Building and Buying New PC Tower: Best way?

Hi all,

I want to build a new PC Tower.

It's been 11 years since I last built a PC Tower so I'm really out of the loop on the best to go about buying a PC Tower...

I just want the most reliable way to buy a PC Tower. I'm happy to pay extra to insure that the PC Tower I build is reliable.

I’d really appreciate any advice!

 

What exactly is your question Nitro?

The lovely folk of Ocau will definitely give you advice but they'll need to know what you need advice on.
If you're simply asking what's the most reliable way to build a PC? Reliable meaning no risk? The answer is buying one from Dell fully built with extended warranty.

If you want to build it yourself, the only reliability factor is yourself. Do your research on what parts fit, what are good prices and then chuck em together!

 

Purpose
Budget

Any system builder will need these before anything else can be established.

 

Plenty of off the shelf systems being sold by most pc shops.


Maybe post in the what / where to buy section

 

In 11 years, lot's of the same, lot's of different. It really depends on what you want your PC to do.

 

Almost nothing has changed on the practical side of things.

Pick a CPU, pick what RAM you want to pay for and can work, pick a board that suits both with the features/size/price you want, pick a GPU that does what you want, pick a case that fits all of it, pick an SSD and optionally a HDD to go with it, pick a PSU that can power it all with some room to spare.

Slap it all together while drunk, and bob's your uncle.

Given that it's been 11 years, I'm going to guess OPs requirements are on the lower end of the spectrum.

 

Did you end up with a new PC?
If you go on OzBargain, there are 3 main players in the desktop PC scene at the moment: BPC Tech, Techfast and Enigma. Among the 3, there's about 1 deal per week that demonstrates excellent value with decent parts. It's become such the norm over the years that they auto compare with PC Part Picker for individual pricing and the OzBargain crowd is tough to sell to, so the standards are kept high so the value is generally quite good no matter which budget range you're looking at.

 

Edit: self moderating.

 

Remember kids, just say No to drugs and Yes to expensive PC purchases and upgrades!

 

Thanks all!

Right now I'm looking at 2 options:
1. Buying ONE PC Tower that does EVERYTHING I need: running Windows 11, light gaming: runs 24/7 for bit torrenting Linux or distros and will also work as a NAS store my files and backup them up and so I can stream the files to my other little devices like my laptop, iPad etc.

2. Buying TWO PC Towers: 1 PC Tower for only light gaming running Windows 11 and 1 mini PC running Windows 11 that runs 24/7. The mini PC will be used for bit torrenting Linux distros will also work as a NAS store my files and backup them up and so I can stream the files to my other little devices like my laptop, iPad etc.

Which would be better? Would my electricity bills be lower if I have 2 PC Towers?

What do you guys think about buying a big brand PC Tower like Acer, Dell, HP from Officeworks?

Well I've never heard of BPC Tech, Techfast or Enigma... I've had experience with PC Case Gear and U-Mart.

 

I forgot about the most recent player: nebula pc

https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/809663
This deal seems quite popular.

 

Been looking at that deal the last couple days myself. The whole ship GPU separately and install yourself seems a bit odd though. Wonder what happens when it comes to warranty issues?

 

Thanks!

I have ZERO experience with dealing with these kinds of brands.

I have a lot of experience buying laptops and other devices from major brands like Acer, Dell and HP. How does Acer, Dell and HP compare to the brands that are similar to the one you posted???

 

Small local players who could disappear if they stop making money, but you get a receipt showing you bought all the parts so any warranty can still be claimed direct from manafacturer.

If you have extra cash to splash spend the extra 50-100% on Dell etc if you're uncomfy with the above, if you want good value, good performance for your buck, use these smaller places

 

These companies that have popped up on Ozbargain are kind of like if mwave or msy made prebuilts using parts an enthusiast might pick. The parts won't always best first choice, but at least they're not no names.

I have a friend who bought from techfast last year. I same as a colleague. I have no personal experience, but if I wanted a prebuilt I would go with any of the companies I listed over an Acer or Dell. Only because the parts are selected in a similar manner to if I were building it myself and represent WAY better value than the bigger names.

 

I have been looking at a getting a gaming PC recently too. From my research so far, the OzBargain regulars (Techfast, BPC Tech, Enigma, Nebula) are offering the best value, albiet with some budget components here and there. Pre-builts from PC stores are significantly more expensive. Even the secondhand market is still commanding high prices (Covid-19 hangover) so you're either paying the same or slightly lower prices, but with no warranty.

 

unless your going to diy build, id go with someone like pccasegear for a pre built, at least they are long time highly respected builders?
and a budget modern type (ddr4)

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2659702...HQ7ikhi8/Dnx62QjCxutXyBA==|tkp:Bk9SR-7uoP70Yg
dell thing? ive bought a couple of these recently on the cheap for ppl & they are great.

 

Read recent reviews of PCCG, they're not looking good lately, also.. They are VERY overpriced for pre builts.

 

Thanks!

Wow, I didn't realise I'd be looking at 50%-100% price increase for a PC Tower from a major brand like Dell, HP or Acer

One thing that REALLY bothers me about Dell, HP, Acer is that they all pre-install spyware/adware/promotional software without getting any consent from the user. I heard they do this because their profit margin is tiny, but yeah the first thing I did when I bought my recent laptop from Acer was remove all of this pre-installed software but it takes time!

EDIT:
Since these Acer, Dell, HP PC Towers are so much more expensive, surely they must come with some big advantages?!!

 

lol, well i wouldnt know, never bought a pc in my life, was just meaning someone who will honour their own work is what i meant
just build it, piece of cake nowadays, & spend your savings on some expensive graphics card