Custom build vs. off the shelf - can you save money?

ralph09

ralph09

ralph09

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Joined
31 Jul 2009
Posts
49
Hi everyone,

I came to overclockers to spec and build my first PC in 2009. I had a great time, thought I would gradually replace parts over time, but for various reasons 6 years later I am still running the thing (very slowly now because of all the crap I've put on it), and it's time for me to buy a new PC.

This time I want a PC mainly for work, including CAD and potentially BIM software (Revit). I am wondering is there any point in me trying to build a custom PC or should I get one off the shelf? I do enjoy the process, but I don't think I want to commit a huge amount of time to it, so if it won't save me any money I think I'd rather buy a ready made PC.

My budget is going to be up to £800 for the workstation. I know that I'd like an SSD, but beyond that don't really know! I'd love to hear what people think would be the best way to go, and what in particular are the things to look out for when buying a PC at the moment.

Cheers
 
Save £££'s, possibly. Usually you get a little more "value" in a pre-built as the components are bundled with deals however a custom build gives you exactly what you want and exactly which component you want, cost saving in build is negligible as you ultimately end up paying retail price for all the parts.

Custom build is much more fun.
 
I had fun putting something together, and I forgot about VAT so it ended up a bit too expensive! Any suggestions how to reduce this to around £800?

YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK Gamer Xi - Intel Haswell Midi Tower Gaming PC Configurator £957.28
- No Headset Option (Zero Cost)
- Gaming Chair Not Selected
- OcUK Value AT/ATX "Kettle Plug" 2 Meter Mains Cable
- No Security Software
- Standard Build Systems - Dispatched within 7 working days
- Speakers Not Selected
- Monitor Not Selected
- Mouse Not Selected
- Keyboard Not Selected
- Case Mods Not Selected
- Networking Not Selected
- Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614)
- SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black
- No Sound Card Upgrade
- OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
- Seagate 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST1000DM003)
- Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 240GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (SH103S3/240G)
- MSI Radeon R7 370 Gaming 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
- TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYED316G2133HC11ADC01)
- Alpenföhn Brocken 2 CPU Cooler
- Gigabyte Z97X-SLI Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard
- Intel Core i5-4690K 3.50GHz (Devil's Canyon) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail
- No Overclocking Options (Zero Cost)
- BitFenix Neos ATX Tower Black/Blue
Total : £957.28 (includes shipping : Ex.VAT).

 
You could change a few things:

- No need for 16GB RAM
- Better GPU
- Build yourself

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-SLI - Devils Canyon Core i5 4690K Bundle **£12 Saving** £277.98
1 x Zotac GeForce GTX 970 Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (ZT-90101-10P) £254.99
1 x XFX XTR 750W '80 Plus Gold' Fully Modular Power Supply £79.99
1 x Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Midi Tower Case with Window - Black £59.99
1 x Crucial BX100 120GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 7mm Solid State Drive (CT120BX100SSD1) £44.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (WD10EZEX) £41.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLRED38G2133HC11ADC01) £38.99
1 x Raijintek EreBoss High Performance CPU Cooler £29.99
Total : £828.90 (includes shipping : Ex.VAT).

 
Cheers for the advice. In what situation would I want 16GB RAM rather than 8GB?

I think that I'm actually unlikely to be doing a lot of modelling, it will be more just CAD and Sketchup, so in that case would you say X97 is alright, or would you still advise going for X99?
 
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