Project Reality Forums

Just wondering everyone's opinions on either custom built or just pre-made PC's. I want to get a better one, but just curious as are the pre built ones bad? Because i found a few good (well looks to be) on some sites for pre builts such as

Buy the Lenovo ThinkCentre M58 7244-A34 Desktop PC at TigerDirect.ca

Newegg.ca - HP Pavilion Slimline s5-1020 (QN650AA#ABC) Desktop PC Pentium E6800(3.33GHz) 4GB DDR3 1TB HDD Capacity Intel GMA X4500 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Newegg.ca - CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra 2122 Desktop PC A4-Series APU A4-3400(2.7Hz) 8GB DDR3 1TB HDD Capacity AMD Radeon HD 6410D Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/ ... CatId=4929

Obviously my budget isnt very high. Max 550$ but that's pushing it.

Custom dude. I was going to buy one from iBuyPower, but I ended up building one myself. I don't know if I saved money, but I definitely ended up with a rig better than the one I would've bought for not many extra bucks. With your budget, going the custom route is going to take a lot of browsing in the clearance and bargain sections and a bit of patience.

But if you must buy a premade one, I'd go with the Cyberpower. Hopefully it comes with a MoBo that'll give you room for upgrades in the future.

Edit:Looked at the photo for the Cyberpower, it does have a PCI-e 16x slot, so you'd be able to put a dedicated graphics card in it in the future.

Are these supposed to be for gaming... [your purpose for buying them]? None of the above are really suited for such purposes.

A much better choice:


Reusing your current peripherals, ODD and OS. You could lower the price by getting a cheaper PSU, only 4GB of ram, a 500GB HDD (or reusing your current one) and dropping the CPU down a bit, although none of which I really recommend.

Save another CA$15 by buying this HD6850:

XFX Radeon HD 6850 Fansink 775MHZ 1GB 4.0GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI Display Port HDMI PCI-E Video Card - XFX - HD685XZCFC

If you use a different H61 mobo, with newegg.ca combo deals you can either save another CA$45, or save $25 and upgrade to the G820 CPU.


Mobo:
Newegg.ca - ECS H61H2-M2(1.0) LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Combos:
Newegg.ca - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

Rebate (ends 4/15/2012)
http://images10.newegg.com/uploadfilesf ... 12cd12.pdf

Power Supply Unit and Graphics Card combo:

Newegg.ca - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

Thermaltake Smart SP-530P 530W ATX 12V 2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

bundled with:
1x ASUS EAH6850 DC/2DIS/1GD5/V2 Radeon HD 6850 1GB ...

In stock.

Was: $229.98
Now:
$215.98
Save: $14.00
$20.00 Mail In Rebates

http://secure.newegg.ca/Shopping/AddToCart.aspx?Submit=ADD&ItemList=Combo.864858
AMD Athlon II X4 645 Propus 3.1GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX645WFGMBOX
MSI 760GM-P23 (FX) AM3+ AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
G.SKILL Value Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9S-4GBNT
LOGISYS Computer CS301BK Black solid 6.0mm SECC metal ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 480W Power Supply
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Was: $317.45
Discount: -$35.46
Combo Price: $281.99

Plus this:
XFX Radeon HD 6850 Fansink 775MHZ 1GB 4.0GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI Display Port HDMI PCI-E Video Card - XFX - HD685XZCFC
XFX Radeon HD 6850 Fansink 775MHZ 1GB 4.0GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI Display Port HDMI PCI-E Video Card

Our Price: $149.99 CAD
Savings Code 63985-1259. SAVE $30.00 off our regular price of $179.99 if you buy today! Special price ends 4/18/2012.

After Mail In Rebate: $129.99 CAD
Save $20.00 with manufacturer's mail-in rebate!

Your Complete System will Cost this:
CA$282 +$150 -$20 = CA$412 + tax and shipping

Note: This mobo has no IDE connector, so if your current CD/DVD Drive is IDE, you have to spend another $20 on a SATA DVD Drive.

Note: If you want to go close to $500, I saw some other combos that can work.

CTRifle wrote:Just wondering everyone's opinions on either custom built or just pre-made PC's. I want to get a better one, but just curious as are the pre built ones bad?

Obviously my budget isnt very high. Max 550$ but that's pushing it.

A lot of things will factor in on prices, including where you live and what options you need. Generally, a custom-built rig will cost more because you're throwing in components that you personally request, not a mass-produced component or stuff that is being phased out.

If your budget is low but you absolutely MUST HAVE a new computer, I'd suggest a pre-made model that has "room to grow". But if you can spare the funds, or have plenty of quality spares sitting around, you could either do a rebuild with a bare-bones kit or start from scratch and aim for low-end items with upgrade capabilities.


