Should I Build or Buy a Gaming PC? – DIY in 5 Ep 184

Опубликовано 6 ноября 2022, 14:00

To buy or to build: that is the question. Should you make your own gaming PC, or buy a pre-built machine? Trisha considers the merits of both approaches, measure for measure.

Getting a new PC can feel overwhelming, regardless of whether you build or buy. The gaming scene has outspoken advocates of both schools of thought, since there are clear pros and cons to both. Ultimately, you need to make the right decision for you, which we hope to provide insight into with this episode. Building your own is certainly the more challenging option, especially if you’ve never done it before. It requires choosing components, assembly, troubleshooting any issues that arise, and is all round more time-consuming. However, the upsides are customization and access to a broader palette of components. The world is your oyster! Tools like PCpartpicker.com are useful for checking compatibility and sale prices before purchasing any components for a build.

Building a gaming PC
If done correctly, building your own PC can be very affordable. You know best what your needs are: what requires heavier investment, and which areas of the PC you can cut back on. You can shop around to find the best prices and sales on each component, or even opt for second-hand components if you want to bring your expenditure way down. You also save on labor costs by assembling your own machine. Another benefit of self-builds is a greater level of familiarity with the inside of your system, making troubleshooting, replacements, and upgrades much simpler. These are fantastic advantages as well as the definite pride from when your DIY build POSTs for the first time.
However, downsides to building your own PC, besides the amount of time it takes, include the definite possibility that something could go wrong now or in the future. In that case, you will need the patience to see through the troubleshooting and RMA process if a piece of hardware is found to be faulty. In the event of a hardware error, there won’t be one warranty to rule them all. You’ll need to deal with each component manufacturer and retailer individually.

Buying a gaming PC
If you choose to buy a gaming PC, on the other hand, the process is much simpler. You should still research to find the best option available to you from a price to performance standpoint. This will still take some time, but generally less time and stress for this route opposed to the others available. Perks include that the machine building is done for you! You already know that the components are compatible and tested. Should something go wrong, you have one warranty for the entire build, and one company to reach out to for repairs. This can be fantastic if your PC just stops working and can save a lot of headaches in the long run. From a cost perspective, buying a gaming PC usually costs more in that you are paying the labor for someone else to assemble, plan, and test it for you. That being said, there are some incredible deals on pre-built systems where it was better to go pre-built on sale instead of getting price-gouged on scarce components like GPUs. Fingers crossed those days are in the past (the chip scarcities, at least).
The downsides of buying pre-built, in addition to the potential cost, are that you are limited to what the manufacturer offers. This can mean being saddled with sub-optimal PSU or motherboard offerings, one-size-fits-all aesthetics, and usually pre-set budget, mid, and premium-tier configurations. The hybrid of both of these options, and usually the most expensive way to go by far, is to commission someone to do a custom build for you, giving you ultimate control over the aesthetics and configuration. There are individual and small system builder companies nowadays that specialize in custom builds for consumers. Pretty rad!

While both building or buying your gaming PC achieve the same goal, they take different paths to reach it. Comment below to share which method you typically choose and why!

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0:00 Intro
1:09 Building a gaming PC
2:52 Buying a gaming PC
4:33 Outro