Building your own PC vs buying one pre-built
- Thread starter AlimNassor
- Start date
CreepingFear
Member
It's a decision you have to make for yourself. I wasn't ready to build my own for many years. I don't believe I should have been forced to when I wasn't ready. I think that even if you do go the pre-built route, watch a bunch of youtube guides for building your own PC. It may come in handy to understanding your own system or troubleshooting issues yourself if and when the warranty support expires.
DirgeExtinction
Member
Lys Skygge
Member
I built my PC last December with no prior knowledge. Runs like a champ. YouTube and GAF has made PC building a breeze.
Elitist1945
Member
I'd be more willing to build my own PC if some pre-builts didn't have such sexy cases. Like the Bolt 3's case is beautiful.
Not everybody is ready for it, i had a friend who bought a new power supply and graphics card and he called me late at night freaking out that his pc didn't turn on, went to his place put my hand behind his pc and flipped the on switch on.
However i'm mainly talking from my own experience when i built my pc, i knew where the parts went but none of the things seemed to fit from cpu heatsink to the case of the motherboard and it took way too long and i was freaking out the whole way through.
Vigilant Walrus
Member
Linus Tech Tips Builds. Amazing, and easy: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8mG-RkN2uTwlcLU_rv29Gt4578XfgJm_
Tested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XnU8MPjp1Y
CrispyBoar
Banned
What about buying a good gaming PC from someone that has already built one? Is that possible & is it possible that I can upgrade parts?
What are the best sites for people who sell those?
UnrealEck
Member
I have the same specs. Here's what mines cost me.
- Zotac GTX 980 Ti AMP! - £520
- Intel Core i7 6700K - £285
- ASUS Z170a - £110
- 16GB GSkill DDR4 3200MHz - £95
- Corsair AIR 540 case - £120
- Coolermaster Evo 212+ - £30
- 256GB SSD - £40
- 1TB HDD - £40
I already had the storage drives, the case and the CPU cooler but everything else I bought from about August 2015 to January this year.
£1240 is about $1800 US.
My arse is a bit sore from being drilled every time I buy computer parts here in the UK.
Oh and I bought a monitor recently too (PG278Q) which cost me £550.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
You know, responding to someone who gives their two cents based on personal experience with little more than "who cares?" is not the most constructive of criticisms.
manfestival
Member
yeah I remember that deal but I do recall that it was a 6700 and not a 6700k
I see, this makes sense. But it's a bit of a corner case. You still get shafted with a reference design 980Ti, there's always some unnecessary compromises with pre builts. And I'm not exactly sure on the PSU, wasn't able to look up its specs, gold rating means nothing on its own.
I also assume it's full ATX and exactly what case? With a custom PC you could have got a nice case that was mATX which would be more efficient in terms of space consumed. Plus your not really going to SLI without installing a new PSU and wiring it up. At that point you've done half the job of building a custom PC.
If you follow the guides online I won't say its easy but it certainly isn't hard. I have been building my pc's for years and it's much easier than it used to be. If you bricked a pc while building it in school it sounds like your teacher sucked. It's just my opinion but people need to build one and learn the technical ins and outs of how to keep their gaming PC running. They need to put the time in. If they aren't willing to do that just get a console.
Yes. Go here. Fill out the question sheet and a kind Gaffer will tell you which parts you need. Some sites offer PC building services. I had PC parts picked by someone in that thread and I ordered it off of a website that offered it. I believe it was $50 for them to build it before shipping it out. It was hassle free and I even had a warranty (in case they sent me a dud). It was my first gaming PC and I got it a few months ago. I've had no issues with it. Other then the cost (~$900 with everything), getting into PC gaming is much easier than I expected. There's really no need to know how to build a PC.
Aztechnology
Member
What's wrong with the reference design? I have a reference 970 an I have pretty much the max OC you can get on one without any issue. Plus it looks awesome.
it's fully possible to buy a pre-built PC that outpaces a build-your-own for a similar or slight premium. what you give up is customization somewhat.
MattPeters
Member
I had NCIX assemble, test and do cable management on my PC for 50 bucks from the parts I picked. Worth it alone for the cable shit cause im awful doing it.
Now, if prices would just come down in Canada, id get a 980TI (almost 900 bucks :/ ) to replace my 970.
Now, if prices would just come down in Canada, id get a 980TI (almost 900 bucks :/ ) to replace my 970.
Head.spawn
Junior Member
Pretty sure it was a Dell or HP deal. I honestly have no clue why I didn't buy it.
Building your own PC is amazing, but if something goes wrong there could be quite the time spent with troubleshooting and stuff.
These days i pick parts and have a company assemble it, get windows on it and update the drivers and see that everything is working (including OC).
They give me a warranty on the whole thing + individual component warranty is still there, so at any time i have a issue i simply have them come help me for free.
Yes i pay a little extra, but its worth it imo.
These days i pick parts and have a company assemble it, get windows on it and update the drivers and see that everything is working (including OC).
They give me a warranty on the whole thing + individual component warranty is still there, so at any time i have a issue i simply have them come help me for free.
Yes i pay a little extra, but its worth it imo.
Loud. Had a reference GTX 780, and now the MSI GAMER 970, i hit 1550Mhz Core, 3800Mhz memory and its very quiet, fans off below 60c - silent. Games like GTA V hit 63-67c. More consistently loading games like Witcher 3 hit about 68-70c.
I have an ITX console like PC, so aesthetics dont bother me, just temps and noise matter. And im not using headphone but 5.1, so fan noise matters.
