Custom Build vs Pre Built?

[gazfocus]

Just curious how many of you on here have custom built PC’s vs pre-built from the likes of Dell and HP.

Looking at replacing a couple of PC’s and having a hard time decided between some Dell Precision’s and some Intel or Ryzen systems.

[Justin]

I've always built my own, get exactly what you need at a better price. Downside is you have to maintain it yourself and can't throw it at anyone else, as long as you're happy with that.

I was going to build a couple of basic PC's for a friend but looking at pre-built on CCL Computers it just wasn't worth it.

[pw66]

Check that all of your software and Rips are compatible with AMD. I was three quarters of the way down the road of buying an HP laptop with a Ryzen processor when I discovered that my Mimaki Rasterlink specified Intel chips. No one at Mimaki could tell me if this was still the case, so I went for Intel to be on the safe side.

[Justin]

I always preferred AMD simply because you got more for your money years ago. I went down the Intel route on my last build for compatability and it paid off. Good advice above.

[gazfocus]

Thanks, that’s a very valid point about compatability. The reason we’ve stayed away from macs is due to compatibility and I’d not even considered that Ryzen CPU’s may pose an issue.

The Dell systems I’m looking at are Intel based. One has a Xeon W-1350P and one has an 11900 (Non-K). If I were to build custom PC’s I’d go with either an 11700K or a 12700K.

[logobear]

There is a big parts shortage at the mo .....

The reality is that computers that we need for our trade can be quite low specification, - and still last for years.
I might suggest looking at the second hand market ....

[gazfocus]

There is a big parts shortage at the mo .....

The reality is that computers that we need for our trade can be quite low specification, - and still last for years.
I might suggest looking at the second hand market ....

Thanks for commenting. The main issue we have is we have a 1GB photoshop file that we use daily (and it’s growing). The PC’s we do have (the newest being a Dell Optiplex Core i5 10600 with 32GB ram is struggling and whenever a couple of photoshop files are open with the GB file open, it crashes. I think part of the problem is we don’t have a dedicated GPU but not paying today’s prices for one.

[raydavies]

I got one from Palicomp my best yet.

Ray

[pisquee]

I've switched all our work PCs to older Dell Precision T5500 - think we have 13 of them now. They can be dual Xeon CPUs - our best ones (dedicated to design/printing) have dual 6 core 3GHz processors, and 144GB RAM. The machines for more admin duty are single CPU with more normal levels of RAM!
Some of them I've built from parts scavenged from Ebay, others I've bought ready built cheap on Ebay.
There are advantages of having all the machines the same, in terms of repair/servicing/swapping parts etc

For Windows 11 - They aren't approved CPUs, and don't have TPM 2.0 (only 1.2) but they have MS support through 2025, and I am currently testing Win 11 on 2 of our laptops which I've hacked 11 onto, and they're working fine, so I will be trying one of the 5500 next week.

[pw66]

There is a big parts shortage at the mo .....

I agree with the parts shortage point.

I needed a new laptop back in March (when everyone was working from home) - my very old i3 laptop was struggling with the vector software - and neither Dell nor HP had anything between £300 and £1000. My budget was £700 for something with a reasonably fast i7 and mid sized SSD, which should have been more than enough. In the end I had to spend £1300 on a Z Book to get the spec I convinced myself that Iwanted.

Availability and cost of parts or completed machines might drive your choice either way.