Does Building Your Own PC Really Save You Money?

[Jason Dunn]

<p>We've had an <a href="http://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/f305/building-your-own-pc-92560.html" target="_blank">interesting discussion</a> about the pros and cons of <a href="http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/build_perfect_pc_stepbystep_illustrated_howto_guide" target="_blank">self-building a PC</a>, and some of the comments were around whether or not it saves money to build the PC yourself. Some people said that it did for them, but since that flew in the case of my own experience, I decided to do a little experiment. I went to Dell.ca and priced out the following Intel Core i7-based system:</p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//dht/auto/1235083265.usr1.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>The price from Dell for that? $999 Canadian. To create a comparison, I went to the online store of my <a href="http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX20330(ME).aspx" target="_blank">local computer parts store</a>, which tends to be quite affordable. See how I did after the break. <MORE /></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//dht/auto/1235083335.usr1.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>I tried to match the parts as closest as possible to the Dell, and in every instance other than the case, I picked the least expensive parts I could. When it came to the case, I selected one with a reasonable power supply - there were a few that were $30 less, but they only had 300 watt power supplies, and with the power-hungry Intel Core i7 I felt a 500 watt PSU would be the best bet.</p><p>As you can tell, the build-it-yourself route, for parts alone, cost about 23% more than the system from Dell. This is about what I was expecting. Personally, the reason I tend to prefer to build my own computers is so I can pick the best-of-breed parts - I rarely if ever save money. I also like knowing exactly what's inside the computer, so if something goes wrong, I have better odds of fixing or replacing the faulty part. One exception would be if I'm cannibalizing parts from another computer, but that doesn't happen very often if I'm building a new machine for my own use - I tend to want the latest and greatest parts. Worth noting though is that things get more expensive if I were to upgrade the video card on the Dell. If I go for an ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB, Dell wants $350 for that, when locally I can get one for $199. So that's quite the overcharge!</p><p>Bottom line: shop around, compared parts to pre-built, but if you're looking to save money you may want to go with a pre-built computer.</p>

[jaxim]

the fact that you went to ONE online store for a comparison is where you went wrong. You should have went to an unlimited amount of online stores to find the cheapest parts. One online store many have the cheapest part of one item but may not be the cheapest with other things.

[ptyork]

Similar methodology at NewEgg here gives you $912 USD or approximately $1150 CAD (man, wasn't it just 6 months ago that USD==CAD?!?!). The same Dell here is $899, so the price difference is minimal. I will also say that you will probably be transferring your OS, so drop $100 from the NewEgg quote, and you get a high-quality Gigabyte Mobo vs. a ???? Dell Mobo. HOWEVER, I would still go with the Dell...

@jaxim, yes, he could likely shave that quote down to $1050 CAD by comparison shopping, but the point still stands that parts > whole.

[Jason Dunn]

the fact that you went to ONE online store for a comparison is where you went wrong. You should have went to an unlimited amount of online stores to find the cheapest parts.

You sound so incredibly sure of yourself! Memory Express, the store I picked the parts from, tends to be fairly cheap. Go on, I dare you to find someplace else in Canada that's significantly less expensive on the overall package. I doubt you'll find it. And I don't know about you, but I don't have unlimited time, so searching an "unlimited" amount of online stores isn't something I'm going to do. My time is worth money.

One online store many have the cheapest part of one item but may not be the cheapest with other things.

Buying computer parts from online stores with the intention of building a system is enough of a risk - what if the parts are bad? As someone else pointed out in another thread, many stores force you to pay shipping to return an item. I've had more than enough problems with something I buy not working/fitting/being defective that when I build a complete system from scratch, I always buy locally in case there's a problem.

Besides, how much money can you really save if you're going to pay shipping from ten different stores? :rolleyes:

[Jason Dunn]

I will also say that you will probably be transferring your OS, so drop $100 from the NewEgg quote...

The only reason I'd transfer my operating system would be if the hardware all completely died - I tend to re-use, re-gift, or sell old system, and that includes the operating system. Worth noting is that the OEM OS most places sell, including the one that I picked out here, doesn't allow transfer to another computer. Only full retail copies of XP or Vista allow for that - and they're even more expensive. So I don't know if it's a fair comparison if you deduct the operating system from the total...

