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Rather build your own PC or buy a prebuilt?

Finesse

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What would you rather do? Build a PC from scratch or buy a pre-built PC instead? I think prebuilt is always the worst way to go. I currently have an okay gaming pc, and I want to eventually upgrade, but instead I want to make my own PC by just picking out all the best parts I can afford and going from there. I never built a PC yet, so I am a bit paranoid of causing any damage, but I'm going to take things very slow so I don't mess it up.

I guess I wouldn't say all pre-builds are bad, but I think it's best to build a PC instead.
 

blackice_ATL

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What would you rather do? Build a PC from scratch or buy a pre-built PC instead? I think prebuilt is always the worst way to go. I currently have an okay gaming pc, and I want to eventually upgrade, but instead I want to make my own PC by just picking out all the best parts I can afford and going from there. I never built a PC yet, so I am a bit paranoid of causing any damage, but I'm going to take things very slow so I don't mess it up.

I guess I wouldn't say all pre-builds are bad, but I think it's best to build a PC instead.

there's so many videos at YouTube university now to guide you. But it's definitely better to build one. You can also find custom gaming setups on ebay if you don't want the bother of building it yourself. You can just select the ram and processor you want and they'll build it.
 

Mark Black

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    Every computer I've had, with the exception of my iMac, was built from scratch. Back in the day, it was fun chasing down hardware conflicts and drivers, but today everything from the CPU, to the motherboard itself is plug & play. UPNP means you don't have to waste time configuring the BIOS to recognize hardware, and most everything is easy to assemble.


    My most recent PC has an AMD Ryzen processor, 32 GB of RAM, 800w power supply, copper big block cooler, and a mid video card. It runs pretty much anything I throw at it. I've got an 512 GB SSD and an 8 TB 5400 rpm SATA 3 HDD for storage. Pre pandemic, I put the whole thing together for 1300 out the door.
     
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    Every computer I've had, with the exception of my iMac, was built from scratch. Back in the day, it was fun chasing down hardware conflicts and drivers, but today everything from the CPU, to the motherboard itself is plug & play. UPNP means you don't have to waste time configuring the BIOS to recognize hardware, and most everything is easy to assemble.


    My most recent PC has an AMD Ryzen processor, 32 GB of RAM, 800w power supply, copper big block cooler, and a mid video card. It runs pretty much anything I throw at it. I've got an 512 GB SSD and an 8 TB 5400 rpm SATA 3 HDD for storage. Pre pandemic, I put the whole thing together for 1300 out the door.
    That's pretty good not too many people do that unless you're building a computer for a specific reason. My son wants to get into computer repair so this is a good skill for him to learn.
     

    ProMoatBlack

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    You all are an inspiration. Ever since I was a kid I dreamed of building my own pc. Unfortunately I nor the guardian I was living with at the time had the resources to get everything to do it. Now reading how easy it is at present day makes me want to put building my own PC on my bucket list.
     

    Jay

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    You all are an inspiration. Ever since I was a kid I dreamed of building my own pc. Unfortunately I nor the guardian I was living with at the time had the resources to get everything to do it. Now reading how easy it is at present day makes me want to put building my own PC on my bucket list.
    It looks more challenging than it is. If you can put together Ikea furniture you can build a PC.
     

    ProMoatBlack

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    It looks more challenging than it is. If you can put together Ikea furniture you can build a PC.
    Mind blown!!!! Can't believe its that easy. Thought. I needed to be a computer wiz. Much respect. Talk about a very empowering thing. Being able to build something so high tech on your own.
     

    Roparker71

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    I've been building PC's since the 90's... other than laptops, I haven't bought a desktop PC in years... personally, I prefer to build my own... that way, I know exactly what's "under the hood" if something decides to break... both of my servers were built and my music production station was also a build...
     

    Jay

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    In all seriousness when it comes to if building a PC or buying a pre-built comes down to what you value.

    • Assembling your own PC is good for those who value having complete control and do not have an issue maintaining the hardware or software.
    • Pre-builts are good for those who only want to focus on the work they do on the computer. They want the ease of being able to take the computer to the retailer/manufacturer to fix any issues.

    If you’re in group 2, building your own computer could be novel but tiresome down the line as all the maintenance will fall on you. You will have to troubleshoot any driver issue, incompatibility between OS and Hardware, and all the other things that can go wrong.
     

    GwynShivers

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    In all seriousness when it comes to if building a PC or buying a pre-built comes down to what you value.

    • Assembling your own PC is good for those who value having complete control and do not have an issue maintaining the hardware or software.
    • Pre-builts are good for those who only want to focus on the work they do on the computer. They want the ease of being able to take the computer to the retailer/manufacturer to fix any issues.

