No. Don't do it. Buy it store bought already built. What you are saying makes no sense because you are saying that you get some parts for half price, but then you will have to spend money to have somebody put it together for you. So it will cost you more money in the long run. Don't build your own. You will run into problems. Processors and mothersboards are outdated almost as fast as they are put on the shelves. The newest processor is a quad processor. It took the place of the dual. So if you are getting a good deal on a dual, then it really isn't a good deal at all, but old stock that they are trying to get rid of.
I used to believe that until I tried to build a machine with a particular chipset and a particular graphics card, with the right number of PCIe x16 slots. I couldn't find a pre-built machine that had those parametes for less then $1.5K, and I can build a similar machine, that is not even available, for about $700 less! [With no OS installed, so really $450 less] If the machine you are building is just a POC (plain old computer) what you are saying is true. As soon as you deviate even a little from the typical spec, it is worth doing it yourself imo. To the original poster: It takes an experienced person about an hour to do it right, but can take longer if the case you bought is a real pain to work with. Notice that time is for just putting the components together in the case, not for loading OS etc. No one that I know would do it for less than $65/Hr. FWIW, I think you should buy the components, and learn to build it yourself. You may make a mistake, but so what? Try again then. It may take you two days to build your first one, but the second one will take waaay less than that. For a beginner, the most important part is to get a case that dismantles every which way, so that you have easy access. That sometimes means an expensive case, but not necessarily so. The only other tools you need is a screw driver (preferably electric,made to work inside computers, so it has to be smallish) and patience. nitro
Maybe it's not an issue for the rest of the people in this thread, but for me, service is an issue - actually the issue for determining where I buy. If I had to deal w/ Dell's India contingent* again, I would never purchase from them. Thankfully, I discovered their gold service which hooks me up w/ people I can understand who typically are very competent. Had I not discovered this service and if research showed that the other companies were similarly staffed, my next computer would have been built & supported locally. If support couldn't be provided quickly, I'd just purchase a 2nd setup.... Ron * - like many (most?) others, I've had many dealings w/ various customer support groups in non-USA locations. Many of these experiences have been positive. It may be luck of the draw but none of the multiple, non-USA Dell support issues I've had were positive. I came to the conclusion that there is probably significant competition for qualified techies in India and Dell was just scraping the bottom of the barrel.
I totally rebuild my system every 2-3 years. The main reason I do it is because: * I demand the best components (within reason). Buying the parts myself makes the price of the best components justifiable. BTW, the best components aren't always the most expensive... * To save on cost - See above * Take control to maximize quality - commercially available systems are always a trade-off particularly on the mobo area. There's always some bottleneck in there holding back the performance of the rig. I won't tolerate that so buy the parts myself. * To maximize performance - careful matching of components can increase performance. If you've done your research, then performance gains can be good to startling (if you overclock too). * To maximize build quality - No commercial system shuld be put together better than you'll do it yourself. * To increase system life expectancy - Higher performance for a given price means a longer shelf life before absolute obscolescence kicks in. Doing things this way takes more than an hour but pays off in the long run. I built my system 2 years ago now, it's still rock solid and performance is very good. Components aren't stretched though the system is very overclockable if I wish (I don't, yet) and I have an easy short term upgrade path to multi-core CPUs without needing a mobo change (thanks to thinking ahead). I Should have taken the raid mobo option back then though so I'm hardly perfect. Bottom line is, to get what you really want you should do it yourself. Paying somebody to do it undermines a good chunk of the advantages making an off the shelf Dell a much more attractive option than it should be. If you don't know what you "really want" then again, you should go commercial. Thx D
One way to do it is go into a white-box/parts store, like Central Computer in Santa Clara, CA, USA, and price the parts, then ask them how much it would cost for them to put it together for you. That would be a custom build. An in-stock, off-the-shelf, pre-built system in a place like that will probably be cheapest.
Hey guys I appreciate the comments so far. I have looked around at dell and hp and for around 1000k there computers are seem to be a notch or two lower then I can get parts for. My parts cost 850$ so figure another 100 to build it and it makes sense. I am decent with computers but not great so I just want to make sure I have everything I need for trading. After searching around seems to be a standard setup people use. I can get a core 2 e6600 for 120$ Quadro NVS 285 for 140$ (this is good for 2 monitors and if i want 2 more i have to buy another one right?) Memory- 100$. Case~100$ Power~70$ (whats the recommended wattage?) HD~80$ (any recommendations for a hard drive). If someone can help me out with what intel board and intel chip set I need that would be a huge help. I dont want to spend extra money on stuff I don't need. I know I need a board with 2 Pcie x16 but I am lost with chipsets. Thanks again
Putting a PC with your parts should not run you more than $100. Tops $125 if it is fancy stuff (two video cards, Raid, ect.). As for the place ... any chinese computer computer store will do it for you. I have had mine built at mainpcusa.com. They have several stores all over 5 boroughs and should help you out. mccmcvmvmmvmccccccccccccccccccccccccm cccxm bmmcnnc