Do you have to be a gamer to build a custom PC?

[RoasterMen]

OEM would've fooled you already when you buy their Desktops because you pay a bit higher than a custom built and you realize the components will not gonna last long.

 

[strollin]

There is no guarantee that a self-built PC will last any longer or be anymore reliable than a pre-built.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

There is no guarantee that a self-built PC will last any longer or be anymore reliable than a pre-built.

True but you are far more likely to get just what you want with a self-built. And there is that certain amount of satisfaction you get when you can say, "Yup, built 'er m'self!"

 

[mjf]

There is no guarantee that a self-built PC will last any longer or be anymore reliable than a pre-built.

True but you are far more likely to get just what you want with a self-built. And there is that certain amount of satisfaction you get when you can say, "Yup, built 'er m'self!"

Statistics will only answer the question of reliability. I have an old ACER I recased and it is still going after 5 + years but the motherboard quality, I/O capability memory support etc etc is very poor. I think one reason it is still going was the new well ventilated case and a better PSU. One "budget" PC I built used a basic ASRock motherboard (~$100) and it is streets ahead in terms of price and quality of any of the OEM offerings (here at least).

 

[ThrashZone]

Yep I can't believe my Acer Aspire is still kicking 6 y.o.
Best 600.us I ever spent although most of the Acer crapware was removed after warrantee was dropped
Not sure I'd say where I got it
Just say a place where not many would recommend buying from
Research of stat's helped a lot

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

There is no guarantee that a self-built PC will last any longer or be anymore reliable than a pre-built.

True but you are far more likely to get just what you want with a self-built. And there is that certain amount of satisfaction you get when you can say, "Yup, built 'er m'self!"

Statistics will only answer the question of reliability. I have an old ACER I recased and it is still going after 5 + years but the motherboard quality, I/O capability memory support etc etc is very poor. I think one reason it is still going was the new well ventilated case and a better PSU. One "budget" PC I built used a basic ASRock motherboard (~$100) and it is streets ahead in terms of price and quality of any of the OEM offerings (here at least).

I had three Acers (two netbooks and a desktop) and everything about them was garbage, even including the mouse on the desktop (the keyboard was meh at best).

 

[strollin]

We have 4 of the little Acer Aspire One netbooks in our family that are about 8 years old now and everyone of them still works (except the batteries don't hold much of a charge). We also have 2 Asus EeePC netbooks which are also still going after 7-8 years. The keyboards on the Acers were much better than on the Asus netbooks.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

We have 4 of the little Acer Aspire One netbooks in our family that are about 8 years old now and everyone of them still works (except the batteries don't hold much of a charge). We also have 2 Asus EeePC netbooks which are also still going after 7-8 years. The keyboards on the Acers were much better than on the Asus netbooks.

I had keyboard bounce on both of my Aspire One within a couple of months. I got a little over a year on the first one before it died (out of warranty, of course). The second one lasted only four months before dying. It was still under warranty but I was so fed up with Acer by then, I pulled the HDD and chucked it, then replaced it with an Asus Eee. That one lasted two years before the cable going to the screen started acting up. I probably could have fixed it but I was ready for a bigger machine by then so I replaced it with a Lenovo 15" notebook.

'Tis funny how one person can have excellent luck with a brand and another person has lousy luck.

 

[M1GU31]

Not at all, anyone is capable of building one friend.

 

[Windidugo]

Ha I happen to have an Acer desktop that just crapped out on me. It was an eMachines brand.

 

[ThrashZone]

eMachines are crap to begin with so if it crapped out it just lived up to it's potential

 

[Solarstarshines]

Most custom PC builds today are made by gamers. But I'm not a dedicated gamer. But i just want high performance for the best value. So can I still build a custom PC build?

There are many things that can be done with a High end machine gaming happens to just be one of the (MANY) capable things you can do Video decompression is another

Virtual Machines to run other operating systems ,TV tuners servers all around home entertainment endless possibilities

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

eMachines are crap to begin with so if it crapped out it just lived up to it's potential

When I was shopping around for my first PC, I eschewed eMachines because of their poor reputation. I decided on Gateway because of their stellar reputation and that they had their own stores with their own service personnel who should be more competent than generic ones plus they had a store that was close to where I lived. A year or so after I bought the machine, *&^%$#@! Gateway closed all their stores and merged with eMachines.

 

[ThrashZone]

My Gateway laptop crappy M-series is still alive and kicking
It also has mediocre spec's but bought 1-2 months before my Acer so it's also kicking at 6 y.o.
Bought from the same site

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

My Gateway laptop crappy M-series is still alive and kicking
It also has mediocre spec's but bought 1-2 months before my Acer so it's also kicking at 6 y.o.
Bought from the same site

I got seven years of service from my old Gateway. I only retired it mostly because I had outgrown it.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hell I just recently added a ssd to mine and it flies

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Hell I just recently added a ssd to mine and it flies

Careful! SSDs are habit forming! I will not own a machine that doesn't have one anymore.