PCs: When to buy and when to build
As a "computer guy", I've always built my own computers. It's really not that hard to do and you can get exactly what you want. However, building a computer isn't always the best decision for everyone. Below, I'll discuss MY OPINION on when to buy and when to build.
There are actually perfect situations for buying a computer from a manufacturer like Dell or HP rather than the DIY approach. For example, if you're a company (or you're in charge of IT at a company), you don't really want to build all of your own workstations. When you buy a computer, you usually get a warranty of some kind. If you buy a large number of computers, there's also peace of mind knowing that they're all built the same. Only the cheap companies I've worked for had hand-built computers and were ok with having some kid (like me at the time) spend time troubleshooting and repairing when something went wrong. If productivity matters to you as a company then it's worth getting the warranty so your IT staff can better utilize their time. (And it's not just the productivity of your IT staff either. If you've got a secretary who's computer is on the fritz, every minute the IT guy is troubleshooting the issue(s) is a minute the user of that machine can't do their job.)
For the home user, I think that buying makes sense when you need a cheap, basic computer. No frills, no extras; Just enough to get the job done. For the price, these bargain combos can't really be beat. I've seen prices around $300 for a computer, keyboard, mouse, monitor, Windows and often a cheap printer thrown in as well. Now, you can definitely build a better computer for sure. However, your "better" computer will cost about $350 just for the hardware of computer itself (EG, the case and it's innards). That's not counting the monitor and peripherals. And then you still need to get an OS for it (again, you're looking at purchasing Windows). (Not to mention that in your spec-sheet for your "better" computer, you'll cut corners such as a ridiculously cheap case/PSU combo just to try and get close to price of Walmart's or Best Buy's latest budget box they're pushing this quarter.) You can't really be choosy about the hardware on these budget boxes though. You get what they give you.
It's common for people to get caught up in the numbers and specs for things and computers are no different. You can convince yourself that you NEED more power, you NEED more storage space, you NEED more RAM but the truth is that you probably don't. If you're browsing the web, communicating via email or using MS Office then you don't need anything special.
The time to build is when you have needs for a computer that put you out of the average user category. If you're getting into gaming (and I mean serious gaming, not Candy Crush or Farmville) then you'll want a nice video card, more RAM, faster processor and faster storage like an SSD (Solid State Drive). If you're working a lot with virtualization then you want a multi-core processor that supports HyperThreading or any similar technology, lots of RAM and lots of storage even if it isn't the fastest. If you're getting into media editing (video, audio, photography) then you want a gaming machine without so much emphasis on the video card. What you do with the computer should determine where you upgrade.
You can most certainly buy a fast computer. Dell or any other manufacturer will happily sell you the latest gaming machine or a solid media editing rig but they'll charge you a premium for it. It's these scenarios where you can build your own at a fraction of the price. However, your custom built computer will have no warranty and if something goes wrong, there's no toll-free number to call to magically fix it. The reality of it is that you have issues, you have to troubleshoot it yourself. If you have a hardware issue and you've narrowed it down to the culprit part then you have to contact the manufacturer of that part, hope they didn't have a ridiculously short warranty period, etc. (It's not fun but it's the cost of playing the I-built-my-own-computer game sometimes.)
The nice part about building your own is that you can usually upgrade parts much easier and you can buy better parts from the start. For example, if you spring for some nice Dell Ultrasharp monitors, you don't have to trash them when you build a new computer in 5 years. You can re-use monitors, keyboards, mice, cases, etc.
This is the way I always think about it; You can spend $300 or $3000 on your computer. No matter how much you spend, you're going to be upgrading something about 5 years. Building your own rig isn't cheaper when you're going for a basic home machine unless you already have some parts to start with. But if you want to get picky about your parts or you use your computer for more taxing activities them building is really a route worth considering. Each way you go has its pros and cons so I hope this helped you somehow.
WHEN TO BUY
There are actually perfect situations for buying a computer from a manufacturer like Dell or HP rather than the DIY approach. For example, if you're a company (or you're in charge of IT at a company), you don't really want to build all of your own workstations. When you buy a computer, you usually get a warranty of some kind. If you buy a large number of computers, there's also peace of mind knowing that they're all built the same. Only the cheap companies I've worked for had hand-built computers and were ok with having some kid (like me at the time) spend time troubleshooting and repairing when something went wrong. If productivity matters to you as a company then it's worth getting the warranty so your IT staff can better utilize their time. (And it's not just the productivity of your IT staff either. If you've got a secretary who's computer is on the fritz, every minute the IT guy is troubleshooting the issue(s) is a minute the user of that machine can't do their job.)
For the home user, I think that buying makes sense when you need a cheap, basic computer. No frills, no extras; Just enough to get the job done. For the price, these bargain combos can't really be beat. I've seen prices around $300 for a computer, keyboard, mouse, monitor, Windows and often a cheap printer thrown in as well. Now, you can definitely build a better computer for sure. However, your "better" computer will cost about $350 just for the hardware of computer itself (EG, the case and it's innards). That's not counting the monitor and peripherals. And then you still need to get an OS for it (again, you're looking at purchasing Windows). (Not to mention that in your spec-sheet for your "better" computer, you'll cut corners such as a ridiculously cheap case/PSU combo just to try and get close to price of Walmart's or Best Buy's latest budget box they're pushing this quarter.) You can't really be choosy about the hardware on these budget boxes though. You get what they give you.
It's common for people to get caught up in the numbers and specs for things and computers are no different. You can convince yourself that you NEED more power, you NEED more storage space, you NEED more RAM but the truth is that you probably don't. If you're browsing the web, communicating via email or using MS Office then you don't need anything special.
WHEN TO BUILD
The time to build is when you have needs for a computer that put you out of the average user category. If you're getting into gaming (and I mean serious gaming, not Candy Crush or Farmville) then you'll want a nice video card, more RAM, faster processor and faster storage like an SSD (Solid State Drive). If you're working a lot with virtualization then you want a multi-core processor that supports HyperThreading or any similar technology, lots of RAM and lots of storage even if it isn't the fastest. If you're getting into media editing (video, audio, photography) then you want a gaming machine without so much emphasis on the video card. What you do with the computer should determine where you upgrade.
You can most certainly buy a fast computer. Dell or any other manufacturer will happily sell you the latest gaming machine or a solid media editing rig but they'll charge you a premium for it. It's these scenarios where you can build your own at a fraction of the price. However, your custom built computer will have no warranty and if something goes wrong, there's no toll-free number to call to magically fix it. The reality of it is that you have issues, you have to troubleshoot it yourself. If you have a hardware issue and you've narrowed it down to the culprit part then you have to contact the manufacturer of that part, hope they didn't have a ridiculously short warranty period, etc. (It's not fun but it's the cost of playing the I-built-my-own-computer game sometimes.)
The nice part about building your own is that you can usually upgrade parts much easier and you can buy better parts from the start. For example, if you spring for some nice Dell Ultrasharp monitors, you don't have to trash them when you build a new computer in 5 years. You can re-use monitors, keyboards, mice, cases, etc.
CONCLUSION
This is the way I always think about it; You can spend $300 or $3000 on your computer. No matter how much you spend, you're going to be upgrading something about 5 years. Building your own rig isn't cheaper when you're going for a basic home machine unless you already have some parts to start with. But if you want to get picky about your parts or you use your computer for more taxing activities them building is really a route worth considering. Each way you go has its pros and cons so I hope this helped you somehow.
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