I Really Want To Know Which Is Better?

Question

I want to know which whether a self built computer or buying an already made oneis better in terms of cost and performance in gameplay of course.
So could anyone help me.

Answer 1

I have done both many times. The deciding factor for me is whether the PC is for my own use or for someone else. When I am the principal user, I build my own so I can get the highest-end performance parts and tweak them to my heart's content.

When purchased for someone else (like my kids at college), I buy an integrated and supported gaming PC like an XPS from Dell. Sooner or later, there will be important files and applications on this PC in addition to the high-end games. When something goes wrong, I don't have the history since I'm not the principal user. A pre-configured system generally doesn't get tweaked by someone else, so there's not as much history to worry about when diagnosing problems - and I can make it Dell's problem. Also check out www.alienware.com for high performance gaming systems.

When building my own, the best resource for performance information is Tom's Hardware Guide (www.tomshardware.com). Plan to spend considerable time there, and read each Guide rather than just the latest news headlines. There are Guides with full performance rankings and explanations for motherboards, memory, video cards, disk drives, CPUs, etc. Tom's explanation of overclocking is the definitive consumer source on the subject and something you'll want to consider if you are aiming for top performance.

You'll have to answer for yourself (or post another question here) the ongoing debate about buying an Intel Pentium CPU vs. an AMD Athlon. Then address the similar debate between ATI vs. NVIDIA video cards. These two components plus your motherboard selection will be the primary factors in your PC's speed. When you get to disk drives, definitely buy two and implement in a RAID 0 configuration for top speed. It effectively doubles your disk I/O performance. Of course, you'll have to weigh rotational speeds against cost. Still, two RAID 0 disks at 7,200 RPM beat a single disk at 10,000 RPM.

When it's time to buy the components, the best resource is Price Watch (www.pricewatch.com). This site is the place where all the other on-line retailers post their prices, then Price Watch displays them for you sorted by price (shipping cost is factored in before sorting). Decide up front whether you want full retail versions of each component or can live with the cheaper OEM version, then search Price Watch accordingly. Keep in mind that OEM versions typically don't ship with the extras, like games with the video card, a fan with the CPU, etc.

Be especially careful on memory. The cheapest memory is the stuff that didn't pass the tests for name-branding. Check out First Choice Memory (www.1stchoicememory.com) for an explanation of the different grades. Personally I buy only the top grade to reduce the risk of memory errors in the future, which are very hard to identify and diagnose.

Good luck!

Answer 2

There are a lot of factors that go into that decision. Of course, if it is self-built then you can put exactly what you want in it and make sure they are the best. Now, ready built are usually very cheap because they use all integrated hardware - Video, sound, LAN, and everything else that they can put on the motherboard. With that, you lose a lot of the performance and you will eventually put your own Video Card in there too. Integrated video usually will share a portion of your system memory taking away from running programs and the OS. You can however, put a lot of money into the custom-built system to make it a Gaming Monster. Still, if you were to find a ready-made machine with everything exactly the way you wanted and then priced the same parts to build it yourself - building it yourself will be cheaper. Hope this helps...

Answer 3

When you are ready to buy a new system, go to www.stupidcheapcomputers.net. I buy all of my stuff from them, and everything is Vista ready.

Microsoft is about to release its latest operating system, Vista, in January. It’s going to make all of these “bargain” computers nothing but JUNK as soon as it’s released. The reason that you are seeing so many cheap systems on the market right now is because a lot of them CAN’T RUN Vista and the merchants are trying to dump them as hard and fast as they can before Vista shows up and everyone learns what a piece of crap they were sold for $500 (or whatever).

Anyway, I bought a complete, new system from stupidcheapcomputers.net with a warranty for LESS than it would cost me to build it myself or order a custom one from the manufacturer. You can use my frequent buyer code: ATX926. That will get an additional 10% discount at checkout.

I have NEVER had any problems with anything that they have sold me and their customer service is outstanding. Those guys blow my mind.

Good luck!

Answer 4

building one from scratch can give you a lot of flexibility when choosing your hard drive and storage capabilities and several computer part manufacturers offer competitive prices so you can build yourself a mega computer. however you have to take in to consideration that your built from scratch computer won't be loaded with the standard software that you will get from a supplier so you will have to purchase a copy of Windows and other utilities (unless you are using another OS). places like Dell offer mild flexibility, you can always upgrade but you are locked in to their pricing which could get steep once you start outfitting the computer with extra enhancements. YOu should determine what you are willing to pay extra $$$ for, say like a large hard drive, fancy motherboard, fast video driver, flashy monitor etc. then you can really compare costs. YOu should buy a reliable, no frill computer from a supplier, and then upgrade those parts which need to be more powerful, such as your video driver to load excellent graphics and prevent your screen from freezing, you'll save money and still be able to enhance it enough to make it a great gaming machine. thats my suggestion.

Answer 5

Building your own compueter is generally cheaper, but it requires that you know how to build it, and that you know which PARTS are compatible with eachother...

The best websites to look at for parts are...

http://www.newegg.com
http://www.tigerdirect.com

NOTE: Sometimes you can get what they call a BAREBONE package, which is ALL THE COMPATIBLE parts of a computer in one package, but you build it... Its usually cheaper and you dont have to worry about finding which items are compatible...

Answer 6

some good-byes are the longest ever familiar, And now i imagine on ------------are all Byes "good" i'm now tempted to put up a poem wrote in 1997, perchance i visit-------- it truly is an enticing study on the note and takes my thoughts to many places, ever in ask your self who reported the first good- bye, and the cousin words to work out you later, farewell, adieu, and so on. Horizions do anticipate, Kudos! on a deep situation with only a note!

Answer 7

Build your own! While the task may seem daunting,researching chipsets,processors,ram architecture,and so on,you can easily build a machine with much better performance than "off-the-shelf" goods! Good Luck! ;-)=

Answer 8

For your sake, I suggest a self-built one...that way you can easily upgrade it later if you want, and you probably will since you are a gamer. Plus, you know exactly what you have in it in case you need to know.

Answer 9

Build yourself one. It's more fun and you can determine its cost and performance at any time by upgrading it.