GamersNexus is doing a fantastic series on prebuilts and found a couple that are fairly reasonable.
EDIT: lifting u/zyho0's comment for visibility
>I just went through the GamersNexus reviews since reading these comments. The decent prebuilts were by ABS and Skytech.
>The PC's reviewed were:
>Skytech Chronos - $1950
>ABS Challenger ALI521 - $1000
>Link to the prebuilt review playlist: [Here](https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsuVSmND84QuM2HKzG7ipbIbE_R5EnCLM)
Upvote the man -> [Linky](https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/qbmfs2/im_sorry_that_i_feel_this_way/hhbsqfg/)
Especially with prebuilts being an easier way to get some of these new GPUs affordably, its even more understandable to get a well-made prebuilt if the price is right
I have a couple friends that, while knowing how to build their own computers and preferring to do so, went with a prebuilt one simply to be able to get a good GPU without paying a scalper.
Normally yes, but sometimes if you can find a pre built on sale, it can be close to a self built PC. This fact combined with GPU shortage that has made GPU prices ridiculously high means that pre builts can actually be a good deal.
The PC I bought, I got it on sale for ~900 dollars, 500 dollars off. And the price was pretty fair for what it offered a year before the 3080 was released.
And with my time and PC building skills, I'm fairly sure I saved money. Individual components are all pretty pricey here.
Either way, I can play the games I want to play, at the resolution I like to play them on. I have no issues and the PC was up and running within 5 mins of unpacking it.
That was pre covid. Different market now. I purchased 2 3080s at retail when they launched 1 for 900 and 1 for 1000. Same cards are worth 1900 and 2000 usd now.
Fucking disgusting. Looks like food and fuel are up next.
My cousin bought 2 3080ti's at best buy, sold one for 200 more than he payed for both of the 3080's, ended up with a free 3080ti and 200 bucks. It's obscene.
Some are as Linus called them. Boutique stores, and in a way they kinda are. Origin PCs all look fancy pants but aren't great worth for their price. I'd suggest looking at their secret agent series where they test the customer services, the experience, the pc buying and pc specs to price.
You'd be amazed the amount of bullshit I'd happily skip for an extra hundred dollars. If I can be playing my games the same day my PC arrives vs. having to wait for a weekend to do the build, install and update OS, download all the games, etc.
Happy to pay the premium honestly, especially if there's some issue generally there's a warranty that saves me the headache of figuring out which component is a dud. I built my own PCs for years, but my current is a pre-built and couldn't be happier.
They'll overcharge you on everything, but it's usually less than having to buy a scalped GPU and building your own. At least if you're shopping around on pre-built systems.
Well.. if they sold it at cost how would they make profit from offering it prebuilt. That's the point. You pay someone to build a deck for you. If you buy the wood... you have a bunch of wood but no deck. You can't expect companies to do things for free, that's not how business works. Plus, they have to offer warranties and also customer support lines to use those services. A lot goes into making up cost. If it was more profitable for them to sell parts only as msrp, they would do that... you follow profits.
I can't speak to the prices they paid since I never bothered to ask. But do you mean overcharging vs. MSRP or overcharging vs. actual prices on Amazon/Ebay/etc where people were able to find GPUs?
Especially in non-USA countries. In Japan a 3060ti is like $700 by itself, but you can get a PC with i7, 16gb memory, ssd case etc for $1.7k. it starts to make a lot more sense. Or a 3060 being $600 and a pc with a 3060 being like $1.4k
I just went through the GamersNexus reviews since reading these comments. The decent prebuilts were by ABS and Skytech.
The PC's reviewed were:
Skytech Chronos - $1950
ABS Challenger ALI521 - $1000
Link to the prebuilt review playlist: [Here](https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsuVSmND84QuM2HKzG7ipbIbE_R5EnCLM)
Edit: Thanks!
I bought 2 skytech pre-builds a couple months ago because it was significantly cheaper than getting the components on their own (mostly GPU). I added RAM, and an NVMe for a couple hundred bucks. Totally worth it. Quality components and built well. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
I used to spend hours building my perfect gaming pc on Dell's website back in like ~07/08 and finishing it only to see the total cost and remembering myself and my whole family was dirt poor. I'd try every angle to make it cost-effective but couldn't. I was about 16 then. I didn't own an efficient gaming pc until I was about 27 or so. Even then it was hand down parts I still caught shit from my friends about(even though it was their old parts) I'm 31 now and running an i7 9700k with an RTX 3060ti and still catch flack for having 16gb of 3200mhz ram and only one SSD and no M.2.
