Are you planning to buy a new PC? You have two options to look at buying or building a PC. But, the problem is you do not know which is the right and the cheaper way that will save some money and not degrade your PC performance.
Coming to our question, is it cheaper to build a PC than buying it? Most people would agree that building a PC will prove less expensive than buying a new PC. But, it depends on your needs and a few other factors that we will look at in detail here.
Which is the best option to choose from?
If your budget isn’t very high or does not have definite needs, buying a new PC will be a good deal for you. Here are some reasons to look at:
- The manufacturers of PC can buy in bulk that you will not have.
- Any prebuilt system comes with a Windows copy, a keyboard, a mouse, and speakers and monitors too.
Because of these reasons, if you are planning to buy a PC for Microsoft Office, web browsing, or other low-powered computing tasks, buying a new PC will prove cheaper than building. When buying a PC, you need to know your budget and skill level. In the coming section, we will look at the pros and cons of either building a PC or buying a new PC. Let us get in complete detail that will help you to make the right decision.
Pros of Buying a PC:
Software and Hardware Compatibility
For a non-tech person, building a new PC will be a bit complicated to achieve. There’re a few benefits of buying a prebuilt system and reduces your stress. The major benefits are its compatibility. The manufacturer will make sure that various components in a PC work stably. It means they ensure components will not cause crashes and performance issues. The compatibility items include software and drivers for the components.
Warranty and Support
The next benefit you get when you buy a PC is its warranty and support. Generally, you have the options for the advanced warranty, and some manufacturers even cover accidental damage.
Also, you have one single contact point for warranty and support issues. The majority of the companies offer customer support number, and website for any computer issues you might have. That depends on the company; some might have a 24hour support system.
No Individual Research on Components
Another significant benefit that needs to consider buying a PC is you do not need to research individual components for quality, compatibility, or other factors. The manufacturer offers different configurations to provide a flexible selection as per your requirements.
Also, it is not important to be a technology expert to configure or design a new PC. Suppose you are unsure about the offerings, you can contact them via email or call them to ask any questions.
Cons of Buying a PC:
Less Customization
The prebuilt PCs come in many different configurations. Those days are gone when the user needs a huge amount of money on a PC or go for the cheap prebuilt PC. The vast list of components makes it, so there are several PC models to select from in the market. In many cases, it is not likely to tailor all the components as per your requirements.
Expensive due to manufacturer overhead
Building your PC takes knowledge and time. Not everybody has time to sit down; parts scattered everywhere, and start building. It depends on the setup; it may take many hours to get the setup up and start working. It takes a lot of time to assemble too. Also, cable management can be one tricky task, which will lead to harm than good when an inexperienced person is handling.
The assembly works come in the form of the premium in building PCs. And the manufacturer will take care of it so that you do not need to. But, they add assembly costs to your bill that will significantly improve the final cost of your PC.
Void the warranty when upgrading to your prebuilt system
When you tamper with the hardware components of the prebuilt PC can void the warranty. Thus, there’s not any freedom to disassemble, customize, and manipulate various components without forfeiting the manufacturer’s support.
Moreover, it is just impossible to do any upgrades on your computer without even sacrificing its warranty. But, it all depends on it makes, it can take many years for a PC to need an upgrade, by that time warranty will get expired. But, when we talk about prebuilt PC’s, everything, whether it is opening up or cleaning its components, will result in voiding its warranty.
Pros
- Single contact point for any support problems.
- Warranties.
- The software comes pre-loaded.
- No trouble with software and hardware compatibility.
Cons
- Not much customization is available.
- Much higher in the cost.
- Not very good familiarity with the internal components.
Pros of Building a PC:
Get Freedom to Choose the Components
One major benefit of building a PC right from scratch is a selection of components or parts. The computer systems can be made built with components and specifications chosen for you. It often leads to users making features or compromises as the prebuilt system does not have everything you want or provide a substandard component.
When building a PC from scratch, you can select the parts, which match the system you want. Many vendors allow you to customize the computer system, and you will be limited to the selection of parts.
Keep a check on parts and quality
The next thing you need to know with prebuilt PC is two same model computer will have different parts. The main reason is the vendors, parts available, and luck. In the same way, they can swap the hard drive brands in case one has any supply problems. But, when you buy the PC parts yourself, it assures what parts you will fit on your PC.
Can Solve Troubleshooting Problem Easily
Another tangible benefit of building a PC is knowledge. When building a PC from scratch, you will get to learn and know how the various parts work. And this information will become highly valuable when any troubleshooting PC problems arise.
When you know which components control multiple sub-systems of the computer, it helps you to repair the hardware problems without even dealing with the support groups and costly repair bills.
Lesser Cost
Then comes the cost. More powerful your desktop PC, the more likely you will save money when building it on your own. It is because several premium components have high markups to boost the profits by the manufacturers. Whereas many small companies for building high-end machine can build a system from the accurate parts you want, and cover the costs of building it & supplier support.
Cons of Building a PC:
Time spent to build a PC
Like we mentioned, assembling a prebuilt PC will take time, particularly if learning right away. Moreover, there are a few tasks that will be not in your reach initially. This might happen because of not having essential tools, or when the user does not know the right way to perform a few tasks.
For example, exercising the right cable management, or assembling water-cooled rigs, is some of them. Thus, building a PC will take plenty of time; and not everybody is ready to invest that much amount of time.
Damaging your PC’s components
Although it is tough to achieve what you need unless the user is unfamiliar with this process, there’s a danger of damaging the PC components when you build a PC from scratch. Even innocuous things such as static electricity are known to damage a few components.
In such a case, in case something goes wrong, the user cannot contact official support. Moreover, if any part gets damaged in its assembly, the warranty will be voided without any exceptions.
Compatibility and assembly troubles
With technology going ahead, and advanced components made available, the compatibility troubles surface in equal measure. Getting pieces that are not compatible with one another is an intrinsic risk of building your PC. So, to prevent that, the user should do plenty of research to ensure compatibility.
Moreover, even if parts are compatible with each other, still there is the risk of improper assembly. In such an aspect, specific tasks, for example, hooking the panel pins to its proper slots on the motherboard. Whereas error in this particular part isn’t significant, it may cause some features of the case not to work correctly—or work at all.
Pros
- Have knowledge of the different PC parts.
- Customize components as per your needs.
- Customization for improved performance.
- Cheaper than prebuilt PC.
Cons
- Needs deep research.
- No support contact point.
- Beginner users will struggle with the building.
- High-end customization will prove costly.
| Buying a PC | Building a PC |
| PC support is simple to get. | Customization of your computing requirements. |
| No problems in hardware compatibility. | Limitless options for hardware. |
| Get warranties & accidental damage coverage. | Require technical PC knowledge. |
| Advanced skills not required. | Troubleshooting is simple |
Conclusion
If you do not want a PC for any specialized task and high-end computing, then buying a PC will be a way for you to go. Particularly if you are not technically-sound person. On the other hand, building a PC needs technical knowledge and patience.
