Is it still cheaper to build your own computer than to buy a Dell?

L

Liekomg

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 26, 2006
Messages
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Because no matter how hard I try, the Dell always seems to come out cheaper.

Basically, I am trying to build a system for my friend. It needs to be a complete system (with monitor, case, keyboard, mouse, etc), and are on a strict budget of around $800-900 max. This has to include shipping and taxes.

I'd also like this computer to last for a while, so i'm thinking of going with a Q6600. But everything I put together ends up costing over 1K, even more with the taxes and shipping added on top. If I wait for one of those $599 dells with a Q6600 w/ monitor, I can just slap in a $150 video card and have a great system for $750.

Anyone have any advice, or should I just stick with the Dell? I'd prefer to have some overclocking potential and stuff, but ATM, we have to stick to the budget.
 
For "normal" users, Dell is going to beat neigh anything you can build.

Now, if you want the flexibility to overclock, hit a specific form factor, build a high-end system, or just the satisfaction - thats where it's worthwhile to build it nowadays.
 
What WalkedAirplanea said. It really isn't cheaper to build a normal PC for everyday use like web browsing and word processing. So if that's all your friend is going to do, then go get the Dell. Yes you probably can just buy a Dell and slap in a video card in there. However, you'll most likely need to upgrade the PSU since the stock PSU may not be capable of handling a high-end graphics card.

But if you want overclock ability, better quality parts and the option to configure your PC anyway you want, then build it yourself and absorb the extra costs.
 
Well what are the specs of the Dell deal you are looking at? I can't remember seeing a Q6600 + monitor Dell deal for $600 anytime recently so I'm not sure what you would be getting.
 
I think the OP is waiting for one of those $600 Dell deals to popup.
 
Danny Bui said:
I think the OP is waiting for one of those $600 Dell deals to popup.
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Yep pretty much. They were $200 off $799 deals. That brings it down to $600 with a Q6600 and a 20" monitor. My friend plans on gaming, so i'd just throw a good video card in there, and he would be set. I always assumed that it would be cheaper to build my own (that used to hold true!), but it no longer seems to be the case.
 
OP, post a link to one of those deals. Don't care if it's expired, just wanna see what was being offered. Kinda hard to make a fair comparison otherwise.
 
Toaster Oven said:
OP, post a link to one of those deals. Don't care if it's expired, just wanna see what was being offered. Kinda hard to make a fair comparison otherwise.
Click to expand...

Dell Inspiron 530 Quad Core Desktop PC w/ 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor

E208WFP 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor; Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz; 2GB RAM; 250GB HDD; DVD burner; Vista Home Basic; built-in card reader; keyboard & mouse included; 1yr warranty

$799 - $200 off Code: Z4JZBGPWKKZQMS = $599 + $29.99 Shipping

LINK:

http://www.techbargains.com/recentnews.cfm?recent=13

Middle of the page


If anyone can price out a custom built for around the same amount, i'd be very interested!
 
Ok so $600 + $30 shipping + ~$30 tax for the Dell deal. The 300W PSU it comes with has 18A on the 12V line and can't support a decent vid card. Add on $55 for a PSU upgrade and $150 for a new GPU. That puts you at $600 + $30 + $30 + $55 + $150 = $865 for the Dell.


CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
MOBO: Abit IP-35E
RAM: CRUCIAL 2x1GB DDR2 PC6400 DUAL BALLISTIX TRACER
PSU: Antec Earthwatts EA500 500W
HD: HITACHI Deskstar P7K500 HDP725032GLA360 (0A35411) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache
DVD: LITE-ON iHAS120-04 SATA DVD Burner
OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic SP1 64-bit
CASE: Cooler Master Elite 330 with 5% Coupon
LCD: BenQ G2000WD Silver-Black 20.1" 5ms Widescreen LCD

Build it yourself and total with shipping puts you at $784 - $25MIR. Add a $150 vid card and you are $69 above ($44 AMIR) what you would have spent on the Dell. So it's more expensive but you're getting a better mobo, RAM, HD, burner, case, and monitor plus you can overclock. If you're patient you can wait for a Fry's deal on an Antec NSK6580 w/EA430 PSU or Antec Sonata III w/EA500 PSU which would knock ~$50 from the total, dropping you down to the same price as the Dell.
 
Liekomg said:
Because no matter how hard I try, the Dell always seems to come out cheaper.

Basically, I am trying to build a system for my friend. It needs to be a complete system (with monitor, case, keyboard, mouse, etc), and are on a strict budget of around $800-900 max. This has to include shipping and taxes.

I'd also like this computer to last for a while, so i'm thinking of going with a Q6600. But everything I put together ends up costing over 1K, even more with the taxes and shipping added on top. If I wait for one of those $599 dells with a Q6600 w/ monitor, I can just slap in a $150 video card and have a great system for $750.

Anyone have any advice, or should I just stick with the Dell? I'd prefer to have some overclocking potential and stuff, but ATM, we have to stick to the budget.
Click to expand...

Interesting post. I bought a Inspiron 530 Quadcore for about $500 without a monitor and ended up selling it and building my own. Here's why.

