Custom Built Computer Vs. Factory Made Computer

Computers are computers… Right? Most people think that, but it isn’t always true. Do you actually know what you are buying in the store? You can spend thousands of dollars right now on a factory made computer, but is it going to do exactly what you want? I myself built my computer, but I know a lot of people who bought there’s in the store, and they aren’t having so much luck with them. Now… I am not knocking factory made computers, you get what you pay for, but these days everyone likes to play games, and listen to music, and watch movies on there computers. You have to think to yourself, these guys have to be making some sort of money off of these things, now how can I save myself the most money, while getting a well worth it PC? I am going to explain how exactly a custom built machine compares to a factory built machine.

Dells and IBM’s are two of the top leading brand computer companies out there today. Sure you pay for the name, and you get the best machine, but these companies could be making a fortune off of you. When you buy a computer in the store, you look at the specs on the machine. The average person isn’t going to know what the hell it means, so they ask a sales person. The sales person will know some information, mainly because it is staring them straight in the eye. But there are so many other extras that you have to look out for. Say you find a really cool game you want to get. It tells you what video card to use, or how much speed you need, or how much RAM this game takes in. Do you want the best machine for that one game? Or do you want a top of the line machine that can support upcoming games, that you might want in the future? These are all things you have to look into. I spent some money on a factory built computer just so I could see the difference between that and my custom built one. You could definitely tell the difference right when you turned them both on. I play massive video games online, and have no trouble at all, because I know what I am buying. I am saying people that buy computers don’t always know what they are buying so they get the best computer they can find and they think they’re fine. Computer companies are funny, because they put a lot into there systems for the average computer user. Many people aren’t going to care what’s in the computer as long as it does what they want.

Let’s start off with the manufacturer brand computers. Right now I think you can go up to 3 or slightly more GHZ, with a good 1 gig stick of RAM. Seems nice huh? A 128 MB video card is the average card for the computer right now, but 256 is making a catch up, and should start to overpower the 128 MB card. 128 MB’s is good enough to play any video game right now, but it is what card you need to play them. Manufacturer brand computers don’t always support the best games, because the companies figure that the average person will use the computer for work, so they add extra office features, and put enough power in it to make it look really fast. You can’t fool me though because I know when I see a good computer, and I have yet to see a good one in the stores, for what I use mine for. Again I am not busting every computer out there, it is just, you need to know what you want your computer to do. I want my computer to be a big powerhouse that can do everything. I guess Bill Gates computer would be the perfect system for me, but unfortunately I can’t have that, now can I? Hardware acceleration is a big must if you want to play computer games, because what the video games do is run off of the video card power, and it gets it back up from the RAM and the processor. That is why it is extremely important to have a top of the line video card when playing games. 99.9 % of manufacturer brand computers don’t come with a top of the line card, because not everyone is into video games, and they are quite expensive. Computers are expensive enough, so I guess they have the common courtesy to get a good enough card in there for the money. Now everything isn’t bad about manufacturer brand computers… With a good processor capable of producing 3 GHZ of speed, with a gig of RAM, is a great machine. 128 MB’s of video RAM is great as well, and can watch any movie, play any song, and do whatever the average person wants to do. You can do your schoolwork on them, and watch movies in clear DVD picture. Just don’t expect to play top of the line games on just the manufacturers hardware. I know someone who spent 2000.00 on a manufacturer brand PC, and ended up spending another 1500.00 just on extra high end parts so he could have a monster system. You can spend much less on a custom built machine, believe me.

Now with custom built computers, you need to know what you’re doing… You can’t just buy the parts, put them in, and expect to get the thing running. There are so many wires, and tools to know about before you can get started, and I am not here to explain how to put one together. What I am here to do is explain the pros and cons of a custom built system. If you are a serious gamer, that likes power and speed, than this is definitely your way to go. Of course you’re going to spend a lot of money, but in the long run you will save… I promise! Computers range from 500-2,000.00 on average, so you would probably want to spend something like that one a powerhouse computer. You’ll probably end up spending a little more than 2000.00 on these types of machines because you’re literally getting what you pay for in this field. First thing you need to do is get the tower, which is the shell of the machine. Then you need to purchase the motherboard, a system fan, a sound card, a video card, a processor, and some RAM. That is only the beginning… Normally you can find most of these things in a package, like a motherboard coming with all the needed parts( a system fan, cords, and the whole kit and kaboodle). Now… when buying this stuff it is important to know what you’re buying. You will spend on average 2750.00 on a powerhouse machine, which is 750.00 more than what you would pay for the average computer in the store, but instead of adding an extra 1500.00 to the already bought 2000.00 machine, you can have one hell of a computer. I would say for the extreme gamer, a 3 GHZ processor with at least 2 gigs of RAM would be suitable. With a 256 MB video card, and a sound card capable of producing movie theater sound, would put you around 2500.00. Any extras you add to it would be the complete system. Now adding all of this would make you set or a long time, and there are better bargains, and there are rip off’s out there, but I am just saying that custom built computers are better for extreme gamers, and computer literate type people. You’re average custom built machine would do everything a computer could do including play every major game out there, watch any movie in theater quality, make movies with your computer camera, and get picture perfect quality, and run at speeds where there is no wait time. Naturally these kinds of systems would overheat, but with dual component system fans, that wouldn’t happen.

Now we’re just starting to get to the end of this article so I want to explain a little more about manufacturer brand computers. I am sure everyone has heard of Alienware Brand systems. They are strong to the bone, and can do probably most of what a custom built computer does. In a way they do that, but they don’t make the system that powerful, because you can buy an alienware machine for under 1000.00. But on a good note, for the gamer that enjoys high end video games, alienware is definitely worth it, especially if you aren’t computer literate and don’t know how to put together a machine like that. I have always liked alienware, and they continue to surprise me all the time. It’s like clothes… You pay for the brand, but if you like custom fit clothes, you’ll like custom built computers, it is that simple. If you need an average computer for school and work, go for the manufacturer brand, but if you are seriously into gaming and hardcore action, go for the custom built… Then for the average gamer who doesn’t know to much about putting together a true machine, than go for alienware, as that will give you the tools to play games.