 Wolfie00My dog is an elitistPremium
join:2005-03-12
kudos:4 | reply to alturner
Re: before they build it Not to muddy the waters here, but we did a fair amount of research before reaching our decision to build a system, and it involved Dell, Alienware, local vendors, and building from parts. And I do have a fair amount of direct experience with Dell.
Yes, there was a small premium on the Alienware system over a comparable Dell, but this seemed justified by a better reputation for quality but more importantly, by system specs that were much closer to what we were looking for in a gaming system. You can of course debate the point; I'm just saying that was our conclusion ("we"= my son the gamer and I as the overseer of this process).
The build-vs.-buy decision is much more personal and philosophical. The objective fact (which surprised me) is how much cheaper it is to build. I had been under the impression that major vendors got their parts under such huge quantity discounts that they could put together systems much cheaper than an individual could build them for. I actually think this may have been true at some point, but it's an important fact that it certainly no longer is true, at least not in general.
However building isn't for everyone. I have to admit, facing my first build, that I was worried as hell about all the things that could go wrong, mostly because we jumped headfirst into doing a first build with some pretty expensive high-end components. It's really best suited to folks who are either going to approach it with a sense of adventure, or else those who have done it so many times that it's just routine. Someone who is going to fret and fuss and worry is probably someone who will get genuine good value out of the extra cost charged for a prebuilt system. Nothing wrong with that.
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"Against stupidity, the very gods themselves contend in vain" -- Friedrich Schiller
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