*motherboard didn't support firewire, esata and 10/100 nic card-even the cheapest mb are gigabyte ready at newegg, only 2 pci slots, and only 3 sata connectors
*generic 350w liteon power supply-according to Evga, i would need 400w or more to use an 8800GT or 9600GT video card
*case was flimsy-the metal cover was very thin--made wierd noises-ratted/vibrated
*integrated graphics--would have to had spend extra
*crappy ram--hyundai or something, was DDR2 667
*crappy hard drive--they gave me a seagate, but it was version 7200.9
*crappy dvd burner--HQ brand, was very loud overall.
*the case itself--this is why i sold it,, dell put the eject button for your dvd burner in the lower right hand corner.. so when the dvd tray is open, its very hard to close it with the button, you wind up sliding the tray back in which will break at some point
*bios cant be overclocked, cant adjust memory timings, limited overall

For some, the above is no big deal.. but after adding up how mich it would cost to replace the ps, upgrade to better ram and get a video card, my $500 dell, now jumped near $800. After selling it, i built a really nice rig for $700's ish without components from last decade.

If you don't plan to upgrade or need a pc for web browsing and generic use, ya.. then dell is fine. dell sell's tons of these to businesses, so they can offer huge discounts/coupons.Also the monitor Dell was offering with that deal was Analog...sheesh.
 
If you want a gaming system, save up for it and build it yourself. As Toaster has shown, it is possible if you wait for some good deals. If you want to turn a dell into a gaming system, its not worth it at that $800 pricepoint, but it could work well if you don't expect too much and can't wait for deals.

c0re said:
...
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What did you expect for $600, lol.

c0re said:
...
*crappy ram--hyundai or something, was DDR2 667...
*bios cant be overclocked, cant adjust memory timings, limited overall

For some, the above is no big deal.. but after adding up how mich it would cost to ... upgrade to better ram...
Click to expand...

RAM is cheap, btw. And you wouldn't have to upgrade to better RAM, since Intel platforms perform best at 1:1 ratios. So the stock RAM speed for a Q6600 is DDR2-533. Its not like you can OC with that Dell board, so there really is no point in upgrading to "better" RAM... just FYI.
 
Thanks Toaster, there were some good deals in there, especially the case!

I just priced up some of the cheapest components I could find. It ends up being around $920 without tax or shipping, and about 50 would come off from that for MIR. A lot of the newegg stuff was free shipping, but i'd still have tax, and that comes out to quite a bit.
 
My biggest beef with building your own systems is the case.

A majority of the cases offered suck, are ugly as hell, aren't even practical, or all of those (not all cases, just most).

When you buy a computer (not necessarily from Dell, they don't exactly have the nicest looks cases), the case is at least kinda cool looking. I just wish there were more cases that didn't look like the equivalent of a riced out Honda.
 
Jon55 said:
My biggest beef with building your own systems is the case.

A majority of the cases offered suck, are ugly as hell, aren't even practical, or all of those (not all cases, just most).

When you buy a computer (not necessarily from Dell, they don't exactly have the nicest looks cases), the case is at least kinda cool looking. I just wish there were more cases that didn't look like the equivalent of a riced out Honda.
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Well a riced out Honda is just a poor man's sports car. So, just buy the sports car. :p Stick to certain brands, and you'll be fine... like Lian-Li, Silverstone, Cooler Master, Antec, Gigabyte, and similar.
 
you can spec an amount or speed of something it looks great on paper, but you will find out that the parts are not even as good as the cheapest thing you could buy at that same spec.
shareholders want money advertising costs money. the money comes from you.
 
DeFex said:
you can spec an amount or speed of something it looks great on paper, but you will find out that the parts are not even as good as the cheapest thing you could buy at that same spec.
shareholders want money advertising costs money. the money comes from you.
Click to expand...

What I like about dell is... they simply work out of the box. ;) and thats why I have a lab full of them, lol. Despite them using not as good quality parts, the parts work, which is what is intended of the system. Its not intended to be OC'd or greatly upgraded... they only leave room for small upgrades, like a simple HDD addition or PCI card (no high end vidcard upgrade due to PSU power).

If you want the good quality parts, customized choices, and something that will work out of the box, you'll have to go to a boutique builder and pay for such services. :D
 
I play TF2 a HL2 game just fine with this. I am considering upgrading the video card but its not becasue its performing poorly. Any ideas on this machine?

