Is this pc good value?

[Dachoson1]

Hey, just wondering if this pc is worth it
http://www.playtech.co.nz/afawcs0139...ctdetails.html

[lockblock]

Not horrible considering the massive price inflation on parts in NZ.
You really should state your budget and what you expect out of it, IE what games or software and what resolution you intend to use.

[chazus]

I dunno man... The parts retail are $600. Even with, say, $100 labor for prebuilt, and $50 shipping... That's still $250 going into "NZ costs a lot" which.. seems like a lot.

[Dachoson1]

Just some more details, my budget could be as high as $1200, and games I would play are pretty much just world of warcraft

[chazus]

It's hard to gauge. I would maybe try to find other people in NZ who have bought computers. That just seems ridiculously high for a system that is pretty much considered low/medium budget.

[Lintu]

I suggest you find part reatailer/internet store in NZ and put together MMO's Narwhal computer set and you'll see the price difference. I prefer to build myself my computers because those ready-to-go sets are so overpriced.

[n0cturnal]

This is just a list I made for comparison to "normal" prices. It looks extremely pricey.

http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=1189955 $164
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=1256990 $55
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=1168003 $174
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=916997 $74
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=1130280 $175
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=961030 $91
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=737609 $78
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=1440122 $138

[chazus]

This is just a list I made for comparison to "normal" prices. It looks extremely pricey.

Those prices come out to $950. $1050 doesn't seem so bad, including the 'prebuilt labor markup' factor.

(I also don't know why it doesn't show the HD and OS in your list, even though you included it)

[n0cturnal]

Those prices come out to $950. $1050 doesn't seem so bad, including the 'prebuilt labor markup' factor.

(I also don't know why it doesn't show the HD and OS in your list, even though you included it)

I forgot to add the DVD-player which is about $25 extra, so I guess $75 for assembly and installation is a decent price. NZ just overall looks like an incredibly expensive land to buy computer parts in.

[chazus]

NZ just overall looks like an incredibly expensive land to buy computer parts in.

It kinda blows my mind.

If it's any consolation (don't quote me on this), I believe some firms are starting to prod at the NZ and Australian government to probe as to why tech prices are so high. They're basically citing that synthetic price hikes are stifling international economy, which would possibly violate international trade standards. I wouldn't say 'hold off buying anything for a few months', however this year, or possibly next, may see an improvement going forward.

This was spurred in part by software costs. For example, a game on Steam in the rest of the world costs $49.99, where there it costs as much as $89.99. Software. On digital distribution formats. Costing more in USD. *brainsplode*

[n0cturnal]

Turns out 950 New Zeeland dollar are about 800 US dollar though. Still expensive but not as much as I originally thought.

---------- Post added 2013-01-14 at 12:34 PM ----------

This was spurred in part by software costs. For example, a game on Steam in the rest of the world costs $49.99, where there it costs as much as $89.99. Software. On digital distribution formats. Costing more in USD. *brainsplode*

Europe often gets this also. Games can cost like €50 online where they would cost $50 in US, but then you go to the stores here and you find them in physical box releases for something like €35.

[Dachoson1]

Im an absolute noob when it comes to building a pc, but I have a friend who can build one if I buy all the parts. Not sure where to buy all these parts here in Nz, but im sure he'll know. Thanks for the feedback guys

[Lathais]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($165.00 @ Computer Lounge)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LX ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($195.00 @ Computer Lounge)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($85.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($82.57 @ Aquila Technology)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7770 1GB Video Card ($198.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($161.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($35.21 @ Aquila Technology)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($152.04 @ Ascent Technology)
Total: $1162.82
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-15 04:35 NZDT+1300)

I stuck as close to the original linked build as possible, though some parts I could not find exact matches. Based on that, I'd say it's a pretty good deal. Of course there may be better places to buy the parts that I don't know about that may bring that down, but that sit is usually pretty good.

[Dachoson1]

Hey just got some further questions about this pc, what graphics setting will it play wow on with high fps?

[n0cturnal]

High/Ultra, you probably have to drop some of the most taxing settings such as SSAO and shadows.

[stuck4cash]

It kinda blows my mind.

If it's any consolation (don't quote me on this), I believe some firms are starting to prod at the NZ and Australian government to probe as to why tech prices are so high. They're basically citing that synthetic price hikes are stifling international economy, which would possibly violate international trade standards. I wouldn't say 'hold off buying anything for a few months', however this year, or possibly next, may see an improvement going forward.

This was spurred in part by software costs. For example, a game on Steam in the rest of the world costs $49.99, where there it costs as much as $89.99. Software. On digital distribution formats. Costing more in USD. *brainsplode*

This is extremely common in Australia. Part of the thing is that land is so expensive here (a house in Melbourne is like $500k, equivalent in the US would be like $150k-200k) and pushes up rental costs for physical retail buildings and the online retailers charge the similar pricing because they know we'll pay it (even though they have none of those costs.

For a long time it was "we live so far away" but that simply isn't the case anymore. You can ship things from overseas for so much less than our inflated prices.

There is definitely a lot of "why are our prices so inflated?" questions going on but I wouldn't put off buying computer hardware on it, it'll take a *long* time to filter through.

There's a few other factors though that I will say is the reason we pay more. Our dollar is strong currently compared to the US so paying looks high but we're also being paid more to counter that. $70-80k is normal for someone that's got about 5-10 years experience and a university degree but aren't in a manager role. Strong dollar + higher wages = higher buying prices, unfortunately that also means off shore companies are making more of our money...