So, you probably think a Gaming RIG builder like ourselves will discourage you from building your own right? Never. We were once like you. We used to survey the electronics market (Lamington road, Ritchie street) for the best deals. And we built our first PCs literally from scraps until it became a full-time gig. There is no feeling like that rush of blood to the heart & satisfaction when the new machine POSTs (Bootup Screen).
Why should you build your own gaming pc?
- Sense of achievement and pride when you build your own
- Total freedom and flexibility in choosing the components from your preferred brands. A PC builder may only offer the components they have in stock or the brands they represent.
- Cost savings – your knowledge and hard work of assembling will reward you with enough savings to buy few peripherals.
- It’s not rocket science. There are many youtube videos and online resources that make PC building as easy as making tea.
- You will be famous – news of your great feat will spread around and girls will start noticing you – Nah! We just made that up!
However, not everything is as easy as we make it sound. There could be potential downfalls to building on your own too, There are 3 stages in PC building.
Planning & Purchase / Actual Building Process / Post Build Experience
Planning & Purchase – Challenges
- It is almost impossible to get certain components at the suggested retail price (RTX 30XX for eg.)
- The retailers act like scalpers or force you to buy in bundles depriving you of choice.
- Need to put in a lot of legwork, research, financial planning coupled with timing to buy everything.
Actual Building Process – Challenges
While even a layman could build an entry-level PC the mid-level or high-end builds require proper experience
- Compatibility – You bought every component that is recommended but the PC won’t boot because your RAM has a rank and bank which is not compatible with your CPU or motherboard BIOS. Most retailers make you run in circles because it’s your responsibility to check the compatibility.
- Accidents – Accidents do happen. Imagine dropping a Ryzen 9 5900X which is rare and sold at crazy prices (for 60K and above) and bending all the pins beyond repair. No manufacturer will cover accidents under warranty.
- Cable Management is an art that can save headaches in the future while trying to upgrade. Also, make your build looks professional.
- Thermal Management – Knowing which cabinet is suitable and how to place and balance the Airflow inside a cabinet comes only with experience.
- Tuning – Sometimes you need a professional to tune your RAM and update the correct bios for best performance.
Post Build Experience
- Buyers remorse – You have bought components that are overkill. We have seen many who have bought an RTX 3080 but have only a 1080P monitor. An ethical PC builder will guide you to choose wisely based on what you have currently possess and your planned upgrade path.
- Peace of Mind – You saved a few thousand bucks on your build but you are all alone. There is no one to complain to when things go south.
- RMA – It is a known fact that many brands have warranty support that is a hit or miss. You could see so many hate posts about certain brands. However, the PC builder can make the RMA process easy by doing it themselves. Since they may have a business relationship with the brand the rejection could be lower.
So now that we scared you enough you may be thinking what are my options? But we don’t have an Origin PC or Cyberpowerpc in India. We have Dell (Alienware), HP, etc but they charge a hefty premium or their builds look like a normal office PC. Where are the professional PC builders? Luckily in the past few years, things have changed in India and we have started seeing some serious players with amazing after-sales reviews. Read this article for example – http://bit.ly/3oT0lF3
What to look for in a Professional PC builder?
- Are they using components from a Tier 1 brand (ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, etc.) or from a brand that is known for cheap quality and poor service especially the graphics card, motherboard, and PSU?
- Are they pushing you previous generation components? Say for eg. 9th gen Intel processors or M.2 drive as just SSD and non-PCIe flavor?
- Are there proper benchmarks published with each build configuration? How do I know the performance of the machine before you buy it?
- Will they offer an itemized invoice in case you need to get RMA done yourself say 2 years down the line?
- What are their after-sales service terms? Are they offering lifetime support? Will they tune your machine in case it slows down during warranty service.
- How are their reviews? Do they have a social media presence with recommendations?
- What are the payment options? do they have a secure payment gateway? are there EMI options?
- Will they also offer bundle deals on peripherals like monitors, keyboards, mice, etc?
So TLDR – please go ahead and build a PC as it is a rewarding experience. However, be aware of all possible pitfalls while planning to build yourself. Weigh your options and make your decision. May your frames be higher and temps lower!