Off the Shelf PC = is this any good

[Hoarach]

cyberpowerpc.com is cheaper than dell and imo better bang for the buck. 

[alskahawk]

 

 Bought a off the shelf computer once. Never again. That was 18 years ago. I would be wary of many of these so called Gaming computers. Most of them have probably never heard of AH. You deal with your local builder you can talk to the person who actually had his hands in your computer. Stay away from Dell, IBM etc. Those computers are fine if your web surfing or doing office work not for gaming. Learn to build your own, find a builder here, but never buy off the shelf for gaming.

 My AH system; Gigabyte EP45 MB, E8400 3.0Ghz CPU, 10k WD Raptor 150GB, 8800GTX VC, SB Audigy Sound.
  12,138 3dmark score, baseline score(ie.unmodified). 60+frame rate in AH. Less than $1000. Substantially less since the VC is over 2 years old and many of the components are used. A newer faster video card would bump the score up but do I really need too? Not for AH.

[Brooke]

I've bought for myself about 10 Dells over the years and my company has bought probably about 200 of them over the years.  They have always worked fine for everything, including gaming for me (Aces High, Battlefield 1942, Quake, WWIIOL, etc.).

These days, it costs $480 for an Inspiron with a Core 2 Quad Q8200, 2 GB RAM, 320 GB hard disk, 16x DVD+/-R/W drive.  The power supply in them is sufficient to run a $100-$150 graphics card (I've done that on my last several Dells), which is more than powerful enough for all games I'd be running.

Could you build that system for less than $480 on your own?  Probably, but I think it would be hard to knock all that much off the price, and it would take a bunch of your hours to shop and assemble.

Every few years I just buy another low-end Dell with a mid-range (or higher) CPU and put a $100 graphics card into it.  Nonstandard case and power supply don't matter because my upgrade path is buying an inexpensive system every few years.  Dell does install a bunch of crapware, but I either uninstall it or reinstall the OS.

However, for folks who like to build systems from components as a hobby or to keep technical skills up to date, or if they want a system with much-higher performance than matters in Aces High, those are all excellent reasons to go the do-it-yourself route.

[TheZohan]

yeah but with a 480 dell you get low grade crappy 3rd rate parts. for a for a 480 i could build a better system.

[Brooke]

yeah but with a 480 dell you get low grade crappy 3rd rate parts. for a for a 480 i could build a better system.

All that matters to me is that it performs on the games I play and that it is reliable and works well, which all of my Dells have done.  The CPU, RAM, HD, DVD drive, and graphics card are likely to be the same either way; I don't care if the power supply is 400W, 500W, or 1500W when all I need is 400W; I don't care much about the MB as long as it supports the CPU I want and has a snappy-enough FSB (although I do like that Dells use Intel motherboards with Intel chipsets for driver reasons); I don't care at all about the case; and so on.

Also, even if I could build a system of comparable performance and reliability for less than $480 in parts, it would have to be enough less than $480 to make up for the time spent in shopping and assembling.

But that's me.  There are a lot of people who enjoy building their own, which factors in differently than it does for me.

[skullman]

I have a Dell inspiron laptop an it has been a good product for the last 4 years.I cannot put it down as it has performed well for me

[BaldEagl]

Also, even if I could build a system of comparable performance and reliability for less than $480 in parts, it would have to be enough less than $480 to make up for the time spent in shopping and assembling.

Ahh... the old time is money argument.

I'm glad to hear you are in that position.  If so you are likely either self-employed or in a high powered executive position.  You are at the point in your career where you also hire people to clean your house, take care of your yard, care for your children, take care of your laundry and possibly also perform other personal duties.  You do this because you can actually make a profit by paying them so that you can keep working at a much higher pay-rate.  You are also sacrificing personal relaxation time in pursuit of your career and personal wealth.  Any personal relaxation time must be weighed against the opportunity to earn additional income and the cost of your personal assistants.  I know this because I have been there in the past and done exactly those things.

In the scenario above, buying a mid-tier Dell is a great option.  I know because when I was in that position that was exactly what I did.  My last old Dell is now 10 years old and still chugging along flawlessly although it's undergone numerous upgrades over it's life.  It will also still run AHII although I guess I don't really consider it gameworthy anymore.

If, on the other hand, you're where I am now with plenty of free time and a more modest income then anything that you can do to save a few dollars is like adding to your income.  Your choice comes down to spending 3 hours and saving $45 as opposed to watching TV for $15/hr out of pocket (these numbers are being used only as an example).  Now your driving decisions are made by weighing the cost of hiring someone to do something for you vs. doing it yourself at a savings.

