Buying a prebuilt computer - any way to not get ripped off?

[Engimal v3]

I don't have the time (aka patience) to build a PC. Despite majoring in Software Dev, I have no real idea what I'm talking about/looking for when I'm scoping out parts for what I need.

Obviously the best/most cost effective solution is to do my research, buy the individual parts, and assemble them myself. My preferred option is to be lazy and buy a prebuilt computer from a retailer.

I've read about the following places in Melbourne the sell PCs:
Scorptec: https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/ready-to-run-pcs/gaming-pc
MWave: https://www.mwave.com.au/desktop-computers/mwave-computers?sortid=2&display=list

There's probably others. For those a bit more clued in that me, or around the $1,200-$1,500 mark, am I going to get ****ed over by services like the ones above?

 

[undefined]

Centrecom are really good. There's a store in Richmond if you're close to the city. Talk to them once lockdown is over.

 

[netslave]

If you research and select the parts yourself and get a pc shop to assemble it for you, you shouldn't get ripped off too badly.
If you buy a prebuilt pc from a bigbox retailer you most likely will.

 

[Xtreme]

Centrecom are really good. There's a store in Richmond if you're close to the city. Talk to them once lockdown is over.

I'd avoid them!!! They rarely have accurate stock levels and will attempt to force you on an inferior item for the same price.

My experiences with Scorptec have been pretty good in the past, can't speak for current day as I've only ordered parts over the last year.

 

[undefined]

I'd avoid them!!! They rarely have accurate stock levels and will attempt to force you on an inferior item for the same price.

They've been fantastic for me and all my nerd mates. Completely the opposite experience to yours.

 

[Xtreme]

They've been fantastic for me and all my nerd mates. Completely the opposite experience to yours.

Might be branch specific

Stay away from the Nunawading store!!

 

[Electronic_Renaissance]

I don't have the time (aka patience) to build a PC. Despite majoring in Software Dev, I have no real idea what I'm talking about/looking for when I'm scoping out parts for what I need.

Obviously the best/most cost effective solution is to do my research, buy the individual parts, and assemble them myself. My preferred option is to be lazy and buy a prebuilt computer from a retailer.

I've read about the following places in Melbourne the sell PCs:
Scorptec: https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/ready-to-run-pcs/gaming-pc
MWave: https://www.mwave.com.au/desktop-computers/mwave-computers?sortid=2&display=list

There's probably others. For those a bit more clued in that me, or around the $1,200-$1,500 mark, am I going to get f’ed over by services like the ones above?

I don't know anything about the stores mentioned in this thread. But in general you will probably get ripped off, not saying the stores mentioned will do that.

A 2TB drive, a 1000W power suppy, they all sound equal but they are not.

I'd say it's better to find what you want and order that. I've always made my own PC's for myself and my family.

Perhaps you can go to Toms Guide and see what they recommend. I don't know what you need the PC for, except software development. Which is quite broad.

 

[CaptchaProofBot]

I don't have the time (aka patience) to build a PC. Despite majoring in Software Dev, I have no real idea what I'm talking about/looking for when I'm scoping out parts for what I need.

Obviously the best/most cost effective solution is to do my research, buy the individual parts, and assemble them myself. My preferred option is to be lazy and buy a prebuilt computer from a retailer.

I've read about the following places in Melbourne the sell PCs:
Scorptec: https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/ready-to-run-pcs/gaming-pc
MWave: https://www.mwave.com.au/desktop-computers/mwave-computers?sortid=2&display=list

There's probably others. For those a bit more clued in that me, or around the $1,200-$1,500 mark, am I going to get f’ed over by services like the ones above?

what would be the main use of the new rig ?

 

[Engimal v3]

what would be the main use of the new rig ?

Already purchased lol. Ended up going a prebuilt through Scorptec, and honestly price was very reasonable.

No specific purpose (software dev, gaming, video editing, web browsing). Just wanted to get something future proofed enough where I won't have to think about it for a while, and I'm happy with what I got.

 

[Xtreme]

Already purchased lol. Ended up going a prebuilt through Scorptec, and honestly price was very reasonable.

No specific purpose (software dev, gaming, video editing, web browsing). Just wanted to get something future proofed enough where I won't have to think about it for a while, and I'm happy with what I got.

which one ??????

Telll meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

[Engimal v3]

which one ??????

Telll meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Nah, because then you'll probably tell me I got ripped off and make me feel bad about my new toy!

 

[Xtreme]

Nah, because then you'll probably tell me I got ripped off and make me feel bad about my new toy!

I would not do such a thing! (I'm looking for ideas for my own pc dang it!!)

What I've been doing lately is running off ideas from the PCCG/Scorptec pre-builds and adding/adjusting a few things to my liking and comparing prices etc. My latest (from the other thread) was $2447. I've gotten it down to $1500 but that's a very barebones system that I'd gradually have to upgrade.

 

[Engimal v3]

I would not do such a thing! (I'm looking for ideas for my own pc dang it!!)

