Why does everyone recommend building you computer?

Well, honestly I can see why people may attack the brands you want to get.

I'm not trying to be one of them when I say this, but Alienware and Macs are terribly overpriced. After studying the specs of macs and Alienwares for the prices they are. An alienware or mac around 2000 dollars is worse then the computer (Gateway Brand made) for $1000!

Yes, people are right when they say building a computer is way cheaper. It does take a lot of knowledge with compatibility, etc. That's why I'm buying the Gateway Fx.

I agree with you. But with them brands they are almost certain to get attacked.

Try for another brand.

The answer is cognitive dissonance. People who build their own computers must convince themselves that they made the right choice by telling themselves that building is the right choice and buying is the wrong choice. Builders are smart, attractive people, and buyers are lazy fools. That's why my decision to build was the right one.

Then they justify that with their customization argument, as if people's needs really are that different. (They're not.) There are two explanations:

1. Marking - if I see a ready-made system with a 500 mb drive that sets the standard mark for my expectations, and I build a system with an 800 mb drive, then I feel like I got 300 mb "extra". It's like the "35% more free" label on a box of cereal. It's a trick of the mind.

2. The pacifier switch - People push the elevator button because it gives them something to do. If you work for it, the result must be better.

The idea that buying a system costs three times as much as a built system is complete rubbish. I just looked at HP. They're selling the HP Pavilion HPE h8-1360t Desktop PC for $749. It has a 3.4ghz i7-3770 quad core CPU and a 1 TB 7200 RPM drive. From NewEgg, which is the source for most builders, that CPU alone is $310. For a 1TB 7200 RPM drive, you have the choice of several brands at $100. You still need to buy the RAM, a CPU heatsink, a motherboard, a case and a power supply.

Whether you buy or build, get an SSD for your hard drive. All the other tweaks won't matter much.

It's actually not the fact that they are hating the branded products, but it's just the fact they aren't giving enough bang for the buck. Building your own gives you a versatility of being able to pick and choose the parts you want. Though doing so you will have to read into the parts more.

Tips:

Motherboard must have the socket for the CPU you desire.

RAM has to be the same as the motherboard requirements.

You'll have to get a power supply that can handle all the parts.

You will need a hard drive, most will be bare so you will also need an Operating System Disc.

Do you desire a graphics card? If so, do you do PC Gaming?

The answer is simple as explained above, people need to justify their actions. Allot of people build their own computers for the legitimate reason of saving money, where as in reality most people just want to impress or prove to themselves or others that they're capable, which is ok as long as you're not bullsh!itting yourself about the reason. That's why when you question that reason, you get rather enthusiastic responses.

The question of whether or not to build or own is simple. If I could afford it, I would never waste time shopping for, ordering/buying components and putting them together. I know how, but there are much more interesting problems to tackle, or games to play ;)

Nothing is overpriced, in my twisted view of the world. If there is a person who has the money and desire to pay that price for that product, that money now matter how much, isn't going to the bottom of some ditch. The beading edge of technology drives allot of innovation. And even when the CEO of that overcharging company squanders his profits, it's going somewhere else, not to the abyss.

Can you comfortably afford it? If so just buy it.

alien ware and apple haters?

i dont hate them, if your too lazy to biuld a PC and you have lots of money to spend they they're great, if you want a pc that will perform just as well but is cheaper them building it is the answer.

the people who build apples pcs are humans just like us, the build quality only changes if you make a mistake which these days is hard to do.

In fact the PCs the public builds often uses better quality parts, the PSU being the main difference, this makes the custom build last longer and able to handle more games.

Cool things like what?.... :/

I dont hate pre-build PCs, i just find them inferior to the ones build by the public (when done well, and as stated above this isnt hard)

its up to you, i have put forward my views, you have yours, everyone else has theres. you just need to find out where you stand and pick what you want to do.....

EDUCATION is the keyword here.

A self build teaches you so much.

Choice of hardware teaches what hardware is and how it reacts with the other components.

The build, If anything breaks down in the future YOU can replace it saving expensive labor charges.

Same when you want to upgrade.

Don't forget the operating system the most important bit.

