Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Store Bought Vs. Custom Built

TrionicusTrionicus Member UncommonPosts: 498

Happy Holidays my fellow enthusiasts, how you all doing?

I'm hoping you all can nerd rage and help me with a little problem I have here. I've got yet another friend who has recently bought a computer from best buy. I believe it is this model: 

 

http://reviews.bestbuy.com/3545/5555478/asus-essentio-desktop-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-reviews/reviews.htm

 

It cost my friend roughly $800 - I'm assuming this doesn't include sales tax. My friend then continued on to buy a replacement video card, the AMD 7770 and an unknown corsair 700W power supply.

 

The bottom line: I was trying to convince my friend that with basically $900 she could assemble a much better PC herself. Can I get a little support here, I don't want her to get the short end of the stick as I've seen so many friends down that path, purchasing store bought PC's only to have it backfire in their face. All the items were bought in the last 24hrs so i'm thinking that returning everything shouldn't be a problem.

 

She mostly plays MMO's but would like her PC to be capable of running the most graphic intensive games out today at decent framerates.

 

For some unknown reason she thinks made a great purchase, I would like us to turn her from the dark side!

Comments

  • miguksarammiguksaram Member UncommonPosts: 835

    The short answer is if she can return it all she should.  $900 spent on a personal build will yield a MUCH better computer overall.  Afterall, if she replacing parts on a brand new computer the little money that was spent on parts already in the computer is money wasted, there is no denying that. 

    Now to get a better idea of how much money she would actually be working with if she built her own, outside of the stuff you listed she recently purchased does she already own a monitor/keyboard/mouse/speakers and surge protector or an UPS?  Those items are all pretty much a must for a computer (the UPS is optional if you have a surge protector) and if she doesn't own them it brings down the total cost she has to build the tower by a decent amount, as in closer to $700 which if that is the case Quiz literally just linked a $700 build today in a previous post for another member that is still very valid if she can order from Newegg.

    However if she does have all the peripherals needed and can devote a full $900 to the build we would need to know her full intentions with the computer in order to provide a build that fits her specific needs.  If it's primary purpose will be for gaming some examples of the more GFX intensive games she plans to play would also be advisable because it will help to determine which level of GPU would be reasonable to suggest.

  • GrayGhost79GrayGhost79 Member UncommonPosts: 4,775
    Originally posted by Trionicus

    Happy Holidays my fellow enthusiasts, how you all doing?

    I'm hoping you all can nerd rage and help me with a little problem I have here. I've got yet another friend who has recently bought a computer from best buy. I believe it is this model: 

     

    http://reviews.bestbuy.com/3545/5555478/asus-essentio-desktop-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-reviews/reviews.htm

     

    It cost my friend roughly $800 - I'm assuming this doesn't include sales tax. My friend then continued on to buy a replacement video card, the AMD 7770 and an unknown corsair 700W power supply.

     

    The bottom line: I was trying to convince my friend that with basically $900 she could assemble a much better PC herself. Can I get a little support here, I don't want her to get the short end of the stick as I've seen so many friends down that path, purchasing store bought PC's only to have it backfire in their face. All the items were bought in the last 24hrs so i'm thinking that returning everything shouldn't be a problem.

     

    She mostly plays MMO's but would like her PC to be capable of running the most graphic intensive games out today at decent framerates.

     

    For some unknown reason she thinks made a great purchase, I would like us to turn her from the dark side!

    Just show here what she has, show her reviews of what she has, the individual parts and then take her to newegg and show her what she could have gotten. 

    For $900 she can get a rig that will be considered high end for years to come and mid ranged for years after lol. 

    Thats with a GPU and CPU that will damn near be double the power and performance of what she has in the bestbuy PC. 

  • RaysheRayshe Member UncommonPosts: 1,279
    The other upside to a Personal Built PC. is when something goes wrong, there is a chance you already know what it is. you could not read any information on computers but just by the act of putting pieces togeather learn how it works in a core fashion

    Because i can.
    I'm Hopeful For Every Game, Until the Fan Boys Attack My Games. Then the Knives Come Out.
    Logic every gamers worst enemy.

  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,347

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Essentio+Desktop+-+8GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/6699862.p;tab=specifications?id=1218786214592&skuId=6699862

    I count 42 lines of specs there.  And for all of that, they only tell you one part in the entire machine, namely, the processor.  They come kind of close on the video card, which is basically a rebranded GeForce GT 520, and Nvidia's lowest end card of the last three generations.  They also tell you some about the optical drive and hard drive.

