A new pc- Ready made or DIY?

CrazyTalk

Okay, I have wanted a new pc for a while now, and I'm finally acting on it.
I'm getting good advice from my friends who, in all fairness, know a hell of a lot more about pcs than I do.

I ran into a bit of a problem today though, one side is argueing that DIY pcs like something you'd make on www.komplett.ie are a good way to go for value.

The other is saying that DIY computers can't be trusted, and are bound to fall apart in time, and that Ready-made pcs are better and more reliable ( as in, ones from www.dell.ie and the like).

I'm mainly getting one for games, and I'd rather not pay the through-the-roof prices for some of the 'gaming' computers. I'd like to keep it under 1200 euros if at all possible.

SeanW

DIY computers are fine, they're no worse built than Dells, in fact they're a lot better, whoever told you that DIY builds "fall apart" and anyone who told you Dell was better were just talking out of their backsides. And you can take that from one very satisfied person who just chucked a DELL :mad: (stay away from them at all costs) for a home build.

DirkVoodoo

Firstly, I made my first rig 2 days ago, proving that even a blind monkey can assemble a PC with a little care and common sense.

Secondly, delete the names and numbers of the 'friends' who recommended Dell, forget you ever met them and when you pass them in the street, look the other way. Granted, if something goes wrong, you have to fix it, but it beats sitting on the end of a phone line for 5 hrs talking to some chap in India who is still trying to enter your name on a keyboard.

I think most people would say build your own, if you are in it for gaming. If you want a nice home office PC then a Dell will give u lots of software (and bloatware) at a good price.

So, you want it for gaming, Id build, there is a wealth of advice on these boards and its a good place to find stuff out (duh, thats why ur here ). Im not gonna spec u a PC, im still a rookie, but if you need any advice id be happy to help

EDIT: Also the pride factor is a huge thing! All your blood, sweat, tears and whatever other bodily fluids wou want to squeeze out are sitting in a small box at your feet, its great to look down and say, "yup, i made that". P.S. I have an Antec P160 case at the mo, great case, aluminium, looks really classy and put my 'steel-covered-in-cheap-plastic Dell to shame.

PogMoThoin

Who said self build pc cant be trusted...lol... You pick every part yourself & will know everything bout it when its built. Best option in my book. You can use some of your old parts ie keyboard, mouse, dvd drives, floppy drive. These haven't changed. Also when you buy from Dell etc you dont get the best parts. They use the cheapest low end parts and dress it up to be better than it is. Also if you cant overclock a dell mobo, if your gonna get into gaming you will prob wanna give it a try in the future when you know more. Go ahead and do it.

edit: Dirkvodoo got ere 1st

andrew163

Both have their advantages.

DIY builds do fall apart and blow up if you don't be careful and pay attention to things like electrostatic discharge warnings and overclock warnings while building them.

Both types fall apart and blow up if they aren't treated properly (smothered in dust, kicked around, put in a corner with no ventilation).

DIY builds do allow a greater degree of control, which in theory translates into a cheaper build if you know what to look for and how the industry looks at the moment. Big "if" though. (e.g. AMDs traditionally were cheaper than Intel, but if you compare an AMD X2 to an Intel Pentium D the price difference is the other way around).

Premade builds do offer things like warranties, but then again the individual components of a custom built PC generally do too.

(it's me btw... the andrew youre talking to over MSN ¬_¬)

Ruu_Old

Self built is the only way to go if you know what you are doing and have a bit of confidence. I wouldnt advise dell unless you are a beginner and dont plan on upgrading. Indeed there is a heap of people here who would help you out with any advice needed to help you get a gaming machine up and running.

uberpixie

If you really want to build your own PC: you will be able to do it.

It's not rocket science, just do your own research and ALWAYS take advice given to you by someone else with a pinch of salt.

It comes down to how much effort you want to put into a new pc.

i.e. Very little effort/"safe" option Dell.

Or the DIY route, which while harder, is very rewarding and you get exactly the PC you want for the budget you set.

Just do your own research as much as possible and maybe buy a basic "build your own pc" guide to get you started and be aware of the potential risks of DIY and of being your own tech support.

Once you build you never go back :-) Good luck.

CrazyTalk

Thanks for the feedback people. Much appreciated.

SeanW

For you, I'd reccomend not so much a home-build but a Komplett build. Basically, if you go to Komplett and use their "PC from Komplett" feature to put together a PC from standard, interchangeable parts. Have a look at that anyway, espeically this base unit.

What you do from there, depends on your requirements. If I were you, I'd spend the next couple of weeks thinking details about what you'd like from a computer. What kind of things you'd like it have, do, etc. Then research different parts, such as mainboards, graphics etc, see what features they have and what they have to offer. Mainboards, for example, vary wildly in their abilities, expansion capabilites and so on.

If you like the choices you see on Komplett builds, then buy one of those, but if you have unusual requirements for different hardware or want to try something that extra little bit special, then consider buying a box of parts and making a DIY build.

Don't worry about DIY building, the task looks intimidating but it's really not, taking a delivery of parts and turning it into a fully working kick ass computer is basically like a big jigsaw puzzle, where every piece has a function and place.

Oh, one last thing, I concur with the above comment about your "friends" who reccommended DELL And yes, I'm speaking from personal experience. Dells are rubbish for anyone who wants to be a serious computer user.

magick

The other is saying that DIY computers can't be trusted, and are bound to fall apart in time, and that Ready-made pcs are better and more reliable ( as in, ones from www.dell.ie and the like).

lol their talking out their arses

L31mr0d

CrazyTalk wrote:

The other is saying that DIY computers can't be trusted, and are bound to fall apart in time, and that Ready-made pcs are better and more reliable ( as in, ones from www.dell.ie and the like).

yeah come on, even if I was to argue from the "premade" camp, i'd never argue FOR buying a DELL, there are plenty of other reputable suppliers of great gaming PCs out there (like mesh for example).

I'd vote DIY, how proficient are you with the inner workings of a PC, and do you have friends that could help you out with a build should a problem arise.

A DIY build allows you to tailor everything to your own needs, and when something goes wrong you should be more well equiped to troubleshoot and solve it. The only bad side, if you build it yourself, you probably won't keep within your 1200 budget, things tend to spiral away from you as i'm sure the tweaking/modding section will tell you.

If you go ahead with a DIY build, post the specs and we'll let you know areas to change or modify to get it up to a level of performance you'll be expecting.

WARNING: Building your own PC is highly addictive and should only be undertaken with the backup of a credit card with a huge allowance

Cuddlesworth

L31mr0d wrote:

WARNING: Building your own PC is highly addictive and should only be undertaken with the backup of a credit card with a huge allowance

:rolleyes:

4Xcut

I would like to state for the record that i hate dell and built my own pc.

However, and this is a big however, they are simple. What i mean is that you pick components(the customize button) and they arrive and just work. Also if they break you might get some help with them.

Now a self-build is by far the better option but not for everyone, some people don't want to risk fcuking up €1200 worth of hardware. The main advantage in building your own is that if something does go wrong you are in a much better position to fix it and are not dependent on someone else on the other end of a telephone line.

Dell aren't as bad as people think. They build pcs that workk and are good value for the average joe soap. The fact that your own self-build is just better does not automatically make dell crap. Although if its for a warrenty/customer service, then don't count on them.