How hard is it to build your own system?

I mean what is the cost increase for a system like this if I went with Cyberpower PC?

Save probably $500+ by building it yourself.

I just customized a pc on their site that used the majority of parts I used in mine I built not too long ago, and the rest of the parts were similarly sized/priced, and the total was $1,995.00

After MIR, I built mine myself for like $1300.

But If you aren't comfortable building it yourself, that $1,995 is still a pretty good deal when you compare it to a company like ****ing Alienware where that same computer would cost you like $3000.

It is very easy. The hardest part is making sure everything you pick is compatible with each other, and even that is quite easy.

Order your stuff, watch a youtube video, and you should be good to go.

Cool, thanks. I've been needing to upgrade my desktop PC....so I'll probably do it come tax time. I'll make sure and bump this thread then.

I've done both. Building your own isn't hard and I'm sure it's cheaper, but I really like the way Cyberpower put their machine together. They did a great job of organizing the internal cables compared to what I did for myself on my previous box.

To me, the worst part about building your own was ordering parts from multiple vendors (to get the best price) and having to RMA a couple of the parts which led to a lot of waiting for everything to come in.

Go to MicroCenter, price match...profit.

Any modern case comes with very, very simple cable management options. Hell, I just rewired a computer I built in 2005 or 6 and even that case had plenty of cable management options.

Take the extra 5 minutes, manage your cables at home :P

As for RMA you do have that possibility, but I have never had to RMA anything, ever. Its a risk, sure, albeit a small one.

In 3 builds, I've had to RMA two components. A stick of ram and a video card. Both were reputable brands. It's a small risk, but it's something you should be prepared for when you build your own.

It's probably true that the case makes a big difference for cable management. My home built computers always used basic cases, but my cyberpower case (CoolerMaster HAF X) is quite a bit nicer.

I use the HAF X as well. Cable management in the HAF X is about the same as most modern cases that I have dealt with, even off brand ones.

I love the top fans. I always wanted to cut a hole in the top of my previous cases and install a fan, but never got around to it. Which is another example of me being lazy (like with cable management). :)

I was thinking about flipping over my old case (it has topmount PSU) and then cutting a hole in the 'bottom' (now top) to mount a fan and leave card/mobo/etc mounted upside down.

Then, make a sheath to go around power supply in order to keep the air zones away from each other.

If I had a sawzall I would have already done it~

I built mine without much experience. I had added a hard drive a video card as the extent of my previous experience.

As for the savings, I think it depends a lot on what you are building. The more expensive, the bigger the savings. I'm not sure you gain much from building a low end rig. Plus you always end up spending more because you convince yourself to go slightly better on a bunch of parts.

I'll probably be looking to spend anywhere from $1000-1300. I already have a monitor so I won't have to worry about that cost.

I built a great system for 1k (before rebates) a few years ago. I'm not sure you'll save more than a couple hundred bucks, but you will have total control of the parts.

And even though it's not hard to do, it will give him a sense of accomplishment to know that he can do it (and maybe impress his less tech oriented friends and family). Next time around, if he wants to be lazy like me, he can have someone else build it for him.