    But what power supply is it?  What motherboard?  If they don't tell you, it's probably junk.

    Now, you said your friend did replace the power supply, and Corsair doesn't make any junk power supplies.  None of their good lines hit 700 W exactly, so it was most likely a GS700, which is basically a budget model without the budget price tag.  But it won't be a danger to your system.

    And you said your friend did replace the video card with a Radeon HD 7770.  That probably pushes the price tag over $1000, ignoring taxes.  That's easily enough to get a gaming rig for which every single component is better than what your friend got except the optical drive (since they're all basically equivalent, anyway) and the processor--though you could argue for a Core i5-3570K (what you'd get if you built your own) as being better than a Core i7-3770 due to overclocking capabilities.

    You notably didn't say that your friend replaced the case.  And that could be trouble, as it looks like it has just a single case fan for airflow.  That's plenty for the low power hardware that it came with, but it's not meant to cool a high-powered video card.

  • DomotoDomoto Member UncommonPosts: 82

    Well, I can tell you that there is a 30 day return policy on everything sold in store now, so hopefully still some time for that...figured I would try and help in some way :D

    Please do your friend a favor and show her the light of the custom PC

    also, Aori, not all of us are complete assholes and have no idea what we are talking about, just most :P

     

    image
  • GrayGhost79GrayGhost79 Member UncommonPosts: 4,775
    Originally posted by Domoto

    Well, I can tell you that there is a 30 day return policy on everything sold in store now, so hopefully still some time for that...figured I would try and help in some way :D

    Please do your friend a favor and show her the light of the custom PC

    also, Aori, not all of us are complete assholes and have no idea what we are talking about, just most :P

     

    Now time for the Disclaimer on the BestBuy refund policy because this is a fun one lol.

     

    Your refund will generally be in the same form as the original purchase. However, when the item was paid for with cash or debit card without a major credit card logo in an amount greater than $500, or paid for by check in an amount greater than $250, the refund will be in the form of a check mailed within 10 business days of the return. Any amounts deducted from a gift card or Pitch In card will be credited to the gift card or Pitch In card used.

     

    Depending on how you paid it can take up to 2 weeks to get your refund. 

  • TruthXHurtsTruthXHurts Member UncommonPosts: 1,555
    Explain to her that as a man your opinion is automatically superior,  and after she gets you a sandwich from the kitchen and does her duty downstairs. Lead her by her delicate hand to the return desk. Then beat her with a stick no bigger than your thumb until she orders a custom built off of the internet.

    "I am not in a server with Gankers...THEY ARE IN A SERVER WITH ME!!!"

  • DomotoDomoto Member UncommonPosts: 82
    Originally posted by GrayGhost79
    Originally posted by Domoto

    Well, I can tell you that there is a 30 day return policy on everything sold in store now, so hopefully still some time for that...figured I would try and help in some way :D

    Please do your friend a favor and show her the light of the custom PC

    also, Aori, not all of us are complete assholes and have no idea what we are talking about, just most :P

     

    Now time for the Disclaimer on the BestBuy refund policy because this is a fun one lol.

     

    Your refund will generally be in the same form as the original purchase. However, when the item was paid for with cash or debit card without a major credit card logo in an amount greater than $500, or paid for by check in an amount greater than $250, the refund will be in the form of a check mailed within 10 business days of the return. Any amounts deducted from a gift card or Pitch In card will be credited to the gift card or Pitch In card used.

     

    Depending on how you paid it can take up to 2 weeks to get your refund. 

     

    Very rarely does this happen, more or less an amount above $500 paid for with cash or debit would have to come back as cash...which the drawers do not have. most transactions above this price I have seen are generally a credit card of sime kind, or processed as credit.

    This actually is pretty close to most every other major retailer out there...

    image
  • TraugarTraugar Member UncommonPosts: 183
    Originally posted by GrayGhost79
    Originally posted by Domoto

    Well, I can tell you that there is a 30 day return policy on everything sold in store now, so hopefully still some time for that...figured I would try and help in some way :D

    Please do your friend a favor and show her the light of the custom PC

    also, Aori, not all of us are complete assholes and have no idea what we are talking about, just most :P

     

    Now time for the Disclaimer on the BestBuy refund policy because this is a fun one lol.

     

    Your refund will generally be in the same form as the original purchase. However, when the item was paid for with cash or debit card without a major credit card logo in an amount greater than $500, or paid for by check in an amount greater than $250, the refund will be in the form of a check mailed within 10 business days of the return. Any amounts deducted from a gift card or Pitch In card will be credited to the gift card or Pitch In card used.

