[colug-432] Cost v. Price for a new build

[Rick Troth]

My son built his own. Did an awesome job! And I regularly swap parts
among surplus (some are hand-me-down from him).

On 01/25/2014 02:49 PM, Steve VanSlyck wrote:
> I built my first new system and was just curious what a similar system 
> would cost if bought from, say, Dell or HP. Don't need anyone to prove 
> anything or look anything just, just best guess.

The real value with BYO is that you know what's in the box. You're in
control.

Probably ten years ago, I got a custom-built PC from KC Computers (but
they are still in business; great testimonials). We first used it with
SUSE and VMware to host NT for the fam. (And as a server, but sneaky ...
in the background.) Then we moved to Ohio. Dunno what Ohio did to that
machine, but it started losing keyboard I/O.

Would still heartily recommend KC. But the mysterious trouble led me to
replace every component, including the case, most acquired from
MicroCenter. (Yes, the op sys too.) So in the end, I had built my own
machine.

That same year, my son got a PC as a birthday gift from his grandparents
... an HP Pavilion. (Is now hand-me-down and my best basement server.)

I second Steve's final comment below.


On 01/25/2014 08:01 PM, Steve Roggenkamp wrote:
>
> Years ago I went to upgrade a system on my son's Dell computer.   ...
>
> I decided at that time to build my own systems since I could select
> the parts and have an upgrade path.  Buying individual parts meant the
> manufacturers could not assume a specific system configuration and
> they would have to conform to industry standards.

Yes!

> I normally purchase a motherboard with the latest socket and a
> mid-performance CPU.  As the prices of CPUs came down and the
> performance went up I could easily switch the lower performance CPU
> for a better one without breaking the bank.  So far, this has worked
> quite well.

My son has swapped CPUs. I have not.

> I've switched several hard drives out as the cost of drives have
> declined and a couple have failed.  I've also switched the CPU on at
> least one occasion.

Don't get me started about disks.

> Building your own system provides the flexibility to upgrade as your
> needs change without having to purchase a whole new system.

Agreed. And for me, this is more important than trying to save money on
the completed system. (If cost is that important, consider surplus.)
Doing the overall assembly yourself gives you more control.

-- R; <><