Clone PC or Brand???

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Clone PC or Brand??

Clone pc
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tekkaman1
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Clone PC or Brand???

Post by tekkaman1 »

Hello everyone

I just wanted your opinions on this. Do you prefer to build your pc or buy a brand?? Tell me why you like it.
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Re: Clone PC or Brand???

Post by Specially Cork »

Buy brands.
I use laptops and live in China.
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Re: Clone PC or Brand???

Post by Roofus »

I build my own.
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Re: Clone PC or Brand???

Post by Ex-Cyber »

I build my own; it's usually cheaper for similar specs, I can choose Linux/BSD/etc.-compatible hardware from reputable manufacturers, and it sticks to a standard form factor so if something does die I can replace it easily.

By the way, the term "clone" is almost meaningless for PCs these days; in some sense, they're all clones.
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Re: Clone PC or Brand???

Post by hearld500 »

Eh, I'd say buy one.
They've got plain computers on ebay with Core2 duos for cheap. Throw an extra gig of ram and a good video card in and you're golden.

About two and a half years ago I picked up a gateway with a 3ghz Pentium-d and put a 1900xtx in. I've been able to run every game I've tried, including Crysis to near max specs.
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Re: Clone PC or Brand???

Post by Code-Red »

I build my own from now on. The one I'm using now was my first build, and while there are a few tiny things wrong with it, it was a great learning experience, and I paid almost half the price for it by picking sales and openbox parts.

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Re: Clone PC or Brand???

Post by Calavera »

Defiantly would rather build my own. Much cheaper,
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Re: Clone PC or Brand???

Post by Stormwatch »

Who are you defying? :P
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Re: Clone PC or Brand???

Post by melancholy »

Actually, the cost of building one isn't that much cheaper, especially if you take advantage of package deals with a monitor and printer. But if you don't need that stuff, then building is better mainly because you can pick the parts you want. That way you know exactly what's in the machine and don't have to worry about the manufacturer sticking you with crap components.
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Re: Clone PC or Brand???

Post by Specially Cork »

To be honest, I think the main reason I don't build my own is because I have absolutely no interest in the internal workings of computers. I'm pretty sure building my own furniture would be cheaper than buying it from Ikea; but I have no interest in carpentry so I'm not going to do it.

I'm paying somebody extra to do something I don't want to do; just like when I buy a pizza instead of making one. It's pretty normal.
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Re: Clone PC or Brand???

Post by Christuserloeser »

melancholy wrote:That way you know exactly what's in the machine and don't have to worry about the manufacturer sticking you with crap components.
And you're not paying MS for Vista. That's a big plus in my book.
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Re: Clone PC or Brand???

Post by BlackAura »

My current PC is technically the same one that I got 13 years ago. Of course, each component has been replaced many times over. About the only thing I didn't replace was the floppy drive, which was simply thrown away the last time I changed the case.

At no point have I ever thrown the whole thing away and started again. Each of those upgrades was to a pretty decent machine for the time, that would have cost about twice as much to buy new as the upgrade cost.

Unfortunately, the cost of an OS license more than makes up for any savings you might make by building one yourself. Unless you have a retail copy of Windows (which can be transferred to a new machine, unlike OEM versions), you have to pay several hundred dollars extra for an OS that OEMs get for $30. Not really an issue in my case - I use Linux as my primary OS, and have an old retail copy of XP for playing games on - but it would be for most people.

No real warranty on self-built machines either. It can be a real pain when they blow up - you basically have to buy the replacement parts, and install them immediately, so you almost always end up with something you didn't really want. It's still less inconvenient than having to send a machine in to be repaired and waiting weeks to get it back. It just tends to be a bit more expensive than a warranty repair would have been.

It's also possible to re-use some of those components in other machines, assuming they survive. My parents' machine used to contain old parts that I (or my younger brother) had finished with. Aside from a mouse and keyboard, and replacing a CPU that blew up, I don't think we actually paid anything for that machine. They eventually bought a Dell desktop when the parts supply dried up - everything that's been replaced in any of my family's other machines was replaced because it was broken or useless.

All that said... I likely wouldn't bother if I didn't have experience doing it, or if I didn't know where to get the parts. The cost difference is a lot less than it used to be, and some of the self-build parts (particularly cases) tend to be both expensive and poorly built.
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Re: Clone PC or Brand???

Post by Calavera »

BoneyCork wrote:I'm paying somebody extra to do something I don't want to do; just like when I buy a pizza instead of making one. It's pretty normal.
I do admit I buy my pizzas to instead of making them, but only because them bitches at Newegg don't have pepperonis.
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Re: Clone PC or Brand???

Post by dcmodder »

i build my own. it's a great hobby and in interviews for tech support (that's what i do for a living) they actually ask you what the technical specifications of your current home computer is so that really impresses them (i dont really see why cause it's really easy to do) :-P :lol:
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Re: Clone PC or Brand???

Post by impetus »

tekkaman1 wrote:Hello everyone

I just wanted your opinions on this. Do you prefer to build your pc or buy a brand?? Tell me why you like it.
I've actually not heard the term "clone PC" before, but I'm absolutely in favor of building computers. Not only do you have a better machine (assuming you know what you're doing), but it's a lot of fun. I will never buy another prebuilt machine, unless it's a Mac or laptop.
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Re: Clone PC or Brand???

Post by Ex-Cyber »

impetus wrote:I've actually not heard the term "clone PC" before
It's usually written "PC clone". It comes from the fact that, way back when, there was actually an original "IBM Personal Computer", and other manufacturers eventually made cheaper compatible machines (clones). AFAIK, the lower 1MB of the memory map on modern PCs still emulates the original to an extent.
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Re: Clone PC or Brand???

Post by impetus »

Anybody remember this topic? :D
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=83858&p=885378

Man, at the time that was such a kick-ass machine. It's actually still a very good computer, but I'm actually starting to build by next rig.

I'm going to buy an HD Camcorder, so my next box is going to be designed with video editing in mind.

I'll post another "PC I just built" topic when the time comes.
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Re: Clone PC or Brand???

Post by Strapping Scherzo »

I just like to buy the cheapest available that has the specs I want. I don't care who makes it. It might be one that I build myself, it might be a barebones package, it might be a brand name. Every company, even the big ones, put out defective components from time to time. I think it's pointless to try to get good quality for a higher price. If I won't notice the difference in performance then I don't care.
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