     

    Depending on how you paid it can take up to 2 weeks to get your refund. 

    Who pays cash for something over $500.  More than likely she used her debit card, or credit card. 

  • TrionicusTrionicus Member UncommonPosts: 498

    Thanks guys. I think maybe hearing it from other people just might do the trick so this is very appreciated. Then again, more stubborn people might feel ambushed :O

    I'm pretty sure she already has peripherals etc... She IS sticking with the asus case (I think thats what she likes most about the PC). I'll go ahead and pass on the whole 'go make me a sammich" 

    The whole issue of the refund could suck though. Having to wait up to 2 weeks for anything is never awesome.

  • Rojen06Rojen06 Member UncommonPosts: 3
    I recently updated my pc, got a AMD quad-core + gigabyte mother board. 8gigs or ram for only $145 with about $11 in tax.
  • SuperXero89SuperXero89 Member UncommonPosts: 2,551
    Originally posted by Trionicus

    Happy Holidays my fellow enthusiasts, how you all doing?

    I'm hoping you all can nerd rage and help me with a little problem I have here. I've got yet another friend who has recently bought a computer from best buy. I believe it is this model: 

     

    http://reviews.bestbuy.com/3545/5555478/asus-essentio-desktop-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-reviews/reviews.htm

     

    It cost my friend roughly $800 - I'm assuming this doesn't include sales tax. My friend then continued on to buy a replacement video card, the AMD 7770 and an unknown corsair 700W power supply.

     

    The bottom line: I was trying to convince my friend that with basically $900 she could assemble a much better PC herself. Can I get a little support here, I don't want her to get the short end of the stick as I've seen so many friends down that path, purchasing store bought PC's only to have it backfire in their face. All the items were bought in the last 24hrs so i'm thinking that returning everything shouldn't be a problem.

     

    She mostly plays MMO's but would like her PC to be capable of running the most graphic intensive games out today at decent framerates.

     

    For some unknown reason she thinks made a great purchase, I would like us to turn her from the dark side!

    Does she know how to build her own PC?  If not, will you help her?

    It's not easy in any sense of the word unless you've built plenty before.  I get annoyed by people who keep telling random people on the internet to build their own PCs.  $900  is a huge investment and all that money goes into the trash if you break something.  

     

  • SouldrainerSouldrainer Member Posts: 1,857
    Originally posted by SuperXero89

    Originally posted by Trionicus
    Happy Holidays my fellow enthusiasts, how you all doing? I'm hoping you all can nerd rage and help me with a little problem I have here. I've got yet another friend who has recently bought a computer from best buy. I believe it is this model:    http://reviews.bestbuy.com/3545/5555478/asus-essentio-desktop-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-reviews/reviews.htm   It cost my friend roughly $800 - I'm assuming this doesn't include sales tax. My friend then continued on to buy a replacement video card, the AMD 7770 and an unknown corsair 700W power supply.   The bottom line: I was trying to convince my friend that with basically $900 she could assemble a much better PC herself. Can I get a little support here, I don't want her to get the short end of the stick as I've seen so many friends down that path, purchasing store bought PC's only to have it backfire in their face. All the items were bought in the last 24hrs so i'm thinking that returning everything shouldn't be a problem.   She mostly plays MMO's but would like her PC to be capable of running the most graphic intensive games out today at decent framerates.   For some unknown reason she thinks made a great purchase, I would like us to turn her from the dark side!

    Does she know how to build her own PC?  If not, will you help her?

    It's not easy in any sense of the word unless you've built plenty before.  I get annoyed by people who keep telling random people on the internet to build their own PCs.  $900  is a huge investment and all that money goes into the trash if you break something.  

     

     

    Honestly, if you can't build a PC in the modern era, then I wouldn't recommend using one, either. You plug square pegs into squarr holes and round pegs into round holes. DONE!

    Error: 37. Signature not found. Please connect to my server for signature access.

  • SuperXero89SuperXero89 Member UncommonPosts: 2,551
    Originally posted by Souldrainer
    Originally posted by SuperXero89
    Originally posted by Trionicus

    Happy Holidays my fellow enthusiasts, how you all doing?

