Ways to order & purchase "custom built" pc?

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Sn@kebite

Registered User
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Hi, i just wanted to know if it was true but i heard via a friend that getting a pc custom built is alot cheaper than going through the usual way. ie off the shelf or from Dell.(mainly if you want specifics, like speed & performance)
Is this true and how do i go about doing this?
Thanks!
 
Sn@kebite said:
Hi, i just wanted to know if it was true but i heard via a friend that getting a pc custom built is alot cheaper than going through the usual way. ie off the shelf or from Dell.(mainly if you want specifics, like speed & performance)
Is this true and how do i go about doing this?
Thanks!
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A colleague of mine researched this extensively for a high performance PC that he wanted to assemble (not a gaming machine but lots of multimedia work) and he ended up going with Dell (outlet) once he realised that there were no savings to be made and Dell could cutomise a PC to his required spec.
 
Be careful where you are getting this built. I assume you are sidestepping the likes of Dell (apologies if i am wrong) and getting a 'freelancer' to build it. It WILL be half the price but beware, a friend of mine has gotten PC's custom built twice from different sources (high spec gaming machines) and has experienced problems not with his spec or quality of components he asked for but with basic electrics, ie overheating, components not being matched electrically - not an expert on it, but that was a problem. An electrician fixed it to sum it up, not a techie. Guess we can't all be experts in our chosen field!
 
panathon said:
It WILL be half the price but beware
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I wonder...?
a friend of mine has gotten PC's custom built twice from different sources (high spec gaming machines) and has experienced problems not with his spec or quality of components he asked for but with basic electrics, ie overheating, components not being matched electrically - not an expert on it, but that was a problem. An electrician fixed it to sum it up, not a techie.
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Half the price for a non working PC isn't much use?
 
Caveat said:
Iqon in Dundalk should also be good for this.
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I have first hand experience of IQon laptops going very wrong and breaking down shortly after the 1 year warranty has expired.
I'm sure it can happen to any brand and it might be a coincidence but I would be careful about them because of my own experience of it happening to my sister and also to a friend.
 
sign said:
I have first hand experience of IQon laptops going very wrong and breaking down shortly after the 1 year warranty has expired.
I'm sure it can happen to any brand and it might be a coincidence but I would be careful about them because of my own experience of it happening to my sister and also to a friend.
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Could be bad luck - my whole family have them (PCs not laptops) and they have been fine. I've had mine for 6 years - no probs - and if I remember, about £300 (punt) cheaper than everything else at the time. Also of course, I got exactly what I wanted in terms of spec. Maybe important to specify higher end components (processor etc) as you will undoubtedly be given the cheapest otherwise.

In fairness, Iqon weren't the best in the earlier days but are much better quality now.
 
Every Dell PC will be thoroughly tested and so should be very reliable.

If you are building yourself, there's always a possibility of some hardware issues, compatibility or maybe even cooling problems !
 
Hi, thanks all for you replies!

I'll look at the koplett website, thanks CCOVICH!

I was told that having a high GHz eg. 2.8Ghz+ doesn't really make your pc any faster than a 1.8GHz pc if you have the same vid card, RAM etc.. in the pc, it this true?

I really wan't a pc that can handle heavy games, because my current pc seems to be getting slow with these new games that are coming out now. And there's some new technology called "pixel shading" that really flattens your graphics card.

Would i be better buying new hardware for my current pc like a new motherboard & new graphics card. Or should i bite the bullet and get a whole pc?
And would my current pc be able to hold a DualCore board because it's a single cpu now from 4 yerars ago?

Thanks!
 
Sn@kebite said:
Hi, thanks all for you replies!

I'll look at the koplett website, thanks CCOVICH!

I was told that having a high GHz eg. 2.8Ghz+ doesn't really make your pc any faster than a 1.8GHz pc if you have the same vid card, RAM etc.. in the pc, it this true?

I really wan't a pc that can handle heavy games, because my current pc seems to be getting slow with these new games that are coming out now. And there's some new technology called "pixel shading" that really flattens your graphics card.

