factory or custom computers? - Page 3

**DudeMan** · 03-13-2005, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheFeniX

I'll bet most of you consider custom built PCs cheaper because you most likely are not using legal copies of things like your operating system, burning software, and other needed utilities. Legit businesses have to factor those costs in.

absolutly not everything i own is legally purchased. its cheaper because you are not payiong the wages of the guy that fixes the computer together and you are not paying for the "free" warranties....

i got my computer top of the range, (when it was built) and a worse computer than mine was being sold by dell for £400 more than what i spent on my entire system.

**DudeMan** · 03-13-2005, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wyzcrak

The strongest argument I see for custom PCs is saving money. If you have more money than time or in-house resources (personally or professionally) when it comes to getting a broken PC working again, custom simply isn't the smart choice.

absolute rubbish, i have had a pc since i was 9 years old, i have never had to throw one out because i couldnt get it working.. and i have never had to phone up some bod who just got his degree to answer a question about a pc...

pcs are easy when you know how, if you dont know how buy factory.... if you do know how buy custom.

**9 v** · 03-13-2005, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheFeniX

I'll bet most of you consider custom built PCs cheaper because you most likely are not using legal copies of things like your operating system, burning software, and other needed utilities. Legit businesses have to factor those costs in.

The opposite for me. When i built my first hi-end machine i didn't want any dodgy software on it at all, in order to keep it all as top-notch and as clean as possible. i bought an OEM XP Pro from eBay, with a genuine COA (one that i've had to reactivate around 16 times when building this machine, thanks originally to a faulty mobo..) and i have less software than i previously did, as i won't put anything illegal into it.

As far as the cost of custom/pre-built goes, i think mine all in all costs around the same as a similar spec PC in PCWorld now, although when i first bought it all it was slightly cheaper. The difference is all my individual components are high quality not just generic, and are designed to cope with a good deal of overclock. And it's a nice looking, cool aluminium case too, not some garishly horrific plastic thing with go faster ribs on the front.

**Wyzcrak** · 03-13-2005, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DudeMan

absolute rubbish

Did you just say the above and then proceed to completely agree with me? lol

**DudeMan** · 03-13-2005, 05:11 PM

Quote:

when it comes to getting a broken PC working again, custom simply isn't the smart choice.

ABSOLUTE RUBBISH

**Wyzcrak** · 03-13-2005, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wyzcrak

If you have more money than time or in-house resources (personally or professionally) when it comes to getting a broken PC working again, custom simply isn't the smart choice.

That's absolute rubbish?

**DudeMan** · 03-13-2005, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wyzcrak

That's absolute rubbish?

yes, support from dell or anyone else requires you to have knowledge of your pc, whether they fix your problems by engineer or by telephone instructions, it still takes alot more effort to get them to do it.

if its your own box, you tinker with it for a couple of hours and you fix it...

its not the money or the time at all, infact i would wager that i can fix my PC faster than any dell technician, and most people who know what they are doing on their own machine will too. its not the time or money its purly the technical knowhow. that was my point, and i dont think its the same as yours at all.

**Wyzcrak** · 03-13-2005, 10:22 PM

You misunderstood me, but, given that misunderstanding, I see where you're coming from. My point was that, if you don't have the technical knowledge, custom isn't the best solution.

**leejo** · 03-13-2005, 10:54 PM

Custom is the best solution because different parts of a PC go obsolete at different times. This year the graphics card needs to be replaced. Next year the HD is the bottleneck. Either you pay through the nose to get the fastest pc on the planet and wait 4 years (when it's totally incapable of running the latest games at decept fps) to pay through the nose again, or you learn how to do it yourself and keep your machine generally capable.

Dell isn't rich by doing anyone any favors. If you buy a dell or any other manufactured PC then you're paying them to assemble and support yours. Better to learn what you need yourself. The stuff is pretty easy anyway, and if you run into trouble type the error message in a search window. Voila.

