Any good pre-built systems out there?

[patonb]

Actually, the best of both worlds is NCIX.com You can get them to build and put the OS on for $50 bucks. They ship the boxes and what not to you for return/warrantee/MIRF use too boot.

And even better, free shipping to you stupid yanks for free over $100.

http://www.ncixus.com/products/?sku=7842

 

[carnageX]

Interesting, didn't know NCIX did that.

 

[patonb]

Yup, got my friend kitted out like that. Spec'd out the parts, all he did was click to add to cart.

You can even price match to lowest advertised privce on the net.

 

[Bag_O_Chips]

Let us all understand something as enthusiasts. Not everyone wants to build. I know many gamers that use Dells because they want to spend zero time tweaking and more time gaming. While it's very true that if you have the time to build and QA your parts and properly test - it's great. You learn a lot and you feel confident and proud that you have a new found skill. Aftermarket enthusiast class motherboards usually come with a PLETHORA of features that a pure gamer never wishes to see. They don't even want to spend one second in the bios. There is a difference between an ehtusiast hardware gamer and 'just' a gamer. Not everyone wants to optimize C states on a Asus or MSI motherboard with a new I5/I7 etc . They want to start up the PC and the very most add in a new graphics card along with a new and capable PSU to run it. For this type of gamer when I do build for them I build a simple B75/85 system (or AMD 970) board with basic features. It's true you have to watch out with gaming vendors (all vendors really) when it comes to the default PSU choice, many times they use a subpar PSU, but you can usually change that in the initial build, or you can simply replace it when it arrives to you. I love building I do it all the time, but there are some folks that just want a Dell. It's fine as long as they understand they will need to make sure their power supply is capable and if needs to be replaced for a GPU upgrade then it's done.

 

[-RockMan-]

Let us all understand something as enthusiasts. Not everyone wants to build. I know many gamers that use Dells because they want to spend zero time tweaking and more time gaming. While it's very true that if you have the time to build and QA your parts and properly test - it's great. You learn a lot and you feel confident and proud that you have a new found skill. Aftermarket enthusiast class motherboards usually come with a PLETHORA of features that a pure gamer never wishes to see. They don't even want to spend one second in the bios. There is a difference between an ehtusiast hardware gamer and 'just' a gamer. Not everyone wants to optimize C states on a Asus or MSI motherboard with a new I5/I7 etc . They want to start up the PC and the very most add in a new graphics card along with a new and capable PSU to run it. For this type of gamer when I do build for them I build a simple B75/85 system (or AMD 970) board with basic features. It's true you have to watch out with gaming vendors (all vendors really) when it comes to the default PSU choice, many times they use a subpar PSU, but you can usually change that in the initial build, or you can simply replace it when it arrives to you. I love building I do it all the time, but there are some folks that just want a Dell. It's fine as long as they understand they will need to make sure their power supply is capable and if needs to be replaced for a GPU upgrade then it's done.

I understand you loud and clear thats why I backed up your plan for a prebuilt machine.
Sure you can build your machine and have all the bells and whistles but not everyone is geared like that.
Until some people on here get that through their skull and research into more prebuilt machines and customizing it.
They will choose to build it first rather than deal with retail online store headaches.

Check out the dell site and let us know what you decide on.
I'd be happy to take a look at it and offer a suggestion if I don't think your getting your moneys worth.

 

[PP Mguire]

If you're swapping out a shoddy PSU then you are spending more time than zero, so what's the point? And actually, with the above knowledge I didn't know about (NCIX building +setup ), it makes buying a true prebuilt 100% pointless. Unless you're going for uber cheap there is never a good reason to go with a genuine prebuilt. The only reason I say uber cheap is because machines that are lower than 400 dollars can't really be beat due to OEMs providing the OS. On a self built or pre-assembled the OS costs taking away from your budget.

9 times out of 10 the people who want higher end machines with 0 maintenance or setup time want to upgrade later on without the extra cost of the whole machine. Then they get mad only to find out they need to practically upgrade the whole thing anyways and regret their previous decision. Couple of cases like this have been presented on the boards recently where a few guys wanted to update their GPU but had issues because the motherboard was geared to work with the one that came with the machine.

 

[-RockMan-]

If you're swapping out a shoddy PSU then you are spending more time than zero, so what's the point?

Not really how many times have you taken out a psu out of your machine or someone elses computer ?
How long did it take, I mean just lay the case flat, open it up take the screws off the mount brackets and in the back.
Smile at it toss it in the recycle bin and install the new one.