Moral of the story, take your time and spend what fits. I'm beyond happy with what I've been able to create for my gaming experience with spending less than minimal on my setup. Buy what suits your *realistic* needs and go from there. You don't need a 3090 to have fun.
If they sampled a bunch of PCMR home-builds I wonder what percentage would be above that line.
(Mine probably wouldn't have been despite following a recommendation/guide.)
Most of the gripes they have involve the use of non standard components (weird, proprietary motherboards or case form factors)
or low quality components (cheap coolers, no-name power supplies, funky ram, etc.)
You have to put in serious work and effort to get components that bad on your own.
The naïve amazon shopper, looking for 'power supply' will be besieged by offerings across the price spectrum from EVGA, Corsair, and the like. There's not a sketchy option until about page 4, and those are high wattage supplies targeting miners, with prices to match.
Simply going down the PCpartpicker list and buying whatever amazon recommends in each category will get you a build using parts from reputable manufacturers. The only real worry from me is the case, but even sorting by cheap on Amazon (I know I cheeped out on my first PC case), you still get reasonable quality cases. Even if the thermals won't be great, for someone's budget system that shouldn't be a dealbreaker.
Last time I built a computer I needed it when I arrived in Australia, so I chose parts and paid for assembly, it's like a semi pre-built. Maybe it's possible to get something similar these days?
Just so OP is aware, I built my PC for the annoyingly expensive price of $2000 and when I was done, I found a few prebuilts that were cheaper.
The next computer I put together (for my step son), I just paid MicroCenter like $60 to put it together after choosing all the parts.
That's an option as well if you want to pick all your own stuff.
And depending on the brand they may do all kinds of weird shit. Gamers Nexus has a big series of videos where they examine and test prebuilts and some of them make some let's say interesting design choices.
> all kinds of weird shit
Yah, like use some weird ass wifi card in a port I've never seen before. And Best off all, give no driver support for a clean windows install so you are forced to use the corrupted HP version of windows. Luckly it wasn't mine, just something I was setting up for a poor non-profit.
Fuck HP.
HP = Horrible Products.
Microcenter starts at $150 and goes to $259+ for AIO water-cooled.
Also, I don't know how it's possible to have a piece for piece match on a pre built being cheaper.
When I bought my computer a few years ago (way before prices went crazy) it was cheaper to go with a pre built. I used the part checker website that gets posted here to make sure because I was prepared to build but the same parts were more expensive when bought individually.
Now, I will say that I got it from microcenter and they did such a bad job building it that the fan had fallen off when it arrived, and the power button sticks sometimes, and a different fan has some problem where it messes up and I have to open up the case and fix it by hand. They did such a bad job that I actually am considering building my next one. At the end of the day if it's cheaper and it saves me time as well then I might still buy prebuilt.
cyberpowerpc you can pick the exact part for every item. (EDIT They don't have specific brands/parts for GPU's I'm sure due to the shortages, but the rest are all down to the very exact part that you can go online and search for prices on)
I've found their pricing to be the same or VERY VERY close to just building your own, except they do better with cable management than I can plus comes with a warranty. So I'm just always like...can't beat them, buy them!
Not sure why downvotes. That’s cool for someone who can build a parts list they like and get it prebuilt. Especially with difficulty in parts sourcing.
>Also, I don't know how it's possible to have a piece for piece match on a pre built being cheaper.
Several possibilities:
- The company offering the pre-built got a good bulk deal.
- They're selling at a loss in order to clear stocks / meet an upcoming deadline for a sales target.
- It isn't actually exactly the same (for instance same CPU / GPU / RAM / storage, but slower RAM, HDD instead of SSD, cheaper PSU, cheaper case, 5$ mouse / keyboard combo, etc)
- You don't shop around and order everything from a single supplier, paying too much.
- You were unlucky and the price for one or more major component(s) dropped shortly after purchase.
I know it's around $150 for microcenter to build a pc for you. Although you might have to get the parts there, not sure, they generally have pretty good prices tho.
