Your gaming PC ... did you build it or purchase it pre-built?

[dud]

I am ready to build my first new system in many years and have always planned to custom build my gaming PC. I figure that if the PC can game it can do just about anything else that I can throw at it. Recently, I've seen some pre-built computers at very attractive prices. I was planning to build an unlocked i5 system but the pre-built i5 machines come in at hundreds less ... and they come with the operating system. Other than using lower quality components the only other downside I see to these packaged PCs is that they use lock CPUs.

So I was just wondering if you game with a custom or a pre-built system ...

Thanks!

 

[Elfear]

The cost of custom builts has dropped a lot in the past decade. I used to automatically dismiss that option when recommending gaming rigs for my buddies, but I've started checking out what pre-builts are out there now. If you don't plan on overclocking and don't mind some extra bloatware, I think a pre-built it just fine if you can find a good deal.

 

[Eric1987]

Wow you would recommend a pre built computer for your friends? Terrible friend. I would NEVER allow my friends to make that dumb of a decision.

 

[BSim500]

Nothing wrong with cheaper prebuilt's if they've got what you want. Or locked i5's if they run your planned choice of games. Personally, I always custom build for a few reasons:-

1. If you install the OS from scratch then you've only got the cr*p you want on it and not at best, 20x extra pieces of "overly helpful" utilities / demos, at worst, glorified spyware. One of the worst offenders I've seen came with 2x anti-virus + 3x anti-Malware packages with real-time scanning enabled on at least 3 of them, no SSD and a 5,400rpm HDD. It ran like a pig due to constant I/O bottlenecks. One example of many of how you may end up needing to spend a day "tweaking" a pre-built anyway.

2. I don't know if it still applies (or varies from one brand to another), but the cheapest motherboard & PSU aren't always a good choice even if you don't overclock. Maybe you want to add a high-end video card down the line. Can the PSU cope at optimum 90% efficiency at 50% load, or is it "just enough"?

3. I'm a silent PC enthusiast quite happy to pay a small premium for silence optimized components (higher quality fans with better acoustic / vibration characteristics, over-sized heatsinks, low vibration / suspension mounted HDD's, gold / platinum rated PSU's and GPU's with zero rpm capability under light load, etc).

4. Better choice of optional extra's (eg, a certain size or brand of SSD or BD-RE drive which may not be offered as an upgrade). Or a certain design of case with maybe 4x USB ports at the front, etc?

 

[skipsneeky2]

Seen good prices on pre-built especially during black friday,so good you could actually replace the psu and slap in a gpu of your choice and have a full blown gaming rig for a good price.

Outside of super sales,i much prefer the idea of custom builds.You control the quality,get what you need and nothing you don't which can also factor in the entire cost of the rig.

 

[Martimus]

I've never owned a prebuilt computer, other than a laptop, and my first computer (a Compaq 8088 portable computer). I enjoy building my own, and probably always will build my own because of that. Computers are so easy to build, there aren't a lot of good reasons to buy a pre built one.

 

[D DoUrden]

Seen good prices on pre-built especially during black friday,so good you could actually replace the psu and slap in a gpu of your choice and have a full blown gaming rig for a good price.

Outside of super sales,i much prefer the idea of custom builds.You control the quality,get what you need and nothing you don't which can also factor in the entire cost of the rig.

Buy the time you buy a pre-built then buy a PSU and GPU you could have built a MUCH better system from scratch.

You will always get better parts and a better machine when you build vs buy for the same cost.

 

[Aikouka]

Wow you would recommend a pre built computer for your friends? Terrible friend. I would NEVER allow my friends to make that dumb of a decision.

I would if I don't want to spend my life as their tech support.

"Hey man, my Alienware is acting funny!"
"Go, call Dell."

 

[skipsneeky2]

Buy the time you buy a pre-built then buy a PSU and GPU you could have built a MUCH better system from scratch.

