Buy vs Build

Danna Krayem
Organizational Metrics
Mark Smith
University of Advancing Computer Technology
2/22/2024
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Buy vs Build

The purpose of this report is to decide if a business should build an HP Envy Desktop

TE01-4000 PC or buy it ready made. Every company will face this question at some point in

some part of their business operations. Taking this into consideration, this report will aim to

decide if a business should purchase this computer ready-made or build it given the hypothetical

scenario. In order to make this decision, the report compares both options of building and buying

the computer by breaking down its main components and comparing its costs in order to provide

a recommendation on which decision the business should take.

Component Parts

The main components of this computer include the processor, graphics card, memory,

motherboard, power supply, case, and operating system. The processor is the logic circuitry that

responds to and processes the basic instructions that drive a computer (Tech Target n.d.). The

graphics card a type of display adapter or video card installed on a computing device to display

graphical data with high clarity, color, definition and overall appearance (Rouse, 2013). The

memory is the location of short-term data, but the storage is the component inside the computer

that allows someone to store and access data on a long-term basis (Kingston Technology, 2020).

The motherboard is the printed circuit board and foundation of the computer that allocates power

and allows communication to and between the central processing unit, random-access memory,

and all other computer hardware components (Computer Hope, 2023). The power supply is a

hardware component of a computer that supplies all other components with power (Computer

Hope, 2023). The operating system is an interface between the software and different parts of the

computer or the computer hardware that manages the overall resources and operations of the

computer (Geeks for Geeks, n.d.). The case encloses all of the other component parts together.
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Build Option Cost Breakdown

Component Cost

Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-13400 $221

Graphics Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1660 SUPER™ $190

Memory: 16 GB DDR4-3200 RAM (2 x 8 GB) $43

Storage: 512 GB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD $160

Motherboard: Intel® H670 $120

Power Supply: 400 W 80 Plus Gold certified $50

Case: Minitower $53

Operating System: Windows 11 Home $140

Total Build Cost $976

Buy Option Cost Breakdown

The HP Envy Desktop TE01-4000 PC costs approximately $499 to purchase prebuilt.

The prebuilt version includes Windows 11 Home, an Intel® Core™ i5-13400 processor, 8 GB

DDR4-3200 MHz RAM, 256 GB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD, NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1660

SUPER™ graphics card, HP 310 Black Wired Keyboard and mouse combo, Realtek

RTL8852BE Wi-Fi 6 (2x2) and Bluetooth®️5.3 compatible combo. It also has a 1-year limited

hardware warranty and McAfee Livesafe (30 day) security software.

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Vendor List

The necessary components required to build out the computer part by part include the

processor, graphics card, memory, storage, motherboard, power supply, and case. There are

various retailers that can potentially provide these parts including HP, Newegg, Amazon, and

Samsung. The operating system is sold by Microsoft or licensed agents. There are several

locations where the PC can be purchased in prebuilt form including the HP Store or authorized

retailers such as Amazon. It makes sense to pursue the actual vendor of the pre-built PC first to

see if they can offer the parts for a fair market value first, before pursuing other vendors. Taking

this into consideration, HP should be pursued for component parts purchase first. Afterward, the

rest of the vendors should be pursued one by one and their component parts should be compared

based on value and price. For instance, some vendors may be able to provide higher memory for

cheaper cost.

Recommendation

There are several reasons to consider both the buy and build option. If the company just

wants the cheaper computer, it may be beneficial to purchase the pre-built computer. However, if

the company would like some customization in the computer such as in the amount of memory,

the storage space, the type of processor, or the type of case, it may be worthwhile to consider

pursuing a custom build of the computer that may potentially provide higher performance

compared to the pre-built option for the business. Another important consideration is that the pre-

built version of the computer comes with warranties and technical support which the build option

may not provide and which nontechnical users may require. While the build option seems more

expensive in the beginning, it may offer better value in the long run if the user hopes to upgrade

individual components over time as needed without replacing the entire computer. Considering
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the price and convenience, if the user is comfortable with the components provided in the pre-

built option and does not require specific customization, the buy option makes more sense to

pursue. The final decision comes down to the user's preferences, technical skills, budget, and

long-term use plans for the PC.

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References

Amazon (2024) ASUS Prime H610M-A D4-CSM LGA 1700(Intel 12th Gen) Micro-ATX

Commercial Motherboard (PCIe 4.0, DDR4, 2xM.2 Slots,1Gb LAN, Rear USB 3.2 Gen

2 Ports, DP/HDMI/D-Sub, SPI-TPM Header, ACCE). Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-D4-CSM-Micro-ATX-Commercial-Motherboard/dp/

B09NWFMM9G/ref=ex_alt_wg_d?

_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B09NWFMM9G&pd_rd_w=sFen5&pf_rd_p=4e1b46a8-

daf9-4433-b97e-

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4433-b97e-d6df97cf3699&th=1

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2666MHz) Laptop Memory CT2K8G4SFRA32A. Amazon.

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120mm Rear Fan Pre-Installed CA-1D4-00S1NN-A0. Amazon.

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3reKlxdqERgIfW8C0Td9lgfxCdQDF2rVHlUE0HLpKYBAhdBtyD_X_Khb5R7HGYs.
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V4nh4WOSsaNBTxAYizYuvbxf-twwhqHasA1hvVwbRzI&dib_tag=se&keywords=case

%2Bmini%2Btower&qid=1708614036&sr=8-2&th=1

Computer Hope (2023) Motherboard. Computer Hope.

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%20is%20a%20printed%20circuit%20board%20and,%28random-access%20memory

%29%2C%20and%20all%20other%20computer%20hardware%20components.

Computer Hope (2023) Power Supply. Computer Hope.

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Geeks for Geeks (n.d.) What is an Operating System? Geeks for Geeks.

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Kingston Technology (2020) Storage. Kingston Technology.

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Samsung (2024) 970 PRO NVMe® M.2 SSD 512GB. Samsung.

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v7p512bw/#:~:text=Storage%201TB,%24269.99%20512GB%20%24159.99

Tech Power Up (n.d.) Intel Core i5-13400. Tech Power Up. https://www.techpowerup.com/cpu-

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Tech Target (n.d.) Processor (CPU). Tech Target.

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%20%28CPU%29%20is%20the%20logic%20circuitry%20that,is%20responsible%20for

%20interpreting%20most%20of%20computers%20commands.

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Guide. https://www.tomsguide.com/face-off/windows-11-home-vs-windows-11-pro