What I've been doing lately is running off ideas from the PCCG/Scorptec pre-builds and adding/adjusting a few things to my liking and comparing prices etc. My latest (from the other thread) was $2447. I've gotten it down to $1500 but that's a very barebones system that I'd gradually have to upgrade.

I got this:

Buy Scorptec Sentry RTX 3060 Gaming PC | Ready to Run PCs | Scorptec Computers

Scorptec Sentry RTX 3060 Gaming PC, AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6 Core, AMD B450 Chipset, Zotac GeForce RTX 3060 12GB, 16GB 3200MHz RAM, 500GB M.2 NVMe SSD, 2TB HDD, Thermaltake S100 Case, 650W PSU, Windows 10 Home at Scorptec.com.au, the online Gaming PC, server computer and technology experts. Fast...

www.scorptec.com.au

Bought for just over $2k (without monitor). Did a go on PC Parts Picker and ran about $250 short of what I paid. If I interpret the difference in price as a labour cost, then I'm pretty satisfied with what I got. More importantly, I've got it here (and typing on it) rather than thinking about it for yet another day.

 

[Xtreme]

I got this:

Buy Scorptec Sentry RTX 3060 Gaming PC | Ready to Run PCs | Scorptec Computers

Scorptec Sentry RTX 3060 Gaming PC, AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6 Core, AMD B450 Chipset, Zotac GeForce RTX 3060 12GB, 16GB 3200MHz RAM, 500GB M.2 NVMe SSD, 2TB HDD, Thermaltake S100 Case, 650W PSU, Windows 10 Home at Scorptec.com.au, the online Gaming PC, server computer and technology experts. Fast...

www.scorptec.com.au

Bought for just over $2k (without monitor). Did a go on PC Parts Picker and ran about $250 short of what I paid. If I interpret the difference in price as a labour cost, then I'm pretty satisfied with what I got. More importantly, I've got it here (and typing on it) rather than thinking about it for yet another day.

That's pretty good (see I didn't bag you or your purchase sheeesh)

I'm torn between doing the same, I'd love to just go bang and spend $5000-$7000 on a system..... but I think $2500 would be my limit (although my "ideal" system is more between $3,000-4,000) and it's an ideal price point considering I was around that mark for my laptop purchase.

 

[CaptchaProofBot]

I got this:

Buy Scorptec Sentry RTX 3060 Gaming PC | Ready to Run PCs | Scorptec Computers

Scorptec Sentry RTX 3060 Gaming PC, AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6 Core, AMD B450 Chipset, Zotac GeForce RTX 3060 12GB, 16GB 3200MHz RAM, 500GB M.2 NVMe SSD, 2TB HDD, Thermaltake S100 Case, 650W PSU, Windows 10 Home at Scorptec.com.au, the online Gaming PC, server computer and technology experts. Fast...

www.scorptec.com.au

Bought for just over $2k (without monitor). Did a go on PC Parts Picker and ran about $250 short of what I paid. If I interpret the difference in price as a labour cost, then I'm pretty satisfied with what I got. More importantly, I've got it here (and typing on it) rather than thinking about it for yet another day.

I think the assembly fee is roughly $70, can't remember where I read that, could be PCCG.

So you could custom design your rig then Scortec will put it together for you for ~$70...and yes they will sanity check your specs to make sure everything will work together. I build my own, done enough to know that I can put one together
now in ~1hr...so you could sorta equate that to some dude working at a rate of $70/hr.

DIY of course teaches you about the H/W of your rig so if something goes wrong you're more confident in diagnosing/fixing things. Imagine you have to call Geeks2U and they charge you $150 for just attendance fee. It might be scary at first but most of the time the parts are designed so they go in only 1 way, like you plug the toaster into the wall, there's only ONE way to plug the power cord in...stupid enough to try some other way and you get the Darwin award.

Scorptec is pretty good, I built my Hobo (the milkcrate) with a Ryzen 3600, it's for 3D modelling, VFX, Simulations,
Video editing, should be fine for another coupla years at least. Can't wait to go to the next Ryzen with 24 threads at least !!!

 

[freddy mercury]

I got this:

Buy Scorptec Sentry RTX 3060 Gaming PC | Ready to Run PCs | Scorptec Computers

Scorptec Sentry RTX 3060 Gaming PC, AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6 Core, AMD B450 Chipset, Zotac GeForce RTX 3060 12GB, 16GB 3200MHz RAM, 500GB M.2 NVMe SSD, 2TB HDD, Thermaltake S100 Case, 650W PSU, Windows 10 Home at Scorptec.com.au, the online Gaming PC, server computer and technology experts. Fast...

www.scorptec.com.au

Bought for just over $2k (without monitor). Did a go on PC Parts Picker and ran about $250 short of what I paid. If I interpret the difference in price as a labour cost, then I'm pretty satisfied with what I got. More importantly, I've got it here (and typing on it) rather than thinking about it for yet another day.

