Pros and Cons of buildinga PC.

[Pope Mobile]

Ok, this isn't really a help topic. I've already built a PC. I just want to hear some experiences about the pros and cons of computer building.

Some pros:
You know exactly what you get.
Better bang for the buck.
Guaranteed upgradeability, customizability.

Cons:
You have to go out of your way to get quiet parts.
Putting a computer together can be time consuming.
It's not tested before it comes to you, so there's a higher likelihood something will mess up.

[MaLfUnCtIoN]

pro: experience
con:instead of 1 warranty (easier to redeem for a repair), you haave seperate warranties for every part.

[DragonNOA1]

Pro: Do you get mobo manuals and stuff with OEM buys? I don't know but if a computer doesn't work I like having the manual right in front of me to find what is wrong or where something is instead of browsing and searching the net, especially if that computer can't even get on the net.

Pro: Individual boxes, software, and everything that comes with it s that you know you are getting everything. I'm sure you don't get all the little extras with OEM buys like DVI to VGA converters with video cards and case stickers and extra cables, etc.

Con: Time. But to me I don't mind spending the time on a new build.

[RJ]

Pro:
experience
you build the PC just how *you* want it
warranty for each single component instead of one warranty for the whole PC, so you only need to RMA the defective part

Con:
Can probably be difficult for beginners

RJ

[Mesaeus]

Pro : just about everything, from using the exact parts *you* want, over being generally cheaper to easier to repair by swapping parts (no properietary stuff, I hate that ).

Con : harder for most people. Let's face it, anyone on this board is no longer a *real* beginner. It's nice being able to build your own pc but I don't see most older folks and a lot of the younger ever being able to do it, you have to be willing to spend quite some time and energy learning the basics

[Cricket]

Pros - what everyone else said and I just enjoy it.

Cons - having to be technical support for the computers I build for friends, family and co-workers

Cricket

[Tin]

Originally Posted by Cricket Pros - what everyone else said and I just enjoy it. Cons - having to be technical support for the computers I build for friends, family and co-workers Cricket

couldnt have said it any better.

[Eagle 101]

pros:experience

cons: (me!!) people who think like they know so much compared to their brain dead friends but is horribly buried in information on boards like this.

im trying to learn!!!

[arubahounds]

Pro: I enjoy picking out the components, reading reviews, making performance vs. price decisions.

Once you've built it, you've got complete confidence in your ability to pull it apart if something's wrong or you want to upgrade.

The process of researching the PC adds to your overall knowledge, which helps you resolve problems without calling tech support.

There's a sense of pride you get when you've built your own PC.

Con: The little things than can go wrong can drive you crazy, like digging out a dropped screw or misconnecting the case cables to the Motherboard pins.

[abnorml_chylde]

Pros:
Can be cheaper
Get exactly what YOU want (like everyone said)
Satisfaction of knowing you built a COMPUTER!
Get acces to great forums like this one and all the great people in it

Cons:
Probably can be annoying to put together (i dont know, havent dont it ... yet)
Too careful, if you put too much money into it, your likely to be way to careful and not take chances.... i think anyway....




Jason


EDIT: of yeah eagle... im learning too

[Redfallon]

Pro's: what everyone else said
you can overclock a custom build

Con's: What cricket said

[timbit]

PRO: more fun than a barrel of monkeys! i dunno, call me a nerd or whatever , but there's something really cool about plugging all of this stuff together and having it boot for the first time... also fun dreaming, planning, and then buying.
PRO: i don't really know if it's cheaper necessarily to build your own, but it seems to me that there is more value. you aren't paying for parts that you don't need, and you're buying the parts that will suit you the best.
PRO: being your own repairman can save money down the road.

CON: if something goes wrong, it can be the most frustrating thing ever. but even that can be fun if you like a challenge.

[piasabird]

Building Yourself.

PROS:
In certain cases you can avoid Proprietary parts without even a namebrand on them. You can save some money sometimes on higher quality computer builds whith the parts that you choose. You can get a real copy of the CDROM containing your operating system. I have heard horror stories about how some companies are putting an image of the OS on the hard drive and you dont even have a disk with the OS on it. If your hard drive dies then you are up the creek without a paddle. You can order parts from companies in the USA and people in the USA In both the retail business and UPS/Fed Express are employed as a result. Many Large companies like DELL Have a huge workforce outside of the USA. Sometimes the helpdesk is even in India. I know most the parts are from outside of the USA, so I am not that naive, but at least I can spend some of my money on people in the USA. Your industry standard parts are more upgradeable and not proprietary.

CONS:
For a budget system the Large OEM's have a huge buying advantage. They can get economies of scale and good discounts from software vendors like Microsoft. Shipping costs can creep in and lower your savings. Sometimes Dell has offers with free shipping and a free or discounted monitor. No help desk to answer your question (Help desks arent much help anyway!). Companies like Dell and IBM have standard business oriented products that work and can be delivered quickly and efficiently. Building your own laptop is not really possible.

[i486]

pros: all of the above

cons: when you build for freinds, they will be calling you up at 11pm asking how to install kazaa or download warez.

