2021 Build vs Buy

[Capo]

Hi Gang,

Long time member here who has always enjoyed building my own rigs. However, life is a lot busier these days so any free-time is more limited. That being said, what is the build vs buy analysis looking like in 2021? How much of a premium can you expect to pay buying a premade tower gaming rig vs just building one yourself? I'm tempted if that delta is somewhat reasonable, simply to save time.

Lastly - who would you suggest for a good gaming rig? I would prefer someone who doesn't use junk components or puts you in a position where you can never upgrade RAM, HD, Video Card, etc.... as that I do tend to keep my machines for many years.

Thanks for any help!

[ir_cow]

Its generally a 30-50% markup for mid-range. Ultra high end is 200%+. Once in a while I would compare what it could cost for a pre-built equivalent. What cost ms $1500 in parts is usually $2500-3500 for the pre-built.

However now that GPU market is extremely outrageous, it actually might be cheaper to buy a pre-built, though I've seen complaints that Dell/Alienware will take your money for 2 months and than cancel the order for a RTX 3080 system or offer you a lower card that is in stock.

As far as upgradability goes, thats a hard one. I would just watch those undercover buys on YouTube for Linus. See which one screws you the least.

[Capo]

Thanks for that! 

Wow, is the delta really that high now? I'll have to take a look and see what I can find. I'm also a bit dated on the latest benchmarks - any suggestions for a solid gaming rig for 4k gaming? I usually buy in the "high mid-end" to "low high-end" range as that I do keep my machines for many years. 

I'd appreciate a good baseline of parts to compare to a premade, if possible.

 

Thanks!

[tazwegion]

Store bought PC's will always be the most convenient for which you will pay a higher premium, DIY is more rewarding but there can be delays sourcing parts, building and "smoke testing" increasing linearly dependant on how much you have kept up with current trends in technology and system design.

[Braegnok]

Hello Capo, 

I recommend building vs buying a new pc. However nowadays patience is a virtue if you are going with current gen hardware, you need to shop around and do not limit your search to just USA, or local Micro Center for hardware.

Make up a budget, and compile a list of hardware you want than decide what you truly need now, to stay in your budget. To save your budget try to use something you already own or have on the shelf even if it is only temporary till you find what you want new, upgrade down the road when you can. 

I just built an HTPC for web browsing & streaming video's and spent $800 on hardware. Basically I needed four items,.. Chassis, Cooler, PSU, and CPU.

 On the shelf I have motherboards, graphics cards, system memory, and primary/storage SSD's. For this HTPC I'm running iGPU for web browsing and streaming video, that is where the patience comes into play, as you will need a graphics card up front for gaming and that is going to be like finding hens teeth currently for a 30-series card. 

I can list the hardware I bought to give you an idea for cost,.. just bear in mind this HTPC was built to be compact/quiet using an ATX board I already had on the shelf, and generate vary little heat,.. while still being plenty fast.

Chassis: Silverstone GDO9B. $98.65 UK. 

Cooler: Noctua NH-U9s Chromax Black, 3x120mm Chromax fans, 2x80mm Chromax fans. $381.85 US. 

PSU: Seasonic SSR-600TL. $233.08 US.

CPU: Intel Pentium Gold G6605. $95.00 UK. 

With Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit $157.67 US,.. your not getting much change back from a thousand dollars. Everything else I had on the shelf. You can find a much cheaper power supply, I wanted fanless and wanted to be able to upgrade iGPU down the road if needed so I bought the crazy expensive 600W unit.

The G6605 CPU for $95.00 was the cheapest item I bought, and it really surprised me with how fast it is only being 2-cores and using only 58W power.

   

 

 

 

Edited June 20, 2021 by Braegnok