Are you claiming that the difference between the wholesale prices of the components gathered as an aggregate, and the name-brand manufacturers who sell you the completed box, no longer warrants building a machine yourself?
You're off on a different tangent. This thread is about buying "a quality workstation for trading, one generation back, and saving around 75% of the new price". That said, I don't believe it is economical or worth the hassle(s) of BIY vs. buying a workstation from Dell, HP, or Lenovo.
No way. Buying components at retail? You cannot beat spec for spec from any builder by 50%. You can’t do it cheaper, period.
Not all. Depends mostly on RAM, CPU, drives.... here's an example of a "base" model at Reviveit.io... which is plenty good for trading. $239. No "need" to spend more or have more horsepower. If you want to game with the same machine, however, you'll want more, faster. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Preci...428675?hash=item2f3ad3e703:g:vG0AAOSwHSxd78Zb
Ahh, I see. Yes, if you buy an older pre-assembled rig, it would be quite a cost-saving compared with DIY with all the new stuff. Mreh.
And I will admit something here...I am way out of the loop. The last time I speced out a PC for a self-build was in 2010ish. So I am behind the times on that bit. Chastising and whipping may commence now. :-(
I built one years ago just for the experience. Can't say it was worth it and if there was any $$ saved, it wasn't much. I see BIY for gamers and enthusiasts, but that's just me.
Yes, that is where the "BIY" mentality comes from in my head...I am a stubborn lad, and being a gamer, I always believed in that "build your own rig" thing. And I did well back then, building custom rigs on the cheap. But times have certainly changed, and I have not kept up with them. It is total my bad, man.