    I'm hoping you all can nerd rage and help me with a little problem I have here. I've got yet another friend who has recently bought a computer from best buy. I believe it is this model: 

     

    http://reviews.bestbuy.com/3545/5555478/asus-essentio-desktop-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-reviews/reviews.htm

     

    It cost my friend roughly $800 - I'm assuming this doesn't include sales tax. My friend then continued on to buy a replacement video card, the AMD 7770 and an unknown corsair 700W power supply.

     

    The bottom line: I was trying to convince my friend that with basically $900 she could assemble a much better PC herself. Can I get a little support here, I don't want her to get the short end of the stick as I've seen so many friends down that path, purchasing store bought PC's only to have it backfire in their face. All the items were bought in the last 24hrs so i'm thinking that returning everything shouldn't be a problem.

     

    She mostly plays MMO's but would like her PC to be capable of running the most graphic intensive games out today at decent framerates.

     

    For some unknown reason she thinks made a great purchase, I would like us to turn her from the dark side!

    Does she know how to build her own PC?  If not, will you help her?

    It's not easy in any sense of the word unless you've built plenty before.  I get annoyed by people who keep telling random people on the internet to build their own PCs.  $900  is a huge investment and all that money goes into the trash if you break something.  

     

     

    Honestly, if you can't build a PC in the modern era, then I wouldn't recommend using one, either. You plug square pegs into squarr holes and round pegs into round holes. DONE!

    Say you've never built a PC before.  You don't even know what all the connectors are called.  You just follow the instructions found in the three or four different manuals you're referencing while you build your machine.  You finally get the machine built, yet when you press power on the case, nothing happens.

    What is the newbie going to do then?

  • JimmyYOJimmyYO Member UncommonPosts: 519
    if you're confident building your own you should do so, without a doubt. If you do a little shopping you can get a computer roughly 30% better for the same price by building yourself. I've done 50%+ better in the past thanks to newegg.
  • SuperXero89SuperXero89 Member UncommonPosts: 2,551
    Originally posted by Aori
    Originally posted by Souldrainer
    Originally posted by SuperXero89
    Originally posted by Trionicus

    Happy Holidays my fellow enthusiasts, how you all doing?

    I'm hoping you all can nerd rage and help me with a little problem I have here. I've got yet another friend who has recently bought a computer from best buy. I believe it is this model: 

     

    http://reviews.bestbuy.com/3545/5555478/asus-essentio-desktop-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-reviews/reviews.htm

     

    It cost my friend roughly $800 - I'm assuming this doesn't include sales tax. My friend then continued on to buy a replacement video card, the AMD 7770 and an unknown corsair 700W power supply.

     

    The bottom line: I was trying to convince my friend that with basically $900 she could assemble a much better PC herself. Can I get a little support here, I don't want her to get the short end of the stick as I've seen so many friends down that path, purchasing store bought PC's only to have it backfire in their face. All the items were bought in the last 24hrs so i'm thinking that returning everything shouldn't be a problem.

     

    She mostly plays MMO's but would like her PC to be capable of running the most graphic intensive games out today at decent framerates.

     

    For some unknown reason she thinks made a great purchase, I would like us to turn her from the dark side!

    Does she know how to build her own PC?  If not, will you help her?

    It's not easy in any sense of the word unless you've built plenty before.  I get annoyed by people who keep telling random people on the internet to build their own PCs.  $900  is a huge investment and all that money goes into the trash if you break something.  

     

     

    Honestly, if you can't build a PC in the modern era, then I wouldn't recommend using one, either. You plug square pegs into squarr holes and round pegs into round holes. DONE!

     

    Agreed

    More or less its pretty easy. It is just a few things to know which one would consider common sense but obviously it is lacking in the modern world. Don't go trying to generate static by rubbing your feet across your carpet then attempt to put a PC together. Don't use brute force, it is rarely needed except when trying to get certain heatsinks to sit right.

    Watch a youtube video on how to put a PC together or even use one of neweggs videos, they're usually pretty good at showing idiots putting pc's together.

    The hardest part in getting a standard pc put together these days is cable management and sometimes front panel plug ins.

    Is it common sense to use spacers when mounting the motherboard to the side of the case?

  • SuperXero89SuperXero89 Member UncommonPosts: 2,551
    Originally posted by Aori
    Originally posted by SuperXero89
    Originally posted by Souldrainer
    Originally posted by SuperXero89
    Originally posted by Trionicus

     

    If for whatever reason the PC doesn't power up then they can come ask this forum or one of the 100s of helpful tech forums for assistance. Either way the op is the friend of the person who is buying a store bought, It is assumed he would help with the assembly.

    Right...

