[GUIDE] Dell Vs DIY. £1000 challenge

[AvalancheDiode]

Re: [GUIDE] Dell Vs DIY. £1000 challenge

I was thinking about that, the overcharge for gaming computers is quite obvious, but for lower end budget I actually think buying a prebuilt might be a decent deal.

Try beating a Dell Inspiron 530. What can you do with $300?

With $300 they give you a crappy PSU, crappy mobo and crappy CPU (Celeron 440 WTF?). Let's set at $509 and see what we can do with that money.

I beat that already with unconventional ways.

I bought my AMD Athlon 4850e from eBay for $60 shipping included. Motherboard is from Newegg openbox, $60. I bought quality RAM, but I could have gone lower with 4GB DDR2-667 for $70. HDs are cheap so I'd spend $90 to get a 500GB, though I'm actually using $44 WD 160GB. I still have $219 to spend on monitor, PSU, CPU cooler and a case, and it'll out-perform Dell 530 at similar price. Please remember that it doesn't worth it when it comes to acquiring a gaming computer. These companies lock up OC features that you would have from decent mobo makers. These companies also provide crappy PSU that will be your pain. In short, if you can set with anything and everything crappy, it's OK to buy from Dell, HP or even Gateway. However, if you want to have something decent, overclockable and upgradable, building is the only way to go.

[Wizrdwarts]

Re: [GUIDE] Dell Vs DIY. £1000 challenge

I suppose if you were going to use it as a primary computer, but even for offices, it would barely cut it I guess. One $600 comp > 2 $300 ones. And wtf they still make Celerons? I thought Pentium Dual Cores replaced the Celerons as Intel's low-end chip.

Pentium Dual Core E2200 2.2ghz - $79.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116063

GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX - $84.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337

EVGA 8800GS 384mb GDDR3 - $79.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130332

OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) - $20.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227124

Coolermaster Centurion 5 - $49.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119047

Antec Basiq BP500U 500W - $29.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371004

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache - $54.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148261

SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA - $26.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171

Total $427.92 after mail in rebates.

Now this is the lowest I would go for a computer, but you don't need an 8800 series card for office work. Pretty good for 10 minutes on Newegg, no?

[cracker666]

Re: [GUIDE] Dell Vs DIY. £1000 challenge

I have bought a DelInspiron from Tesco's £299.99
I have always built my own in the past, but at sub £300.00 job done.
Just need to flog old case,psu etc etc etc.

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.204-0126.aspx

Accessories Included USB optical mouse and keyboard
Box Contents 530 Resource DVD, OS reinstallation DVD, tiscali and BT broadband CDs, roxio recovery DVD, retailer specific tech support sheet, product information guide, 530 quick start map
Brand Dell
Bundle Contains PC base unit
Features of Product Performance desktop that is easily upgradable. The 530 comes with 4 external slots, 2 external 5.25' bays, 1 external 3.5' bay, 8 USB 2.0 ports 4 at front and 4 at back and space for 2 internal hard drives. With inspiron, you’ve got room to grow. Our built in HDA 7.1 channel surround sound audio delivers crisp clear sound for MP3s, movies, games and video chat. Take control of your PC with Microsoft's latest operating system, Windoes vista premium. Enjoy enhanced organization, search and network controls. Windows vista home premium also includes the new built in media center to manage your digital photos, videos and music and new parental controls to help keep your children's world safe
Graphics Integrated intel graphics media accelerator 3100
Hard Drive Serial ATA 7200 RPM
Keyboard Wired
Memory 2GB
Mouse Wired optical
Number of USB Ports 10 ports (4 Front, 4 back) + 2 internal
Optical Drive DVD dual layer rewriter
PC Hard Drive 320GB
PC Operating System Windows vista™ home premium
PC PCI Express Ports PCI - 2 slots, PCIe x1 - 1 slot, PCIe x16 - 1 slot
PC Processor Intel quad core
PC Processor Bus 1066 MHz
PC Processor Cache 8MB
PC Processor Model Number Q6600
PC Processor Speed 2.4 GHz
Product Depth 17 cm
Product Height 36 cm
Product Width 7 cm
Software Load Microsoft work 9, roxio ceator and myDVD 9.0, mcafee 30 day anti virus trial

[AlecJ32]

Re: [GUIDE] Dell Vs DIY. £1000 challenge

1000 pounds is a pretty high price point for a PC. I'd like to see it at a lower price point, as that's where things get more interesting.

How about $1200 USD?

In that line of things, Dell offers:

(Customized Dell XPS 420)

• Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300
• Windows Vista Home Premium SP1
• 4GB of Dual Channel DDR2-800 SDRAM
• 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Disk Drive w/ 16MB Cache
• 16x CD/DVD Reader/Burner drive
• ATI Radeon HD3870 512MB

....Which can be had for $1,199 USD!

In the DIY corner, the following system (Or something similar) could be had for the same price.

(Prices from Newegg.com)

• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz - $189.99
• GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - $134.99
• OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - $109.99
• COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $84.99
• CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - $119.99
• Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - $84.99
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM - $109.99
• MSI R4870-T2D512 OC Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - $289.99
• LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-05 - OEM - $29.99
• ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - $31.99
• Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - $5.99

For a grand total of....1192.89!

Clearly, building it yourself is the better route in this case, as well.

How about $600 USD with Monior, Mouse and Keyboard if anybody wants to have a go at that one? I have a feeling this is where things will get REALLY interesting, and this will probably be where Dell with have the initiative.

[Wizrdwarts]

Re: [GUIDE] Dell Vs DIY. £1000 challenge

^Hmm, Q9300? That's $80 away from the Q6600 on Newegg. I think downgrading to a 4850 would let you get the Q9300 and still outperform the Dell.

