ScoobyWon't

I've been browsing the self-build threads, and considering building my own. The only thing I notice is that you lot seem to be spending huge amounts on your machines.

So can I really build a pc cheaper than I could buy one for?

I'm thinking of an i7 2600k based system, to be capable of Photoshop editing, running Xamp and it's add-ons as localhost, and of course, playing games. I normally have multiple applications running at the same time and like to switch back and forth without closing them down.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

You have to remember that alot of the pre built systems will not use the best components, cheap mother board, cheap memory, cheap hard drive, cheap power supply, crappy case etc, so it seems cheaper, where as if you spend 1500 quid you really do get a far better system

Tony

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Yes, it is cheaper, and certainly makes sense when comparing specs to the "supermarket" or "mainstream" stuff, which -as Tony says- cuts corners on component quality; that's how they make their money!

If you go to a quality PC builder that lets you specify components, then that's not an issue and the savings made by building a comparable spec yourself are less significant, probably around the 10% mark as most of the money will go on the components!

Tidgy

yep, much better. Including the graphics acard i just bought i've spent £1200 all in inc monitor and windows 7 retail, the spec (although taking into account the price drop in age) is way cheaper and better than anythign you will get prebuilt.

although depends if you want a top machine to play games, if not you can get prebuilt bargins for not alot of money that will do the job you want, those are hard to beat price wise.

CREWJ

It all depends on what you want. If you want an i7 2600k build then yes it's cheaper but if you want a bog basic computer then it's hard to beat the mass produced rubbish.

jura11

iTrader: (7)

As above depends for what reason you want build own PC.

i7-2600k,ASUS P8Z68-V PRO / GEN3,Corsair H60 CPU Cooler,12GB RAM,60GB SSD and good GPU(ATi 6970 or GTX570/580) will set you back at around £800 and this PC should will play any new games on highest details and will be good too in the PS etc.

Jura

JackClark

The Overcockers will tell you it' worth it as you can run Crycyst a bit faster than your mate down the pub for only £4000 and £30 extra a month on electricity.

Clever people just go to Apple.com and get on with life.

CREWJ

Let's see....

Cheapest Apple product that can run Battlefield 3 (Probably the hottest game out right now) on recommended settings is £1,649.00.

Paying half is surely worth it, no?

ramdor

iTrader: (2)

apple store price to add a solid state to the cheapest mac

- 512GB solid-state drive [+ £1,052.00]

overclockers price...

Samsung 512GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost [+ £ 589.99]

It is cheaper to build your own spec, and you get a better spec for the same money. However an issue with any component during the build can turn into a head ache.

Clever people do some research Jack.

ScoobyJawa

JackClark

Some of use use PC's to make money, not play games.

eagle

i have always built my own, i use novatech alot, they are local and the customer service i have received has always been 110%. might be a few £ dearer on bits but worth it.
find a reputable place to get your bits, who can advise you if your not sure.
my last one i built was not cheap by any means £800 i think but that was 4 years ago and i know for the spec i got to buy one pre built to that level of component was around £1100.
one for a friend was around £250 and that again would have cost more like £400.
the reason it all looks alot of money is that the reality it can be dependant on what you want it to do .. mine has lasted the test of time, but replaced the graphics card as it was struggling with bf3 but that was my choice.
its probably time for a new one now, but i need to find the £500 odd it will need to create it.

"edit"
quick 5 min look and i7, 8gb ram, nice motherboard, 1 ssd and 1 sata 1tb hdd, 6970 graphics card, good case £874 (no o/s)
prebuilt version using lower spec parts £1069 (no o/s)...

ScoobyWon't

This is where building my own starts to appeal less - a handful of replies and there are so many options to consider. If I do spend time building my own system, I don't want to build bottle-necks in to it.

I don't need a dedicated games machine. I'd be happy if I could have a blast on SWTOR. The 360 can do the rest.

Apple is out of the window.

I don't need to build a system myself, I just want the best quality and a long life out of it for my investment. I don't want to be replacing it in a year.

