Comments on: Is Building a PC Worth It Anymore?

By: rasmasyean

rasmasyean — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:15:50 +0000

I thought what you wrote too! But then when I looked at what was available in the market of pre-built PC’s, I was kind of disappointed. The “cheap” ones would have to be “upgraded” to suit my tastes (and you know the premium they charge for this!). And the “power” PC’s were too expensive and contained many unneeded things that I decided ultimately to catch up to date with the modern components and build my own!

By: Rui Augusto

Rui Augusto — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:09:47 +0000

Nice article. I don’t have the time to build my own.

By: Force Flow

Force Flow — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:32:58 +0000

Then again…I suppose there are some people who would rather not spend the time doing that…

By: Force Flow

Force Flow — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:32:00 +0000

Not necessarily time…if you order a PC/laptop from Dell, it usually takes 2-4 weeks before it’s actually shipped.

Ordering from online retailers usually gets you the parts in 2-7 days, unpacking and assembly usually takes a few hours, formatting and installing the O/S takes a few hours, so total, you’re looking at a full build in 4-9 days, depending on when the parts arrive

By: David M

David M — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 21:00:29 +0000

It really boils down to three factors.

Knowledge, time and use.

Knowledge, the more knowledge you have, then the more likely you are to build your own.

Time, the less time you have then the more likely you are to buy a brand name computer.

Use, the less sophisticated your applications or power requirements, then the more likely you are to buy a brand name computer.

Being a gamer, I cant see spending $7000 for a Voodoo or an Alien when I can build my own for 60% of price of their computers.

By: Coin Tricks

Coin Tricks — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 19:44:20 +0000

I’ll go with building my own PC please
I prefer that, at any time, over ready made ones.

By: capricornus

capricornus — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:35:38 +0000

Facts:
1/ the cheapest build pc without mouse or keyboard costs – in these low countries – around EUR 360.
2/ with a leaking capacitor, the motherboard with an older Sempron2800 isn’t worth a dime and the cheapest way to have a working pc again is not going to eBay, but investing EUR 160 (MB: EUR 40, cpu 2C EUR 55, VC EUR 22, 2GB mem EU 38, extra handling EUR 4), and gosh, it works like heaven.

So yes: it’s worth being handy. It pays.

By: Choppers Mag

Choppers Mag — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:13:23 +0000

I prefer building my own PC.

I can do things exactly the way I want. Buy stuff I want, decide on how and what I have to do, where does stuff go and what’s the outcome

By: Bob Plumer

Bob Plumer — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:34:42 +0000

I personally feel it’s worth it to build your own. Then again I like building stuff. For someone who’s looking to make a business out of building PC’s that’s a different story. It’s tough to compete with the big boys(HP, Dell, Sony etc..)on price(well except for Apple but they are a different breed). What you can do (like others have said) is to use the higher quality parts. Less bloatware from the manufacturer. A higher degree of customization is possible if you build it your self.

You could compare it to buying a classic car/hot rod. Do you buy one that someone else done all the work already and turn the key? Or do you buy something you’ll need to restore and rebuild the way you want it?To me if you’ve got the time, space, money and desire to build a PC, go for it. It’s a great feeling to get it all together and it fires up.

By: Greg Wicks

Greg Wicks — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:10:10 +0000

Just wondering, when was the last time you updated your Build your own pc guide?