Entry level desktop system - DIY or pre-build?

[chazt]

Ok, investigating options for a mate who wants a basic system for web and office apps. Obviously, being an enthusiast, i'd like to do the build myself, and have done so many times before, but not really sure if its worth it.

Here's what you get for £349 from dell:

DELL Dimension C521
AMD® Athlon™ 64 Processor 3800+
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic - English
Dell™ 19" Value Flat Panel (SE197FP) - UK/Irish
512MB DDR2 533MHz Memory
250GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cache
16 X DVD +/- RW Drive
Integrated nVidia® GeForce® 6150 LE graphics

Now the cheapest I could spec a comparable system from scan was £375, with the following components:

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ S939 OEM £37
Asus A8V-VM-SE VIA K8M890 £29
250 Gb Western Digital WD2500JS Caviar SE £43
512MB Elixir Major DDR PC3200 (400) £21
17" LG 1780Q Silver/BlackTFT £99
Arctic Cooling Alpine 64 £7
Antec NSK4400 ATX £46
Samsung SH-S183A/BEBN £19
Logitech S100 2.0 Speakers £5
Microsoft Optical Value Pack V2 £12
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic 32Bit £54

A couple of BIOS tweaks and I could get it running at 3800+ speeds quite easily, so performance should be very similar.

The pros for the dell system is that its quiet, looks good, well made and good value. Main con is that upgrades are limited.

I think it wouldn't be easy making the self-build as quiet as the dell, and its not gonna look as pretty.

Anyone have any suggestions on improving my build so that I can convince myself its worth doing?

[nichomach]

TBH, you really can't undercut the big OEMs for entry level kit; they simply have purchasing power you don't. There's also the issue that if you build it, you'll have to support it (and get the grief when they knacker it). Your mate could have the Dell and spend the difference on getting Vista Home Premium instead of Basic. As an aside, I'm wondering why you've gone for the C521; as you note, upgrades are limited - wouldn't the E520 make more sense? OK, it's not as skinny, but it'll take a full height graphics card, and it still looks OK.

[Agent]

Totaly with Nicho on this one, for desktop entry systems even I use Dell.
One support call off a user can wipe out any profit made from a system. Its just not worth it

[chazt]

well its not like i'm running a business, just doing it for a mate really. not too bothered about helping him out if it goes wrong

[T3hGr8£st]

www.dell.co.uk

Can't be beaten sub £350, or very difficult anyway.

[haloman]

TBH, it's likely to be cheaper to buy prebuilt and you're going to be restricted on what components you can add due to price.

BTW, the prospect of running Vista with only 512mb of RAM scares me. Even XP likes to have more than that.

[chazt]

yeah, i only used 512mb to get a comparison with price. Anyone have any opinions on asus barebones? there's a few socket am2 for about £70 which seems like good value

[T3hGr8£st]

TBH, it's likely to be cheaper to buy prebuilt and you're going to be restricted on what components you can add due to price.

BTW, the prospect of running Vista with only 512mb of RAM scares me. Even XP likes to have more than that.

Agreed. A workmate tried to install Vista on a basic work machine (cost cutting) and he came across nothing but problems. However, on a decent machine there are very few.

Result: work lost 2 days productivity from one of the highest members of staff & we still don't know if our product is fully compatible with vista.

[haloman]

Also, I notice it hasn't been mentioned, but you can get an extra 4.5% before VAT via Quidco, and an extra £10 off via Quidco before 10th December. That's an extra ~£18 off the cost of the Dell machine even after paying Quidco their £5 cut, and with the extra £30 you could add more memory.

[amjedm]

I was looking to do a cheap build but ended up buying a complete base unit second hand -

Athlon 64 3200 S939
Winfast Nvidia 6100 Motherboard
80GB HD
512MB
DVD RW
480W Antec PSU
XP Home COA

£120 inc delivery

Only way you'll beat Dell's price is if you buy second hand IMO.

[GrahamGarside]

The only way you are going to beat dell is if you don't need an OS.

The benefits of a self build are you get to choose a good case, psu, motherboard and cooling setup. Other than that their buying power will always make them cheaper.

[T3hGr8£st]

I was looking to do a cheap build but ended up buying a complete base unit second hand -

Athlon 64 3200 S939
Winfast Nvidia 6100 Motherboard
80GB HD
512MB
DVD RW
480W Antec PSU
XP Home COA

£120 inc delivery

Only way you'll beat Dell's price is if you buy second hand IMO.

But the only problem is that leaves you with no guarantee or anything to fall back on.

[Lakeuk]

I generally use the rule that if the budget is less than £500 (inc monitor) then it's best buy straight from someone like Dell. One thing I hate about buying PC's is the crappy recovery cd's you get instead of the original media.

Whats you mates budget?

Looking at Dell it seems there prices have changed (gone up ), but the spec options are different (Vista Premium,1Gb memory, 160Gb HHD)

[silentvoice]

If you're not limited to the C series for space reasons then you can get a better deal for the money (assuming £350 is the budget):

PROCESSOR Intel® Pentium® D 915 Dual Core Processor (2.80GHz, 800MHz, 2x2MB)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic - English
SUPPORT SERVICES Collect & Return, 1 Year Service only
MONITOR Dell™ 19" Value Flat Panel (SE197FP) - UK/Irish
MEMORY 1024MB Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz [2x512] Memory
HARD DRIVE 160GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cache
OPTICAL DRIVE 16X DVD+/-RW Drive
GRAPHICS CARD Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3000

Price: £351.32 Including VAT & Shipping

This is using e-code: 305-D03E02b

[amjedm]

Have you see the AMD X2 3800 Acer base unit from Comet? Mate at work bought it after I recommended it

160GB HD
1GB Ram
DVD RW
etc. for £300

+ Daewoo 17" TFT from Scan at £88 (on Today only).

I've just bought another one - it's got DVI as well as std connection. Bargain for the price IMO.