Desktops: Poll: When it comes to purchasing a new desktop computer:
- 3/21/08 12:56 PM
Poll: When it comes to purchasing a new desktop computer:
by Lee Koo (ADMIN) - 3/21/08 12:56 PM
When it comes to purchasing a new desktop computer:
I buy it preconfigured, directly off the retail shelf. (Why?)
I buy it customized through my local mom-and-pop shop. (Why?)
I buy it customized through online retailers. (Why?)
I buy it customized through online giant retailers. (Why?)
I buy all the components and build it myself. (Why?)
I buy all the components and have someone else build it. (Why?)
Other (Please explain.)
reply to: Poll
by caktus - 3/21/08 1:12 PM In reply to: Poll: When it comes to purchasing a new desktop computer: by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
preconfigured, directly off the retail shelf.
I am rather utilitarian; surf news, a few forums, shopping, banking, pay bills, email. Programs; mostly use QuickBooks, Home Pub, Word (all still 2000.)
The most demanding games I use are Solitair and Yahtzee.
I build it myself from the ground up
by Droid - 3/23/08 12:47 AM In reply to: reply to: Poll by caktusUnless it's for someone else..! I have given up building computers for other people as they can be a support nightmare (i built it so it "must" be my fault!) - much easier to recommend a Dell model with a warranty and let them get on with it.
I find that the majority of pre-built computers tend to be under-specified for the price (ie. poor value).
For my own pc I want the best parts for the money and that usually means specific manufacturers which I'm comfortable with - right down to the make and model of case and fans. I choose parts by first selecting the manufacturer, then features & so on, and finally by price - avoiding the very cheap and the very over-priced. This plan usually gets me a pc which is better value and more up to date than a pre-built model.
Me too. Savings can be dramatic
by neil20009 - 3/23/08 5:41 PM In reply to: I build it myself from the ground up by DroidI just built a high performance PC for about $1700 with the latest Intel CPU (E8400) and 4 GB of RAM and a 2.25TB RAID5 storage array. Even without the RAID storage a comparable machine with only a TeraByte of storage was a thousand dollars more. Yes, it took more time and Yes, I am skilled in PCs but doing this does not require an engineering degree. This machine is at the high end performance wise even before I start overclocking the CPU.
Because it's fun!
by Brock Tungsten - 3/21/08 7:07 PM In reply to: Poll: When it comes to purchasing a new desktop computer: by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
What can I say? I'm a computer "gear head." I know I could get a great deal buying an off-the-shelf system, but I would not have the chance to learn as much about the technology of the components and the software.
Hands On!
by maldelus - 3/21/08 7:19 PM In reply to: Poll: When it comes to purchasing a new desktop computer: by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I feel more comfortable if I obtain the separate components, know their capabilites and how they would interact with the other components I obtain. I then know the full capabilities of my toy and don't need to worry about a variety of support programs and offers.
used to build, now buy
by sharee100 - 3/21/08 7:27 PM In reply to: Poll: When it comes to purchasing a new desktop computer: by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
last one I custom built was standard off the shelf within 6 months at half the price. so I buy and regularly upgrade components.
I would buy it preconfigured right off the retail shelf
by Bob_Meyer - 3/21/08 7:29 PM In reply to: Poll: When it comes to purchasing a new desktop computer: by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Today, I feel like I get a better price on a preconfigured package on sale from my favorite big box retailer, especially at Christmas sales. I usually extend the useful life of the packaged system with upgrades over time. I bought four laptops that way last year.
The desktop I'm currently using is about six years old. I bought it customized by the manufacturer, and have since replaced/upgraded sound card, two hard drives, one DVD R/W drive, one DVD R drive, memory, processor and power supply.
I have built mt own, and it's fun. In fact the first one I built was from used parts with no manuals. I learned a lot from that experience.
Build it yourself
by danrulz98 - 3/21/08 7:32 PM In reply to: Poll: When it comes to purchasing a new desktop computer: by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The last computer I got was pre-configured. It was an IBM T30 laptop that I bought used on Ebay. I still have it and I have been replacing things as they break. I built the computer I'm on now. My friend gave me a mother board he thought was toast so I decided to try it. I dug the processor and other little parts form an HP that was toast and I tested the mother board from my friend. I was pleasantly surprised when it clocked at 2.93 GHz. I bought a 128 MB video card online for $30 and a slightly used 250 GB SATA hard drive for $20. All in all, for $50, it's the best computer I've ever had.