Most pre-mades will use a low-end power supply (often a 300-400W), as much onboard audio/video/etc as they can get away with, a micro- or mid-atx case with little surplus space, and components that are new but at the end of their technology life cycle or are in-house OEM stuff that usually slumps on overall quality or performance. In most cases, if you buy a pre-made you'll end up doing a lot of upgrading along the way, but it's cheaper to start off with.

If you do go the custom-build route, make sure you know what you're doing. And I don't just mean knowing how to install a video card or flash BIOS, but have enough knowledge and understanding of general computer systems and technology progression that you are building a system capable of future upgrades, instead of locking yourself in with an outdated processor size or aging RAM type.

IF you can pull it, this system would last for years and you can eventually overclock this beast of a CPU to extend the life of the system. It's better than the system I game with.

Newegg.ca has alot of coupon codes offers on the internet, you spend a bit of time you should be able to find a free shipping code.

this combo:
Newegg.ca - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

1x Rosewill R519-BK Black Computer Case 500W Power Supply (Model:R519-BK)
$69.99

1x BYTECC Model SATA-118C 18" Serial ATA-150/300 Cable w/Locking Latch (Model:SATA-118C)
$3.49

1x GIGABYTE GA-880GM-D2H (REV. 3.1) AM3+ AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard (Model:GA-880GM-D2H (REV. 3)
$84.99

1x AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX (Model:HDZ965FBGMBOX)
$119.99

1x G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ (Model:F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ)
$29.99

1x Seagate Barracuda Green ST1500DL003 1.5TB 5900 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (Model:ST1500DL003)
$99.99

1x LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 (Model:iHAS124-04)
$19.99

Combined Total: $428.43
Combo Discounts: -$39.44
Combo Price: $388.99

and this
XFX Radeon HD 6850 Fansink 775MHZ 1GB 4.0GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI Display Port HDMI PCI-E Video Card - XFX - HD685XZCFC
XFX Radeon HD 6850 Fansink 775MHZ 1GB 4.0GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI Display Port HDMI PCI-E Video Card

Our Price: $149.99 CAD
Savings Code 63985-1259. SAVE $30.00 off our regular price of $179.99 if you buy today! Special price ends 4/18/2012.

After Mail In Rebate: $129.99 CAD
Save $20.00 with manufacturer's mail-in rebate!

Total System CA$388.99 +$150 -$20 = 520 plus taxes and shipping

'[R-COM wrote:LITOralis.nMd;1759028']IF you can pull it, this system would last for years and you can eventually overclock this beast of a CPU to extend the life of the system. It's better than the system I game with.

Newegg.ca has alot of coupon codes offers on the internet, you spend a bit of time you should be able to find a free shipping code.

this combo:
Newegg.ca - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!


and this
XFX Radeon HD 6850 Fansink 775MHZ 1GB 4.0GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI Display Port HDMI PCI-E Video Card - XFX - HD685XZCFC
XFX Radeon HD 6850 Fansink 775MHZ 1GB 4.0GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI Display Port HDMI PCI-E Video Card

Our Price: $149.99 CAD
Savings Code 63985-1259. SAVE $30.00 off our regular price of $179.99 if you buy today! Special price ends 4/18/2012.

After Mail In Rebate: $129.99 CAD
Save $20.00 with manufacturer's mail-in rebate!

You are awesome now for the Video card, the combo you gave doesnt have one correct? Yea thats a great deal thanks

The link to the XFX Radeon HD 6850 Fansink is the video card from ncix.ca

It's just one option, and the rebate is expiring on 4/18, if you are not ready yet to buy the system you should find similar rebates/coupon codes/discounts on equivalent hd6850's in the near future.

oh.. hmm probably wont be that soon but thanks anyways, ill look into some codes and what not

newegg is the best place to buy custom in my oppinion or tigerdirect

and from my experience cusotm is way cheaper than premade unless you find some really good deals
compare custom macs to premade macs

I ussually select combos when I buy custom parts which saves even more money

and

the biggest reason premade is more expensive is because companies that sell the premade comps add more money to the price tag than they currently cost so that they can make money when they sell'

hence why alienware and apple computers are so expensive you are buying the tag pretty much

'[R-COM wrote:LITOralis.nMd;1759028']
XFX Radeon HD 6850 Fansink 775MHZ 1GB 4.0GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI Display Port HDMI PCI-E Video Card - XFX - HD685XZCFC
XFX Radeon HD 6850 Fansink 775MHZ 1GB 4.0GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI Display Port HDMI PCI-E Video Card

Our Price: $149.99 CAD
Savings Code 63985-1259. SAVE $30.00 off our regular price of $179.99 if you buy today! Special price ends 4/18/2012.

After Mail In Rebate: $129.99 CAD
Save $20.00 with manufacturer's mail-in rebate!

Are you shitting me?


Did they boost the price in the past month or are they just spitting in the face of the free market and free trade.

Double post.