How much do you save building a computer compared to buying on from a company?

Answer 1

You won't save much especially for low to middle end system (already assume you buy most of the components during HOT DEAL). If you don't buy most components during hot deal, low end system probably more expensive that buying it during sale from company like Dell. People build their own PC now mainly to choice the hardware they want and has nothing to do with saving money. Or they want to overclock their system since most of the low-mid end company like Dell sold can't overclock if at all.

For highend system(gaming system), those company usually overprice their computer and you may be able to save some and choice the exact hardware you want. Like pick the best overclock motherboard, video card, CPU. And pick the best looking case, etc when you build it yourself. With the right components, you can easily overclock the system 10%-15% faster. For mid-high end sytem, that is like extra few hundred dollar saving since don't need to pay for even more expensive hardware to get the extra speed.

With all that said, Black Friday (USA Thanksgiving holiday) is coming up, much much higher chance to buy good computer components at very low price during those few weeks. Last year, I was able to build a mid-high end system for much lower price than from company like Dell. I got free PSU (pretty good one), free case, during those sale. Half the price for CPU/video card (pretty high end one), etc. Got Windows XP Pro upgrade for like $50-60 from Office Depot. The total price is lower than from Dell and the motherboard, CPU, memory I got can overclock very well. Can easily overclock to 25-30% faster than stock speed.

Good site to check for HOT DEAL for computer components is
http://www.fatwallet.com/c/18/

Got super hot deal right around this time last year by checking Fatwallet often.

Answer 2

That all depends on how you go about it. You can go to yard and garage sales and pick up older computers cheap and part them out. The only parts that I would use would be the optical drives, floppy drives, memory (if compatible with a new mobo and large enough), and maybe a hard drive if it is large enough for a second HDD. The rest of the parts I would buy from newegg.com. If you buy all the parts you'll probably not save that much. What you will gain though is separate warranties on all the parts. The name brand computers have a 1 or 2 year warranty on ALL of the parts. A mobo, for example, carries a 3 year warranty, memory is usually lifetime. You also can upgrade easily. You can customize the computer for your personal use, not a "cookie cutter" unit.

Answer 3

Yeah......you have covered te pros and cons well. Before i had any clue about the inside workings of a computer i always bought them. The place i purchased them from builds their own. We called them clones.The store was not far from me and their support was second to none. I would never buy a brand name computer, i would almost do without first. Computer manufacturers install components from the lowest bidder to their specifications. Most of the support is offshore and is terrible. Now i build my own and for a few others. I don't make a huge profit and i use the best components available. It costs whatever it costs. I don't skimp on anything but try to stay within the budget. If i have a problem that i can't solve i can go to the computer store that i used to buy from for help as we have become very good friends.

Answer 4

Nowadays building a computer is more for the hobby of it than saving money. You cant touch the prices Dell offers for a new computer if your trying to build one yourself. They even include a monitor.

If you do build a PC yourself you are going to have full control over the components that are in it. If your looking for a basic "internet, email" PC you should buy one from a computer manufacturer.

Answer 5

If you are talking about buying every single component and building the PC from scratch, it will be FAR cheaper to purchase a compelte system.

The prices you pay for individual components is just too high. Plus, a PC will generally come with a warranty of perhaps 12 months (give or take). Many individually purchased components have warranties as short as 3 months, and in some cases virtually none at all.

Unfortunately, you just can't beat buying a complete machine for price and warranty.

Answer 6

I don't think you actually save anything... I typically build my own - the nice thing is you can research which case, motherboard and processor you want with specific manufacturers of components that you like. You can add specific fans - maybe ones that lightup or clear towers - whatever....., power supplies, etc... and make it the way you want it.

I think that built computers can be less expensive but....you may have to sacrifice some of the things you want. The bottom line is I think IF you built it with the same specs as a company, it'd be cheaper to buy the built computer - BUT - if you want specific hardware, etc., it would be cheaper to build it yourself.

Answer 7

It is getting harder and harder to build a system which is cheaper than one from a computer manufacturer. Most vendors have sales offering a free LCD monitor and/ or printer. In addition, they come preinstalled with popular software. It is hard to beat such offers. And assembling an entire system takes a lot of time and know how. I agree with what another answerer said, the biggest benefit building a system yourself is that you can pick what parts you want to install.

Answer 8

You will lose money. Buy a good p4 processor computer used and upgrade the ram.

Answer 9

#1- When you buy one from a co. you will be paying for software that you dont need or will never use like, How to play golf,How to paint your house etc.

Answer 10

well its what you want in the pc that matters

http://www.tigerdirect.com/