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Hmm, Dell CA and US are actually quite competitive. I feel like I'm getting the shaft here.

[jaxim]

It doesn't take too much time to comparison shop in many other places. I usually check out comparison shopping sites like:

http://www.resellerratings.com
http://www.pricegrabber.com

Often times shipping is free. Plus these sites rate the seller so you can buy from a store with a better reputation.

I'm not certain that in this particular case, you'd get a cheaper price buying from many online sources; however, it is my past experience that this is true. If I were building my own PC, I would probably invest a lot of time picking out the parts and comparative shopping. Obviously, for the purpose of this article, that's a bit overkill. Actually, I probably will be building my own PC. I've never been happy with the corners that some computer makers cut to get a computer's price down. I'll probably wait a few months after Windows 7 comes out.

[Jason Dunn]

It doesn't take too much time to comparison shop in many other places. I usually check out comparison shopping sites like:
http://www.resellerratings.com
http://www.pricegrabber.com


You're fortunate then - those sites only are valid for people in the USA. There are a couple of comparison shopping sites for Canada, but they're pretty crappy.

Often times shipping is free. Plus these sites rate the seller so you can buy from a store with a better reputation.

Neither NewEgg.ca, NCIX, Tiger Direct, nor Memory Express offer free shipping. So it might be the norm for the USA, but not for Canada. Amazon.ca is about the only place that offers free shipping, and they don't sell many electronics just yet. As for ratings, they're constantly being gamed - just look at all the people who get screwed by those camera stores in New York. Quite often if you think you've got a "too good to be true" price, you do. I'd never buy from an unknown reseller, even if they had great ratings.

If I were building my own PC, I would probably invest a lot of time picking out the parts and comparative shopping. Obviously, for the purpose of this article, that's a bit overkill. Actually, I probably will be building my own PC. I've never been happy with the corners that some computer makers cut to get a computer's price down.

Well, tell you what: when you build your computer, come back to this thread (or start another) and let us know how you do on the prices, how much time you spend comparison shopping, and what the prices end up being versus buying a pre-made system. I'll be interested to know the results!

[Jason Dunn]

I did the same shopping list at NewEgg.ca, and the total came out to $1210.81 CAD. So I saved about $24 by shopping at NewEgg - yet I wouldn't do that, because buying locally and being able to return something for free is a BIG advantage in my eyes.

But, yes, money can be saved by comparison shopping. :)

[jaxim]

>when you build your computer, ...let us know how you do

I will. Of course, I might end buying a real zuped up computer from alienware. We'll see. great article for food for thought

[mar2k]

On a one time basis, Dell may win, but most people will own multiple PCs over the long haul.

The premium price is really only up front it would seem if you plan on upgrading the machine continually over time. For upgrading, if you have a nice case you really like, you are just going to continue to use that same case and power supply, same optical drive, use the same OS installation disc, and decide whether you still want to use the same video card etc. If you upgrade the CPU/motherboard/memory etc you might have to reactivate Windows but that's about it (which is one reason I only buy the retail versions not the OEM).

Yes, you could upgrade the Dell over time but the upgrade cost becomes equal plus you would have to work within the confines of an OEM case which may or may not be well documented. Some of the slim tower-type units from Dell and others have odd power supply sizes and non-standard mountings, also changing the guts would cause issues with that OEM license.

So if the upgrade path after buying the Dell is to buy another PC later you could say that on the second PC, the DIY model will almost certainly be cheaper due to the re-use of several components.