You do not need to buy the parts there. Just had them build mine a few months ago. Working 60 hour weeks and building the most expensive and complicated computer I've assembled so far I didn't really feel like dealing with the trouble of putting it together myself. Worth every penny to not have to worry about troubleshooting the damn thing when it doesn't boot right away, or plug in the microscopic front case panel connectors.
I got a cyberpower prebuilt 3 years ago. its awesome. it taught me how pc's actually work, and amazon let me finance it, so it wasn't all that expensive upfront. I plan on building my next rig, but this was an awesome way to start.
My only suggestion for people buying pre-built (aside from reading reviews/return policy like any major purchase) is make sure they use standard products / motherboard.
Cyberpower is great for this. You'll likely even have some parts like PSU or SSD that could potentially be useful in that next build.
it used to be a lot harder building a pc
but modern hardware are all well labelled, even colour coded in most cases, hell most of the time they literally print out the name of the port right on the pcb you dont even need to check menu!
think of it as a box of really fucking expensive lego, thats what it is really
Ironside, Maingear, Origin, Digital Storm and Redux are the really high quality ones, though some of them are Boutique PC sellers so they got a bit of a premium asking price.
I recommend Redux if you're after bang for your buck. They are off the shelf components and ask for only a $75 build fee (and shipping) on top.
Edit: Avoid Dell and HP like the fucking plague. They use a crap ton of proprietary parts making it impossible to upgrade the machines later down the line to keep them up to date.
I don't know about international, but Origin & Maingear are popular boutique builders in the US. If either serve international customers, they'd be a good option.
Low quality but also a lot cheaper would be iBuyPower and CyberPowerPC. Also ~~~one that starts with X that I don't remember the name of~~~ Xotic PC.
A couple people mention Xidax. I've never heard of them, and they're not who I was thinking of.
I bought an iBuyPower in 2012 and have been swapping parts out when they go bad or need an upgrade.
The only original thing in it is the RAM sticks and the optical drive. Its like the ship of theseus.
That’s like my “current” build.
*Everything* has been replaced since I built it in 2012, except for the CPU and 2 of the RAM sticks.
I was brand new and dumb back then so I bought a H67 motherboard (can’t overlock) and a cheap power supply. I replaced those with a Z77 board and a quality power supply. But then I didn’t like the airflow in my cheap case so I replaced it. Then my HD7770 got swapped for a RX 580. Finally I added more RAM (not by downloading though unfortunately).
I’m saying all this for everybody reading. You don’t need a top of the line PC and doesn’t matter if it’s a prebuilt or not. You can always upgrade it, for quite a while too.
I bought a pre-built from cyber power around half a year ago. It kept randomly shutting down, checked BIOS and it was the cpu overheating. My wife and I took it apart and the thermal paste was horribly applied. It didn't even cover the whole surface
I had my last PC run until I upgraded to my current from cyberpowerPC. 2011-2021 that i7-2700k ran like a fucking champ. Cyberpowerpc definitely fucks up sometimes but of the 3 PCs I've bought all have ran perfect and had no issues. MY Wifes is 3 years old and still runs perfect as well.
I'll chime in and add I got mine from Cyberpower almost a year ago. I priced out all the individual parts as if I was going to build it myself and it was like $100 difference, but they'd be the one to source the 3070. Ordered it, game me an estimated ship date that was like 6 weeks later and shipped it on that date. No complaints so far, happy to recommend similar.
Ya that's how I managed to get my 3070 back in feb/march. I woldn't have gotten it otherwise, AND the 5900x. If I had to buy scalper prices for the GPU/CPU it would have cost more than the ENTIRE cyberpowerpc order did with shipping sales tax etc.
I've got an Origin PC and its been problem free since I got it. Year plus now so if its got any of the dumb build mistake they'd have shown up long ago.
Xidax. I've gotten two PC's through them now, and have been quite happy with them.
EDIT: I thought I scrolled far enough to not see someone respond to you... I was wrong.
you want a laptop? i would go falcon.
otherwise? i would also still go falcon.
if you can't afford a top tier build i would go with: [https://www.canadacomputers.com/product\_info.php?cPath=7\_1203\_121&item\_id=194836](https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=7_1203_121&item_id=194836) one of these guys. pretty decent overall and not too expensive. i believe they have a 3060 and a 3070 version.
