Build or Buy - Part Two

If Given Complete Control Over Part Selection

  • Yes, I'd consider buying from such a builder

    Votes: 16 50.0%
  • No - State Why

    Votes: 16 50.0%

  • Total voters
    32

Skrying

S K R Y I N G
Veteran
This second part brings up a slightly different question to those who choose build in the previous poll.

The question: If given complete control over parts used in the computer, would you consider buying from a custom computer builder?

Lets say price is a fixed percentage of the rig cost. Say it cost around 7% of the total rig cost. So for a $500 system its about $38 and for a $2000 system its $150.

Thanks once again!
 
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Lets say price is a fixed percentage of the rig cost. Say it cost around 7.5% of the total rig cost. So for a $500 system its about $38 and for a $2000 system its $150.
 
Skrying said:
Lets say price is a fixed percentage of the rig cost. Say it cost around 7.5% of the total rig cost. So for a $500 system its about $38 and for a $2000 system its $150.
I'm not sure then....for %5 I would.
 
nintenho said:
I'm not sure then....for %5 I would.

I'm giving an example. 7.5% being tops, and 4% being least.

I'm seeing quickly that its price dependent. How much people value their time plays a big role in this.
 
Skrying said:
I'm giving an example. 7.5% being tops, and 4% being least.

I'm seeing quickly that its price dependent. How much people value their time plays a big role in this.
I'd say $50 for at least a few hours isn't too high.
 
No, I'd still rather build it myself.

It's gonna be my pc and I'm gonna be constantly tweaking/tuning/adjusting it, when I build it myself I learn/am forced to learn all about all the parts of it so I have a better/deeper understanding of my rig.

That and I don't think saying just 7.5% "above cost" is fair, "cost" can be a very variable thing depending on what you're buying from where.

I can't see one supplier giving me as good a deal as I can get by comparative shopping for the parts individually all over the web, sorry I just can't.
 
Well the tought was purely theoretical, I guess. But I'd also still build it myself, I just like it better.
 
here in BG the price is usually fixed at 10-15 euro per PC no matter the hardware inside.
usually when buying for a friend I prefer to pay... but if its for me, I prefer to do it myself.
Its a pleasure to make things work by yourself :)
 
No, because I enjoy building. And besides, I only very rarely put an entire system together for myself, it's usually upgrades.
 
No.

As Digi also said, I doubt very much if a single shop can have the same prices, compared to buying the parts from different sources.
Also I like building them, and I want to take care of the cable clutter myself.

But I would recommend it to others.

In the Netherlands there are several shops that give the option to assemble the system based on the components you have choosen.
So if you are thinking about starting a shop with that service you might ask about their experience with it?

One shop where I have bought many components uses the following prices:
- assembling CPU+cooler on mobo: 1 year warranty 0 €
- assembling complete system: 1 year warranty 20 €
- assembling complete system: 2 year warranty 62 €
- assembling complete system: 3 year warranty 85 €

http://www.azerty.nl/producten/product_overzicht/255/1/assemblage.html
 
No, I'd build it myself. I enjoy doing it, and that way I can be sure that things have been done right. Besides, builders may not appear to charge much, but they do also get trade discounts on all parts. This is why they very qickly begin to lean towards parts that give them the best trade prices (and thus profit margins). Same reason why most use cheap thermal pads rather than expensive thermal compound, standard ribbon cables instead of more expensive round ones, etc.

When your business is building PCs for others, it becomes "how quickly can I do it", and "how cheaply can I do it", because both of these equal more money in their pockets. That's often not the kind of finished article I want.
 
Not for myself. I did buy a pc last fall for my mother for christmas. But for myself, doing this is part hobby, part tradition (of 20+ years standing), and part staying in closer contact with what the bits and pieces are, how they interact, etc.

I imagine if I was still doing the full research on what bits and pieces I wanted to use, I'd still get some of that. . .but really, that's the biggest time-user in the process anyway (it just gets spread out over a longer period of time), not putting it all together after it shows up.
 
Even before places add in the 5% - 7.5% build-fee, their hardware prices are typically 25-50% higher than what I can get them for.
 
No, build it myself is more 'fun'.
Also I tend to source parts from several different suppliers to get lowest cost I can.

The advantage would be that if you buy from a builder, the builder would need to get it to work properly before sending it out.
Few things are as frustrating as getting all that new kit, putting it together just the way you want it & then the blimmin thing fails to boot/is unstable & you can't work out why...
Of course, in retrospect that all contributes to the 'fun' factor :)
 
Of course not. Selecting the parts is only one step in the equation. Then there are other things that I don't really decide beforehand--am I going to install Linux? How much space should I give a Linux install? What distro should I use? Should I use a custom WinXP disc (via nLite or something)? They don't matter, but they contribute to the feeling of "my machine" as opposed to "a machine that I purchased."
 
So interesting. I think I should have made the poll a bit more specific. Many seem so price dependent.

This is shown how many add what I'd consider "make-believe" costs to the equation. I'm talking about prices that you could get, why does the shop get their hardware for more than you pay? They would order more, and to gain a larger consumer base they'd go with the cheapest place to get the parts, just like you would.
 
Skrying said:
This is shown how many add what I'd consider "make-believe" costs to the equation. I'm talking about prices that you could get, why does the shop get their hardware for more than you pay?
Who says they do? I bet they pay less, but they charge more than I can get it at other places.

It's not made-up, I think it's a legitimate point. Show me one build it for you place that has anywhere near pricewatch prices on their components.
 
digitalwanderer said:
Who says they do? I bet they pay less, but they charge more than I can get it at other places.

It's not made-up, I think it's a legitimate point. Show me one build it for you place that has anywhere near pricewatch prices on their components.

I know of at least one local place that does not mark up prices. The only places that I see any large mark up is those you order from online.
 
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