     

    If you don't know what you're doing, building a PC can be a massive pain in the ass.  Of course, if you wanna learn, the best way is to just jump in and try, but if you just want a working machine, pay a little extra and have it built by professionals.

     

    It's not as easy as you and others make it sound to most people.

  • treysmoothtreysmooth Member UncommonPosts: 648
    Originally posted by Trionicus

    Happy Holidays my fellow enthusiasts, how you all doing?

    I'm hoping you all can nerd rage and help me with a little problem I have here. I've got yet another friend who has recently bought a computer from best buy. I believe it is this model: 

     

    http://reviews.bestbuy.com/3545/5555478/asus-essentio-desktop-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-reviews/reviews.htm

     

    It cost my friend roughly $800 - I'm assuming this doesn't include sales tax. My friend then continued on to buy a replacement video card, the AMD 7770 and an unknown corsair 700W power supply.

     

    The bottom line: I was trying to convince my friend that with basically $900 she could assemble a much better PC herself. Can I get a little support here, I don't want her to get the short end of the stick as I've seen so many friends down that path, purchasing store bought PC's only to have it backfire in their face. All the items were bought in the last 24hrs so i'm thinking that returning everything shouldn't be a problem.

     

    She mostly plays MMO's but would like her PC to be capable of running the most graphic intensive games out today at decent framerates.

     

    For some unknown reason she thinks made a great purchase, I would like us to turn her from the dark side!

    I build systems for a living selling custom builds and sales service and yeah she can get far far more for her money. I just upgraded my system with this and spent around 750 consider that they included all the big stuff and you get the picture.  Heres what I bought and what it cost she her the list and she will realize how much more she could have had.

    Sapphire 6950 video card added around 6 months ago blows the doors off the 7770 to put it in a frame of reference the 6950 2gb model is faster than the 7850 which destroys the card she bought.

    AMD 8350 4 ghz 8 logical core proc

    160 dollar mobo on sale for 100 gigabyte brand

    32 gigs of quad channel gskill memory running at 1600

    Corsair 400r case

    and  I bought a corsair 500 psu to go in my old build and moved my OCZ modular 700 watt to the new build.

  • SuperXero89SuperXero89 Member UncommonPosts: 2,551
    Originally posted by Aori
    Originally posted by SuperXero89
    Originally posted by Aori
    Originally posted by Souldrainer
    Originally posted by SuperXero89
    Originally posted by Trionicus

    Happy Holidays my fellow enthusiasts, how you all doing?

    I'm hoping you all can nerd rage and help me with a little problem I have here. I've got yet another friend who has recently bought a computer from best buy. I believe it is this model: 

     

    http://reviews.bestbuy.com/3545/5555478/asus-essentio-desktop-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-reviews/reviews.htm

     

     

    Is it common sense to use spacers when mounting the motherboard to the side of the case?

    It is common sense to follow the instructions when you don't know what you're doing.

    You're assuming that the motherboard will instruct the builder to use spacers.  Not all of them do.

  • DomotoDomoto Member UncommonPosts: 82

     think this video series could help someone who has never done it before, is it the be all end all? of course not, but I imagine someone without any experience could at least get an idea 

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCwI

    Have her watch that OP if it applies

    image
  • DrakynnDrakynn Member Posts: 2,030
    Originally posted by SuperXero89
    Originally posted by Aori
    Originally posted by SuperXero89
    Originally posted by Souldrainer
    Originally posted by SuperXero89
    Originally posted by Trionicus

     

    If for whatever reason the PC doesn't power up then they can come ask this forum or one of the 100s of helpful tech forums for assistance. Either way the op is the friend of the person who is buying a store bought, It is assumed he would help with the assembly.

    Right...

     

    If you don't know what you're doing, building a PC can be a massive pain in the ass.  Of course, if you wanna learn, the best way is to just jump in and try, but if you just want a working machine, pay a little extra and have it built by professionals.

     

    It's not as easy as you and others make it sound to most people.

    It's a matter of perspective...PC's today are much simpler to put together than they were 10 years ago.The ATX form factor helped a lot with that as well as other standards.no messing with jumper pins or trying to figure out which wires go where...it's farily simpel to connect the dots these days.However I agree that for someoen with no expereince at all starting can seem daunting.But I think anyone of average intelligence can figure it out quite quickly.