I feel DIY is more eco-friendly too since its easier to upgrade the internals whereas many people just wind up sending their old PC to the dump (or hopefully a recycling center)

[Rob Alexander]

I went through the same type of casual comparison you (Jason) did before buying my Dell XPS 420 last year and the prices were going to be similar between buying and building. But your time argument about not having time to search unlimited sites only begins to tell the time story in my book. What I can't spend the time on is re-learning what the latest, greatest parts are. Stop reading hardware sites for a few months and you're hopelessly out of date. Heck, there wasn't such a thing as an i7 when I bought my Dell last July, so I'd already have to start over if I repeated it just seven months later. Research current motherboards... there's 3-4 hours. Find the best video cards... there's a couple of more hours. The best CPU... probably only an hour. Hard drives are easy. Cases are hard via mail order. It's really hard to visualize the real case from a photo online, so that would take several hours. A couple of hours for ordering and several for assembly and testing... I just don't have that kind of time any more. For those who do, it's a fun hobby, but that kind of time just isn't in my budget, especially when I'm not even going to save money in the end.

Mar2k's comment about long-term savings and non-standard cases is fair enough for limited situations, but I don't see that as a real issue. If you're going to buy a non-standard case, you know up front that you won't be upgrading. Nobody is asking about expandability before buying a Dell Studio Hybrid. Their regular sized cases though, are standard. My XPS case is very nice with lots of great ease of access features, and the parts inside are standard. There is nothing inside the case, except the useless LCD on top, that I couldn't pop in a replacement for as easily as any other case on the planet.

[Stinger]

The base systems are usually cheaper than building your own. However, as soon as you start customising Dell's systems, that rapidly changes. It's very hard to buy a pre-built system with a 4780 1GB graphics card from any outlet for cheaper than what it would cost to build it yourself.

I know it's an extreme example but Apple charge 400% more than Crucial for RAM upgrades.

My current system would cost £1,223.50 inc. tax and delivery new if I bought the parts. The equivalent system from Alienware would cost £2,237.90! And the Alienware system ships with the 32-bit version of Vista, wasing some of the RAM in the system. Dell's main website doesn't offer anything even vaguely similar (espcially for my HDD configuration).

[Jason Dunn]

Nobody is asking about expandability before buying a Dell Studio Hybrid.

Hah, I wish that were the case! I've had probably 20+ people ask questions on my YouTube videos about whether or not they can swap the hard drive, upgrade the RAM, or even put in a new video card...seriously. I swear YouTube comments are where all the ex-AOL users went. :rolleyes:

I agree with you about the rest though - barring power supply issues, most current OEM systems are just fine for upgrading RAM, hard drive, optical drives, etc. CPU and video card upgrades typically require more research, but it's possible. Trying to wedge an after-market motherboard, or putting a new power supply into a Dell case is probably asking for trouble though. ;)

[Jason Dunn]

The premium price is really only up front it would seem if you plan on upgrading the machine continually over time. For upgrading, if you have a nice case you really like, you are just going to continue to use that same case and power supply, same optical drive, use the same OS installation disc, and decide whether you still want to use the same video card etc.

Indeed...for a lot of people, the issue is really one of "computing appliance" versus "computer". Meaning that the person who buys the $999 Dell is probably going to not upgrade it at all, use it for 3-5 years, then switch to a whole new computer. People like us tend to upgrade bits at a time, though eventually you hit the CPU/motherboard/RAM wall and have to upgrade those at the same time. Myself, when I hit that wall, if the system is still decent, that's the point when I sell it/donate it and build a new machine.

There's definitely more flexibility with DIY systems though...which is why I tend to go that route. Although I sure do love the HP Slimline machines! I own three of them. :D

[Stinger]

People like us tend to upgrade bits at a time, though eventually you hit the CPU/motherboard/RAM wall and have to upgrade those at the same time. Myself, when I hit that wall, if the system is still decent, that's the point when I sell it/donate it and build a new machine.

I usually go the other way - when I reach the wall, I sell my old motherboard+CPU+RAM and just buy the parts I need.

This strategy has resulted in my current PC being a total Frankenstein system. My PC case is about 8 years old and I've got a DVD-ROM drive in the PC that's even older than that!

[Jason Dunn]

I usually go the other way - when I reach the wall, I sell my old motherboard+CPU+RAM and just buy the parts I need.