**=DdogG=** · 03-13-2005, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheFeniX

Are you talking about volume licensing, or buy one copy then install on many PCs. The latter being illegal, which can result in a heavy fine and also screws the customer in the end.

no, I am talking about me as a person buying the copy of xp in retail form, allowing me the person to reinstall it on the next computer I build..... retail versions can be transfered legally by removing all traces from the old computer.... maybe you need to read my thread in the hardware software forum on this subject... I know what is legal and what is not. as for volume liscences, yes, those are cost effective options as well, buying 50 to 100 licenses is a great way to keep costs down.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheFeniX

Do you include labor in that cost (both building and installing software)? Shipping costs (which Dell will offer free shipping when they feel like it). Tech support (which you have to provide, not Dell/HP/etc)? Taxes from parts overhead at the end of the year? DOA parts that you most certainly have recieved?

yes.... usually, it takes 3 hours to assemble, install, and configure a computer.... taxes are not an issue to out of state sales, and shipping is negligible. in state sales are usually local and then taxes are negligible. I can still put together a computer to rival Dell for the same money. Dell has a volume pricing plan but millions in overhead. my overhead is 0.00. my markup is whatever I want it to be.QUOTE=TheFeniX]I'll bet it's cheaper for your customer, but not that much cheaper for you. We did a cost analysis back when our boss was thinking along the lines of: Buy parts and software, Install them, $$.[/quote]while my customer gets out cheaper.... what does it have to do with me? I make money. they save money. When I build a computer for me, I save tons of money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheFeniX

There's a lot more involved than you give credit for. At least for my company, it's just not worth it. We also get the bonus of if the PC screws up, we can blame Dell. If a custom built PC goes bad, all the blame is on you.

what do you mean there is more than I give credit for..... I do it all the time... I know what is involved..... and or me and my customers, going with a Dell is wasting money on inferior parts and service. show me any dell configuration and I will be able to match it at the very least, even after a markup for it to be worth my while. but configure it completely. the dell 400.00 computer has no monitor, no office, and a very basic warranty. of course, I do have some channels not available to everyone here, but I bet I can do it through newegg and get easily within 50 bucks probably come in under, AND have higher quality components. and for most people here, the real reason for custom is for themselves, not for resale.

Uchiha Obito · 03-14-2005, 01:40 AM

Here's my 2 cents. I've owned I guess 4 factory built computers in my life. My newest one was custom built with help from a friend. At the same time I bought/made mine, my dad bought a dell. His dell's specs run pretty much equal to mine with mine being moderately faster with a much better graphics card. However, my computer cost me an entire 200 dollars less than my dad's computer cost him. I don't buy into that warranty crap either, Newegg insures my stuff till it gets here and for about a month or 2 afterwards, that's plenty of time IMO to notice if there are any kinks in your set up. I will always choose custom over factory. p.s. Custom lets you get bitching towers; plus any "special deals" dell or gateway or anyone runs typically offer you a decent set up, but give you the shaft on at least one aspect of the system, and this is usually the graphics card.

**TheFeniX** · 03-14-2005, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by =DdogG=

the dell 400.00 computer has no monitor, no office, and a very basic warranty. of course,

15" monitor, Word Perfect, and "90 Day Warranty, 90 Day At-Home Service, and 1Yr Technical Support." Hardware always has it's own warranty. And while some of Dell parts are questionable, they do use some bettwe quality standardized parts. In 5 years of installing them, I've only had to call tech support maybe 9 times.

I've quoted a cheap Dell, but the issue with a price battle on this is that if you are selling something and you want to beat a price: you will. Even if you take a loss on it. Thus I don't believe either one of our arguements can go any further.

**=DdogG=** · 03-14-2005, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheFeniX

15" monitor, Word Perfect, and "90 Day Warranty, 90 Day At-Home Service, and 1Yr Technical Support." Hardware always has it's own warranty. And while some of Dell parts are questionable, they do use some bettwe quality standardized parts. In 5 years of installing them, I've only had to call tech support maybe 9 times.

in the past year I have called dell 8 times......

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheFeniX

I've quoted a cheap Dell, but the issue with a price battle on this is that if you are selling something and you want to beat a price: you will. Even if you take a loss on it. Thus I don't believe either one of our arguements can go any further.

mine can.... I can beat dells price with newegg... there is no loss to take.... I make 150 on it and still best dell by a few bucks....

what are the specs on that computer? (lets put a great software bundle together...just like the oems do....)

ahead nero xpress (comes free with a cdburner)
powerdvd or windvd (comes free with a dvd player)
Mcaffee AV (comes free with most motherboards)
Openoffice suite or wordperfect 12 (you can sometimes pick wp up for free....)
winxp home (50.00 my cost.... 80.00 from newegg)
AOL (free trial)
musicmatch (free)
winamp (free)
microsoft money basic (10 bucks tops)
upgrade to MSoffice for 179.00 (costs me 120)
upgrade to win xp pro for 100 (costs me 50 extra)

so I have 90.00 invested in this great software package. and if you upgrade, i make 20.00. as for 400 in hardware.... please....

