Hi, I live in Canada and wondering if it really is cheaper to build your own computer vs. buying based on your specs from one of the many sites online.I would like to build the following:i5 2500K (OC to 3.8 or 4 with fan cooling....sorry very bad experience with leaky water cooling on last machine)8 gig ram 1333 or 1600500 MB hard drive Thinking about 160 MB SSD for Flight sim (not sure if it really makes things faster though)1 Gig video card GTX 570 (unless you guys recommend cheaper card that works just as well for FSX - 470 perhaps)Windows 7 home, 64 bit27" screen.800 Watt powerNormal bland case, could care less about this.Standard CD Rom driveWhat do you guys think? Priced at Ibuypower for $1900 including 20% overclocking.Mark.

The thing to do is simply see how cheap you could get the parts and then work it out. It usually is cheaper to build something yourself, because places that sell them invariably add a mark up and also have to factor in the cost of putting it all together and transporting it to you. The only mitigating factor is that a large place which does that may get a discount on parts if it buys them in bulk, and that includes OEM copies of Windows.I always build my own, and I usually get my bits from Micro Direct in the UK. Clearly you will have to find a computer parts supplier near to you to work out if you can do it cheaper, but so long as there is one near enough to you, I'm guessing you could build one cheaper than you could buy one complete. As noted, keep in mind that you have to also take account of the fact that places which do deals on PCs also get OEM copies of Windows which are only supposed to be sold with a new computer, and these are cheaper, but you can often buy these with a motherboard from parts dealers, so it is possible for you to get them at the same kind of discounted price.As long as you are confident that you can put the parts together, and let's be honest that's not rocket science so long as you take care, then I'd say build it yourself. Buying it complete is okay if that's not the case and you'd prefer not to have the hassle, but you are paying for the convenience of having that done.Al

There's two major benefits of building your own computer; it IS cheaper and you don't have to worry about whether or not someone else skimped on your parts (and they always do unless you're buying one of those $4000 prebuilt machines).Standard air cooling is all you need to OC an i5-2500k to 4.8 or more. Stephen has his 2600k running at 5.0 with a Prolimatech Megahalems. Concerning motherboards, Z68 will be released this week on the 11th. I would check out either the Asus P8Z68 Deluxe or Pro. Aside from getting you flying quicker, an SSD provides no benefit to FSX. I would recommend using it as the OS drive and installing FSX on a seperate mechanical hard drive. Judging from the FSXMark11 benchmark results, I think even a GTX560 will be fine. For a good looking case for those of us who don't appreciate the "gamer" look, check out the Corsair 650D. It's a bit pricey, but it's solid and you will have it for many many future builds.

Not a bad price, but they will use lesser quality components like Corey wrote.Also factor in the operating system ($130 for OEM Win7 premium), but that ibuypower rig isn't a bad price.I'd still build your own however.The parts look good though. I'd get the GTX 570 or 560ti, and not the 4xx series though.Case- the 650D is nice, what I use - but it's pricey. However you pay for convenience and style/brand name.

Just did a very quick parts search on newegg and the cost came in at ~$1800 USD. That doesn't include any rebates you might get. If you do a little comparison shopping between Newegg and Tigerdirect you could probably get that down to ~$1650. Having just built a computer for the first time, I have to tell you it was a lot easier than I thought. I was well prepared though watching hours of videos on youtube. I'll never buy a pre-fab computer again. I know my computer inside and out unlike I did with my old HP.

What city do you live in? I use Memory Express for all my parts. They're the cheapest I've found in Canada, and there's three of their stores in my city to boot!

That's not bad pricing considering you wouldn't have to build it and it would carry a warranty, otherwise for slightly better components (premium cooler, RAM, branded graphics card, overclocker's motherboard) you could build the same through Newegg and/or Micro Center for about the same price.

Here's a combo deal on newegg.com $486http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.634257You'll have to buy:+$320 SSD+$320 GTX570+$46 4gb Ram+$130 Windows+$300 Monitor+$80 PSU=$1552Now the MB only has 2 slots for RAM so you'll have to buy 2x4GB sticks then sell the RAM that comes with the combo.Same with the PSU. Only a 630w but buy an 800w and sell the 630w.That price is without rebates and shipping. Again some comparison shopping might bring that down a bit.

Here's a combo deal on newegg.com $486http://www.newegg.co...st=Combo.634257You'll have to buy:+$320 SSD+$320 GTX570+$46 4gb Ram+$130 Windows+$300 Monitor+$80 PSU=$1552Now the MB only has 2 slots for RAM so you'll have to buy 2x4GB sticks then sell the RAM that comes with the combo.Same with the PSU. Only a 630w but buy an 800w and sell the 630w.That price is without rebates and shipping. Again some comparison shopping might bring that down a bit.

Forget that combo. It is far below what you can get. It has a plastic case, an i5-2500 CPU instead of the i5-2500K CPU (K means that it has an unlocked multiplier so you can clock it up to 4.5 or more GHZ) and an MOBO with H67chipset (H67 is a non-overclocker chipset, so you´ll bounded at 3.7 GHZ). Just look what I or some other guys have in their sig and build it on your own. For mobo I would go for an P8P67 Pro or one of the soon released P8Z68´s.

Forget that combo. It is far below what you can get. It has a plastic case, an i5-2500 CPU instead of the i5-2500K CPU (K means that it has an unlocked multiplier so you can clock it up to 4.5 or more GHZ) and an MOBO with H67chipset (H67 is a non-overclocker chipset, so you´ll bounded at 3.7 GHZ). Just look what I or some other guys have in their sig and build it on your own. For mobo I would go for an P8P67 Pro or one of the soon released P8Z68´s.

Fair enough.http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.639053Add in everything else you need (Windows, monitor, vid card) = ~$1600 before rebates

The only thing I would add is I wouldn't settle for just the cheapest $50 case. A little attention should give you one with good ventilation, good access to USB or sound ports, and easier to get into if you want to upgrade parts in the future, even if you don't need flashing lights, 10 lbs of Al, etc.I'm not sure what Z68 brings for FSX?If you can get a pre-build that matches your specs, it might be worth it to get a burned-in system with support, but if the builder is just going to assemble parts you spec out, I don't think I would pay a whole lot for that over what I could get it for myself. Other than the occasional panic when you flip the switch and nothing happens (usually due to a delta-sierra mistake) it is kind of rewarding doing it yourself.scott s..

Fair enough.http://www.newegg.co...st=Combo.639053Add in everything else you need (Windows, monitor, vid card) = ~$1600 before rebates

That looks better!

Anyone here ever try avadirect.com ?

Thanks for the comments everyone. I think I will skip the SSD if there is no performance difference in FSX. I don't mind waiting a few extra seconds to get up in the air.Mark.

Thanks for the comments everyone. I think I will skip the SSD if there is no performance difference in FSX. I don't mind waiting a few extra seconds to get up in the air.Mark.

For the 1155 platform, you should consider either 1866 or if you can afford it, 2133 MHz memory.My link