Pros and Cons of a Prebuilt Gaming PC

Upon going to Best Buy recently, I’ve realized that prebuilt PC’s have come a long way.  With the improvement of technology, even if prebuilts do cut some corners, budget choices today are not nearly as unreliable and low-quality as they were 5-10 years ago.  While, there is a $100-200 extra price you still pay to have it built for you, buying a prebuilt gaming PC at a discount can definitely justify the convenience for many people.

Pros:

• Aesthetics have improved over the past few years, and many gaming PC cases now come with a big glass window.
• They come with a keyboard and mouse, which is a good starting point for those who don’t have own those yet.
• You save time: both the hours it takes to learn how to build a PC and the 1-3 hours it will take to build your first computer.
• Not needing to worry about compatibility issues between parts and the motherboard is guaranteed to come with a wifi card.
• Not having to deal with the BIOS settings, installing Windows (or updates for either).

Cons:

• Overclocking the CPU is often not a possibility with many prebuilts.
• Having to use the case the manufacturer chooses rather than a case of your choice.
• Most prebuilts are large in size.  Compact prebuilts are not commonly sold, and the ones that are will demand a further price premium.
• They come with a cheap power supply: non-modular, non-quiet and the wattage may not be high enough for upgrading to a higher end video card down the road.
• They come with stock CPU coolers and generic which can be noisy at higher loads, whereas a DIY PC of the same price can afford an aftermarket cooler.
• If you plan on upgrading the machine, it’s much less expensive in the long-run to just buy the parts you want rather than buying the prebuilts and the upgrades.