Bundled Com VS Custom Com

[JeunesseGlobal]

Hi all.. i have a friend who is looking to get a new rig. He is considering getting a bundled one from Dell/Acer at the coming PC show but i am advising him to get a custom one.

If you guys could give me some pointers on the advantages vs disadvantages i can advise him better.

The rig is mainly used for gaming and web surfing..

Budget is 1.5k for whole rig including monitor and peripherals.

Many thanks in advance..

 

[royfrosty]

AS long as gaming is concern. It is better to buy a DIY pc over a branded PC. Reason being that branded PC usually put in a weird low end gpu inside it. Which is ridiculous and overpriced.

However there are some brands such as ASUS that sells ready made PC and uses a mid range GPU. But the price is insanely expensive.

Branded PC also seldom comes with an SSD included.

Now on the other hand. If your friend is a PC noob and do not know what to do, it is best to go for branded. In case there is any issues with the PC, he himself can call in and ask their man to fix it. Cause for DIY im sure he will not know what to do and may cause more damage than recovering the PC.

Not unless you are capable of doing your own troubleshooting and will help your friend all the time when he needs it then by all means go ahead.

1.5k everything in inclusive monitor and basic peripherals.

ASrock H81M DGS + i5-4440 ~ $293
Crucial 8gb 1600mhz ~ $89
WD Blue 1tb ~ $72
Plextor m6s 128gb ~ $119
Powercolor r9 280X 3gb Turbo Duo ~ $435
Superflower HX500 500w 80+ Gold Semi Modular PSU ~ $89 (restocked)
Sharkoon BD28 ~ $77
Samsung ODD ~ $21
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM ~ $110
Dell S2340L 23inch eIPS Panel ~ $219
Logitech mk120 Keyboard and Mouse Combo ~ $18

Total ~ $1542. Buy at tradepac, DIY

 

[DeenzX]

Let me summarize for you.

▒▒▒▒▒Branded PCs▒▒▒▒▒​

Pros:
~ Comes with Monitor, Windows, Keyboard and mouse
~ Buy & collect on the spot
~ Anything cock up, just send to company for diagnosis (service saves hassle)

Cons:
~ Sub-standard parts used inside, unknown to buyer
~ Generally spoil faster than DIY
~ Gets charged an extra-premium price for service which you may not use at all if your com don't breakdown
~ After sending, they tell you 2 weeks - 1 month and you wait like an idiot with no com
~ Some parts are probably custom-to-fit, so after warranty, it is GG
~ There is a chance you won't be able to upgrade some parts
~ Not much choice to choose from in terms of design aesthetics

▒▒▒▒▒DIY PCs▒▒▒▒▒​

Pros:
~ Customizable to your heart's content, both inside and outside
~ Each of the parts are of good-quality from renown companies
~ If spoil, can change part by part. If under warranty, when you are waiting for the part to come, you can temporarily replace it with any other parts and use your computer to do other stuff (except for Motherboard)
~ Upgradable in the future
~ Much better air-flow/cooling due to better designed casings
~ Able to survive harsher usage
~ Able to install dust filters
~ No spoil, no need to pay for service. Spoil once, pay once. Spoil twice, pay twice.
~ Feel damn shiok when your rig is up

Cons:
~ No spoon-feeding, either you search internet and diagnose problem yourself, or you pay to get somebody to fix for you
~ You may need to go through the trouble of selecting parts, monitor & peripherals
~ Either you go through the trouble of asking around and learning how to build the rig, or you pay a tiny bit to get somebody to do it for you
~ Will suffer a bit of heartache when you see yourself paying $130 for a Windows OS

 

[Blehana]

The bros replies here are all correct, however ask your friend to be careful if you decide to go the custom way. There are 2 kinds of custom ways, you custom every part yourself (if you're knowledgeable) or get a "custom build" from a shop, example in sim lim square that offer bundles. These DIY custom bundles are usually at a good price but there's always a catch. I've seen several shops throw in horrible parts, "Casing with 500w power supply". Those are horrible headway or vios PSU that could fry up your machine. And yet these shops are bundling it with i5, i7 CPUs and mobo!! People who don't know much about computers could end up buying such bundles. Be careful and good luck to your friend whichever way he decides!

 

[shadow84]

Some branded pc may nt even come with monitor....

 

[Reignxy]

Mostly branded desktop don't come with SSD.