[New Guy Jr]

Originally Posted by piasabird Building Yourself. No help desk to answer your question (Help desks arent much help anyway!). .

My wife had a hassle trying to get the help desk from dell to help her on a defective hard drive. She said that there was a major language/cultural barrier with the Indians/Packies that frustrated her. Apparently, Dell outsources the help desk to India/Pakistan. She had to wait a week to get a new hard drive. If a harddrive goes out on a PC that you have built, you will go through the same length of time and hassle going through the hard drive manufacturer. The way I see it, you are just cutting out the middle man if you build it yourself.

[piasabird]

Since a 80 gig hard drive only costs about $65.00 I just buy a new one unless it is brand new. When I order a new drive it gets to me from an internet site in 2-3 days. If I has a 250 Gig hard drive it might be worth haggling over. With hard drives most of them either are bad from the start or expire after their warranty period. A lot of them are only warranted for 1 year anyway. I have not ever had to send a brand new hard drive back.

At PCMECH we have discussed that the warning signs for a computer's hard drive often show up sometimes weeks before the drive goes bad. The problem is too many people ignore them thinking it will go away or through wishful thinking. A common problem is either a scraping sound or a clicking sound or the drive not spinning and some times causing a reboot. I only say this because a lot of people value the data more than the hard drive. Be safe and pro-active; don't be sorry you lost all your data. Once the drive quits the data on the drive may already be lost.

If you buy a name brand computer and use their helpdesk you will be employing some flunky low level person that probably knows less than you do whether they are employed in the US or overseas. I find it odd that the help desk is where the new empoyees that know almost nothing go to work at.

[Xiun]

It might be a little biased, but its mostly true:
http://www.pugetsystems.com/articles.php?id=14

[piasabird]

Great Article for the most part.

Yes there are all kinds of problems you can run into when building a computer. I cringe when I see questions that start out with people who purchsed a PCCHIPS motherboard. The worst mistake you can make is to look for motherboard based on the lowest price. Sometimes the lowest price is the least reputable part on the face of the earth. Price is not a true indication of quality. Even if you buy a quality product they might drop it off the back of the truck.

I still remember getting a motherboard and putting the memory in and seeing a message that said "BIOS Checksum Error". Sent two motherboards back before I figured out it was a Memory Motherboard incompatibility problem.

[Yuanji]

is the thing bout the asus motherboards and SB sound cards corrupting ur HDD true?

[New Guy Jr]

Originally Posted by Yuanji is the thing bout the asus motherboards and SB sound cards corrupting ur HDD true?

I hope not. But the article states that is in the first PCI slot. Alienware uses Asus motherboards and Creative cards so you may have the same problem from a prebuild pc anyway.

Darned if you...Darned if you Don't

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Yuanji is the thing bout the asus motherboards and SB sound cards corrupting ur HDD true?

I'm using a SoundBlaster sound card on my ASUS motherboard and I'm not having any data corruption problems. Besides, you aren't supposed to have anything in the first PCI slot if you're using a AGP video card since the two slots share resources. The first PCI slot is supposed to be for a PCI video card if you aren't using a AGP video card.

Cricket

[Yuanji]

yeah i knew that just didnt know it had any noticable defeciencies

[JTH]

A major con for me is the learning factor. Seriously, there is no better way to learn about how a computer works then putting it together! And then of course having the knowhow to fix or upgrade it if necessary!

[Cantankerous]

Originally Posted by Cricket Pros - what everyone else said and I just enjoy it. Cons - having to be technical support for the computers I build for friends, family and co-workers Cricket

You hit the nail right on the spot.

For me there is nothing better then getting elbow deep in hardware, I was born with a knack for this kinda stuff.

[RayH]

Pro: Building it yourself!

Con: Building it yourself!

The downside of building your own computer may be unknown conflicts, testing for an erratic operating part, and RMA. Sometimes not every part works straight from the manufacturer.

[Da_Rev]

Pros: You can build the system in stages once you have a couple of systems.

ie. Upgrade Video card on old system, put in new build, put old card back in old system 2 systems.

My 486 SX 25 is in it's 13th Generation as a P IV 3 gighz machine

Cons: When it does't work there is no one to yell at. Uh I mean pray for.

Blessings

[nlawalker]

Pros: A great creative output for people who like to work with computers; An awesome way to find out about a lot of online communities that will give you advice and help (that's how I discovered PCMech, and have been a big fan ever since); Gives you something to take pride in. I also agree with the people above that said it's nice to have the ACTUAL OS disk, the ACTUAL application disks, etc, and not have a BigMoney Computer Corp. custom OS image jamming up their hard drive.

Cons: For those of you who have friends that want you to fix their computers all time because they know you are computer knowledgeable... try living in a fraternity! The most godawful collections of DVD and CD ripping utilities, warez, pirated music and movies, on computers that have mostly been pwned by at least a few viruses and are outdated, all networked into one big trash heap. It's like working triage at a hospital.

Honestly, I haven't found cons other than that. The only one I could imagine is that it takes time: time to learn, time to figure it out yourself when something goes wrong as opposed to "send it back." But if you like this stuff enough to build the thing in the first place, I doubt you'll dislike taking a little time now and then to keep your stuff working.