Not Applicable
by robertmro - 3/21/08 7:42 PM In reply to: Poll: When it comes to purchasing a new desktop computer: by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Mac Fanboy
Hey, Macs are customizable, too.
by back_water_tech - 3/21/08 8:01 PM In reply to: Not Applicable by robertmroDid you buy your mac off the shelf or get it customized? 
Of course it isn't exactly easy to build a mac yourself since the parts are not readily available (well, the cases and motherboards anyway.) 
I bought a Mac through my sister. It was completely customized, down to the drives and addon cards. (only reason to buy a Mac: video editing) Oh, and yeah, my sister is a teacher in OK and she moves quite a few Mac's so Apple gets her really good deals on the machines.
Unless its a laptop, i buy all the parts.
by back_water_tech - 3/21/08 8:05 PM In reply to: Poll: When it comes to purchasing a new desktop computer: by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I usually buy all the parts.
That way I know it will work. and doing the research is fun.
When I buy laptops, they are usually seccond hand or fully customized from the manufacturer. Occasionally, like with my wife's laptop, I'll spot a great (so it seems) deal in a mega store and bite. Wasn't that great a deal, but she likes it. and I don't have to futz with it.
Build it yourself and get EXACTLY what you need & paid for!
by sbill - 3/21/08 8:09 PM In reply to: Poll: When it comes to purchasing a new desktop computer: by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
When it comes to desktops, I always buy the parts and build it myself. Why put up with an OEM box made with the cheapest parts (price-wise and quality-wise), loads of "crapware", no Windows disk, and worthless tech support that's built in to the price?
When you build it yourself, you get to choose from an array of high-quality and high-performance components that simply aren't available in an OEM computer. Instead of the cheap Bestec power supply, "off brand" RAM, de-featured motherboard, inferior optical drives, etc, you get to choose a quality power supply, high-end motherboard, brand-name drives and memory, and so on. And of course even the cheapest graphics cards you can buy will run circles around the integrated graphics or "cost effective" graphics card in a ready-made PC.
But by far the biggest advantage of building your own computer is actually getting all the software you paid for. Instead of a "restore partition" or BIOS-locked "recovery disk", you get an actual OEM Windows disk and actual OEM disks for whatever other software you choose to buy. So when the day comes that your hard disk crashes, or the motherboard dies, you can keep using your software after the defective component(s) are changed. Not so with a brand name computer that comes with a "restore partition" or "recovery disk" that WILL NOT install on a non-original motherboard.
Home built equals better performance
by ihfwt - 3/21/08 8:18 PM In reply to: Poll: When it comes to purchasing a new desktop computer: by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I built my current desktop from parts that I purchased back in March 2005. Originally it had an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ processor with 1 gig of dual channel ram, 2 optical drives, 1 Sata hard drive, an ATI Radeon video card, all stuffed into an Antec case. I've added an additional Sata hard drive, 1 gig of ram and changed the processor to an AMD X2 3800+ dual core. I find that custom built pc's have much better performance than if I went to BestBuy and picked up an Acer,Compaq,Dell, e-Machine, Gateway or HP desktop. Recently I benchmarked my pc against two brand new pc's.One was an Acer the other an HP both with AMD processors. I ran the tests at www.pcpitstop.com and my 3 year old pc outscored the new Acer and HP on PCPitstops in the "Full Test".
I find a common deficiency in brand name clones is Disk I/O. The Acer and HP scored really low in "uncached" disk performance. Aside from being fun to build, you really get better performance when you build your own pc.
Depends....
by john3347 - 3/21/08 8:18 PM In reply to: Poll: When it comes to purchasing a new desktop computer: by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Some people will dispute this, but it is usually cheaper to buy a mass marketed computer model than build your own equivalent computer. If I can find just what I want, I usually buy from a big box or online retailer. If I have a hankering for something special, I build my own.
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