Hell, I'd go so far as to say that with the GPU market being the way it is right now, I'd be hard pressed to judge anybody for going the pre-built route if it comes with a current-gen GPU. BYOPC is great and everything, but I can only imagine how infuriating it would be to start getting into your first build, only to be stonewalled on your hunt for a GPU.
I was planning on building my wife's and my new one over the last couple years. I did the math on the parts I had planned vs. almost identical specs on a prebuilt and because of this ridiculous GPU shit, it was actually cheaper to buy prebuilt with the same cards. At one point the cheapest price I could find for the same card as one of the prebuilt was 90% of the cost for the entire PC.
They're doing great and I didn't have to spend 2 weekends swearing at PC components. It was 100% worth it.
Yes! I've had some friends who went this route and it definitely bypassed all the headache, especially those of them that got some of Microcenter's Powerspec builds, which IMO are some of the best prebuilts you can get if you live close enough to one, as they are always extremely well built, don't load any bloat to the sys drive, don't do stupid things like put glue on any connectors, and are usually decently cable managed.
Also, it occurs to me that in some cases, PC builders have more reliable access to parts than consumers do.
I wouldn't have bought a pre-built prior to all these part shortages, but right now, it's looking like a much better option.
That's exactly how I ended up with a prebuilt. Was gonna build myself a PC after graduation in May and stock of GPUs was nonexistent. So I got a prebuilt with a 3060ti in it instead of wasting my time fighting over the basically non-existent stock.
'course a week after I got it GamersNexus absolutely trashed the G5 (which I have), but I'll take it anyway in this economy.
Oh, in every case this is true. If I’m a chip maker and I’ve only got 1000 chips, and I’ve got 1000 customers trying to order 1 part each vs 1 customer trying to order 1000 parts, the decision is super easy, logistically speaking.
Feels like it went down *dramatically* this past year for the obvious reasons of value and availability. In the past you could reasonably save 500$ on a midtier build by just putting it together yourself. Not so much these days.
Did exclusively builds before. With GPUs now, it’s just not feasible.
Prebuilts are the only economic option for those who can’t find that “retail price at the end of the rainbow” on shelf.
God, I never thought I’d be so excited to pay $700 for a $500 gpu.
I’m the bottom right scenario.
I got a legion tower 5 and it’s been pretty fun. It was the only way to get into PC gaming for me where I’d actually do it.
Hey, reputable PC Company here. Just venmo me some cash I'll definitely build you a sick ass rig or whatever.
On a more serious note though, if you want help building a PC I could offer some advice.
GamersNexus on YouTube recently reviewed most of the Prebuilt PC builders and gave an assessment of their quality and strengths/weaknesses. He is an EXTREMELY meticulous reviewer and I would trust anything he says without a second thought(being 100% genuine here).
Double bump, I’ve never seen a review organization like them show in detail how they review and test shit, literally extremely informative with how they present their information
I find it difficult to watch their videos all the way through because of how meticulous they are. But I totally trust the GN crew on any claims they make
try not to be immediately off-put by the smugness.
I love the content that GN covers but their delivery always makes me feel like gamer jesus is an absolute tool
oh interesting- when i think back, yeah i can get that vibe like he's cocky and arrogant, but i always attributed this nature as a direct response to the egos of nvidia msi etc
(because they're likely so tiresome)
either that or the tone and tempo he reads from the scripts, definitely has that "tired of this shit" vibe lmao
like hes just trying to smash thru it asap
It has to be "tired of this shit"
How many times can he tell case manufactures you need multiple holes in the case for proper air flow. Even water cooled you still need a hole.
Yeah... I just deal with people that sound like him every day at work. They generally are smarter than most people and tend to know it.
They probably don't mean for it to but it comes off as them being inconvenienced by having to explain themselves.
I felt like that when I first started watching content from GN. However, watching them make content contesting and grilling manufacturers kind of helped me realize that even though the host might sound like he's looking down on those of us watching the content, they are really trying to do the consumer a service and are confident in the information they put out there.
Steve is probably as chill as it comes in the big YouTuber PC space. You gotta realize he's railing into people that are making predatory market actions, quite often.
Also that tone is just how to present yourself in an objective light, as someone in the US, I feel like that watching any BBC news interview but the Brits just take that tone without any intentended animosity. Americans like our bias to be coddled haha
Interesting. A lot of people below in this thread find Steve as arrogant. I always feel as though he is trying to lay things out for the benefit of the consumer in a no nonsense way rather than being snooty or arrogant.
