Answers in-line below

Ray Parks
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On Dec 21, 2015, at 12:42 PM, Gillian Densmore wrote:

> What (if any) realistic benifits are there to building a computer yourself 
> these days?

1.  You may be able to get a better overall price at the cost of your labour.  
With the kind of system which you're considering, price differential between 
commodity components and the complete system is subsumed by the OEM discounts 
compared to your prices.  Enthusiast systems tend to have greater price 
differentials, especially since many spec computers simply don't have high-end 
components.
2.  You can customize the system to meet your requirements rather than some 
generic set of requirements the manufacturer thinks will fit some subset of the 
marketplace.  Some examples - using integrated graphics instead of a discrete 
GPU, using RAID 1 or 6 - are usually not possible without modifying a spec 
computer.  Once you add in the customization, the cost of building it yourself 
is frequently lower.



>  And does anyone have opinions or experience with Cybertron(PC)? I found them 
> on a random google search.
> 
> One in particular here people seem fairly content with:
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/CybertronPC-Hellion-TGM1213B-FX-6300-GeForce/dp/B00D1KWS3

  You may want to do some research into complaints - I can't remember if it was 
Cybertron, iBuyPower, or Cyberpower , but I remember seeing complaints about 
one (or more) of them.  Something to do with components failing and poor 
customer support which is just as true of Dells and HPs.

> 
> One thing that stands out is they seem to use regular parts. Some of those 
> seem to get  somewhat ok  reviews. A few people have said it'd be a good idea 
> to update the power supply.

  Just like Dell or HP, when you read the fine print they reserve the right to 
substitute "equivalent" parts.  I have had hardware problems and the 
manufacturer can't determine which component my computer has, even with full 
serial numbers.

> when compared to  following guides on http://pcpartpicker.com/  making sure I 
> stick to systems that are around 700-800 dollars.
> 
> I more or less come up with simillar parts, and I end up spending as much of 
> or even way  more.
> 
>  I suspect in part because Winderz 10 is around 130-200 dollars, and intel 
> chips are pretty expensive.
> 
> Anecdotally years ago I couldn't tell the difference from a intel vs AMD chip 
> in real world day to day and gaming.

  I used to use AMD exclusively, but they have not succeeded in keeping up with 
Intel in compute performance or power saving.  


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