now, to compare newegg to delll.............

case/ps 22.88 (16 s/h)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...145-046&depa=1
mb 37.00 (4 s/h)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...185-038&depa=0
2.66 cel d 88.00 retail (2 s/h)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...112-193&depa=1
hdd new... not white label 47.00 (5 s/h)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...140-133&depa=1 or
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...152-008&depa=1
memory 256 ddr 23.00 (4.33 s/h)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...161-612&depa=1
dvd/cdrw (an upgrade for dell) 31.00 (3.5 s/h)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...190-008&depa=1
key/mouse/speaker 13.00 (7 s/h)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...186-004&depa=0
floppy 8.00 (3 s/h)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...103-301&depa=0
monitor 169.00 (10 s/h)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...024-504&depa=1
winxp home 87
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduc...102-151&DEPA=0

that's 580 shipped....... all from newegg.

now, to get the same thing from dell is 734 before shipping and taxes.

I had to add for the mcaffee, burning software, dvd, cdrw, floppy, speakers, adding a 1 yr warranty, (which is the minimum with the parts i chose), and corel wp 12.

now, 580 plus a very generous 150 for my 3 hours of work is...... look at that... 730.

I made a good chunk of change and still beat dell by 4 bucks.

newegg>dell

**Wyzcrak** · 03-14-2005, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by =DdogG=

in the past year I have called dell 8 times

Being lonely and needing someone.. anyone... to talk to doesn't count.

**DudeMan** · 03-14-2005, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Custom is the best solution because different parts of a PC go obsolete at different times

yes another excelent reason...

with factory if you yourself open the machine the tech support and warranty is gone by by....

View Poll Results: What type of computer would you prefer?
Factory-made	5	10.20%
Custom-made	38	77.55%
Either one...as long as it plays my games and do work	6	12.24%
Voters: 49. You may not vote on this poll

03-13-2005, 10:22 PM	#38 (permalink)
Wyzcrak Join Date: May 2003 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 14,148	Re: factory or custom computers? You misunderstood me, but, given that misunderstanding, I see where you're coming from. My point was that, if you don't have the technical knowledge, custom isn't the best solution. __________________ Steam Community? Add me. \| Join #tacticalgamer \| Search Results Legend \| New Posts Forum Filter \| Postbox Toggle \| Live Thread Review \| One Line Results \| Free Remote, Encrypted Backup Darkilla: In short, NS is pretty much really fast chess. With guns. Apophis: I haven't seen anyone say that SM's are better than non-SMs. Nordbomber: This is THE first server I've seen where either side can comeback from out of seemingly nowhere with the right teamwork. en4rcment: I have NEVER experienced the type of gameplay that I have found here. Nightly I am amazed at the personalities and gaming talent. Root: Welcome to TG. Feel free to punctuate your sentences correctly. Monkerz: Its gonna take all my skills to beat those boys off in the future.

03-13-2005, 10:54 PM	#39 (permalink)
leejo Join Date: Sep 2003 Age: 39 Posts: 7,839	Re: factory or custom computers? Custom is the best solution because different parts of a PC go obsolete at different times. This year the graphics card needs to be replaced. Next year the HD is the bottleneck. Either you pay through the nose to get the fastest pc on the planet and wait 4 years (when it's totally incapable of running the latest games at decept fps) to pay through the nose again, or you learn how to do it yourself and keep your machine generally capable. Dell isn't rich by doing anyone any favors. If you buy a dell or any other manufactured PC then you're paying them to assemble and support yours. Better to learn what you need yourself. The stuff is pretty easy anyway, and if you run into trouble type the error message in a search window. Voila.

03-14-2005, 01:40 AM	#41 (permalink)
Uchiha Obito Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Texas Age: 25 Posts: 345	Re: factory or custom computers? Here's my 2 cents. I've owned I guess 4 factory built computers in my life. My newest one was custom built with help from a friend. At the same time I bought/made mine, my dad bought a dell. His dell's specs run pretty much equal to mine with mine being moderately faster with a much better graphics card. However, my computer cost me an entire 200 dollars less than my dad's computer cost him. I don't buy into that warranty crap either, Newegg insures my stuff till it gets here and for about a month or 2 afterwards, that's plenty of time IMO to notice if there are any kinks in your set up. I will always choose custom over factory. p.s. Custom lets you get bitching towers; plus any "special deals" dell or gateway or anyone runs typically offer you a decent set up, but give you the shaft on at least one aspect of the system, and this is usually the graphics card.

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