How long do you think this system would last?
If I went for a pre-build, I'd probably look at a Dell XPS 8300.

jura11

iTrader: (7)

Hi there

I'm still running i7-920 which is now around 2 years old and still is fast in anything what i'm doing(AutoCAD,Maya,3DS Max,making music and PhotoShop)

This mine suggested PC combo is just suggested,you can tweak them to your needs(if you don't need GPU,Intel HD2XXX will be fast enough for SWOTR or if you will need GPU i would suggest cheap and still great HD6770)

Jura

tarmac terror

iTrader: (2)

Nail on the head - Joe public looks at only four things when they buy a pc, processor speed, amount of ram, size of hard disk and look of the case.

I can get the same machine for £xxx in PC world used to be the opening gambit of the know it all customer.

I started out explaining why my machines cost more, but in the end my stock response became, well if you can get it cheaper in PC world, you should buy it from PC world.

ScoobyWon't

I don't actually care what the case looks like. It's visual styling, to me, has no affect on the machines performance.

dunx

iTrader: (3)

Do you need a quad core/8 threaded processor ? For a £100 less an i5 2500K is equally fast for doing "ordinary" stuff...

Lots of memory and an SSD will help your PS work, IMHO.

The main advantage is to future-proof your own system at build time, I have a 1250W PSU to power a pair of HD5870's BUT can easily add a third if I want to....

And it's fun, in a techie sort of way.

Do it !

dunx

P.S. Half my gear is 2nd hand off ebay !




Fractal Array II case + i7 870 @ 3.5 GHz + Gigabyte H55N-USB3 + 4 GB of 1600 DDR3 + 80 GB Intel SSD + 3 WD 1TB Caviar black HDD's + GTX 460 - Media server/BOINC baby cruncher.

jura11

iTrader: (7)

Dunx but you are probably forgot,he will be better with quad core/8 threads in multi thread applications such as Adobe Creative Suite/Master Collection,Maya,3DS Max and many others

Agree with memory and SSD,i'm still using old 10k SATA HDD which are still OK for my needs,but thinking to upgrade to the SSD soon

5870 are great cards,have before and still think for ordinary gamer this card is just great


As you are said Do it!


Jura

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

Local computer shop to me does a "supervised build" session where you buy the stuff cheaper from them and put it together supervised in the workshop.

Wish I'd known before I spent the cash on the Chillblast LOL, and the boy might have learned something in the process

Shaun

dunx

iTrader: (3)

Others use a spell-checker and do scientific research...

dunx

Evolution Stu

iTrader: (2)

You can quite easily build one yourself cheaper than buying one, but the fact remains, you wont save much over a good prebuilt one froma good retailer, like maybe a scan 3XS.
(please try them, very good company and will configure it with any components you like)

This of us who build them often do so mainly becuase we love taking things to bits and making them faster, the same reason we modify cars. LOL

Indeed we do, and some of us do both very sucessfully. Using my PC I earn annually 20x what it cost me to build, and you couldnt easily build a PC much more expensive than mine. its horses for courses. Some can justify it, some cant... its what keeps life intersting.

Talking of which, just finished my Life destroying PC build topic. LOL

P1Fanatic

Best thing is to do a comparison of the component parts and compare to a prebuilt. Many of the big name brands (OC, Chillblast, Dell/Alienware) will tell you some spiel that components are matched and configured by some uber geek to run optimally but its most likely some spotty Herbert part timer boshing it together.

That said if you haven’t build one before it can be a real ballache when a certain component you wanted isn’t available or is DOA. So if the price difference is not massive then it’s quite a good peace of mind.

DYK

dunx

iTrader: (3)

But he's using PS, and many of us aren't power-users...

dunx

Ant

Try web systems In bulwell or Eastwood scoobywont

scoobynewbie72

iTrader: (1)

Use Eastwood, Bulwell isnt the best run place imo

Galifrey

iTrader: (3)

By making money you mean by constantly advertising Apple products right?

Carlh

£700 from PCSPECIALIST.co.uk and Ive got a
16GIG DDR3 RAM, 500GB HD, fantastic gfx card (2gb mem), USB3, (6 usb ports altogether)
and 64bit 3.2Gz AMD, 6-core

Runs like a dream.

ScoobyWon't

If only I still had body armour!

JackClark

Others use a Grammar checker and get our facts straight... Sometimes.