No need to turn a simple job into a 8 hour shift work job man. o_0
Your a freakin build guru and I'm out running you as a technician ? sheesh. -_-

 

[Bag_O_Chips]

PP listen up .I said zero time "tweaking" . I meant sitting there in the bios trying to fix default fan profiles or optimize C states. Most gamers - even the lowly Dell gamers and other OEM PC owners you speak of will change out a PSU, or they will just take it to a shop, one and done.

Again. not everyone wants to build. You have to have respect for all hardware, and respect for any platform, and understand it. Fully understand it. This takes years of building and being humble enough to help out your co-worker or friend who really just wants that "Dell". I don't take that personally I will help them pick out a Dell if that's what they really want. I don't try to convert them into a forum junkie sitting around reading forums on the Asus ROG forums learning how to tweak a freakin bios. Different strokes for different folks. That's my motto.

 

[PP Mguire]

Not really how many times have you taken out a psu out of your machine or someone elses computer ?
How long did it take, I mean just lay the case flat, open it up take the screws off the mount brackets and in the back.
Smile at it toss it in the recycle bin and install the new one.

No need to turn a simple job into a 8 hour shift work job man. o_0
Your a freakin build guru and I'm out running you as a technician ? sheesh. -_-

The point that chips was making was that these kind of people want ZERO time fiddling with the PC. Taking the time to pull out a PSU, research (or ask a forum) for help on a new one, then putting it in is more than zero time spent.

Frankly, if a gamer wants this then he/she might as well buy a damn console. If somebody comes on a forum asking for advice on PC hardware and performance then it's our job to try and steer them in the right direction (not to mention they are obviously at least a little curious). At least the above NCIX offering is an option for such people who want to make the best purchase for their dollar rather than buying something not tailored to their needs AND needing to upgrade it basically right off the bat.

To directly answer your question, not long at all. I've been doing it for years though and it's a no brainer. To somebody not in the know, such as the folk being discussed, they might as well be opening up an automobile hood as it's all Greek to them either way.

 

[PP Mguire]

PP listen up .I said zero time "tweaking" . I meant sitting there in the bios trying to fix default fan profiles or optimize C states. Most gamers - even the lowly Dell gamers and other OEM PC owners you speak of will change out a PSU, or they will just take it to a shop, one and done.

Again. not everyone wants to build. You have to have respect for all hardware, and respect for any platform, and understand it. Fully understand it. This takes years of building and being humble enough to help out your co-worker or friend who really just wants that "Dell". I don't take that personally I will help them pick out a Dell if that's what they really want. I don't try to convert them into a forum junkie sitting around reading forums on the Asus ROG forums learning how to tweak a freakin bios. Different strokes for different folks. That's my motto.

Dude, take a minute to read what I'm typing. Those no tweak people? They can have the best bang for their buck by having it built by somebody else which is the exact same thing as going and buying a Dell. Not real sure how I haven't been 100% clear on this in the last few posts.

Or, to frankly quote myself on your first sentence of the second paragraph.

Unless you're going for uber cheap there is never a good reason to go with a genuine prebuilt. The only reason I say uber cheap is because machines that are lower than 400 dollars can't really be beat due to OEMs providing the OS. On a self built or pre-assembled the OS costs taking away from your budget.

That is the only time somebody should buy a Dell. You want a 300 dollar PC? Well Dell gives you 300 bucks worth of hardware and negates the cost of the OS. Pretty simple.

So let us recap here. Somebody taking the time out of their lives to ask somebody besides Best Buy, a Dell representative, or whoever on advice clearly wants some non-biased (hopefully) direction on their purchase. So that being said, why buy a Dell when you can have a tailored machine built for you? There is no tweaking involved, no need to hash out more money later for whatever reason, and you're not forking over extra cash for a company like Cyberpower to assemble for you (with a limited selection taboot). 90% of the time I make a list for forum members I tell them a Z87, or otherwise any other enthusiast board, isn't necessary nor is overclocking. I actually typically have to argue with people why they don't need that 300 dollar motherboard for whatever theory they may have. But even still, I'm not real sure where you're getting all this from anyways. "Tweaking" anything in the bios typically isn't needed at all. 99% of general consumers shouldn't be playing in the bios anyways. Whether it's a Dell or otherwise.

I also told the OP the machine he linked was fine. Pretty much making all of this useless.