Independents vs the big boys vs self bui ...

I was wondering what most people feel is the best way to go for a new pc. As far as those personalized gaming rigs vs a dell or HP store bought. All things being equal ,overclocking and expansion slots etc, which would you guys invest in? Then once you decide out of those choices you then have the option of building one yourself. What would be the benefit of taking that road or the drawbacks? i'm really curious as to how you guys feel on new pc purchases.Independents vs the big boys vs self bui ...
Only way to do it IMO is to build it yourself. It is usually much much cheaper to do it this way. You know what you are buying, you buy and get what you need for a lot less. You have warranties for all individual parts, and not to mention the satisfaction of building a computer yourself. Also building it yourself is usually a lot more future-proof than buying one. Independents vs the big boys vs self bui ...
At this point, the only company I'd probably buy a desktop computer from is from Apple.I've just about had it with the ineptitude of technical support from the mom-and-pop and the Tier 1 OEMs.I am generally a person that doesn't like calling for tech support to begin with unless it's something where I've run out of ways in which I could fix it myself... so when I call up for technical support, I've already exhausted all the usual options and need additional assistance.Thus, I find it personally offensive when I have to go through all said hoops all over again, giving out my name, account #, computer #, mother's maiden name, if I'd have sold my soul to the devil yet, etc. over an electronic answering service and then to have to do it all over again when I reach a living person. And then in spite of all that, to still have to run through the same stupid hoops that I'd already went through before calling! :evil:And the problem is that a lot of times, the problem could have been something that could be fixed in software, and that even when I discuss the problem in detail that some (computer illiterate) Joe Blow would have done, they're much more intent on trying to have me reformat/reinstall the OS instead of following steps that could have more appropriately solved the problem without having to have wiped my data. So a lot of times I find that they make me waste even more time, and then I end up losing a buttload of data each time.And if it's a hardware failure, they still try to have me go through all sorts of hoops anyway, when the problem is so readily evident. The worst was when I called and they wanted me to bring it in to a shop that was notorious for charging $$$-level ''service fees'' and hardly did any work when the problem could have easily been solved if they would have just RMA'd the proper part for a fraction of that kind of cost.It's been even worse now with companies like Dell outsourcing their phone support to foreign countries, because how do you expect to get service when neither side can effectively communicate with each other properly? :roll: :evil:Only time I've never had that degree of difficulty and frustration in dealing with a computer where'd something had gone wrong was with Apple. I'm sorry to say, but it's the truth... Apple was very punctual, very professional, and they didn't put me through a whole lot of crap to try and solve an issue on a computer... and it wasn't even my computer to begin with! I was just doing a friend a favor to check out something and with their support, I was able to get it back to working order pretty easy. Then again, they did buy AppleCare, so that probably had a bit to do with it. And even if I didn't have AppleCare, I could bring it in for warranty repair now that there's an Apple store not two blocks away from campus.
build yourself if you dont wana pay an arm and a leg.
[QUOTE=''danharr'']I was wondering what most people feel is the best way to go for a new pc. As far as those personalized gaming rigs vs a dell or HP store bought. All things being equal ,overclocking and expansion slots etc, which would you guys invest in? Then once you decide out of those choices you then have the option of building one yourself. What would be the benefit of taking that road or the drawbacks? i'm really curious as to how you guys feel on new pc purchases.[/QUOTE] if everything was equal then i recon most would get pre-built, well i would, (also if it was as easily upgraded as peronsally built ones), and you would get warranty for pre-built to.
Well overclocking wouldn't be the same, they usually do a shoddy job even if you tell them to install a heatsink, my friend at cyberpower they installed his waterblock so badly it does worse than the stock cooler, and he is not very happy with that. And they usually use low performance fans.
The only Big Brand name computer you should get is from Apple. from a Mom and Pop computer shop go to PC laptops (yes they sell desktops) they make good PCs, But over all you should build it. Its cheaper, And more costomizable.