  • SuperXero89SuperXero89 Member UncommonPosts: 2,551
    Originally posted by Aori
    Originally posted by SuperXero89
    Originally posted by Aori
    Originally posted by SuperXero89
    Originally posted by Souldrainer
    Originally posted by SuperXero89
    Originally posted by Trionicus

     

    If for whatever reason the PC doesn't power up then they can come ask this forum or one of the 100s of helpful tech forums for assistance. Either way the op is the friend of the person who is buying a store bought, It is assumed he would help with the assembly.

    Right...

     

    If you don't know what you're doing, building a PC can be a massive pain in the ass.  Of course, if you wanna learn, the best way is to just jump in and try, but if you just want a working machine, pay a little extra and have it built by professionals.

     

    It's not as easy as you and others make it sound to most people.

    If building a PC is beyond someones ability then you're right they need a built machine but any $300-400 machine will fit their needs.

    For everyone else who needs something more then they know how to goto www.youtube.com and search DIY PC guides.

    lol...

    There are plenty of PC gamers out there who don't know how to build entire machines.  That doesn't mean they're computer illiterate.  They've probably at least shoved a few video cards or RAM sticks into their motherboard, but they may not have built a computer from the ground up.

    Local computer shops and companies like Alienware and iBuyPower make plenty of money off of these people.  

    I'm not saying people shouldn't learn how to build their own PC.  It's a valuable skill, but it's not as simple as you people are trying to make it sound.  The devil is in the details.  No, I doubt someone unfamiliar with building PCs knows anything about ESD, Corrosion, proper cooling, applying thermal paste, how big the power supply should be, or what brand, how to properly seat RAM, the differences in dual and triple channel, chosing a processor based on socket type on the motherboard.  Even though plugging things into the motherboard has been made easier (what hasn't been made easier these days?), it'll still be a slow process for someone unfamiliar with building computers.

    Then there's overclocking.  People who don't know how to build computers probably don't even need to think about messing with overclocking, yet plenty of people think overclocking is some sort of a given when it comes to building a PC.

  • miguksarammiguksaram Member UncommonPosts: 835

     

    Though it's not my intention to stir the pot so to speak I feel that one considering spending over $500 on a PC and are on the fence about should they have someone else build it because they currently don't know how or should they take the plunge and try it themselves consider this, how much do you make per hour at your job, or rather how valuable is your time?

    The old saying holds true in that time is in fact money and if you earn more than the amount of time it would take you to learn how to build a computer (with proper studying this would take any reasonably intelligent person about a day’s worth of site searches/video tutorials) then paying someone else to do it is probably a good option.  For everyone else (that meets the "reasonably intelligent" caveat) paying someone else to do it versus educating yourself is nothing short of lazy.

    Or in other words:

    "give a man a fish he is hungry again in an hour. If you teach him to catch a fish..."

    And in the rare case you attempt it and somehow fail you can THEN take it to a local computer shop and pay them to correct your mistake (assuming you didn't fry a part or it wasn't DOA, the former you really should have paid more attention to what you read about and in the case of the latter you have to accept this just happens and requires a RMA.  Something even experienced builders can't avoid).

     

  • DobuzinskyDobuzinsky Member Posts: 9

    A couple of years ago, I took the plunge/chance on ordering a custom built computer.  I had always built my own prior to this.  Things have gotten more complicated, though, at least during that time.  I read horror stories of memory chips by brand name incompatible with certain motherboards, ordering components online only to have them dead on arrival and the difficulty of exchange/returing them.  I priced components at my local electronics big box store and other local outlets and the cost at retail was too much even for my fairly extravagent budget.

    I researched the various better known online custom build sites, user reviews on non-affilliated sites.  Of course, it was confusing due to the praise and bitter detractions posted for every vendor.  I finally narrowed down who I would order my system from... I was skeptical and feared my $'s would be lost.  As for cost, customization, variety, I couldn't find one advertising better than AVA Direct (no, I don't work for them or even know these people).  I also don't make any claims for or against them than my own experience and most certainly couldn't predict others'. 

    I'm still running the system today with only upgrading the OS, the video card and monitor.  I couldn't have built my system for less by purchasing the components separately and assembling them myself.  Customer service was top notch, at least in my circumstance.  They made recommendations for different components that were more compatible and stable that didn't cost me extra.  I received my system in the predicted timeframe.  EVERYTHING WORKED during the initial bootup.

    Regardless, do your homework... read reviews from 3rd parties on the components, vendors, etc., before you take the plunge.  I find it hard to believe you could purchase components and asseble them yourself much cheaper than a custom builder due to their ability to buy in bulk.  Your system will be tested and working at time of shipment.

Sign In or Register to comment.