I have been wondering if it really is cheaper to build a pc than buying a pre-built one. In newegg I took a a pc worth about 720 or w/e and selected parts which were almost the same and put them in the price list and the price was comparable even though it was slightly cheaper by lets say 40 dollars with almost the same reliability. Does newegg sell name brand pc's or do they built their own custom pc's? I know it would be more upgradable for a custom pc. Thanks.
The difference is that you can buy quality components when you build it yourself...those generic newegg units are full of junk. Also, you can buy to suit your needs...if you need lots of hard drive space, but not much processor power, then you can just build it like that, rather than buying the top-of-the-line gaming computer, just for the hard drive. Plus, I have yet to find an OEM that makes systems to my standards (old alienware systems got close, but they stopped trying once dell bought them). My standards are rather low in most areas; yet none of the big OEMs can meet them, even at twice the price of building it myself with better quality parts.
Building your own PC is always cheaper except for the absolute minimum basic office system - these are too cheap to be able to replicate as system builders like Dell get huge discounts on the Operating Systems. You have to consider, the reason why prebuilt PCs seem cheap for the performance is they use shortcuts (e.g. Radeon HD4000 series graphics will almost always be an HD4350) and they use low quality and primitive components. A PC to the exact same standard as a prebuild may cost more in the $500-$600 range, but you will still have built a much better PC for it. Newegg sells branded PCs like IBuyPower and CyberPower and they're rubbish - poor quality, unreliable, etc. etc. - you can do a much better job yourself. As Killerbug says, custom builds are fully customisable, prebuilds or not - or if they are, they are very poor value for money once you start to customise.
The most Basic workstations are better value for prebuilds. Any remotely powerful PCs though, especially high end ones, are much better value to build yourself.
In terms of performance, the low-end may be better performance per dollar, but only because they use cheap junk parts that you would avoid if building it yourself. The only reason I can come up with to buy an OEM system (other than a laptop) is for a cablecard tuner...the DMCA allows OEMs to sell these, but no one else is allowed to...so the OEMs have a monopoly on this market.
I agree with the others but would also like to state that even if the cost was slightly more than a PRE-built system with the same features it would always worth the building experience as this means you get to know your hardware intimately This leads to putting it to better use and preparing you for future builds. All in all i would never buy a PRE-built system unless i was going with a Lap-Top. A little tip that some might disagree with?? At the last minute before you buy your individual components on a self build give ebay a little glance. "I know people" i have read the stories too but ive have done this multiple times and to my surprise i have saved cash on more or less every component. I normally do this because i find that half way through doing it i have normally free up some of my budget. This always results in me revising my list and accomplishing a better build (bang for buck). I know lots of people disagree with buying second hand pc components from ebay but in my experience i have never had a problem so in the event that i do im sure the money i have saved already will more than cover it. But that's me i just like gambling lol
Well Ebays not totally bad if you pay attention to the sellers feedback. In particular i look at there negative feedback to see why they were negative. The thing is though, is it worth saving the money and taking a risk, or spending a little extra and knowing you have a warranty should anything go wrong.
This is why I tend to advocate buying from decent companies like XFX instead of the basic ones like Powercolor - XFX have a warranty service should your efforts with the seller/shop fail. It might not be quick but at least there is one.
