Dear all, Has been a longtime since I have posted here! I am ashamed... After always building my own rigs I am now too lazy to build a new computer. The trusty 2500k has served me well but it is finally time to upgrade. Can any one recommend a good system builder? Have been looking at the usual suspects (Scan and Overclockers). For my Sins I even looked at Alienware. What do we think of these guys for a pre-built system? Any other recommendations? Or do I man up and build my own? Thanks,
Nothing beats the DIY approach, but if it has to be pre-built I'd give these guys a shot: https://www.chillblast.com You can customise everything down to the thermal paste if you feel like it
Another recommendation for Chillblast, other than they're local to me. Good friend had decent workstation from them a couple of years back and it was well made and he had good service.
Where are you based? If you were local to me I'd gladly build a rig to your specifications for free and drop it round, and I'm sure some others on here would do the same. But yeah, stop being lazy!
*raises hand* I've bought pre built a few times. The reason? I used to work building pcs all day so I just wanted, for once (well actually three times) to let someone else build my pc for me. A treat, if you will. Plus I always wanted to order a high end Alienware from Alienware ( bucket list y'all) so yeah I did it. I'd do it again, too. Mostly because electronics are a bit crap and building a pc can sometimes be a nightmare if one part is semi faulty. It can cause serious despair. Sometimes you can find a pre built much cheaper than the actual components too. Case in point - most of HP's omen range.
And if you're near Preston I'll gladly build it for you, we've a few members offering it now so you should be covered unless you live in the MIDDLE OF EFFING NOWHERE
Oh yeah.. TBH I would avoid Alienware right now. Their case quality has dropped off since they got MSI to do them and the Aurora looks terrible inside. Mind you, so does the Area 51 though I will admit I still get a kick out of its quirky looks. Problem is that most Area 51 have insane specs now so there isn't really a worthwhile one. What I mean is when I bought mine I got the 5820k which was pretty cheap at the time. As thus I paid £1400? something like that (might have been £1200 I really can't remember). I sold the GTX 960 out of it for £110 so it cost me whatever the remainder was. Which was, at the time, around £200 more than building myself but of course I got that really unusual case which could easily account for the extra. Now though? hey look, if you have the cash and want the best warranty money can buy (because Dell really are second to none with their onsite service) then go for it. As I mentioned before, HP Omen are nice little computers. Much better than the Aurora and cheaper to boot. Well, if you like the styling of course. Scan? mixed bag. A friend of mine on another forum had serious issues with a water cooled PC that cost him over 3 grand. It arrived empty, in a soggy box. It took ages for Scan to collect it and when they sent it back it arrived in exactly the same state. Then the fight for a replacement began and I don't even know where that ended up. It's all about the service really, isn't it? that's why people buy Apples and so on. But yeah warranty wise Dell are the best by a country mile.
Can't agree more with this if I tried. I do enjoy using them but I also can't but tinker! Saying that the first iteration of my wife's build was from PC Specialist (was cheaper than buying separate parts at the time). Couldn't really fault the build or the service tbh.
I have other PCs for that tbh. I mean, I've got 4. There's nothing worse than modding your daily driver when you depend on it. Modding actually took over and at least for a while ruined my gaming. That's why I bought the eggsbocks. Simply because it's there, always ready.
Dino PC would get my vote. No shame in buying a prebuilt. You can pick the parts, and just know that when it arrives you can plug it in and go. Building your own is cool and all, but that takes time. If you don't care about your epeen, then just let a pro do it.
To be fair, I absolutely see the appeal of a pre-built system. Shopping for components and having loads of boxes/parts to oogle over is fun - but the actual process of building a PC isn't really all that fun (cable management is rewarding, but not fun). Then there's the whole "is it DOA" lottery to contend with, along with the faff of actually setting everything up in the BIOS, getting an OS installed, updated etc. One warranty for the whole machine is another plus - all well and good having a nice rig you built yourself, but if something goes pop or starts getting aggy, dealing with etailers and hardware manufactures can be a complete ballache. I don't think I would ever buy a high end pre-built system, the premium isn't worth it, but for low and mid-range machines, I would absolutely shop around the likes of PC Specialist, Scan 3XS and Chillblast.
