Build or Buy new PC
AndyAkins
Posts: 42
Greetings all,
Sometime in probably mid-late November to December, I plan on getting my first PC in over two decades - I've been a Mac user for that long. I intend on staying a primary Mac user, but I'm looking to get a PC to use as a render box, as I have been really enjoying learning/working with Daz, but haven't enjoyed the render times with my bigger scenes :-)
As the subject says, I'm curious about peoples opinions around:
- Building a computer
- Hiring someone/company to build it for me
- Buying a computer from a company (which may be a glorified version of 2)... think Alienware, Titan, Digitalstorm, etc.
I'm well aware that theoretically you can do #1 cheaper, and the resulting computer won't have company bloatware on it. However, as I noted, I haven't messed with PCs in over 20 years, and I don't have a lot of experience in building them (and any experience is probably 25-30 years old). At least with #2 (and maybe #2) - there is tech support (which may be good or bad) and warranties... with #1, if I jack up some expensive part, well, its a loss.
So, for a hardware noob like myself, is #3 worth the extra money for simplicity and support? Or is the cost savings so good with #1, I should build it myself? Or is #2 a good compromise?
Followup question - for #2 and #3, any good companies/people to recommend to either build for me or buy a box? For the record, I'm in the southeast United States (GA)...
Thanks!
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Comments
I've recently had a PC built following the sudden death of my previous box, I went with your option #2 and got a local computer shop to build it for me.
I probably could have managed #1, but really don't feel confident - and could have wasted a lot of money if things went wrong.
I've done #3 before (before I got into 3D rendering and just wanted a good general box), but I couldn't find much that fitted my specific needs for Daz rendering - i.e. I want a particular graphics card, but I don't want to pay for some of the other things that come with high end gaming PCs which I don't need.
So I went to my local independent computer shop and got him to build a machine based on the spec I obtained in this thread. I'm pretty happy with the result (still waiting for a new 3080 card, so I'm using the old PC's graphic card for now), plus I'm supporting a local small business - which I think is important in the current climate.
This is propably the best option. Make your own grocery list and let a local shop build one to your specs.
I doubt one can save much money trying to build their own PC with the specs they want vs. buying a customized PC from an online source. Plus you get some support and warranty from the online source.
If you want to test this comparison go to pcpartpicker.com and try it out. Can compare to cyberpowerpc.com which gives you lots of customization options.
I built my current PC 4 years ago (used pcpartpicker.com to spec the system out, which is really helpful since it automatically checks compatibility of components to make sure they will work together and also shows pricing from various sources). The cool thing about this is that I could spec the system exactly the way I want it and not have to compromise if buying from a vendor. Bought all the components and when it was time to build the system, I found there were literally hundreds of You Tube videos showing how to put all the parts together (I found one that was using nearly all the same components--motherboard, CPU, RAM and video card), which was a real help. I used my old laptop with You Tube up and took my time to follow the build video and had the whole system put together and ready to power up in under an hour. It actually took longer to get Windows installed and running than the actual system build time. I found this also helps me with troubleshooting my hardware, since I know how I installed every component and don't have to try and figure out what a third party might have done when building. I would suggest looking at You Tube and if it still seems too complicated or off-putting to you, go with option 2 or 3 and have someone else build the system for you.
The savings of building your own is substantial and goes up the higher the budget goes up.
I build PC's as a side gig.
My standard pricing is as follows:
$100/hr for assembly,testing/OS and software installation + 10% of the component cost if I spec the system for you, order the parts and have them shipped/buy them at Microcenter.
So for a reasonable gaming PC with a parts cost of $1000 I'll charge $100 to spec the system and another $200 for the labor to assemble. So that system winds up costing you $1300. That's in line with what the same sort of PC will cost from some one like iBuyPower or the like that uses all off the shelf components. Things like custom water cooling adds substantially to the build and design time.
So the question to answer is do you want to watch a few youtube videos, there are hundreds at least that show how to build a PC, or do you want to spend the extra money. Guys like me will be grateful for the money if you go that route.
If you do go to a local shop or a guy like me make sure they provide you with all the receipts and boxes for the parts so if any component fails you can get warranty returns, RMA, for it.
I've been building/upgrading PCs since 1984 and I wish it were true that I can buy parts as cheap as a large PC builder like CyberpowerPC (just an example, not promoting them), build it myself and save money, but I can't.
I just tried a high end build on pcapartpicker and at best the cost of parts is same as an identical customized fully built single warranty system from them. So no cost saving, just effort and risk at building it myself, no single warranty source and more than a few hours spent.
I agree not necessarily hard to build your own, but just don't see the value in doing so, assuming they allow you to customize the rig to your own specs. That said, by all means support your local PC shop.
Did you source identical parts for every single item? Because I have for that very builder and I usually come in at around 15 to 20% under. They go to considerable efforts to obfuscate some of their lower cost parts, PSU, RAM and case.
The parts were identical but I did start with one of their high end (VR3090~$3k) packages (not their builder tool), customized it with brand name components (deleted the RTX3090 bringing price to $1440) and took advantage of several fall deals. This approach also works on their sister site ibuypower. It is difficult sometimes to find the right base system to start to customize because, as you noted, they don't make all options available for customization and they vary from system to system.
Truly have no idea how you consider that proof then.
Something over five and a half years ago I spent a couple of weeks working up a new system config - when I was happy with it I bought the components and took the case and a tote of new-in-box parts to my local computer repair outfit. They charged me their standard bench diagnosis rate for the assembly and a flat price for Windows 8.1 pro downgraded to Windows 7 pro fully installed with a 24-hour burn-in and diagnostics run. I took the parts in around noon on a Monday and picked the system up Wednesday the same week. IIRC, it cost about $3200 for the hardware and about $270 for the build, OS, and OS install.
I've added a 980ti and a 1080ti and replaced the original 5 disk drives with larger drives (the original 5 - 1 X 500 GB, 2 X 750 GB and 2 X 1 TB were from the old system). I now have a 500 GB SSD (the original system drive for the box), 2 X 2 TB SATA (replaced the two 750 GB) and 3 X 2 TB SSD (the other three original drives).
I built 3 systems myself between 1992 and 2005 and just didn't feel like doing another one myself.
Yup, not proof, just another option. If saving $200 on a $1500 build is worth the effort then all good. Personally, wiring all those MB header pins with case wiring and ports is just tedious. If something doesn't work, the troubleshooting can take a lot of time. Just not worth it imho.
DIY vs DI someone else depends on your budget and amount of hands on or hands off desired. If you are really picky about parts, DIY can save you a bit on getting exactly what you want. It's not necessarily all that hard to build either. I built a 3X GTX-1080 custom water cooled system all by myself and got it to work the first time with no major problems and it wasn't all that hard. Took research and a few days to do it though and careful planning and work. I wouldn't necessarily recommend something that elaborate though. Just building a fairly simple air cooled rig with 1 high end card is probably the way to go. As others have said, use a part picker sight to see how much it would cost.
I needed a new PC for rendering as well and a few months ago my BF built one for me. He put together a Ryzen 7 with an RTX 2070 super and I helped. It's honsetly not that hard and I only got into computers because I got into Daz art. We bought all the parts from Amazon and newegg depending on who had the better price, watched a few Youtube videos and followed the steps. It's not hard and we even had fun. Best part was when we turned it on for the first time and it worked! Plus we saved a lot money. You should definitely try to build one!