I got this:

Buy Scorptec Sentry RTX 3060 Gaming PC | Ready to Run PCs | Scorptec Computers

Scorptec Sentry RTX 3060 Gaming PC, AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6 Core, AMD B450 Chipset, Zotac GeForce RTX 3060 12GB, 16GB 3200MHz RAM, 500GB M.2 NVMe SSD, 2TB HDD, Thermaltake S100 Case, 650W PSU, Windows 10 Home at Scorptec.com.au, the online Gaming PC, server computer and technology experts. Fast...

www.scorptec.com.au

Bought for just over $2k (without monitor). Did a go on PC Parts Picker and ran about $250 short of what I paid. If I interpret the difference in price as a labour cost, then I'm pretty satisfied with what I got. More importantly, I've got it here (and typing on it) rather than thinking about it for yet another day.

I really want to get into PC gaming so ******* badly. Would this be the ideal beginners PC? Would it smoothly run most PC games at a decent level and quality? I know with PC games are always improving, so obviously to accommodate those improvements you'd need to always upgrade parts. Which has/is putting me off.

 

[CaptchaProofBot]

I got this:

Buy Scorptec Sentry RTX 3060 Gaming PC | Ready to Run PCs | Scorptec Computers

Scorptec Sentry RTX 3060 Gaming PC, AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6 Core, AMD B450 Chipset, Zotac GeForce RTX 3060 12GB, 16GB 3200MHz RAM, 500GB M.2 NVMe SSD, 2TB HDD, Thermaltake S100 Case, 650W PSU, Windows 10 Home at Scorptec.com.au, the online Gaming PC, server computer and technology experts. Fast...

www.scorptec.com.au

Bought for just over $2k (without monitor). Did a go on PC Parts Picker and ran about $250 short of what I paid. If I interpret the difference in price as a labour cost, then I'm pretty satisfied with what I got. More importantly, I've got it here (and typing on it) rather than thinking about it for yet another day.

friggin' graphics card takes up 1/2 of the budget, right now I can only dream of a 3060...bloody crypto currency madness.

 

[Engimal v3]

I really want to get into PC gaming so ******* badly. Would this be the ideal beginners PC? Would it smoothly run most PC games at a decent level and quality? I know with PC games are always improving, so obviously to accommodate those improvements you'd need to always upgrade parts. Which has/is putting me off.

That rig there is pretty good imo, but I'm far from an expert. I bought it because it's powerful enough to "just work", if you know what I mean. I can play 99% of games on great settings and it'll play smoothly. Tbh you could find prebuilts with lower specs than mine (cheaper) and still play 99% of games. I went a bit overboard, compared to what I'm probably going to use it for.

 

[CaptchaProofBot]

I really want to get into PC gaming so ******* badly. Would this be the ideal beginners PC? Would it smoothly run most PC games at a decent level and quality? I know with PC games are always improving, so obviously to accommodate those improvements you'd need to always upgrade parts. Which has/is putting me off.

for gaming I think Intel is actually better than AMD...AMD is king for multi tasking...

in general, Intel is better for gaming, they are faster but have less cores/threads.

 

[freddy mercury]

That rig there is pretty good imo, but I'm far from an expert. I bought it because it's powerful enough to "just work", if you know what I mean. I can play 99% of games on great settings and it'll play smoothly. Tbh you could find prebuilts with lower specs than mine (cheaper) and still play 99% of games. I went a bit overboard, compared to what I'm probably going to use it for.

Might go buy it today.

 

[Xtreme]

Might go buy it today.

*jealous*

I'll have to step up my game and buy one too!!

Nah I'm hopefully going to end up with a new pc by Christmas time, maybe sooner if I stop procrastinating and be like Nike - JUST DO IT!

 

[freddy mercury]

*jealous*

I'll have to step up my game and buy one too!!

Nah I'm hopefully going to end up with a new pc by Christmas time, maybe sooner if I stop procrastinating and be like Nike - JUST DO IT!

Yeah, just do it. Worry about the consequences after you've bought one.

 

[CaptchaProofBot]

Might go buy it today.

could be a good move...I had a quick look at mwave and PCCG...for comparable price/system they give you only a 2060 graphics card not 3060 like Scorptec.

might wanna jump in real quick before they run out !!

 

[freddy mercury]

could be a good move...I had a quick look at mwave and PCCG...for comparable price/system they give you only a 2060 graphics card not 3060 like Scorptec.

might wanna jump in real quick before they run out !!

I cant make it to Rowville by closing time, might have to go during the week. I will be getting one, no doubt.

 

[Xtreme]

Yeah, just do it. Worry about the consequences after you've bought one.

The only real consequence is a better pc coming out a week (or a month) later. I check the usual sites to see their pre-built pc line ups and I play around with the custom pc building tools to get an idea of prices. My current cheapest is about $1500, most expensive $4500...... various in between builds I've toyed with $2000-$3500.

I'm happy with the laptop I purchased in March (it's a beast!!), but wow I'm lucky I have willpower otherwise I'd have purchased the laptops I've seen since then haha.