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Building vs. Buying

I don't know right now. I guess it depends on what capture device I get. As of right now, I was looking at the AVermedia Live Gamer HD. Which uses it's own REcentral software. I don't know much about it.

I made a thread in the PC Gaming sub-forum and I'm waiting for a response to see which direction I should go in. If I had to make a choice based on my own knowledge, it would be the Live Gamer HD.
 
Here's my case list then:
$80 - Corsair Carbide Series 300R ATX Case
$90 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$100 - Antec 1100 ATX Case
$115 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$120 - Fractal Design Define R3 Arctic White ATX Case
$120 - Fractal Design Define R3 Silver Arrow ATX Case
$125 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl ATX Case
$120 - Lian Li PC-9F ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-002OR Black Finish w/Orange Trim Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Antec P280 ATX Case
$140 - Antec Performance One Series P183 V3 ATX Case
$140 - Corsair Obsidian Series 550D ATX Case
$144 - Silverstone RV03B-WA ATX case
$150 - Silverstone TJ04B-EW ATX Case
$155 - Thermaltake VN300M1W2N Chase MK-1 ATX Case
$160 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$162 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$164 - Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$178 - Silverstone RV02B-EW ATX case
$220 - Silverstone FT02S-W ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B ATX Case
$270 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW ATX Case
 
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I dunno where you live, but out here there are places where you specify all the components and then ask them to build it for you for a not too large fee and it gives you the ability to take it back to them to diagnose if something goes wrong. I recommend it to a lot of people over building it yourself if it's your first attempt because if you have a faulty component it can be very hard and frustrating to diagnose, especially if you don't have an existing computer to swap components in and out to see what is causing the problems. One place near where I live will sit you down for a few minutes and go through all the components with you and you can choose what you want and then they'll build it, test it, give it to you and if there's any problems you just take it back. Obviously doing it yourself though you could probably save like $50-100, because you don't have the builders fee and you can choose parts from different retailers to get the best prices on everything.

Not that building a computer is hard, it's not, it's just putting all the pieces where they're supposed to go in the slots which are predesigned to fit them. It's just I've had headaches in the past of faulty components and being unable to identify which components are actually faulty and what needs to be returned.

I'm not trying to discourage you from building yourself, just be aware if you do build yourself and something turns out to be faulty through no fault of your own it can be a pain in the arse. Of course if you do get it built for you then be sure you check EXACTLY what the shop will cover in the way of diagnosing and replacing parts. Some places will throw a PC together for you but then offer little to no worthwhile support without charging you more money.
 
Okay, so I've done some additional research and it turns out the RECentral software I mentioned before is NOT the software I'm forced to use to edit footage. It's just the software I need to actually capture the footage.

So I'm assuming I'm free to use whatever video editing software I see fit. I'm hoping the on die graphics on the CPU will be suitable for basic video editing software. If not, I guess I'll be buying a GPU
 
The main benefit in terms of cost is the fact that you can cut out the labor costs. You can cut out the cost of putting the machine together that normally comes included in a pre-built system.

However, you can easily have the cost rise if you don't buy parts all at once. I recommend saving until you get enough money to buy everything at once. This way you don't end up paying taxes on multiple items, and you don't end up paying more shipping and handling fees on individual items.

Look around, building and configuring is only half of the skill of building a good system. Look for promotions, look for some parts going on clearance. Heck if you can find something on newegg, tigerdirect, even ebay, with free shipping, those can prove to be great deals as well. I guess what I am trying to say, if you want to save money, build your own. You may find a company like iBuyPower, or Cyberpower offers a similar or lower price compared to what you were going to build, but you can always find deals on individual parts to build a system, that will lower the overall price.

Another reason to go with building your computer is the control you have over the build. With me, I love to know the inside and out, and have control over everything. I control where the wires go, how the case is organized, how everything is wired, the speeds and directions of the fans (for the most efficient air cooling), and I can rest assured knowing all of the settings in my BIOS are set for my specific build.

As stated earlier in this thread, you really do not know what you are getting in terms of parts when buying a pre-built rig. Many times unless you pay the extra $$$ for specific part models, over the (in terms of memory) "Corsair or major brand name modules." In that case, you get whatever is in the bin at the build shop.

There are many other benefits, such as warranties for individual parts. Instead of calling iBuyPower up to see why my video card may not be working right, I know from the settings I have, and the tests to rule out issues I have done, that that specific part is malfunctioning. Then, instead of calling whomever built my computer, I can call the maker of the GPU (the people who have experience with that specific part), tell them the problem, and I can use the warranty on that individual part to receive a replacement. I have met many people that had bad support from PC builders because they have to go through their support in order to get stuff ruled out, and/or fixed/replaced.

Last but not least, one major benefit is the experience. After building a computer, you can see where you may have went wrong, and improve that in your next build or upgrade plan. You also become a smarter, more efficient consumer (most of the time; some just don't learn). It is those experiences that you can use in other parts of your life other than just building and maintaining a PC.

So if you want my personal, and final verdict, build the PC.
Don't worry about not being to technically savvy or anything like that. Plenty of people I know had that issue, and I helped them with their first build, and they are now doing everything on their own. As for me, I got help on my first build, but now I am doing great on my own.
 
I'll never not build my PC Tower ever again. Laptops are a different story for obvious reasons.
 
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Definitely build your own, I recommend a local pc parts retailer if you can find one near buy as returning items to those stores is easier than online plus you'll save on return shipping costs and restocking fees.
 
Thanks for your input everyone. I just ordered the final build from NewEgg today. I got:

Corsair Obsidian 550d Case

Corsair TX750 V2 750 Watt Power Supply

Intel Core i5 3570k CPU

ASUS P8Z77-V LK Motherboard

Corsair Vengence 8GB ( 2 x 4gb) DDR3 1600 Ram

Crucial M4 128gb SSD (Danny Bui and Tiraides would have beat me up otherwise)

AVermedia Live Gamer HD,

The total came out to $971 with tax and shipping. I've still got some rebates to send in though,

I'm really looking forward to trying out that SSD, I've never had one before. In about 2 month's I'll also be adding in some cooling, more memory and a video card.
 
Did you take advantage of the combo deals? Did you use the promo code for the motherboard?

I forgot to ask earlier, but which games are you playing/recording?
 
tiraides said:
Did you take advantage of the combo deals? Did you use the promo code for the motherboard?

I forgot to ask earlier, but which games are you playing/recording?
Click to expand...

I used the combo's you suggested. The only thing I couldn't combo was was the M4 and RAM. I also used the promo code that gave me the biggest discount which was actually on the power supply. $16 saving vs. $14 for the promo code on the motherboard. I still have $40 worth of rebates to send in.

As far as playing/recording. For now, I'll be doing mostly Modern Warfare 3, Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 and some gameplay walkthroughs. When I save up for a good video card (in about 2 months) i'll be doing PC gaming as well.
 
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