build it, other considerations aside?

No.

Not no more. Just look for the loss leader on HP.com. Should be $350 or so.

Computer buyer wrote:

Is is economically worth it for the same machine to build it, other considerations aside?

It depends. A already assembled low-end computer will likely be as inexpensive or less expensive than a low-end computer that you assemble yourself.

A mid-range computer will likely cost you much less if you assemble it yourself to match your unique needs.

A high-end computer? Hm, not exactly sure, but it will be expensive either way. Like around $2000 or more either way. If you're a high-end user, I would assume that the price is really not an issue to begin with.

It's only worth it if you want something fairly high end AND you will get enjoyment out of researching the components and putting it together. If you're doing it just to save money then it's definitely not worth it.

It used to be worth it 5 or 6 years ago in high school. I could go on newegg.com and buy the barebones parts including a alienware like tower case with cooling fans, intel 3ghz processor, ram sticks, and stuff and put it all together yourself and you're the coolest kid in high school and your freshman dorms. But That was back then.

Today, being the year 2010, I'd say get a macbook pro with bootcamp using apple's numerous and generous educational discounts. of course with the bootcamp you can switch between mac and windows. Use mac 95 to 99percent of the time and vista/xp ONLY when you have to run a windows-only type program.

Just from my own experience...

The computers you find at the store are mass produced and therefore cheap to build. It's only worth it if you cannot find a setup with the specs you desire. Some PC gamers are picky with their setups. They may only like a certain video card that they cannot find in a setup at the store. It is better for them to buy their machine part by part rather than buy a setup and have to buy extra parts to swap out. If you just need a computer, buy from the store.

Aside from the ability to build your computer exactly to your likings, one of the main advantages of building your own is that once you are finished you are a pretty knowledgeable of the innards of a PC. Whenever it breaks down you will likely be able to troubleshoot and fix it yourself.

Not unless.... wrote:

It's only worth it if you want something fairly high end AND you will get enjoyment out of researching the components and putting it together. If you're doing it just to save money then it's definitely not worth it.

I disagree. You can easily save $200 and end up spending only $350-450 on assembling your own mid-range computer. For those on a budget, $200 is a significant saving. It's not that hard to find compatible parts. NewEgg.com has most everything organized.

I built a very nice computer that would have cost $2000+ for $1400 (Parents paid for a lot). It is worth it and not that hard.

Something no one has mentioned yet: what operating system do you plan on using?

People who build their own machine often times use Linux (it's free).

If you want Windows, paying full price is almost as much as a new computer that comes with Windows pre-installed.

I just built a computer for around ~900. It runs great, plays TF2 like a champ, and didn't cost me much at all. I think a comparable Dell would have cost 1250-1350, maybe a little more.

Thanks for the interesting responses. I will probably just buy, though the thing that interests me would be the knowledge of how the computer goes together.

Just out of curiosity, is there soldering involved in assembling a computer now or is it all plug in type stuff?

There really is nothing impressive about assembling a computer. Essentially, it's "circle block goes in the circle hole" and "square block goes in the square hole".

However, if you don't tell anyone how easy and simple it is, you can earn some money on the side by designing and assembling computers for people who want new ones. That's what some of my friends do. They'll pick out a $400 system and then tack on $50-100 as an assembly fee.

That actual assembly is very easy. It is really just snapping things together, no harder than a lego set. It is interesting, though and I'm glad I've done it a couple of times.

The thing that took me the most time was actually researching the different pieces of hardware for what I wanted and ensuring compatibility.

Computer buyer wrote:

Is is economically worth it for the same machine to build it, other considerations aside?

My 15 year old put 3 PCs together for us at half the cost. If you know what you're doing it's worth it.

some guy who runs wrote:

If you want Windows, paying full price is almost as much as a new computer that comes with Windows pre-installed.

Unless you're lucky enough to find a computer shop that will sell you OEM versions... A store around here sold me OEM Windows 7 Home for $90 CA to run on my Macbook!

Also, many computer shops will sell you an OEM version of windows if you buy the parts for the computer at their shop. Since technically you're buying Windows with a computer.

It's $25.00 for Windows 7 Ultimate N 32 & 64 bit on eBay. Download only. The seller emails the KEY and two links, one to the 64 bit version, and another to the 32 bit version. You can download either or both then burn the DVD. Or if you already have the DVD use that. You have 30 days to activate the key. I bought it myself and activated it my laptop. Don't get ripped off and pay retail.

Windows 7 still sucks because you have to install it over and over again for each PC. Ubuntu and Open Solaris are 100 times better since you can boot the exact same copy on many PCs from the hard disk, USB key, or over Ethernet.

you can get OEM verisons of Windows on Newegg.

newegg.com is a great site for computer hardware.

Building is very easy, no soldering, just plugging. Be sure to read online a little so you buy compatible parts and such.

Most are fine together, but stuff like matching cpu socket-type to motherboard you need to be careful about. It'll all pretty straightforward though.