Delicious Waffles
Member
I just had one built for me last weekend.
Went to a local Micro Center with a list of parts. It was over budget so I asked the "build your own PC" sales person to help me out. He was extremely helpful and walked a novice like myself through the process of getting the price down.
When everything was done, I had them build it for me for $130. Sure, it's a bit expensive but I have no experience and didn't want to try with such expensive parts. With them building it included, came out to around $1250. Altogether, I spent around $1750 since I came from a laptop and needed everything (monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers). Couldn't be happier.
Went to a local Micro Center with a list of parts. It was over budget so I asked the "build your own PC" sales person to help me out. He was extremely helpful and walked a novice like myself through the process of getting the price down.
When everything was done, I had them build it for me for $130. Sure, it's a bit expensive but I have no experience and didn't want to try with such expensive parts. With them building it included, came out to around $1250. Altogether, I spent around $1750 since I came from a laptop and needed everything (monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers). Couldn't be happier.
Parakeetman
No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
I can build my own, though the thing is personally its a pain in the fucking ass so I just buy what I need these days from reputable builders.
Its more the whole software side of thing more than hardware though which I hate. Hardware generally isnt an issue as long as everything matches up proper. Making the list of what to get and research is the other pain in the ass part of that though if you have not kept up with things.
Am not a hardcore PC gamer either so its not like I need some perfect spec god box, which is where just pre-builts come in.
Main concern is just heat control / good airflow.
Do want to make a media server box one of these days though. Most def have enough crap around to potentially do one.
Its more the whole software side of thing more than hardware though which I hate. Hardware generally isnt an issue as long as everything matches up proper. Making the list of what to get and research is the other pain in the ass part of that though if you have not kept up with things.
Am not a hardcore PC gamer either so its not like I need some perfect spec god box, which is where just pre-builts come in.
Main concern is just heat control / good airflow.
Do want to make a media server box one of these days though. Most def have enough crap around to potentially do one.
Ordered my parts on a site and they built it for a small fee and did a really good job. Went small form factor and really couldn't be bothered to build it myself, plus it has 12 month free return policy and 3 year warranty.. Worked out so much cheaper than a pre build with much better parts.
Delicious Waffles
Member
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 & Intel HD Graphics 4600.
Don't get me wrong, I think building a PC gets you a better computer overall. Just in that instance it made more sense for me to buy prebuilt. In my case it made sense since I know I'll never upgrade a single component and will likely buy a new computer in 2-3 years.
barneystuta83
Member
I had the same question myself a few years back. I decided to go down the build it myself route.
I reused a lot of stuff (mouse & keyboard, OS, monitor) and saved myself a fair chunk of money.
At a high level your own build advantages are:
- Generally speaking cheaper, particularly if you can reuse parts you already own (providing no bottleneck)
- You get to understand your system, great for future upgrades
- You control what you install, no bloat
That being said, an off the shelf build comes with some of its own advantages:
- If one part breaks, your whole system will be covered by a warranty. No troubleshooting which part is faulty. That can be a real pain with your own build.
- Independent retailers (not a major high street store) will make you a custom build. A good one will give you complete control over what you want in your system
- it will just 'work'
If you are lucky, you can find some great deals on a base system and just add the graphics card you want.
My best advice?
1. Set a budget - the most important thing
2. Hypothetically build a PC by adding partsto your cart using a PC website, obviously making sure it is in your budget
3. Make sure you remember a monitor, OS, Speakers, Mouse & Keyboard, and any other 'bits' if you don't already have them
4. Now you have your build, run a quick Google search for it. Use the processor/gpu to start. See what comes up. What do you have to sacrifice to get in budget? Can you stretch for 'convenience'?
I reused a lot of stuff (mouse & keyboard, OS, monitor) and saved myself a fair chunk of money.
At a high level your own build advantages are:
- Generally speaking cheaper, particularly if you can reuse parts you already own (providing no bottleneck)
- You get to understand your system, great for future upgrades
- You control what you install, no bloat
That being said, an off the shelf build comes with some of its own advantages:
- If one part breaks, your whole system will be covered by a warranty. No troubleshooting which part is faulty. That can be a real pain with your own build.
- Independent retailers (not a major high street store) will make you a custom build. A good one will give you complete control over what you want in your system
- it will just 'work'
If you are lucky, you can find some great deals on a base system and just add the graphics card you want.
My best advice?
1. Set a budget - the most important thing
2. Hypothetically build a PC by adding partsto your cart using a PC website, obviously making sure it is in your budget
3. Make sure you remember a monitor, OS, Speakers, Mouse & Keyboard, and any other 'bits' if you don't already have them
4. Now you have your build, run a quick Google search for it. Use the processor/gpu to start. See what comes up. What do you have to sacrifice to get in budget? Can you stretch for 'convenience'?
What company do you use?
I could meet/exceed that prebuilt's price/vs performance with less than a week of deal hunting parts, new build from scratch. If I were to mix in 2-3 used parts into an otherwise new build, I would leave that prebuilt in dust. Can't stress this enough, new or used bargains are out there. I've been building PC's for more than a decade and trading parts on forums, never had a single issue with used parts, few times even the warranties were transferable. I did have new DOA parts I bought myself in stores/online.
In the end, it's individually up to OP, or anyone else in the same boat.
Sanctuary
Member
Funny how that's not what I said at all. "Who cares?" isn't the same as "it's no guarantee".