• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 16:01
CET 21:01
KST 05:01
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT30Behind the Blue - Team Liquid History Book19Clem wins HomeStory Cup 289HomeStory Cup 28 - Info & Preview13Rongyi Cup S3 - Preview & Info8
Community News
2026 KongFu Cup Announcement3BGE Stara Zagora 2026 cancelled12Blizzard Classic Cup - Tastosis announced as captains15Weekly Cups (March 2-8): ByuN overcomes PvT block4GSL CK - New online series19
StarCraft 2
General
GSL CK - New online series BGE Stara Zagora 2026 cancelled Blizzard Classic Cup - Tastosis announced as captains BGE Stara Zagora 2026 announced ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT
Tourneys
RSL Season 4 announced for March-April PIG STY FESTIVAL 7.0! (19 Feb - 1 Mar) Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament 2026 KongFu Cup Announcement [GSL CK] Team Maru vs. Team herO
Strategy
Custom Maps
Publishing has been re-enabled! [Feb 24th 2026] Map Editor closed ?
External Content
Mutation # 517 Distant Threat The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 516 Specter of Death Mutation # 515 Together Forever
Brood War
General
BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ BSL 22 Map Contest — Submissions OPEN to March 10 ASL21 General Discussion Are you ready for ASL 21? Hype VIDEO Gypsy to Korea
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues [BSL22] Open Qualifiers & Ladder Tours IPSL Spring 2026 is here! ASL Season 21 Qualifiers March 7-8
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Soma's 9 hatch build from ASL Game 2 Fighting Spirit mining rates Zealot bombing is no longer popular?
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Path of Exile Nintendo Switch Thread PC Games Sales Thread No Man's Sky (PS4 and PC)
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion The Story of Wings Gaming
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Five o'clock TL Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas Vanilla Mini Mafia TL Mafia Community Thread
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine Mexico's Drug War Russo-Ukrainian War Thread NASA and the Private Sector
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Movie Discussion! [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books
Sports
Formula 1 Discussion 2024 - 2026 Football Thread General nutrition recommendations Cricket [SPORT] TL MMA Pick'em Pool 2013
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Laptop capable of using Photoshop Lightroom?
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Money Laundering In Video Ga…
TrAiDoS
Iranian anarchists: organize…
XenOsky
FS++
Kraekkling
Shocked by a laser…
Spydermine0240
Unintentional protectionism…
Uldridge
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1796 users

Buying vs Building new computer? - Page 2

Forum Index > Tech Support
Post a Reply
Prev 1 2 All
NaYeBo
Profile Joined August 2010
Canada282 Posts
April 10 2011 17:49 GMT
#21
Well, skyr mentioned I can choose the parts and get it built for 50$, so I'd probably go with that route.
NaYeBo
Profile Joined August 2010
Canada282 Posts
April 10 2011 17:50 GMT
#22
My next question is would an i7 be warranted over an i5 in skyrs build?
novabossa
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States350 Posts
April 10 2011 18:04 GMT
#23
The Sandy Bridge i7 is phenomenal, and you'd have no problems streaming on that kind of processor. The i5, however, should be sufficient (provided you get an appropriate graphics card). Personally, I consider the extra $100 not to be worth it (then again I'm a poor college student strapped for cash), but it will do a great job in future-proofing your system.
Rachel: First game. oGsMC: Yea. Rachel: Dark Templar. oGsMC: Yea. Rachel: Countered. oGsMC: Yea. Rachel: Were you worried? oGsMC: What?
FiWiFaKi
Profile Blog Joined February 2009
Canada9859 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-04-10 18:08:10
April 10 2011 18:04 GMT
#24
On April 11 2011 02:50 NaYeBo wrote:
My next question is would an i7 be warranted over an i5 in skyrs build?


The i7 2600(k) you'll see probably a 25-35% performence increase.

For the extra 120+ dollars it's not worth it, especially considering the current mobo doesn't support OC.

My recommendation would be, if you want a better CPU... The i5 2500k is great, it's performence OCed is that of the i7 2600k, and it's $240 ish I think? The problem is, if you want to OC, you'll need a P67 motherboard, and those go for approximatly the $200 mark.

Edit: Overall it's a very solid build much better than the one on the site. And I think you'll be very pleased with the build there. The i5 2500k if you choose to get it will last you years, but I think for your needs it is slight overkill.
In life, the journey is more satisfying than the destination. || .::Entrepreneurship::. Living a few years of your life like most people won't, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can't || Mechanical Engineering & Economics Major
Myrmidon
Profile Blog Joined December 2004
United States9452 Posts
April 10 2011 18:38 GMT
#25
i7-2600 over i5-2500 is a very small difference in most applications including games and is definitely not worth the $100 price premium unless your budget is large or you're a professional user. All you get is 100 MHz higher, 2 MB more L3 cache, and hyperthreading. And hyperthreading is only good if you're running workloads that actually can have more than 4 threads running in parallel (and if the first 4 threads get stuck waiting on RAM/HDD access or something).