[QUOTE=''danharr'']I was wondering what most people feel is the best way to go for a new pc. As far as those personalized gaming rigs vs a dell or HP store bought. All things being equal ,overclocking and expansion slots etc, which would you guys invest in? Then once you decide out of those choices you then have the option of building one yourself. What would be the benefit of taking that road or the drawbacks? i'm really curious as to how you guys feel on new pc purchases.[/QUOTE]You are bound to get a lot of opinions, but the truth is only you can know what the ''best'' way to go is, for YOU.Depends on your budget, your computer skills, and your interest in tinkering with PCs. For example:1. Let's say you can spend $10,000. If you have good computer skills and like to tinker, you can buy the best parts available and spend hours building, testing, improving and building a monster rig. Liquid cooling, custom case, etc. Something breaks, you can buy spare parts, afford to wait a few days to RMA defective parts, and don't mind troubleshooting your own PC.2. Let's say, again, you have $10,000. You have great computer skills, but don't like to tinker with PCs You have a wife, a job, other hobbies, and have a limited amount of time to spend on your PC. What little time you have, you rather spend it playing games. You rather configure something over the internet and have it delivered to your house already built. IF it breaks, you'd rather call someone else and make it THEIR problem while you go outside to play with your dog.As a general rule, a custom-built PC will afford you the ability to swap out the motherboard down the road. PCs from Dell and HP use proprietary motherboards that you can't upgrade with off-the-shelf boards from Newegg. If you are into motherboard upgrades, then Dell/HP is not for you.A Dell/HP will let you upgrade most other components (video card, memory, hard drives, etc.). If you get one of the higher-end models, you'll get a great performing machine with long term warranty with an option for onsite support. If you build it yourself you will have to content with component failures yourself, but the flexibility to pick and choose specific components may be worth it, to YOU.There is no ONE answer to this question, especially no one answer that someone else who doesn't know you, your interests, and your budget can give you. Read all the suggestions (the good ones and the silly ones), but in the end, don't believe there is only ONE right answer. Good luck!
Alright thanks to everyones opinions building one does sound cool though.
Self build is the only way to go for me.
Yeah Same. Only prebuilt are my Macs and you know why you cant buy the mac hardware
Self assembled P.C.'s are the only way to go.
Ya, I built My comp just a couple weeks ago and I didn't know jack squat about computers. If you're interested, just set aside a couple of hours and do some research about it. If it comes down to it, ask some peeps here they tend to be pretty knowledgable. Now not only do I know a lot about hardware, but I setup an awesome rig for $750. You'll learn a lot and you'll feel a lot more confident next time your computer goes crazy and you know how to fix it.
Build it yourself. You get more bang for your buck. Besides, HP, Dell, Compaq are absolutely atrocious.
I always build my systems. I actually enjoy searching for the best deals, going out to buy the parts and getting hands on. Plus I enjoy a good overclock.
Alright thanks guys now as for the operating system on a blank harddrive will I need the oem version of xp pro or will the plain out of the box xp pro version work?
build it yourself then you get exctly what you want
[QUOTE=''danharr'']Alright thanks guys now as for the operating system on a blank harddrive will I need the oem version of xp pro or will the plain out of the box xp pro version work?[/QUOTE]The normal one should work fine, an OEM version is only for new computers and in the case of vista is only one bit type the only advantage of oam over normal is that it is normally cheaper
[QUOTE=''danharr'']I was wondering what most people feel is the best way to go for a new pc. As far as those personalized gaming rigs vs a dell or HP store bought. All things being equal ,overclocking and expansion slots etc, which would you guys invest in? Then once you decide out of those choices you then have the option of building one yourself. What would be the benefit of taking that road or the drawbacks? i'm really curious as to how you guys feel on new pc purchases.[/QUOTE] Building yourself is the way to go if you know what you're doing. Damaged hardware is irritating especially when you damage it yourself.As for purchasing - well check out these websites... ibuypower.comCyberpowerinc.comThey build your PC to your specifications. I don't recomend dell, or anyother major manufacturer because they rip consumers off... Especially dell. Then again, if you're not looking for a serious gaming rig, check something out from Apple. My sister has an apple notebook. I think they call em' I-books or something. I own a PC and a Notebook (both windows). She used to use Windows OS as well, and she would complain about this and that. Now, she just does her work without bothering me. Even so, the you can run Windows XP on your Apple, so if you need Windows that badly, just get it for your apple.