A problem as well is that reviewers judge pre-builts typically for MSRP and they’re usually overpriced. But a good sale on a pre-built can go a long way.
What are your reasons to want a pre built? I got my PC built by a local computer shop and it only cost like $100 and I was able to get exactly what I wanted. They did stress testing on it and I feel like it was totally worth it
My first pc was from a local shop as well and i had a really good experience. I wouldnt do it now that I can and have built my own but id recommend it over a prebuilt.
Personally I just don’t have the patience to build my own computer. A big part of that is I was really particular about the case, I wanted the meshlicious small form factor case and small form factor cases are pain to set up efficiently. They did a great job putting it together cleanly and since they did such a good job it’s a lot easier for me to upgrade if I did it myself and did a less professional job.
Sorry for the forthcoming wall of text but here’s my advice:
I’d suggest you build your own PC. If you take the 5 hours to educate yourself on what the various components are you will save yourself trouble down the line and enable yourself to upgrade your pc as needed / want because you will not be locked in with crappy hardware.
The actual physical process of building a PC is about as difficult as putting together a basic Lego set or 7-part-end table from Target. The initial complication of choosing the parts really does make it seem more complicated than it is.
**Issues with pre-built PCs are: **
Crappy motherboards, which limit upgrades down the line wimpy power supplies, which limit upgrades down the line Crappy Hard drives, which run the risk of data loss down the line Shitty cases that limit upgrades Crappy components overall.
I don’t want to suggest specific components you should look for because I don’t know what you want to do with it and am not 100% up to snuff on the latest / greatest hardware. I can however give you the following general advice:
**1. **Choose your processor (CPU): AMD or INTEL. **2. **Choose your GPU: AMD or NVIDIA (ignore the various manufacturers, that can be figured out later)
**(these choices are really not that difficult, just get what is in your budget and what can do what you need it to do) ** **3. **Find a case you want, this is really as simple as aesthetics, hardware compatibility and cooling potential (i e space and lots of fans are good) . Does it come with fans? great!
- Based on 1 and 3, find yourself a compatible motherboard. Your chosen ** CPU** will dictate the motherboard you need, but other wants will inform your decision, (eg, do you want built in Bluetooth and WiFi? do you want optical audio out?.) The reason 1 and 3 are what you need to take into account here is because the CPU will need a specific socket on the mother board, and the motherboard will need to correspond to a specific case size. your choice of CPU and Case will tell you what motherboards are compatible as a starting point for looking for more in-depth features.
This is where pre-built PCs will really cut corners, they might load in a RTX-4080 but they’ll rig it to a SLamboTEG 2892834 PrEpp motherboard that has trash hardware and trash potential.
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Once you have your Motherboard, Case and CPU locked down, decide on the amount of RAM you want to incorporate. The type of compatible RAM will be dictated by the motherboard, just refere to its documentation for what you need to get.
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Choose your storage devices. One for the OS and one for everything else. Don’t bother with magnetic storage at this point–Solid state is the way to go. You can get SATA SSD drives (which look like small external HDs) or M.2 drives (which look like little RAM sticks). either option is good, fast and will make for a snappy compy. (M.2 connects directly to the Motherboard, most modern gaming MoBos have multiple M.2 slots.)
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Choose a power supply that will run everything you have selected (specifically the GPU and CPU). I think latest greatest Intel / Nvidia combo wants a 800watt or even 1000watt PSU but i could be wrong, just get what your components need + some extra. There are lots of nice high end modular PSUs that are not very expensive and will allow you to upgrade in the future.
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Get a heatsink for your CPU. As mentioned earlier in the case choice section, the case you choose might have built in fans, if so GREAT! if not, get compatible fans for the case, regardless you will need a heatsink for your CPU- this is simple as getting one that is compatible with your motherboard and CPU.
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Buy a Windows license (I’d suggest 10 pro but I assume the only thing available now is 11, get the pro regardless because you’re gonna become a power user and don’t want to limit yourself to lame-ass windows home edition right??)
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Get the peripherals (monitor, keyboard, mouse). You’ll need these to use your new computer.
I might’ve missed something in this rant list but seriously: building your own PC is really not that hard and totally worth it for a long-term.
I bought my PC as a prebuilt nearly 10 years ago but luckily it was from a supplier (Microcenter) that had made a machine that was more or less upgradable. I have put both a lot of new components in and also begrudged the limitations that it currently has so really. Just take some hours and build your PC from the ground up.