Only in the most favorable well-threaded conditions do you get anything like 25% more performance with a i7-2600. Usually the difference is more like 0-3%.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=287
Warillions
Profile Joined November 2010
United States215 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-04-10 18:41:17
April 10 2011 18:39 GMT
#26
honestly man stick with the custom built pc, the mobo is amazing(i have it), thats the most ideal ram to get, the vid card well its optional, theres a lot of good vid cards out there that will stream/sc2 just fine. the processor is good too, u could even get away with the quad core phenom2 965 and save about 40 bucks that could be used on 8gigs of ram instead of 4. the i7 is strong, but the price increase i think is not worth it. yet another amd vs intel thread? i hope not.
Gak2
Profile Joined September 2010
Canada418 Posts
April 10 2011 19:46 GMT
#27
5770 is much better than 5450, which can barely run on low. so get the custom-built.
An alternative is to get the best buy comp, then buy a separate 5770 and install that. you'd probably need to get a better power supply too though... so this is a lot more expensive. just get your friend to help you make the custom built lol
mutantmagnet
Profile Joined June 2009
United States3789 Posts
April 10 2011 20:08 GMT
#28
Something is really wrong here. 17% savings on custom building for parts after rebates? *checks op's link* The Dell is refurbished. That explains a lot.

If you can get a brand new pc for that cost you are better off with that; but the warranty for refurbished items usually blows compared to brand new items.
It's not hard to build a new pc but there are frustrations you might have to stomach since this would be a first time for you. On top of that your parts are of higher quality than what the prebuilt is offering.
NaYeBo
Profile Joined August 2010
Canada282 Posts
April 10 2011 20:16 GMT
#29
On April 11 2011 05:08 mutantmagnet wrote:
Something is really wrong here. 17% savings on custom building for parts after rebates? *checks op's link* The Dell is refurbished. That explains a lot.

If you can get a brand new pc for that cost you are better off with that; but the warranty for refurbished items usually blows compared to brand new items.
It's not hard to build a new pc but there are frustrations you might have to stomach since this would be a first time for you. On top of that your parts are of higher quality than what the prebuilt is offering.


Yeah, the stores are offering it brand new here, but a lot of people said it won't run on ultra graphics?
FiWiFaKi
Profile Blog Joined February 2009
Canada9859 Posts
April 10 2011 21:13 GMT
#30
On April 11 2011 05:16 NaYeBo wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 11 2011 05:08 mutantmagnet wrote:
Something is really wrong here. 17% savings on custom building for parts after rebates? *checks op's link* The Dell is refurbished. That explains a lot.

If you can get a brand new pc for that cost you are better off with that; but the warranty for refurbished items usually blows compared to brand new items.
It's not hard to build a new pc but there are frustrations you might have to stomach since this would be a first time for you. On top of that your parts are of higher quality than what the prebuilt is offering.


Yeah, the stores are offering it brand new here, but a lot of people said it won't run on ultra graphics?


If you buy off ncix and they build it for you there is practically no hassle. I think at this point it should he a no brainer for you. I think you should evaluate that build that was suggested, see how it fits your budget - If there's any upgrades you want etc, but again it's solid if they do all those price matches.
In life, the journey is more satisfying than the destination. || .::Entrepreneurship::. Living a few years of your life like most people won't, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can't || Mechanical Engineering & Economics Major
NaYeBo
Profile Joined August 2010
Canada282 Posts
April 10 2011 21:16 GMT
#31
Sorry I'm unsure what the concept of price matches are? I'm guessing if I show them those prices... They'll match them?
mutantmagnet
Profile Joined June 2009
United States3789 Posts
April 10 2011 21:19 GMT
#32
It can't run the graphics at ultra settings.

This review is slightly outdated because some optimizations have been made. Yet you can see the lowest end card listed here (which is going to better than 5450) has no chance of being improved enough to playable levels on a low resolution.

Your custom build is a lot more cost effective.
FiWiFaKi
Profile Blog Joined February 2009
Canada9859 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-04-10 21:28:04
April 10 2011 21:26 GMT
#33
On April 11 2011 06:16 NaYeBo wrote:
Sorry I'm unsure what the concept of price matches are? I'm guessing if I show them those prices... They'll match them?


Pretty much. Usually though when you price match you puck items that are on sale from another site, and therefore the same price may not apply anymore. Also Ive had some trouble with other price matching on other sites so maybe Im just paranoid xP.

I mean your other alternative - is buy that computer, I never realized how good that CPU actually is (equivalent of i5 2500 - got my modems mixed up. I'm just not am AMD fan so not sure what to think)... And then sell the 5450 and buy a 460gtx, which would be expensive... Nvm scratch that.

But I do recommend doing some research on that GPU... Its a 60 dollar one, and practically the worst on the market.

In life, the journey is more satisfying than the destination. || .::Entrepreneurship::. Living a few years of your life like most people won't, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can't || Mechanical Engineering & Economics Major
RaiZ
Profile Blog Joined April 2003
2813 Posts
April 10 2011 21:34 GMT
#34
On April 11 2011 05:16 NaYeBo wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 11 2011 05:08 mutantmagnet wrote:
Something is really wrong here. 17% savings on custom building for parts after rebates? *checks op's link* The Dell is refurbished. That explains a lot.