    If you’re in group 2, building your own computer could be novel but tiresome down the line as all the maintenance will fall on you. You will have to troubleshoot any driver issue, incompatibility between OS and Hardware, and all the other things that can go wrong.
    My husband's a computer programmer & a network engineer, so he loves building computers just as much as he loves building weapons. He's teaching me as well.
     

    Roparker71

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    In all seriousness when it comes to if building a PC or buying a pre-built comes down to what you value.

    • Assembling your own PC is good for those who value having complete control and do not have an issue maintaining the hardware or software.
    • Pre-builts are good for those who only want to focus on the work they do on the computer. They want the ease of being able to take the computer to the retailer/manufacturer to fix any issues.

    If you’re in group 2, building your own computer could be novel but tiresome down the line as all the maintenance will fall on you. You will have to troubleshoot any driver issue, incompatibility between OS and Hardware, and all the other things that can go wrong.
    Good point...
     

    ProMoatBlack

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    In all seriousness when it comes to if building a PC or buying a pre-built comes down to what you value.

    • Assembling your own PC is good for those who value having complete control and do not have an issue maintaining the hardware or software.
    • Pre-builts are good for those who only want to focus on the work they do on the computer. They want the ease of being able to take the computer to the retailer/manufacturer to fix any issues.

    If you’re in group 2, building your own computer could be novel but tiresome down the line as all the maintenance will fall on you. You will have to troubleshoot any driver issue, incompatibility between OS and Hardware, and all the other things that can go wrong.
    Thanks for that heads up. Gotta be realistic. Respect.
     

    Jay

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    Good point...
    I’m techie but I fall into number 2. I just want the thing to work so that I can do what I gotta do. It has its downsides like I can’t flip my laptop over and add more ram but if I have any issues I also can drive to the Apple Store. So there’s a give and take either way you go and ontop of that I do not like windows so that kinda limits my choice to only the Mac Pro.
     

    ProMoatBlack

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    My husband's a computer programmer & a network engineer, so he loves building computers just as much as he loves building weapons. He's teaching me as well.
    Sounds like you married a bad ass!!! Happy for you sis. God bless your marriage.
     

    Dsun Black

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    I’m techie but I fall into number 2. I just want the thing to work so that I can do what I gotta do. It has its downsides like I can’t flip my laptop over and add more ram but if I have any issues I also can drive to the Apple Store. So there’s a give and take either way you go and ontop of that I do not like windows so that kinda limits my choice to only the Mac Pro.
    What’s wrong with windows. I currently have a HP but I’m novice when it comes to computers
     

    Revolution_2

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    What would you rather do? Build a PC from scratch or buy a pre-built PC instead? I think prebuilt is always the worst way to go. I currently have an okay gaming pc, and I want to eventually upgrade, but instead I want to make my own PC by just picking out all the best parts I can afford and going from there. I never built a PC yet, so I am a bit paranoid of causing any damage, but I'm going to take things very slow so I don't mess it up.

    I guess I wouldn't say all pre-builds are bad, but I think it's best to build a PC instead.
    I've built and upgraded many PC's but for what I do, I prefer just purchasing one and making the necessary upgrades.
     

    Jay

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    What’s wrong with windows. I currently have a HP but I’m novice when it comes to computers
    I just don’t like the way Microsoft has been handling it since Windows 7. With Windows 8 they went to the touch interface, with Windows 10 they went to that automatic update system that was hell. I would have to give a presentation and then the system would do a 1 hour update and I couldn’t stop it…screwing me over. What good is a computer that doesn’t serve my needs? After that I couldn’t mess with them anymore.
     

    Real One

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    Definitely build. I'm planning to build my next gaming PC myself. Had my previous one built by a friend, saved me so much more money than what you can get pre-builts for. Pre-builds may also come with bloatware and unnecessary junk. A build of your own, you can essentially pick what you want to do and add to your system.

    And if you do decide to buy a pre-built, don't rush into anything. Amazon, Ebay and a bunch of other sites will have a ton of options, but there will be some liars among the sellers, some builds aren't worth the price they charge as well.

    There are also sites out there that can help you pick out the right parts for your build. I plan to use the site below to help me run through the build. They will pick out the right combination of parts for your configuration.

     

    Roparker71

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    I’m techie but I fall into number 2. I just want the thing to work so that I can do what I gotta do. It has its downsides like I can’t flip my laptop over and add more ram but if I have any issues I also can drive to the Apple Store. So there’s a give and take either way you go and ontop of that I do not like windows so that kinda limits my choice to only the Mac Pro.
    I get it... I'm a techie head too (my wife calls me a "techie geek")... and I'm the opposite... I loathe Apple products myself...
     

