Should I build my own or buy a pre-built from OCUK?

Cromulent · 10 Apr 2016 at 07:02

My current computer was built in early 2012 and was built by myself. I'll be upgrading my computer probably early next year but I'm not sure I want to build it myself. It takes me about 2 - 3 days to do a full build and when you have any problems you have to solve them yourself which is a real pain. I especially don't like the idea of having to RMA parts if they are not working it is such a PITA.

So I was looking at OCUK pre-built systems and they look quite good for what I want. Yes they are more expensive but they come with a warranty so if anything breaks I can just send it back and they'll fix it for me which is a huge plus and I can customise the parts as well to what I want.

So what would you do in my situation? Build it yourself or buy a pre-built from OCUK?

Cromulent · 10 Apr 2016 at 08:35

Bickaxe said:
Is there a reason it takes you 2-3 days? With kids and work etc... I usually build mine in the evening as it should only take a few hours tops inc installs as you have experience.

Each individual part has a warranty so you're covered there and maybe I've just been lucky as I've never had a problem with any parts needing to RMA. I also find the build itself quite relaxing.

I can see why pre-built is tempting though but I guess it all depends on your personal circumstances and if you have the time.

Well maybe 2 - 3 days is a bit of an exaggeration but it definitely takes me longer than average just because I get nervous so I always triple check everything before I do it just to make sure I'm not making any mistakes.

I do like the fact that I can build what I want and select the pieces that I really want for my build but getting one pre-built feels so much easier to me. Maybe I'm just lazy

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I'll be building a pretty beasty machine when I do so it'll need to last for 5 years before I upgrade it (apart from maybe the graphics card which I might upgrade after 2 - 3 years).

Maybe I'll just bite the bullet and build it myself and just hope for the best. I just get so frustrated troubleshooting problems when it comes to self builds.

Cromulent · 10 Apr 2016 at 13:46

smogsy said:
i got OCUK to my build my last 2, saves me time £70 charge for buildinbg is way worth it.

personally though i don't pick pre-builts
i pick my parts & send a order via webnote/forum then ask them to contact me when they want payment.

a generally charge £70 for building + £30 for medium OC from memory.

£70 for 2-3 hours saving of my time is worth imho

these are not cheap PC either. I7 5930K 64GB ram 4TB SSD 2x980s 1300w Superflower in my last one.

Oh I didn't know I could do that. If I can specify exactly what parts I want in a build it sounds like a no brainer. Might as well get OCUK to build it for me and pay the extra charge so I don't have to do it myself. Thanks for the info

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For the record I don't mind doing simple things like installing a new hard drive or installing a new GPU its things like putting the motherboard and CPU in that I don't like. I'd hate to break a £500 CPU because I bent some pins.

Cromulent · 12 Apr 2016 at 05:37

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm still a bit undecided.

It was a good point someone made about having to send the whole computer back if something breaks. I wouldn't want to do that. On the other hand I'm terrified that I'll get a dud motherboard or CPU and find out that after I've spent ages getting them into the case I'll have to take everything out again just to send an item back via RMA.

I guess I can cope with the hassle though. I'll just have to set aside some time to do the actual build and hope for the best. I have built a couple of computers in the past so it shouldn't be that difficult.

Cromulent · 12 Apr 2016 at 11:06

peterwalkley said:
You can do a sanity check build on the motherboard box before installing to the case. Makes access to everything easier and better light to see what you are doing.

That is a good point. Yeah I'll probably end up doing that. Thanks.

Cromulent · 12 Apr 2016 at 15:10

David Bisset said:
For my own computer I'll build myself, but for any relatives or anything else I'd avoid this now, it's way too much like hard work as if/when anything happens they seem to expect you to be on-call even if you made it clear at the time it was a one-off favour not a service agreement!

Honestly, if the building process isn't fun then I'd not do it. £70 isn't much on a high-end machine - I guess if going strict/low budget then maybe more debatable as you'll probably be sacrificing noticeable performance etc to hit the budget and that extra £70 could make a pretty big difference.

That is what I was thinking. This will be a really high end machine and £70 extra isn't really all that much extra money when you are talking that kind of money.

When I'm ready to do it I'll have a word with OCUK and see what they say about building a machine for me with the specs that I want.