There is no doubt that you can build a better machine for the same price as a Dell, or build the same machine at a savings.  Further, any do-it-yourself project with a positive outcome is generally pretty satisfying.  I know this because I built my last sytem myself.

I agree wholeheartedly... time IS money.  Your path just depends which side of the scale you're on.  For me, at this moment in time, paying to watch TV just doesn't make sense when I can diversify my free time with money saving and gratifying projects but that's just me and that's just now.  Everything could change again tomorrow.

[Brooke]

Point well taken, BaldEagl.

I mean no offense to anyone and don't wish to imply that building a machine is a bad choice.

[TheZohan]

i too dont want to sound like getting a dell is a bad choice but from my years of experience its the dells,  gateways, compaqs and HPs' that have keep me in business. you get lucky sometimes and the machine last a while and runs without a problem. but the moment you start having a issue, you learn why.

[Brooke]

i too dont want to sound like getting a dell is a bad choice but from my years of experience its the dells,  gateways, compaqs and HPs' that have keep me in business. you get lucky sometimes and the machine last a while and runs without a problem. but the moment you start having a issue, you learn why.

Part of that, though, might be that none of the less-computer-knowledgeable folks who tend to screw up their computers are going to be system builders.  I've had nothing but good experiences with Dells over the past two decades.

[alskahawk]

 Well said Bald.. For many of us building a computer for our favorite time killing game is part of the hobby. A off the shelf computer cannot compete perfomance per dollar wise against a homebuilt. 

[Anodizer]

I don't think there's all that much cost saving in building your own system compared to buying a Dell, especially if you factor in any cost to your time for shopping and assembling.

Yes, but your time is your time (free for yourself)..  Do you have to pay yourself for doing working on your own time?  It should be an enjoyable/exciting experience in the first place!
And who goes out and shops for hardware?  You can do it right from your PC at home......   Assembly should be enjoyable as well....  Jesus Christ, man!  All it is is screwing things in!  How much of a "chore" is it??  Really? 

And believe me....You give me the money for even the lowest of the low-end Dell and I will build something that will be superior in
every way for the same cost, if not less.. 

[Anodizer]

Reasons to NOT buy a Dell

1) All the pre-loaded un-needed system resource hog software.
2) Power Supplies with less then 500watts
3) The $1.95 motherboards
4) Proprietary components (cases for sure, no so good for updates)
5) About 50% less bang for your buc

A specked out a system that I would sell in the 1400.00 range Dell wanted over $3,000.00 for.  Here are a few links with pricing of various systems.  Look at what you get for the price.  The parts are listed.

http://computers.toptenreviews.com/gaming/
http://gaming-pc-review.toptenreviews.com/

<<<S>>>
Till Death, a man after my own heart (when it comes to computing)..

[Anodizer]

I've bought for myself about 10 Dells over the years and my company has bought probably about 200 of them over the years.  They have always worked fine for everything, including gaming for me (Aces High, Battlefield 1942, Quake, WWIIOL, etc.).

These days, it costs $480 for an Inspiron with a Core 2 Quad Q8200, 2 GB RAM, 320 GB hard disk, 16x DVD+/-R/W drive.  The power supply in them is sufficient to run a $100-$150 graphics card (I've done that on my last several Dells), which is more than powerful enough for all games I'd be running.

Could you build that system for less than $480 on your own?  Probably, but I think it would be hard to knock all that much off the price, and it would take a bunch of your hours to shop and assemble.

Every few years I just buy another low-end Dell with a mid-range (or higher) CPU and put a $100 graphics card into it.  Nonstandard case and power supply don't matter because my upgrade path is buying an inexpensive system every few years.  Dell does install a bunch of crapware, but I either uninstall it or reinstall the OS.

However, for folks who like to build systems from components as a hobby or to keep technical skills up to date, or if they want a system with much-higher performance than matters in Aces High, those are all excellent reasons to go the do-it-yourself route.

IIRC, you can't just re-install the OS on a Dell unless you actually have a Windows disk and not their restore disks.  Otherwise, you get all the crapware that the folks at Dell so graciously thought you really needed it..  And also, I don't think Dells come with restore disks anymore unless you order them (which costs more money) and, again, this comes with all the crapware that is already installed when you buy it..  Dell relies solely on the restore partition now, which most Dell users don't even know is there....

[TheZohan]

basically when your harddrive dies. your recovery partition dies with it..