If you can get a brand new pc for that cost you are better off with that; but the warranty for refurbished items usually blows compared to brand new items.
It's not hard to build a new pc but there are frustrations you might have to stomach since this would be a first time for you. On top of that your parts are of higher quality than what the prebuilt is offering.


Yeah, the stores are offering it brand new here, but a lot of people said it won't run on ultra graphics?

It may be brand new, but the whole computer is just sooo old it's not even funny.
If you build your pc, you can almost have double performance.
I mean look at the 5450 graphic card : 5770 is like what ? $40 more, but it outperforms in everyway the 5450.
I'm already having troubles streaming at medium setting with a 5750 with 50 fps (let's be honest : 40 fps is the true average imo). I can't imagine how you'd stream with ultra with such a low graphic card that 5450 is.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. Oscar Wilde
scudst0rm
Profile Joined May 2010
Canada1149 Posts
April 10 2011 21:39 GMT
#35
Another point against pre-built machines:

Pre-builts from the big brands (acer, gateway, hp, dell) always come with the cheapest possible no-name power supplies and motherboards. This leaves you with a higher chance of failure and little room to upgrade (if you want to upgrade the gpu you need to replace the power supply as well).

Pre-builts from the high-end/enthusiast brands like cyberpower will have better parts but are way more expensive.
You're like a one ranger army comin' at me...
Genome852
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States979 Posts
April 10 2011 22:16 GMT
#36
The biggest reason I prefer building a computer is because it's just easier to fix if something breaks.

If you buy a prebuilt computer and it has an issue, you can't open it and fix it yourself... unless you want to void the warranty. On the other hand, you CAN do that with a built computer, and most of the time you can still use the computer after taking out whatever is damaged while waiting for the replacement.
mutantmagnet
Profile Joined June 2009
United States3789 Posts
April 10 2011 23:24 GMT
#37
Warranty voiding is dependent on the company. Lenovo and HP (which is the brand the OP was looking at) provide manuals on how to take apart their machines to make upgrades. They are less concerned about machines being opened up unlike Apple or Emachines.
SigmaoctanusIV
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States3313 Posts
April 10 2011 23:27 GMT
#38
Building a computer is always 100% a better choice. You get to pick your components and get quality ones at that. When you buy a prebuild PC you will most likely get a Cheap PSU or a bad Video Card. When you build you can pick good manufacturers and select everything you want. The only upside of getting a prebuilt is you get Windows with it most of the time... Build the Comp Always the better choice.
I am Godzilla You are Japan
Prev 1 2 All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
BSL
20:00
S22 - Open Qualifier #2
LiquipediaDiscussion
Patches Events
17:00
Modded Open Cup
davetesta70
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
mouzHeroMarine 539
EmSc Tv 113
ProTech41
StarCraft: Brood War
Calm 3883
Mini 545
EffOrt 304
actioN 153
sorry 50
Hm[arnc] 26
ZZZero.O 15
Dota 2
Gorgc8353
qojqva1255
capcasts159
monkeys_forever120
Counter-Strike
fl0m4416
Heroes of the Storm
Liquid`Hasu698
Khaldor665
Other Games
gofns46527
tarik_tv20202
FrodaN2820
Grubby1760
Liquid`RaSZi1492
B2W.Neo768
crisheroes274
Hui .108
ToD68
KnowMe21
Organizations
Dota 2
PGL Dota 2 - Main Stream26031
Other Games
gamesdonequick1133
ComeBackTV 351
StarCraft 2
EmSc Tv 113
EmSc2Tv 113
Other Games
BasetradeTV81
StarCraft 2
angryscii 39
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 23 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Adnapsc2 15
• HeavenSC 14
• Hupsaiya 9
• Reevou 7
• OhrlRock 1
• Migwel
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• IndyKCrew
• Kozan
• intothetv
• sooper7s
• AfreecaTV YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
• blackmanpl 41
• RayReign 28
• Azhi_Dahaki22
• Airneanach18
• HerbMon 1
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
Dota 2
• lizZardDota241
Other Games
• imaqtpie1230
• Shiphtur242
Upcoming Events
GSL
11h 59m
Wardi Open
15h 59m
Monday Night Weeklies
20h 59m
WardiTV Team League
1d 15h
PiGosaur Cup
2 days
Kung Fu Cup
2 days
OSC
3 days
The PondCast
3 days
KCM Race Survival
3 days
WardiTV Team League
3 days
[ Show More ]
Replay Cast
4 days
KCM Race Survival
4 days
WardiTV Team League
4 days
Korean StarCraft League
5 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
5 days
BSL
5 days
BSL
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-03-13
WardiTV Winter 2026
Underdog Cup #3

Ongoing

KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 1
Jeongseon Sooper Cup
BSL Season 22
RSL Revival: Season 4
Nations Cup 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter Qual

Upcoming

CSL Elite League 2026
ASL Season 21
Acropolis #4 - TS6
2026 Changsha Offline CUP
Acropolis #4
IPSL Spring 2026
CSLAN 4
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
NationLESS Cup
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
CCT Season 3 Global Finals
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.