I saw towers so cheap on that last Black Friday sale with even Core i5 chips,you simply couldn't beat the price when you factor in the whole tower.You simply couldn't build it for the same price.A super cheap tower with a os installed and ready to go.

Those are the type of sales where you may be better off buying pre-built.That is of course if you like a bargain.

 

[Dankk]

If you're technically-inclined, I think building your own rig is the best way to go, mainly because it's cost-effective and you have much more control over the components and how they work.

On the other hand, I don't judge people who decide to buy pre-built, as long as it's from a reputable seller.

My current rig is actually a "pre-built" from boutique builder close to where I live (Xidax). I know the guy in charge, it's a good company.

 

[exar333]

I saw towers so cheap on that last Black Friday sale with even Core i5 chips,you simply couldn't beat the price when you factor in the whole tower.You simply couldn't build it for the same price.A super cheap tower with a os installed and ready to go.

Those are the type of sales where you may be better off buying pre-built.That is of course if you like a bargain.

Yes, but this is because the build is so cheap. You get a no-name case, a no-name PSU, no-name MB. I would still rather build a budget computer with slightly slower specs, but with higher-quality pieces.

In a cheap black friday build, you have no great components to work from. It's a throwaway build, and good luck doing anything with it if the MB fails, for example. Its risk/reward.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Yes, but this is because the build is so cheap. You get a no-name case, a no-name PSU, no-name MB. I would still rather build a budget computer with slightly slower specs, but with higher-quality pieces.

In a cheap black friday build, you have no great components to work from. It's a throwaway build, and good luck doing anything with it if the MB fails, for example. Its risk/reward.

Your right on all that and luckily i never have decided to buy one over build one,but people are surely wanting to save a bit so of course they are buying those towers.

I have seen what these cheap oem towers like Emachines can do,cheap psus fry a entire motherboard and memory.Or the front panel buttons don't work or short out a whole motherboard,the issues these things have is a bit out there.Actual issues people i know have had with their OEM towers.

 

[mmntech]

I don't think DIY has the cost advantages like it used to. I'll build as long as I'm able to though. It's a hobby. Just got to hunt for sales and recycle parts to keep the costs down. I just took a DVD burner out of service that I had with my old Athlon XP rig.

 

[TridenT]

Build all my own. It doesn't make financial sense to buy one from a maker since they put such large profit margins on things like ram, storage, high end videocards, and high end CPUs.

I never recommend buying pre-built to any friends because it's so costly.

 

[xantub]

Mine is custom built, has been since like 2000. But for my family/friends I always tell them to buy pre-built. For some reason, custom building for them seems to make them think that I am the one to call whenever anything happens in their computer.

 

[TheSlamma]

Been building them on my own since my 386SX-16

 

[sweenish]

Made mine myself, and did a near-total upgrade (MB, CPU, SSD, video card) a couple years later. Also added in extra RAM and a blu-ray burner and media card reader during that time.

Pre-built systems do sacrifice quality. Depending on who's asking, my recommendations are NUCs or learning to build one or a Mac.

 

[ToySoldier]

I would if I don't want to spend my life as their tech support.

"Hey man, my Alienware is acting funny!"
"Go, call Dell."

LoL... YOU are sooooo F**KING on the money with that. You build a friend/family member a computer then be prepared to be married to f**king for 2-3 years or longer.

 

[ToySoldier]

Recently, I've seen some pre-built computers at very attractive prices. Other than using lower quality components the only other downside I see to these packaged PCs is that they use lock CPUs.

So I was just wondering if you game with a custom or a pre-built system ...

I build my own. I did build one for my BFF but he's tech savvy enough to handle any technical support himself. I even installed a DIY G-Sync in his 24" VG248QE monitor last spring.

Link us an example of what you consider a 'good deal' so we can do an Apples to Apples comparison on how building your own PC may be better than a pre-build.

"lower quality" is a scary thing with Gaming PCs. You get what you pay for... I mean that in a negative way.

