Hello everyone. I am finally going to be buying a long sought after computer. I was ready to buy about 6 months ago, but the funding fell through. I now have sufficient funds to cover $1,700. Which online builder do you all think is the best and most cost efficient?

 

Thanks,

John

Heya John,

 

I don't think you can get a good rig out of the OEM vendors such as Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc. They will not have the power supply you want, nor the ability to overclock.

 

The exception that comes to mind is Alienware (a division of Dell), but I believe their systems are going to bust your budget. 

 

If you have a Fry's Electronics close by (I see you are near Olympia, WA - there is a Fry's in Renton) they might be able to build you one. The ones here in the Santa Clara area will assemble your system based upon your selected components (case, PSU, CPU, etc), and I believe the price is reasonable. I spent $1200 on my rig, and am very satisfied.

 

Good luck!

I could try a Fry's but that is fairly far away. Are there any reputable online vendors?

I've build several computers purchasing all my parts from Newegg.  Haven't had a bad component shipped yet and the pricing usually can beat any store price.  I'm lucky as I live in San Diego and they are in Los Angeles.  I can order and have them ship at the cheapest method and I get the parts the next day.

If you're patient, it's better to build your own. Doing it is a lot easier than most people think.

You'll know exactly what parts are installed and get exactly the ones you want.

You can avoid all the crapware that gets installed on factory-built computers.

You'll save a lot of money.

 

I usually buy parts from Amazon. I've signed up for their shipping program which lets me save on shipping fees and I can get orders delivered from them within 1 - 2 days, they usually have very competitive prices, and they have good return policies. For stuff I can't get through them I generally go with Newegg.

And keep in mind that if you buy a hard drive (or SSD) you are eligible to get the OEM version of Windows 7 (my preference). Comes sans support of any kind, but you know where we live... OEM price is half of Retail.

I've done a combination of Newegg and Amazon.  No problems there.  If I can build a computer, any one can.  I had great help from the forums during the build process; everyone was patient with my ridiculously simple questions.  I've done 2 builds and it is pretty gratifying.

 

Wish I knew about the SSD and OEM W7 for my last build.

There is another major drawback to OEM Windows, though. You can only install it on one build.

If you decide to upgrade your CPU and motherboard at some point, Microsoft treats that as a new computer and won't allow you to reinstall your original OEM Windows. You'd have to buy a new copy of Windows. Retail Windows costs a lot more, but you can reinstall it on a new build.

The exception that comes to mind is Alienware (a division of Dell), but I believe their systems are going to bust your budget. 

 

Alienware is a completely different beast when it comes to OEM machines. The OP really isn't that too far off on his budget if he shops smart with Dell. I bough my Alienware through Dell's outlet program and it came to just under 2k, and that's with the hardware warranty for three years.