One of the best aspects of a modern gaming PC is how customizable, how modifiable, and how unique it is to you.
Instead of buying a games console that has a selection of incredibly limited hardware options and even less when it comes to choice for cooling or aesthetics, PCs can be whatever you want them to be. You pick the components, you pay for them individually, and you put them all together just how you like.
Or you don’t.
There are many gamers out there who would prefer to buy a pre-built gaming PC. But why? Doesn’t that mean it costs more and there’s less choice to be had?
With this in mind we ask, is buying a pre-built gaming PC a bad idea?
The pros of a DIY build
Do-it-yourself PC building has its own scene of enthusiasts from overclockers to watercooling aficionados, with everything from liquid nitrogen blocks, to hardline watercooling dominating the most aesthetically pleasing and hardcore performance systems in the world. But most DIY system builders don’t delve into those extremes.
For most gamers, simply putting together a gaming PC themselves is half the fun of PC gaming. They select their CPU, their RAM, motherboard, graphics card, storage, PSU, and everything else they might need, before plugging it all in, hitting the on switch and crossing their fingers.
Posting anxiety aside, that process does give gamers the greatest control over their gaming PC.
They can literally pick from any component that’s for sale in the entire world, and even some that aren’t if they’re handy with workshop tools. That means getting the exact PC specifications that they want with zero compromise.
It’s almost always cheaper too, since you’re cutting out the middle man when it comes to buying the parts. There are no costs for building the system in the first place either, including installing the software and testing it for compatibility issues.
The cons of a DIY build
But that strength is also a DIY PC build’s greatest weakness. As much as it can be fun to build your own PC, and it certainly isn’t the most complicated process in the world, there are some major pitfalls in there.
Component compatibility is a big concern and is one of the reasons that gaming PC builders like Chillblast offer a selection of components, rather than just anything we might be able to get our hands on.
There are certain components that simply work better together than others.
Sometimes in terms of performance, sometimes in terms of system stability. But in either case, you may find that you don’t get as much for your money as you might think, simply because a RAM type doesn’t quite play ball with your CPU, or your power supply doesn’t have the right rails to properly power your graphics card and you run into random crashes and black screens.
Then there is the dreaded user error concern. Everyone who’s ever built a PC has felt that dread before turning it on for the first time. Most of the time it’s fine, but there’s always a chance you pushed that RAM stick in too hard, or connected the wrong power cable to your GPU, or even just let a screw fall behind your motherboard and now it’s shorting out the whole system.
Build time or game time?
Not all of these problems are potentially catastrophic, but they can put a major pause on your build or require hours of effort, which for some, just isn’t worth it.
That is arguably the largest overarching problem with DIY PC building: it takes time. Especially if you’re incorporating custom cooling solutions like water loops, and cable routing in smaller chassis. Not only does it take time in the setup process, but if you run into any issues, then you’re spending additional time troubleshooting when you could be gaming.
It’s possible that you find building and fixing PCs a relaxing and fun thing to do – we would certainly recommend PC Building Simulator if that’s the case – but if you don’t, or feel like you’d only want to dabble for an hour or two here and there, building a DIY gaming PC might not be for you.
A pre-built system might be more to your taste.
The pros and cons of a prebuilt PC
The elephant in the room with a pre-built gaming PC is cost.
No matter where you go, no matter what components you pick, you will always save money building the system yourself, because you avoid the costs involved in staffing for building and testing the PC, which is more than just the time involved. It’s the expertise that you’re paying for. You can skip that with a DIY build and save a few pounds.
But cost isn’t everything, especially when it comes to building a gaming PC. If you’re building it yourself, you might select components that are overkill for what you need, or aren’t entirely compatible with one another.
With an expert system builder like Chillblast, pre-built gaming PCs are built to meet your needs and expectations, rather than an arbitrary spec list from a particular game, or because a certain component was on sale at that time.
Prebuilt gaming PCs look to maximise your investment and the efficiency of the build.
While some mainstream PC sellers and tech companies will bundle together terribly unmatched components, Chillblast puts together gaming PCs that are cost effective and perform fantastically for the money.
No overkill graphics card in a 1080p gaming PC; no overblown CPU in a small form factor system with low thermal headroom, and no mountains of memory and storage when all you need is enough space for the operating system and a few games.
Pre-built offers peace of mind
With a pre-built gaming PC from a respected system builder you can get the gaming PC you need. It might not have every want you could possibly have within your budget, but it focuses on what matters to you the most.
For many people, that’s time. Time to play and time to do things other than fix their PC. With a Chillblast pre-built gaming PC you don’t need to worry about anything going wrong, because it’s built to a high standard by experts and fully tested before shipping to make sure that it remains fast and stable, no matter what you throw at it.
And in the bizarre event that something does go wrong, you have the extended warranty to fall back on – up to five years – that makes sure you get a working gaming PC quickly and without hassle.
Better yet, a pre-built gaming PC can actually mean getting more for your money – even if you have to spend a little more for it.
Chillblast offers an overclocking service to all gaming PC buyers, where we can improve your system’s performance by up to 20 percent in some cases. If you don’t know what you’re doing, overclocking can be extremely time consuming, affect the life of your components, and even damage something if you aren’t careful.
With Chillblast’s quality, attention to detail, and guaranteed service, you can rest assured that your pre-built gaming PC is just as good as a DIY system. And maybe even a little better.
More resources:
Check out this article for an insight into the best pre-built gaming PCs!
Need a portable system instead? Check out this article that details what features are important when buying a gaming laptop!
Don’t play games all that often? Check out this article that asks whether a gaming PC is worth it if you are a casual player!