I prefer cherry picking each part... especially when it comes to overclocking. My system as of today to play Star Citizen - Alpha/Beta Tester (mostly):

CASE: Cooler Master Cosmos SE
MOTHERBOARD : ASRock Z97 Extreme4 ATX
CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-4690K 3.5Ghz (overclocked to 4.2Ghz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H60 Liquid System
GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 980 - 4GB
MEMORY: 16GB (8GBx2) DDR3 F3-12800CL10D-16GBXL G.SKILL Ripjaws X
FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer
HD : 120 GB Kingston HyperX 3K SATA-III 6.0Gb/s SSD - (120GB x 2) **240GB Capacity** Raid 0
USB: Internal USB 3.0 (4-Port Hub)
POWER SUPPLY: Corsair AX860 — 860 Watt 80 PLUS Platinum Certified -Modular
Microsoft® Windows 7 Ultimate edition (64-bit) *** Cant wait for 'retail' Windows 10! ***

.

 

[DeadFred]

Build my own, build them for family and friends. If I ever recommend a pre-built to you, then you know I dont like you very much. LOL

 

[skipsneeky2]

LoL... YOU are sooooo F**KING on the money with that. You build a friend/family member a computer then be prepared to be married to f**king for 2-3 years or longer.

A friend of a friend i know contacted my wife via Facebook out of all places to ask me what a good cheap household item to replace cpu thermal compound in a pinch would be.I built this friend a rig and well apparently got to this random stranger i don't even know asking this stupid ass question.

I pretty much said mayo or toothpaste,both i have used in a pinch and they do work lol.A pinch as in like 3 days till your broke ass could afford some g-damn Artic Silver 5 or something you know?

 

[frozentundra123456]

I have a Dell XPS that I got on close out at Microcenter. Added a HD7770, and it has been fine until the recent console vram hogs make the 7770 marginal at best. It is good enough for me though, none of the recent "next gen" games interest me enough to upgrade the video card, except for DA:I, and I managed to play that at decent settings at 1080.

I think for moderate gaming, it is fine to buy a pre-built and add a GTX 750Ti or even upgrade the power supply and add a stronger card. If you want a high end system, then DIY is obviously the way to go, since you can overclock.

I just dont like it though when posters put down anyone who doesnt want to build his own system. If you have never done it, and have no one around to ask for advice if you have a problem, it can be intimidating, no matter how easy it seems to those who are experienced.

 

[Topweasel]

I will always custom build my own desktop. For whatever task, I will find a way to get exactly what I want, that's half the fun of it.

I also help most family and friends build computers, but I try to steer them towards pre-built if they are going for fairly generic equipment. Mostly because the margins just aren't in desktops any more and for whatever small difference having a company back the equipment is much better feeling accountable for every part that screws up. These people don't put that on my shoulders but it always hurts a little when your helping someone out, picking out the best parts, and they still have some hardware failure.

My biggest issue is actually with semi competent people. They ask you for advice, ignore it, purchase whatever, ask you to help them put it together, and then bug you all the time for support on the hardware that you told them not to get.

 

[Morbus]

I'll put it this way: I have NEVER seen a pre-built computer that's 100% what I want. It is never fully ok. Either it has a BR recorder, or the tower is ugly/terrible, or the PSU is rubbish or the CPU isn't future proof or it has unnecessary components like a gaming network card...

Buying mid-spec pre-built gaming rigs is a minefield. And there's nowhere that's totally safe.

That said, I'm sure there are good deals out there, if you look hard enough. And if the gamer doesn't care, anything will do, doesn't matter if it's expensive or if it's crap at some things. When people don't care, anything will do.

 

[skipsneeky2]

I'll put it this way: I have NEVER seen a pre-built computer that's 100% what I want. It is never fully ok. Either it has a BR recorder, or the tower is ugly/terrible, or the PSU is rubbish or the CPU isn't future proof or it has unnecessary components like a gaming network card...

Can't forget those beautiful dial up pci cards,i had a collection of like 20 of these people told me to toss when i did work on their rig.

Donated them to a second hand store,slowly they all got sold lol.