I really think Dell has the price advantage in lower price ranges since they can probably buy OSes in bulk or something like that.

$650 Dell system:
My Components
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E7200 (3MB L2 Cache,2.53GHz,1066 FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Service Pack 1
19 inch SE198WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel Monitor
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz- 2DIMMs
500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
16X DVD+/-RW Drive
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Dell USB Keyboard and Dell Optical USB Mouse
No Floppy Drive Included
No Modem Option
No Speakers
Windows Vista™ Premium

Processor is not bad, but it's running integrated graphics. You need to include mouse, keyboard, OS, and monitor for the comparison to be fair.

[AlecJ32]

Re: [GUIDE] Dell Vs DIY. £1000 challenge

^Hmm, Q9300? That's $80 away from the Q6600 on Newegg. I think downgrading to a 4850 would let you get the Q9300 and still outperform the Dell.

I figured these computers are supposed to be geared towards gaming. Since games tend to be GPU limited, I'd think you'd probably be better off with the mildly slower CPU and the faster GPU instead of the mildly slower GPU and the faster CPU.

I really think Dell has the price advantage in lower price ranges since they can probably buy OSes in bulk or something like that.

They do. Not only do they get their operating systems and software in bulk at extremely reduced prices per unit, but they also get their hardware at much lower prices per unit than your average consumer would get them at.

[Wizrdwarts]

Re: [GUIDE] Dell Vs DIY. £1000 challenge

A 4850 is still a lot faster than a 3870 though.

No takers for the $650 rig + m&kb + OS + monitor? You know, I have a great idea. Costco should start selling graphics card in 4-packs so you could either split it up among friends or do 4-way CF! :yay:

[Busby, Paul (Bicci)]

Re: [GUIDE] Dell Vs DIY. £1000 challenge

excelent guide mate il remember this when people ask me about why custom builds are so much better

[AlecJ32]

Re: [GUIDE] Dell Vs DIY. £1000 challenge

excelent guide mate il remember this when people ask me about why custom builds are so much better

Well, they're usually better, but when you get to the low price ranges they're not. OEMs have deals for low-priced systems that are very hard to beat.

[Busby, Paul (Bicci)]

Re: [GUIDE] Dell Vs DIY. £1000 challenge

As avalanche said a few posts above. They use crappy components and offer very little upgradeability for the future. I still reckon i could do it in most cases if i get parts from different stores to make sure everything was as cheap as possible.

I get free delivery from Scan which always helps

[AlecJ32]

Re: [GUIDE] Dell Vs DIY. £1000 challenge

They use crappy components and offer very little upgradeability for the future.

They've never really used 'crappy' parts. The motherboard's Northbridge chip and the memory's ICs might not be up to pushing a really big overclock, but you can't overclock most prebuilts anyways. As for expandability, that used to be VERY true however now prebuilts are pretty upgradable. You can stick new memory, new GPUs, additional hard drives, TV Tuners, and probably even a new CPU in a good prebuilt.

I still reckon i could do it in most cases if i get parts from different stores to make sure everything was as cheap as possible.

Well, we can try. I'm curious to see how well it can be done myself. How does 420 GBP with a monitor, mouse, keyboard, Vista and VAT and shipping sound?

From dell, for about 418 GBP including VAT and shipping, you can get:

• Pentium Dual Core E2180
• Windows Vista Home Premium (Probably 32-bit, it doesn't say)
• 17" Widescreen 1440x900 LCD
• 2048MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM
• 320GB (7200rpm) SATA Hard Drive
• 128MB ATI® Radeon™ HD 2400 Pro graphics card
• DVD +/- RW Drive
• Dell™ Entry Quietkey USB Keyboard - UK/Irish (QWERTY)
• Dell 2 Button USB Scroll Optical Mouse

Definitely not a gaming machine, but it get's the job done.

[Busby, Paul (Bicci)]

Re: [GUIDE] Dell Vs DIY. £1000 challenge


You may question the case/psu i used but my next door neighbor asked me to build him a super cheap PC (>£150) so i did it using this case and i was pleasantly suprised with the quality. Sure i wouldn't trust the PSU with anything more than what i have here but jou-jye are an ok company, it was quiet and works fine. The case was actually really nice and tidy looking and a pleasure to build with, suprisingly roomy for such a small box.

Admittedly the dell 17" monitor would be better than the one i put up there but i didn't shop around much, i just got everything from scan quickly. If i had shopped about i could have pulled the costs right down to say 380 - 390.

Bearing in mind, i dont pay delivery from scan (member of hexus.net forums)
Free delivery from ebuyer on items over £50
Micro direct is round the corner from my house.

So the story may be different for someone else but its still doable.

[AlecJ32]

Re: [GUIDE] Dell Vs DIY. £1000 challenge

You may question the case/psu i used but my next door neighbor asked me to build him a super cheap PC (>£150) so i did it using this case and i was pleasantly suprised with the quality. Sure i wouldn't trust the PSU with anything more than what i have here but jou-jye are an ok company, it was quiet and works fine. The case was actually really nice and tidy looking and a pleasure to build with, suprisingly roomy for such a small box.

I really wouldn't trust my hardware to a PSU like that one, myself. But if it works....

Other than that, it's a pretty close one. But if you were to go with a better case and PSU, it probably wouldn't be as close.

[=98=]

Re: [GUIDE] Dell Vs DIY. £1000 challenge

Yeah, that PSU is bad news.

[Hellsent 2.0]

Re: [GUIDE] Dell Vs DIY. £1000 challenge

No offence it might not be a brand name one but its not gonna be that much worse than a Dell PSU...