[1 223-6372 Inspiron 530,Intel Pentium Conroe Dual Core Processor E2200(2.2GHz,800FSB) with 1MB cache
[B]1 311-7240 4GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz $0.00 [/B][/COLOR][/SIZE]1 310-9611 Dell USB Keyboard $0.00
1 310-7966 Dell Optical USB Mouse $0.00
1 320-3000 Video ready option w/o monitor $0.00
[B]1 320-6181 256MB Radeon HD 2600 XT $0.00 [/B]1 341-4809 250GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM) $0.00
1 341-5593 Dell 19 in 1 Media Card Readerincluded in Dell Bluetooth Package $0.00
1 313-5582 Dell Resource DVD with Application Backup $0.00
1 420-5769 Internet Search and Portal $0.00
1 420-5924 Icon Consolidation Application $0.00
1 420-6436 Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp $0.00
1 420-8506 Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 Home Basic Edition, English $0.00
1 420-6577 Power DVD 7.0 $0.00
1 420-7622 DELL SUPPORT CENTER 2.0 $0.00
1 463-2282 Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access $0.00
1 310-1966 Mouse included with Keyboard purchase $0.00
1 430-0412 Integrated NIC card $0.00
1 313-3137 No modem requested for Dell Dimension $0.00
1 420-7468 ADOBE ACROBAT READER 8.1 DIM/INSP $0.00
1 313-5270 16X DVD+/-RW Drive $0.00
1 420-8152 Roxio Creator 10 Dell Edition $0.00
1 313-5013 Sound Blaster Audigy MB Audio $0.00
1 313-2198 No Speaker Requested $0.00
1 430-2761 Dell Wireless PCI 1505, Full Height Carrier, 1.2 Antenna Insp Desktop $0.00
1 410-1160 McAfee Security 9.0, 30-day Subscription, for Dell Inspiron / Dimension $0.00
1 420-6585 Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition $0.00
1 987-3137 Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year $0.00
1 982-4310 Type 3- Third Party At Home Service, 24x7 Technical Support, Initial Year $0.00
1 987-6238 No Warranty, Year 2 and 3 $0.00
1 960-3249 Banctec Service Agreement $0.00
1 983-3680 Warranty Support,Initial Year $0.00
1 990-8029 1 Year Limited Warranty and Next Business Day,Desktop $0.00
1 330-0172 S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Desktops $0.00
1 310-9425 IEEE 1394a ADAPTER $22.94
1 464-9572 No Entertainment software pre-installed $0.00
1 310-8625 You have chosen a Windows Vista Basic System $0.00
1 987-4817 Insp Datasafe 3GB,1YR(Incl in price),DHS $0.00
1 420-7092 DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS 1YR-FREE $0.00
1 420-7091 DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS $0.00
1 988-0099 To activate your online backupaccount, go to Start, Programs, DataSafe Online $0.00
1 341-5597 Dell 19-in-1 Media Reader withBluetooth 2.0

Total $730.00
 
i can build a dell for generally 80% of what they charge, but its more about the fun of doing it and getting quality internals
 
What do you think about Alienware?
I hear ya on building your own....wish I had the time. I have that Dell corporate plan through work....the tech support has been fine if needed. The first one I bought earlier this year was an XPS 720 and now this Inspiron 530.
The 530 has me worried.....it plays the game fine...once in the game... I .had it about a month now....but the screen flickers when entering the fullscreen mode of TF2 game...sometimes it doesnt stop.
 
It may be "cheaper" to buy a Dell only at the time of purchase. After that, with a Dell, life sucks!! I mean, REALLY, sucks. That's my own experience with an Inspiron laptop. Even lawyers could not resolve the problem. At the end I lost to Dell.
 
Bleh, a small handful of people with issues does not a reputation make considering the millions of satisfied owners and clients of Dell hardware.

Check the Dell Outlet (www.dell.com/outlet) for rock-bottom prices on refurbs, dent and scratch stuff, or just returns from people that don't know what a computer actually is and save yourself a shitload of money.
 
TF2rooster said:
What do you think about Alienware?
I hear ya on building your own....wish I had the time. I have that Dell corporate plan through work....the tech support has been fine if needed. The first one I bought earlier this year was an XPS 720 and now this Inspiron 530.
The 530 has me worried.....it plays the game fine...once in the game... I .had it about a month now....but the screen flickers when entering the fullscreen mode of TF2 game...sometimes it doesnt stop.
Click to expand...

Alienware is great... IF you got money to burn and IF the money told you that it wanted to be burned.

I configured a system on Alienware to have all of what I am currently putting together and I can make my system with $2500 worth of parts (every piece including monitor, network card, and such). The Alienware rig would cost over $5000. What's more, my computer will be more "parts efficient" aka I don't need DDR3 RAM whatsoever (DDR2 will be fine even with overclocking and such), but because I wanted the quadcore system, Alienware made me buy it.

That DDR3 RAM created whats essentially a budget bottleneck. And that's what you gotta deal with when you deal with packaged systems.
 
The kicker, or the deciding factor, in most Dell vs. DIY build arguments is the additional cost of extras.

For an $800 build, if you want the best performance possible, you'll easily get that (more often than not) from a DIY build. But if the $800 build is for a relative or friend who needs everything -- and with everything, I mean monitor, speakers, keyboard/mouse, and even a printer -- chances are that you could get that from a Dell bundle.

Another extra to consider is the cost of an OS license. Though you could get one for around $100 nowadays, most people don't factor that into the costs of their builds. (Since most people have OEM licenses on their old computers, and they often don't have a spare, unused license, that should be something for most to consider. But I digress.) Another plus for Dell is that nearly all of their systems come with some sort of Windows license. While you can easily get a Linux distro to cover for the OS, many people don't want to use it (or don't know how to... and yes, those people still exist).
 
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