This question comes up a lot from clients looking at buying a new PC, and for very good reason as there are advantages and disadvantages to both of these systems. We believe most people do know that the answer to this question is that a custom build will always be better. However, the true question everyone has at the back of their mind is ‘which of the two options will deliver the performance I need, at a lower total cost?’ And that makes the answer a bit more complicated than the one above.

Pre-Built Gaming PCs

A pre-built gaming PC is a computer you buy from a local store or online, that you fire up and is ready to use for your gaming. It is a convenient option for someone who is new to gaming and does not want to deal with choosing parts, assembly and waiting time. A pre-built gaming PC can start from as low as $1000 CAD and go up to ten times that, depending on your needs. But just like anything else, convenience comes at a cost, and with pre-built systems, the cost is weighted both in money as well as the level of customization of the system you buy.

Pre-Built Gaming PC Pros

The main advantage of buying a pre-built gaming PC is hardware replacement during the warranty period. If you encounter a hardware issue during the warranty period, dropping off your unit at a local store is more convenient and cost-effective than trying to troubleshoot, disassemble the unit and ship the faulty part to the manufacturer or reseller yourself. 

A very obvious advantage of a pre-built PC is that you are not required to put any kind of effort into acquiring parts, making sure they are compatible and assembling the PC yourself. This also saves you time, meaning you can start doing what you like right away, as opposed to waiting for parts delivery and assembly.

Pre-Built Gaming PC Cons 

While during the warranty period, these systems present an advantage over the custom ones in case of hardware failures, the opposite applies after the warranty expires. Pre-built gaming PCs may not seem much different than a custom-built one until a component fails. A lot of pre-built PCs will have non-standard connectors, fans or other proprietary components, making them more difficult and costly to replace, should something fail after the warranty expires. 

Pre-built PCs are obviously not customized to your needs. Chances of finding an exact pre-built that matches your needs and budget are very scarce. You will either get that GPU that you want, but not a large enough nVME drive to accommodate your game’s installations. Or you may get a large amount of storage, but not fast enough. This can cause an eventual bottleneck in the overall performance of the system.

These systems may have been stored for a long period of time, which means you most probably will get an older generation CPU or slower RAM than you would with a custom-built one while paying the same price as you would for a newer generation.

Cost is debatable, depending on where you buy the system from, if you buy it on a deal, what markup the reseller is using and the assembly labour cost accounted into the final price. But, as a general rule, you can expect to pay a slightly higher price on a pre-built than on a build-your-own type of PC, or even compared to a PC that a professional would assemble for you. 

Custom-Built Gaming PCs

While the recent pandemic caused a chip shortage that drove prices up for GPUs and CPUs in the past few years, recent reports show that had stabilized itself and that prices have returned to normal, making custom-built PCs affordable again. A custom build PC ensures that all of your budget goes towards parts that are fully customized to your needs. Sure enough, this requires some work, which can be done either by yourself or by a professional. Regardless of which route you choose, this system will be easily upgradable if needed down the road and you can also rest assured it will deliver the performance you need for your gaming.

Custom-Built Gaming PC Pros 

As already stated, customization is one of the key advantages. But what does that exactly mean for you? Well, it means your budget is micro-managed, which ensures you pay nothing more than needed for the exact parts that your gaming requires. It also means you will not get a system with an eventual performance bottleneck, since parts will be tailored to your specific gaming needs.

Hardware is easily replaceable. This is due to standard connectors and third-party components that these systems are equipped with. In the event of failure, it will be a lot easier to find a legacy socket ATX motherboard on the market, that would accommodate all your existing cooling systems and peripherals, than an HP proprietary one. Chances are it will also cost less and that it will be delivered way faster, than it would for a pre-built system. This also makes these systems easily upgradeable.

Most of the time you will end up paying less for a custom-built PC, especially if you take part or full responsibility of the assembling process yourself.

Custom-Built Gaming PC Cons 

The main downside of a custom-built PC is part replacements in case of failure during the warranty period. Since parts can come from different suppliers and manufacturers, warranty replacements involve personal troubleshooting and shipping, as well as a longer waiting period for the part to be replaced.

Time is another consideration for a custom-built. Ordering parts online or even from local stores, assembling and testing can add up to the total time before being able to start gaming. If you are impatient or simply need the system asap, a pre-built system will be a better option for you. 

Key Takeaways

If you are new to gaming PCs, are impatient and just want a quick solution that is not fully customized to your needs, then going with a pre-built one could be a good way to go. Just be aware of the fact that some manufacturers are still delivering systems equipped with conventional hard drives as system drives. Stay away from these, as they will definitely slow down the entire system, ruining the whole experience.

Should you choose to build your own PC, but are intimidated or unsure of what part to order and how to assemble them, we do that at a very affordable price. EezIT’s techs have built thousands of custom gaming PCs, which makes us very efficient in the process. Check our article, ‘How Long Does It Take To Build a Custom PC’ which describes the entire process, expected cost as well as how to choose the right parts according to your needs. Should you need any assistance with your custom gaming PC build, don’t hesitate to contact our custom PC experts.