Windows expensive, Virus, malware and prone to problems and slowdown.

Linux, free ( well 16p for a cd) no virus, no malware, reliable. and you can adapt to how you want the system to be..

After the above process you will know your PC and not be frightened by it,

True ownership.

This is why I advise you to build your own.

Building a pc is a lot easier than most people think. I thought the same thing as you but heard "build your own" so many times I decided to try it. Now that I have built my own last 4 desktops I know how to fix anything on a pc. The socket number needs to be the same for processor and motherboard. Basically everything plugs into the only place it fits. Newegg.com is best for parts and prices. You can also go to Cyberpower.com and pick your parts and they build it for you.

It's simple.

If you build your own PC you will save a ton of money. Literally. All OEM desktops are overpriced and most cannot be overclocked or upgraded.

I calculated once that it is 3 times less expensive to just build your own PC from scratch, than buy OEM.

Another thing - customization. You can put whatever you like - incl. case, cooling, number of HDDs, raid controller, etc. which are not available in OEM PCs.

And another thing. A lot of people that are not quite knowledgeable about computers do not know that having one Hard Drive just for the OS and at least 2 others in RAID0 can increase PC speed drastically.

Here is what I suggest for your PC. Forget about Alienware. They are WAY overpriced. For 2000 - 3000$ range PC:

- case - as big as you can get. It increases airflow from the fans, and also supports more internal drives (HDD's, DVD-RW, Blu-Ray Drives, Card readers etc. devices that increase accessibility);

- motherboard - 2 processor motherboard (if not PC you can get workstation or server (ATX) board, and if there are no PCIe x16 slots, you can buy a riser card for them it's like 60$ for three slots). These are cheaper than desktop motherboard with 2 processor sockets, and support 2 PSUs, which is way better than just one, for reasons that I think I do not need to explain further.

Server boards also support massive amounts of RAM - upto 1TB which is HUGE;

- PSU - 2 x 750W will do the trick. There are a number of good ones. But if you need cheep and good ones the company Powercool makes good PSUs in the 60$ range. They are also modular which is an additional bonus;

- Processors - 2 processors with either socket 771 (server and workstn), 775 or above (preferrably 2011);

- Graphic Cards - I suggest Radeons. Preferrably Sapphire. 7770's or above. At least 3 cards for 770 chipset or 2 for 870 and above (7790, 7870, 7970). These cards are amazing for gaming and also video conversion;

- HDDs - 1 SSD and 4HDDs. The SSD should be used only for the OS. NOTHING ELSE! 3 HDDs (250GB and above) in RAID0 for software. 1 HDD of 2TB for videos and other stuff. With that configuration your PC will run really fast and smooth, because software will not interfere with internal OS functions and SSD cleanup;

- RAM - I suggest Server Ram if the motherboard is server board, because it corrects its errors. And it is relatively cheap 4GB is around 60$ so 32GB are less than 500$;

- Cooling - liquid - individual blocks for each separate component. If you do not want to buy a whole system - just buy individual liquid coolers for your CPU and Video Cards. Everything else - air.

Those are just remarks of what I would have done. My advice - build your own PC you will save a ton of cash and assemble a far better machine that you would be able to use for a long time and that will be scalable enough not to become a pain in the *** further in time.

Regards.

Seriously Alienware PC's are fine but offer little in upgradability. Any otehr PC company that builds custom PC's such as MESH PC's , Eclipse computers or Dino PC will custom build your own PC. In my humble opinion it helps to know what components are in it and what they can do. If you know nothing about PC's or are not interested in upgrades buy an Apple. I have no problem with apple and if you have the money then fine just get one of there laptops. PC's are becoming more media centres now and will become more popular than ever in the near future. They will in effect be media hubs for the whole house.

Everyone isn't recommending building your own computer. As John says, doing so does enable you to carefully select the components YOU want and assemble it the way YOU wish. However, you don't have to, if you aren't interested in doing that or don't understand how to you can of course buy one ready-made.

Many people consider Alienware and Apple to be overpriced, but that doesn't amount to hatred of branded products. You pays your money and you takes your choice . . .