Interesting! For me, I can't imagine why anyone would want to buy a really old motherboard + CPU + RAM. I guess anything is possible... :D

[Rob Alexander]

Hah, I wish that were the case! I've had probably 20+ people ask questions on my YouTube videos about whether or not they can swap the hard drive, upgrade the RAM, or even put in a new video card...seriously. I swear YouTube comments are where all the ex-AOL users went. :rolleyes:



Well go figure! I thought that was a safe example, but I should know by now that 'obvious' is a relative thing. :o

[Rob Alexander]

Interesting! For me, I can't imagine why anyone would want to buy a really old motherboard + CPU + RAM. I guess anything is possible... :D


Hah! Stinger's probably selling them to those same people from Youtube! :)

[Stinger]

I usually upgrade every two years so the old parts aren't that bad. For example, I recently upgraded from an AMD X2 5000 and ATi x1950 Pro to a AMD Phenom II and ATi 4780. Comparing the raw clock speed of the X2 5000 and Phenom II, there's not much difference. I doubt many 'normal' PC users would take advantage of the extra cores on the Phenom. It's pretty easy to find someone at work who wanted to build a new machine for a relative or as a home server.

[Jason Dunn]

Hah! Stinger's probably selling them to those same people from Youtube! :)

<snicker> Yeah, that's actually probably the case. :D I had a guy today ask me what the price of the HP Mini 1000 was, when I put the price in the video itself and in the sidebar description. I tell ya, YouTube comments are enough to make me despair for the future of the human race. :(

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

<snicker> Yeah, that's actually probably the case. :D I had a guy today ask me what the price of the HP Mini 1000 was, when I put the price in the video itself and in the sidebar description. I tell ya, YouTube comments are enough to make me despair for the future of the human race. :(

Youtube people in general don't like to read. Hence the illiteracy. :P

[silver99]

Personally I think the best way to get a powerful system is to mix and match between a larger company and vendor parts.

I bought a decent Quad-core system w/TV Tuner, large HD, 3 GB Ram and a ton of extras for only $599. Had a crappy video card though - found a sweet deal on a 512 MB 8800GT for only $99.

Ended up with a great gaming system for only $698. Can't beat those deals.

[Jason Dunn]

I bought a decent Quad-core system w/TV Tuner, large HD, 3 GB Ram and a ton of extras for only $599. Had a crappy video card though - found a sweet deal on a 512 MB 8800GT for only $99.

Nice! The only catch there is to make sure the power supply is beefy enough to power the better video card, but you're right, that's a great way to get the basics for cheap and upgrade the rest!

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

I thought I'd do a comparison with the local arm of Dell.

Taking a Dell XPS 430 priced at US$1000, I compared parts based on prices from one shop (so not too different from what Jason did). The result, for about US$30 more for the DIY system:

- Same Intel Q8200
- A potentially better motherboard in the form of an ASUS P5 Pro (with Crossfire support if you're inclined)
- 4GB RAM vs 3GB RAM
- 500GB vs 320GB hard disk (and a Hitachi drive, one of the faster ones on the market, no less)
- nVidia 8800GT vs ATI 3650
- Enermax PSU at 460W
- A decent Coolermaster case
- A 21.5" Samsung LCD vs the Dell 18.5" LCD
- MS Wireless Laser Desktop 4000
- Alter Lansing 2.1 speakers vs Dell 2.0 speakers

It really makes me wonder about Dell here... >.>

[Jason Dunn]

It really makes me wonder about Dell here... >.>

Yeah, seems like Dell is a bit pricey over there!

[Damion Chaplin]

There is one reason over all the others why you should build your own system: You can get the latest and greatest. For example: I just recently built myself a new i7 920 machine. Before I started shopping, I decided on a whim to see what Dell was offering. Well, wouldn't you know it, Dell wasn't even offering a machine with an i7 in it at all! So in this case, if I wanted a machine that had the latest Intel chip, I would have to build it myself.

However, there is one reason over all the other why you should buy a machine from Dell: You often get such a good price it's like getting that LCD monitor for free. Once a couple years ago I priced a new PC for a friend of mine. They wanted a 24" LCD. I couldn't build a PC with a monitor for the same price that Dell was selling theirs for (with monitor included).

So, if you want the latest-and-greatest, you'll probably have to build it yourself.
If, however, you want the cheapest price possible, you should probably buy a pre-built system.