    Roparker71

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    Definitely build. I'm planning to build my next gaming PC myself. Had my previous one built by a friend, saved me so much more money than what you can get pre-builts for. Pre-builds may also come with bloatware and unnecessary junk. A build of your own, you can essentially pick what you want to do and add to your system.

    And if you do decide to buy a pre-built, don't rush into anything. Amazon, Ebay and a bunch of other sites will have a ton of options, but there will be some liars among the sellers, some builds aren't worth the price they charge as well.

    There are also sites out there that can help you pick out the right parts for your build. I plan to use the site below to help me run through the build. They will pick out the right combination of parts for your configuration.

    I agree 100%...
     

    Jay

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    I get it... I'm a techie head too (my wife calls me a "techie geek")... and I'm the opposite... I loathe Apple products myself...2
    Why don't you like them? Lack of control huh? You probably say things like "walled garden" and etc.

    No sir 😂😂😂
    You know you got 6ZEROS on 5.25 Floppy Disk come on now.
     

    Harbinger

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    Alienware for the win. Aurora 12.

    We tried to go the building route but gaming cards were like $2G's plus when we were shopping around. Scalpers everywhere. This was late 2020/early 2021.

    It was ridiculous during that chip shortage period. I was going to start a new build but quit for this same reason. I'll check back in the next 6 months or so. I need to play Cyberpunk in all its high resolution glory.
     

    Nesut

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    I prefer pre-built I'm lazy and not good enough to do the delicate work of building myself I like a prebuild
    Nothing wrong with that. Building and troubleshooting can be a pain in the ass. The same people that build computers are the ones with the big ass android phone that they put a custom version of Linux on and can run adobe photoshop in it with a mouse and keyboard. Always doing the most.
     

    Banks

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    I want to do a build as well. Been wanting to for some time now, but didn't know where to begin. I don't want to end up buying all this expensive stuff and then breaking it when I set it up. So I'll be using a guide when I build mine.

    I prefer pre-built I'm lazy and not good enough to do the delicate work of building myself I like a prebuild
    That's fair, better to buy prebuilt if you're worried about the build process. I'm worried about doing one myself, but I think I'm going to give it a shot one of these days.

    And I imagine you can find good prebuilts out there.
     

    ShermX69X

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    I built my own years ago and it felt so good doing it all by my self for the first time. However my last two I've used the most was a Dell laptop I spent 3k on in 2000. (Sold)
    Then in 2006 or 7 got a Dell case that was left behind when a business went belly up and we put a padlocks on the doors. 3 months later I got it for free.😅 Still running winXP and runs slow AH now. I bought a 2Tb external HD to move files so that I can update it. (whenever I get around to it.)

    4 years ago I was given another huge case from a coworker and an acquaintance give me a 1Tb HD/Radeon graphics card from a house he was restoring. So all I need now are ram, CPU/heatsink, motherboard and power supply for it.

    But..

    I'm currently waiting on my new $3.7k+ XPS 17 Dell laptop that's scheduled to be delivered on the 12th. (Black Friday 10% + $45 discount was applied so it took some of the pain away.😩)

    Specs are:
    • Processor
      12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900HK (24 MB cache, 14 cores, 20 threads, up to 5.00 GHz Turbo)
    • Operating System
      Windows 11 Pro, English
    • Graphics Card
      NVIDIA GeForce RTX™ 3060, 6 GB GDDR6, 60 W
    • Display
      17", UHD+ 3840 x 2400, 60Hz, Touch, Anti-Reflect, 500 nit, InfinityEdge
    • Memory
      64 GB, 2 x 32 GB, DDR5, 4800 MHz, dual-channel
    • Hard Drive
      2 TB, M.2, PCIe NVMe, SSD
    • Case
      Platinum Silver exterior, Black interior
    • Keyboard
      Backlit Black English Keyboard w/ Fingerprint Reader
    • Ports
      4 Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C™) with DisplayPort and Power Delivery
      1 Universal audio jack
    • Slots
      1 SD-card slot
      1 Wedge-shaped lock slot
    • Camera
      User-facing camera 720p 30 fps HD RGBIr camera
      Digital-array microphones
    • Audio and Speakers
      Stereo woofer 2 W x 2 and stereo tweeter 2.5 W x 2 = 5 W total peak
    • Chassis
      Exterior Chassis Materials
      Aluminium
    • Wireless
      Intel Killer Wi-Fi 6 1675 (AX211) 2x2 + Bluetooth 5.2 Wireless Card
    • Primary Battery
      6 Cell, 97 Wh, integrated
     

    Roe_City93

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    I use to build my desktops. It felt good to be able to build it at my speed & to know what could be the exact reason for the problems I'm having. I definitely would rather build than to buy. & yes, Take your time doing it. Remember technology is ever changing. So, Keep that in mind when you build it