JustAnotherUser Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Is it worth going with an off-the-shelf gaming PC from somewhere like TigerDirect or does it just make a lot more sense to build a PC from the ground up? Here's the deal. My boss wants to get the new fully loaded Saitek panel and set it up in our lobby. We'll run three monitors with it too. Nobody will spend a huge amount of time using this system except, probably, the employees! A lot of it is just for show but it needs to be a good experience for any guest that sits down too. He definitely wants to be able to run both X-Plane 10 and FSX. I'd much prefer to buy off-the-shelf (it's easier for me), but if it's really worthwhile to just build something I'll make that happen. Any recommendations on a solid off-the-shelf PC for this setup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringBean Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 You will always get better results from a properly speced and setup home build than you will ever get from an off-the-shelf PC. Always. peace, the Bean WWOD---What Would Opa Do? Farewell, my freind (sp) Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ftldave Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 The do-it-yourselfers always fail to mention the time and labor factor, and with today's prices for mass produced computers, are you really going to save very much money if you build your own? I suppose that depends on what you consider to be "a lot of money". And ask yourself, who's responsible if you encounter problems, BSOD, or a bad component that makes your new system unstable? If it's going to be in front of customers and doing important work, I think there's a strong case for buying a standard computer rather than going down the hobbyist BYO route. Perhaps the boss should put some thought into whether your company really needs to go into the business of building computers for internal use ... or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvieno Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 True. Like cars, it is cheaper the buy a Chevy than build it yourself. However it is cheaper to build your own race car than to ask Chevrolet to do it for you. A PC to run FSX needs to be a race car. The off-the-shelf pc will give mediocre performance at best. A custom built, if built properly, will perform much better. http://my.flightmemory.com/pic/tvieno.gifhttp://www.vatsimsigs.co.uk/Status/1136602.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringBean Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 ...with today's prices for mass produced computers, are you really going to save very much money if you build your own? Nobody said it would be cheaper. Also, mass produced computers are cheap because the components in them are cheap. There are also companies like Jetline that will build you a good FSX PC that comes with a warranty, if that is important to you. If we start talking about enthusiast level components, they will be of better quality than the cheap stuff that you will get in a Dell or HP. So they should be more reliable. Even if they do fail, they do come with warranties. I would personally rather box up a video card or a memory DIMM and send it in for replacement as opposed to having to ship the whole box in. peace, the Bean WWOD---What Would Opa Do? Farewell, my freind (sp) Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fxsttcb Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 The do-it-yourselfers always fail to mention the time and labor factor, and with today's prices for mass produced computers, are you really going to save very much money if you build your own? I suppose that depends on what you consider to be "a lot of money". And ask yourself, who's responsible if you encounter problems, BSOD, or a bad component that makes your new system unstable? If it's going to be in front of customers and doing important work, I think there's a strong case for buying a standard computer rather than going down the hobbyist BYO route. Perhaps the boss should put some thought into whether your company really needs to go into the business of building computers for internal use ... or not. The Jetline, Origin, and Digital Storm equivalents, to the rig in my sig, were priced near $6000. I have ~$3400 and a few days invested in it. The biggest time consumer was experimenting with the custom cooling solution and RAMDisk. I did the basic assembly, software installation, and testing in one afternoon. It generally takes me about 4 hours. A layman, with proper preperation, can expect to build a complete sytem in a day. Paxx's How to build a Computer will give you all the necessary prep. The biggest plus with building your own, or, collecting the components for your local pro to assemble is: YOU select the exact parts. No compromises because of limited selections. Too timid? These sites have Budget Gaming Laptops and Customizeable Desktops: http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/ http://www.ibuypower.com/ http://www.xoticpc.com/ Their warranties and tech support rival the best...Don HAF 932 Adv, PC P&C 950w, ASUS R4E,i7-3820 5.0GHz(MCR320-XP 6 fans wet), GTX 970 FTW 16GB DDR3-2400, 128GB SAMSUNG 830(Win 7 Ult x64), 512GB SAMSUNG 840 Pro(FSX P3D FS9) WD 1TB Black(FS98, CFS2&3, ROF, etc.), WD 2TB Black-(Storage/Backup) Active Sky Next, Rex4 TD/Soft Clouds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman_the_Owl Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 If you're spending 5 grand on the cockpit thing, you better put a nice PC powering it. Build your own, it's not too hard and you'll save a lot of money. Gaming PCs are overpriced when bought from any company. CyberpowerPC and iBuypower are the worst Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrussell Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Stringbean +1 I built the computer in my signature 3 years ago.At the time I got 2 quotes from Canadian shops to build it. One came in $2,000 and one at $1,800. The parts at Newegg.ca were $1,200 and change. While in Yuma AZ I got the components from Newegg.com for $980, put it together in a day. The Canadian prices sales were taxes extra. Newegg supplied components tax free. At the time the US and Canadian dollars were almost at par. The rig is still performing without problem. As well Newegg has a 3 part video tutorial on building your own. Bruce [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]I5-2500k@ 4.5Ghz/ 16 GB Gskill DDR3 1600/Nvidia GTX460 1GB// CH Yoke/Pedals/Throttle/TrackIR/Win7/ Fsx Deluxe SP1 & SP2 "Don't let fear or good judgment hold you back" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fxsttcb Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 ...Gaming PCs are overpriced when bought from any company. CyberpowerPC and iBuypower are the worstHuh?? I specced a pretty high end simming computer at CyberPowerPC. It was priced at $2849 Then I made 3 top system comparisons using identical or equivalent components. Origin "Genesis" Equivalent, No Keyboard/Mouse $3412 Digital Storm "Velox" Equivalent, $3886 Jetline Systems Equivalent, $3442 Their guarantee is also in line with the high$$ outfits. STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR [3 Year Labor, 1 Year Parts] LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT I'm pretty sure that the extra $500+ could be used elsewhere...Don HAF 932 Adv, PC P&C 950w, ASUS R4E,i7-3820 5.0GHz(MCR320-XP 6 fans wet), GTX 970 FTW 16GB DDR3-2400, 128GB SAMSUNG 830(Win 7 Ult x64), 512GB SAMSUNG 840 Pro(FSX P3D FS9) WD 1TB Black(FS98, CFS2&3, ROF, etc.), WD 2TB Black-(Storage/Backup) Active Sky Next, Rex4 TD/Soft Clouds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustAnotherUser Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 Thanks for all of the replies and thoughtful comments. I guess I could go either way. Part of me is leaning towards finding a pre-built Cyberpower or ibuypower system just because it's quick and easy. If I create a custom PC, I'm not really worried about building it so much as the time and research that I'll end up doing to spec it out first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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