Would i be better buying new hardware for my current pc like a new motherboard & new graphics card. Or should i bite the bullet and get a whole pc?
And would my current pc be able to hold a DualCore board because it's a single cpu now from 4 yerars ago?

Thanks!
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The most important thing for you is the Graphics Card - this will have a direct effect on the quality of the image and gameplay, next is memory. If it is a Vista PC go for 2 Gb of RAM. If your PC is 4 years old you should go for a new PC get a Dual Core if you can afford it.

The ability to hold a new motherboard will depend on the form factor of your current PC. Many are ATX and ATX form mother boards are indeed available for Dual Core chips.
 
CCOVICH said:
Have you had a look on [broken link removed] ?
Also try Maplin.
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Have you found their PC's good value? I think they are quite expensive. Cheapest bang for buck is the Dell outlet on a good day. (But its not always a good day on the outlet). Building yourself gets you a better PC IF you know what you are doing. Better, but it won't be cheaper.

panathon said:
...problems ...with basic electrics, ie overheating, components not being matched electrically....An electrician fixed it...
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Strange, overheating is not an electrical problem, its a cooling problem. It would have nothing to do with an electrician. Alos these days computer components simply slot together. Its nigh on impossible to cause a problem that would require the services of an electrician. Unless someone was doing some hardcore mods, which is unlikely if you were building a PC for someone else.
 
Sn@kebite said:
....I was told that having a high GHz eg. 2.8Ghz+ doesn't really make your pc any faster than a 1.8GHz pc if you have the same vid card, RAM etc.. in the pc, it this true?
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No. Some games are heavily dependant on CPU speed. Others the video card. So it depends which game you are talking about.

Check out the benchmarks for the games you want to play and you will see what hardware works best for those games.

Sn@kebite said:
I really wan't a pc that can handle heavy games....

Would i be better buying new hardware for my current pc ....it's a single cpu now from 4 yerars ago?
Click to expand...

In my opinion. No sell it buy a new one.
 
OP having built my own custom rigs I can tell you that it is marginally cheaper, think 20% not 50% but you really have to know what you are looking for, where to sources it cheapest, etc. to make it worth your while.
While the components may seem a lot chaper rememb that you still have to pay for windows and probably office and whole bunch of other software, burning and anti-virus etc.

Dell will build a basic PC very very cheaply but when you stray outside the machines core settings they screw you. I.E. when you upgrade the graphics card / hdd/ RAM they'll charge you through the nose for the privilage.

Komplett will build it for you and that is a very good offer, because paying techie like me to build it for you will add another 100 to the price minimum.

I build my own because I want a gaming rig with a lot of storage, 2TB.
The other problem with Dell or other manufacturers is the motherboard and ram they use, they are generally slower and the motherboards tend not to leave much room for expansion.

Custom rigs offer high end performance and expandability at a mid level price if you are a techie and you know what you are doing otherwise stay away.
 
Deimos said:
....
Custom rigs offer high end performance and expandability at a mid level price if you are a techie and you know what you are doing otherwise stay away.
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I agree with you there. But I still say for a mid to basic machine you won't beat a keen outlet price at the right time. For games and high end machines it probably better to build your own.
 
The Dell XPS Generation 5 and subsequent models are a great PC for gaming if they are within your budget.

Depending on how far you want to push things you could check out an Alienware PC if you really want extreme gaming capabilitites.
 
Panacea said:
The Dell XPS Generation 5 and subsequent models are a great PC for gaming if they are within your budget.

Depending on how far you want to push things you could check out an Alienware PC if you really want extreme gaming capabilitites.
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They are very over priced per "bang for buck" IMO.

I used to built my own, and overclock them in the past. Can't be bothered and don't have the time anymore. I just try to pick up a bargain off the outlet, when I need a PC. I play games infrequently now, and happy to compromise with lower res and detail, if it means I'm saying hundreds of euro. Or use a laptop which is just handier now.

TBH unless your a hardcore PC gamer, a console kinda makes more sense for mainstream games. I prefer PC titles though.
 
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