05-29-2008, 08:13 PM
Quote:I've actually taken the time and trouble to compare the cost on three occasions, once when I was building game machines for Magi and me, and twice when other people asked me to build a machine for them. Each time, *for the same components*, I could build cheaper. It might even be a fun exercise for the Loungers to pick some pre-built that has enough info to compare, and see what we can find from the parts people. I bet it's still cheaper to build.
This has been my experience as well when looking at just the hardware, in all but one instance where Dell had some deal going and I was still able to use a rebate deal on it as well. Getting a complete system for $200 is pretty damn hard to beat. I'm pretty sure it was a 17 inch CRT, this was a while ago, 1.2 GHz P3, GeForce 3 video card, 80 GB HD, keyboard, optical mouse, 100 LAN card, and a Soundblaster Live! sound card. Those parts weren't super top of the line but they weren't that far behind at the time when I got it. I may have some stuff remembered wrong. And yeah Dell probably shouldn't have allowed the $300 rebate on top of the whatever special that was going on but they did, so one of my friends got a very nice very cheap system. :)
The one place where the premades tend to win out though is if you want the software that is bundled with them. It is very hard to get the software as cheaply if you want the same software. However Linux can be the great equalizer here, especially for the "E-mail and web browsing" family members who are thousands of miles away as you are lot less likely to need to provide major support for them and can do it easier remotely if you do, with a *nix OS.
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It's all just zeroes and ones and duct tape in the end.
It's all just zeroes and ones and duct tape in the end.