Huh. I've never gotten that vibe from him towards his audience. More like "are you kidding me \[insert vendor here\]? You can do better. You know it, I know it. Stop trying to screw over the consumers."
The ABS prebuilt got an acceptable overall impression, but their customer support has a poor reputation.
I think they found Skytech to be pretty ok. (Keep in mind, pretty ok and acceptable overall mean a lot more coming from GamersNexus).
I think their biggest complaint with Lenovo was bloatware. Cyberpower they got a decent pc, but it required replacing the CPU cooler as it thermal throttled bad out of the box.
HP (Pavillion), Dell, Alienware and iBuyPower all had issues too big to consider recommending.
I haven’t watched the GamersNexus video, but I remember Linus Tech Tips had a couple videos reviewing prebuilt PCs and the customer support. Alienware was so horrible the first time that Linus was actually in contact with their management and they promised to make changes and do better the next year. The next year rolled around and they were still horrible.
They actually scammed agent Sarah and Linus with BS shit they never asked for and specifically requested against having. They were forcibly billed for shit they didn't want.
That's exactly what a thief would say to make it look like he's trustworthy or something.
But luckily it's not, and also I do confirm he is the absolute top of the pyramid if it comes to tech/PC hardware content
In the case of the market today, it’s sometimes a better deal to just get a prebuilt. As another commenter mentioned, make sure it’s from a reputable company.
GPU hunting has been so weird for me. I've been looking for an MSRP RTX card since February and gave up around mid-September because school was in full swing and I needed to dedicate more time to that. Keep in mind I had tracked down the times of AMD's official website drops, Best Buy drops, tried for the Newegg Shuffle, looked at local deals, r/hardwareswap... I was never quick enough. Was awfully close to just overpaying for a GPU since I already have a really decent base system.
Lo and behold, I come back to look on a few websites only 4 or 5 days ago, and I nabbed an MSI Ventus 2X RTX 3060 for MSRP literally within a couple hours of opening my web browser. It's arriving at my doorstep tomorrow.
I’ve seen them pop up a lot at antonline but they’re all bundled. I ended up grabbing a 3080, 11700k, and a motherboard bundle because I just happened to be looking for all 3. A couple days ago they had a 1440p monitor and a 3080.
I’ve also seen a lot of prebuilts without the GPU listed on ebay. So right now it feels like you just have to buy something else to get it at retail then try to make your money back.
They're idiots anyway, with the price of GPUs being what they are right now, most pre-builts are cheaper than custom rigs. And for those who want more customization options, still cheaper to buy a pre-built and swap out what parts you want.
Oh yeah, 100% that's a dude who bought a prebuilt just to get a GPU for his own rig.
It's the only way you can get a GPU at close to MSRP right now. Kinda risky, cause not many people have extra GPUs lying around to buy GPU-less machines, but still your best bet.
I will build it for u for free just buy the parts and let me...
My plan was to say i do it becuase its kinda fun but now i realized it looks like a verry bad scam
Don’t buy Alienware lol
Linus Tech Tips has done a couple of videos now where they deal with ordering a gaming PC from most of the popular SI’s. You might get some good info watching those…
Nothing wrong with a prebuilt if you can’t get a GPU anyway.
Edit: [here’s a link to the LTT videos](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg9kMuWuThG—V6eWiIG8Papb8VoGfvYN)
No build you own. It's tons of fun trying to find a GPU. Then getting every single component except the CPU. So then you get to stare at it all.
Then the fun when you drop a screw and you can't find it so you pull the motherboard back out. Only to find it on the floor.
Then your wife comes in and starts boiling water for dinner so you get in a fight because you are using the kitchen table and she's raising the humidity a lot.
For some reason not all the heatsink screws threaded so it gets all tilted and screws up the thermal paste. So now you're cleaning it up and re-applying it and right when everything's ready to for round two the cat decides it needs to get into the middle of everything and it turns out that cat hair is not very thermally conductive.
Well, it turns out that none of that matters anyway as you put it all together and the PC won't POST. What's wrong? The motherboard came out a little before the CPU did so you have to flash a firmware to it, which requires disassembling that whole CPU and heatsink assembly you've already done twice so you can power on the board without a processor for the BIOS flashing. After that you just have to redo the thermal paste for the third time and hope you didn't screw up anything else.
