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Does anyone know of a good supplier/builder of bare-bones systems? I'm tired of looking for a new computer at places like Dell where they load up the PC with a bunch of useless programs and then charge more for the computer. And the bare-bones system doesn't have to have an OS either. Basically I'm jsut looking to buy a computer that has a mother-board, CPU and BIOS set-up at the minimum. The sound card, video card, memory, hard drive and such I can add on on my own if need be.
I'd like to know too. It's a crime having to pay for a copy of Windows no matter where you buy your PC even if you don't use it.
http://www.cyberpowerinc.com/home.htm
Custom build either with an AMD or Intel chipset. I'm going to get my next computer with these guys. It's very cheap, in my opinion.
Wow, these are good deals and just what I am looking for. Thanks! :)
"BIOS" and "CMOS" and "ROM" and all those mumbly jumblies are all part of the mobo right? Just buy the parts and install them yourself. A case is like....(canadian dollars here) 35$, mobo maybe 50$. That's a lot cheaper than a 'bare bones' system, which has a power supply, possibly a stick of ram, and possibly a dvd rom drive :)
Building a computer yourself tends to cost more than buying one already made.
Yeah, the companies get volume discounts, you know?
That said, I'm going to build my next PC anyway.
That doesn't sound right....I've been taught since I was a young'in that building them yourself is cheaper. WTH?
If you build one yourself, you only save money by not adding certain accessories that storeshelf computers force on you. If you don't want windows, why pay 300 for it? If you don't need a 3.5 inch disk drive, don't buy one. It's things like that that'll save you money. Custom computers are good in that they give you exactly what you need.
For example, on the custom computer I'm saving for, I'm knocking 300 off the price for not using Windows. Linux is free, and I haven't found a single area that Linux *isn't* better than Windows. That 300 can go towards buying a higher quality motherboard, or graphics card, and not Bill's wallet. I don't need a DVD drive on my computer since I have a VCR style DVD player that does just fine. However much the built in DVD players cost will be knocked off of the price of my computer, and I can put it towards a higher quality processor or something. I don't use my 3.5 inch disk drive, ever. That's another small sum of money saved. I don't play solitaire, or any of those other preinstalled games, nor do I use any program besides a word processor and an art program. I'm sure they add to the price of a shelf computer, and I'm sure not having them on my new one will save me money. That's how custom computers save money.
If I were to home-build a computer with the exact same components as a store model, then besides being stupid, I'd be spending more money. Buying stuff in bulk saves retailers money too.
I check ebay actions (but don't buy the auction item) then I go to the seller's website and build my own computer. Most of them allow you to skip the winxp and save 100 bucks. You can save loads.
Pricewatch is another good site to look and compare prices. You just have to be sure to jump on a deal when you see it, since most of the time they're promotional offers that only last around a week. But I built most of my computer from there and saved a ton of money versus buying a new one.