Desktop PCs: Buy Brand Name or Build Yourself?

Ever since our family purchased our first personal computer in 1997, I have been building my own tower machines. During the past twelve years, around 8 custom-built PCs (and countless laptops, as well as Mac desktops like iMacs and Cubes!) have made their ways into our household. I have never purchased a brand name PC and likely never will. Most PC gamers and heavy number crunching users also choose to build their own machines because they can select the best parts at the best prices and not have to pay for extras that they do not need. I liken custom building PCs to a buffet: get what you want and only what you want.

Are custom built PCs actually cheaper than brand names though? To answer this, I will analyze two to three systems per category: the categories are entry-level, mid-range, and workstation. Each level features the most affordable machines with the same specifications from Dell, HP, and a no name build from NCIX.com. All prices are in effect as of December 22nd and are in Canadian dollars (which, frankly, is catching up to you Americans anyway):

1. ENTRY-LEVEL:
(a) HP Pavilion P6140F $649.99: Intel® Core™2 Quad Q8200 | Intel® G33 X3100 Integrated Graphics | 8Gb DDR2-800 MHz Ram | 1Tb 5400rpm HDD | DVD-Writer | Vista Premium 64-bit

(b) Custom $757: Intel® Core™2 Quad Q8200 | ASUS P5G41T-M/CSM GMA4500 Integrated Graphics | Corsair 4GB DDR2-800 Ram | 1Tb 7200rpm HDD | DVD-Writer | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit | 400Watt Seasonic Power Supply

(c) Dell Inspiron 545 $889.99: Intel® Core™2 Quad Q8200 | Intel® G33 X3100 Integrated Graphics | 4Gb DDR2-800 MHz Ram | 1Tb 7200rpm HDD | Blu-Ray Read/DVD-Writer | Windows 7 Home Premium

- Conclusion: the Pavilion offers a ton of RAM, especially for $650, but it is only DDR2 800MHz. Strangely, the HP includes a 5400rpm hard drive, which is substantially slower than the desktop 7200rpm standard. The Dell’s price balloons by +$150 when adding the 1Tb hard disk over the stock 320Gb; however, a Blu-Ray combo drive is included. Although the Inspiron packages Windows 7, the HP’s price advantage makes it clearly the better deal. At this level of performance, it is more prudent to get the HP if you do not plan on doing some serious gaming. For pretty much everything else, all three systems will suffice, but the Dell is not a good value.

2. MID-RANGE:
(a) Custom $984: Antec 900 Case | Intel Core™ i5-750 | Gigabyte P55M-UD2 mATX LGA1156 | Crucial 4GB DDR3-1066 MHz Ram | 1Tb 7200rpm HDD | DVD-Writer | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit | Seasonic 650Watt Power Supply

(b) Dell Studio XPS 8000 $1049: Intel Core™ i5-750 | Intel® P55 Chipset | 8GB DDR3-1066 MHz Ram | 1Tb 7200rpm HDD | DVD-Writer | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

(c) HP Pavilion E9260f $1199.99: Intel Core™ i5-750 | Intel® P55 Chipset | 8GB DDR3-1066 MHz Ram | 1Tb 7200rpm HDD | DVD-Writer | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

- Conclusion: once again, Dell gouges you for the 1Tb HDD by increasing the price +$150 over the default 640Gb. Both HP and Dell are RAM generous, with 8Gb of DDR3 total. The Studio XPS actually features dedicated graphics, unlike the HP, but for this level, we want some serious gaming action, so be prepared to spend an additional $150-$350 for a good nVidia or ATi gaming card. While at first blush, the Dell seems like a better deal than the custom PC due to the double amount of rather pricey DDR3 RAM, consider that almost no one in this segment actually NEEDS more than 4Gb. Keep in mind also that the custom built PC has a beefy 650Watt powers supply that is ready for overclocking and adding almost any single graphics card. Admittedly, the XPS 8000 is a very good buy IF its powers supply is extremely good, whereas the HP should be overlooked.

3. WORKSTATION:
(a) Custom $2224: Antec 1200 Case | Intel Quad Core i7-870 | ASUS P6T SE X58 CrossFire | nVidia 512Mb Quadro® FX 580 | 1Tb 7200rpm HDD | 8GB DDR3-1333 MHz Ram | 1Tb 7200rpm HDD | DVD-Writer | Windows 7 Professional 64-bit | Corsair 1000Watt Power Supply

(b) Dell Precision T1500 $2802: Intel Quad Core i7-870 | nVidia 512Mb Quadro® FX 580 | 1Tb 7200rpm HDD | 8GB DDR3-1333 MHz Ram | 1Tb 7200rpm HDD | DVD-Writer | Windows 7 Professional 64-bit | 3-year Warranty

- Conclusion: HP has been omitted from this category because its workstations feature Opteron CPUs and not the far more efficient i7s. Dell charges an insane $474 premium for its 1Tb option, which is worse than highway robbery! As we reach near the summit of PC performance, we can see that building a PC becomes substantially cheaper because brands like Dell demand a luxury tax for their top-end machines. In this configuration, the custom PC is not only almost $600 less than the Dell, it also has a 1000Watt Corsair power supply, which will be efficient enough to run multiple ATi graphics cards in Crossfire, should users wish to do some gaming on this workstation. I say use the $600 saved and get yourself an ATi Radeon 5870. Please note that NCIX does not actually sell the nVidia Quadro card in the above configuration, so I had to include it from PCcyber.com for $200.

Final Thoughts: some hardcore hobbyists might be surprised to see Dell and HP offer good value for the dollar with sub-$1200 desktops. In fact, most buyers save very little when building a mid to lower end machine, but for me, the ability to choose my own case, power supply, and motherboard is the best reason to assemble my own PC. For peace of mind, I rest soundly knowing that most PC components come with standard 3-year (sometimes longer) warranties directly from each component manufacturer. However, for the majority of consumers out there who do not want to put together a computer and demand technical and warranty support from a single manufacturer, buying brand name PCs can be wise depending on the model.