A lot of people start looking into building their own machines once they get serious about gaming. Building your PC could make sense in some cases, but you have to know that this is a very serious project you’re considering. Just one simple mistake could ruin your whole setup and set you back a few hundred or thousands of dollars. But, if you feel like you know enough to build a gaming PC, then this could be a great way to get exactly the machine you want. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of building a gaming machine so you can make the best decision.
You Can Build the PC of Your Dreams
The biggest benefit of building your own PC is that you can choose exactly what goes on it. If you want an RX 6950 XT card with a 1.1ghz Celeron dual-core processor you can do it, though we don’t think that would be the best idea.
The problem with most pre-built units is that they hike up specs in all areas to make their packages more cohesive. So, you will start seeing unnecessarily powerful and expensive CPUs on higher-end machines to match their more powerful GPUs. But someone savvy will be able to get a CPU that is just powerful enough to handle the GPU and the type of games they play.
Speaking of which, not all gaming machines are optimized for all games. Sandbox open world games with lots of AI characters will not need the same kind of specs as first-person shooters, for instance. So, building a machine will allow you to get something that will fit exactly the titles you like to play.
It Won’t Necessarily be Cheaper
A lot of people go the self-build route because of costs, but building a PC for that reason is a bad idea in our opinion. You have no idea what could happen during the build and you could end up with a fried motherboard and no money. People will often cut corners to save too which can lead to various issues and force you to make replacements more often.
If you want to get a great machine on the cheap, you’d be better off looking at seasonal gaming PC deals instead. Spring and early summer, August, black Friday, and cyber Monday are great times to look for a discount PC.
A Self-Built PC Will Be Easier to Upgrade
If you like tinkering around with your machine and settings and you have the skills needed, then building a PC could be a good idea. You could even switch the processor if you get a motherboard that can support that kind of upgrade. This will give you a level of freedom you will not be able to get with most tower PCs and certainly not laptops.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, only you can tell whether building a gaming PC would be a good idea. The most important part is knowing what you’re getting into and not thinking that you’ll be able to build a PC with no problem even if you do know your stuff.
