71–77 of 77 posts
Or build it yourself and save $2000
They only works if you're building one. If you need to get an entire office setup with these it's actually worth paying to have them prebuilt. Especially if there is a decent support package.
There isn't. No next day on-site like you get with a major OEM.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I just did the math on their entry level model because I didn't believe you, but you're pretty close with that estimate. NewEgg prices: Threadripper 3960X - $1400 16GB 3200 RAM - $70 256GB NVMe - $70 RX 550 - $70 = $1600 System76 price = $3700 That said, if you're looking at their higher-end models, I think you still have a fixed ~$2k markup, and so you're looking at something like $10k vs $12k, which isn't a big dea…
Nobody builds a system like that with only 16 gigs of RAM and only 256G storage. Plus you need a quality motherboard, case, power supply, water cooling. Add another $1200.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
As a power-user, I wonder if there is any reason to not do DIY PC building (for personal use) over buying from System76. It's not hard to figure out a good configuration online (or even just whatever System76 uses in their desktops?). Basic assembly itself isn't that hard (or time consuming), once you have all the parts. And, I guess these days most people who would need a desktop at home with this configuration are…
I have built a lot of desktops over the years. I've run into lots of strange issues. One machine would bsod like once a week and I never worked out why. Once a video card was somehow not compatible with the system despite being fine on paper. It's just an issue of how you value time. I have no time for those sort of way issues these days. When a hard dusk fails I want to call a vendor and have them show up with a par…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I bought one of their laptops a few year ago. I needed a new power supply as the cable had frayed that came w/ the unit. I wanted to get the original cable, so I called and asked "what was the original manufacturer" so I could purchase a new power supply. They would not tell me and they wanted approx. $75 for a replacement from System 76. I peeled the sticker System 76 put on the bottom and found out it was a Clevo.…
Can vouch for this I had a very similar issue where they refused to share with me the original manufacturer of the laptop.
My experience differs significantly.
Right after I bought mine, I opened a ticket for the model information. They provided me the full model code and hyperlink to maintenance manual with part numbers.
This was a few months ago.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I specced out the closest I could to my recent 3970x build. It was ~$1500 more through System76. At my current bill rate, I am barely better off financially for having built on my own. Had any hardware been defective, or if I had to troubleshoot the first boot, then I would have been better off buying. I imagine anyone who can justify a machine like this for their work will likely be in the same ballpark for bill rat…
How many hours to build a PC? Are you turning down paid work to free up time to build a PC?
Bench build with mobo on the desk and each stick of RAM individually, and one pass of memtest86.
Then full build in case. I am fiddly with cable management. Also had some extra fans to install. 3rd gen Threadrippers throw off a lot of heat.
Some BIOS config (biggest thing was adjusting RAM timings and enabling virtualization features).
Then 24 hours of Memtest86.
Install Windows (a lot of benchmarks and stress testing stuff is much easier to just download and go on Windows).
Then 24 hours of Prime95 with hardware sensor monitoring. A few other benchmarks.
Then install Ubuntu.
To be fair, I'd have done the stress testing on a purchased box as well, but that is pretty much hands off.
January was light for me in terms of scheduled work. I didn't explicitly turn something down, but I did take advantage of a gap in my normally billable period (midday on a weekday) to build the machine. If I had wanted to, I probably could have found a way to be billing during that time. I greatly value flexibility in my time.
Could I have gotten done faster? Probably. My mise en place was awful. I was building in a cramped space. I haven't built a machine in quite some time. I also took my time to read the full mobo manual as I was installing and plugging stuff in. But like I said, this is something I enjoy. I was happy to take the time to research and shop around and then build the machine.
The comment on the value of time is more illustrative than a concrete argument. It is worthwhile to consider, especially for someone that doesn't enjoy building a PC. I could have chosen to find billable work instead and devoted that toward purchasing a completed machine. I'd only be a few hundred dollars worse off if I chose to do so. To me, that's a very reasonable price to pay to avoid something undesirable.
As far as ads go, this was the most convincing sell I've seen for a high end computer in a long time. Good job to whoever is doing the marketing.
Of course, after downloading the universe image (which itself took a long time), then it's kind of understandable. Otherwise, it's just confusing as hell. "44 seconds to radial blur the universe" would have at least been better.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nobody builds a system like that with only 16 gigs of RAM and only 256G storage. Plus you need a quality motherboard, case, power supply, water cooling. Add another $1200.
The OP system76 does. And if you want to upgrade to more then the price premium skyrockets.