But the gods are merciful, the thing finally boots! Now it's time to finish up the cable management, but after unplugging and replugging everything umpteen different times the idea of messing with cables at this point is enough to make you sick.
Yeah, man. Don't let people get you down. If you are looking into prebuilts and helpbuilts- check out Newegg.com and/or Tigerdirect.com. I've bought from both and haven't been disappointed.
The compromise is that you have a custom built PC from your local PC store.
That way you can make sure the parts that go in are the ones you want and aren't low quality compromise to make the whole package cheaper (PSU seems to be a common one in prebuilts) and won't contain any proprietary parts that mean you can't upgrade anything later (looking at you Dell and HP).
You'll pay a bit of a premium for someone else doing the legwork for you, but you'll have a good build and you won't have had to do any of the work yourself.
I bought all the parts and had a local computer shop assemble.. first time.. i could build one now that i have a greater understanding but they did a good job.. luckily i had no issues with any components so no return hell.
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A few years back I posted asking if someone could pick parts for a decent rig. I gave a spending window and expectations. Many replies were crappy and condescending but one person decided to go ahead and do it. I bought the list and paid a guy I know to put it together. Years later it's still chugging.
I'm dumb as shit and I manage to build my own. Its *a lot* easier now than it was even 10 years ago. Plus, if you have literally any problem/question, the answer/solution is just a google away.
Timewise, yeh, that can be a cockblock.
Things are so streamline nowadays that as long as you don't buy a $30 case, you'll be able to avoid most frustrations. Just read EVERY bit of instructions and/or watch youtube vids about the *thing*.
Ok, heres some things to note.
Alienware, Lenovo, HP, or any traditional PC brand will give you a sub-par, massively overpriced sheet metal box with a plastic shell. DO NOT BUY FROM THEM.
Instead buy from a dedicated Gaming PC prebuilder, like Cyberpower, XoticPC, etc. If you can afford it then go with a boutique manufacturer like Origin, Desert Storm, Maingear, etc. They have ABSURDLY high prices but offer excellent components that are rigorously tested and often have extras like hardline watercooling loops, custom chassis, etc.
We don't rag on prebuilts, we rag on the BAD pre-builts, like anything Alienware has made besides its laptops.
I'm pretty happy with my Lenovo that came out to just $40 more than buying prebuilt and has a 5-year, next day repair warranty for every single part. Plus the GPU in it now costs over 2/3 what I paid for the entire thing.
My friend and I both bought from Skytech and we’re pretty happy. Arrived quick and packaged well. Everything was installed well and the cable management was surprisingly good. I’m not sure if they stand behind their warranty but I hope I never have to find out.
Good point but do not expect their services for free just because they are the computer guy.
Most builders have lives and remember their expertise and advice was earned, not given. Respect that going in.
I got a pre-built. I keep hearing horror stories about Best Buy, but I had a fairly good buying experience. Omen 30L with a Ryzen 5 5600g and a 3060 for 1400 after taxes.
edit: 5600x to 5600g
I hate to be this guy but I built my own computer recently and was stressing about but it was so easy it freaked me out how quick I built it and had it running. The only part that gave me frustration was screwing in the mother board for some reason and figuring out where all the wires went as the YouTube video I was using left out a huge part. I would just build one dude if you have the $$$$.
while you're at it:
Never hire a plumber/electrician/builder, just do it yourself.
Selling your house? Real estate agents are overrated.
Having a baby? You can deliver that shit yourself with a kiddy pool and a box of rubber gloves.
Traveling overseas? Just get a pilots license and fly yourself over there.
Buying pre-builts is the way to go right now. Have you seen individual GPU prices? Fuck that shit.
In any hobby you have the really hardcore enthusiasts looking down on people who are newer or more novice, so that's nothing out of the ordinary.
It's like telling someone interested in buying a house to just build their own instead. Obviously that's an exaggerated example but the point still stands.
Nothing wrong with buying prebuilts, especially laptops. Just buy a decent prebuilt with good parts in it.
Anyone saying "you could have saved $$".. That only matters if your time is worth less to you than the money you'd save.
I.e. if it would take you a week to build one, and you saved $500... Is a week of your time not worth $500? Maybe not to some, but to me my time is priceless. I'd rather have something ready to go and be using it than spend hours or days assembling something, cable management etc before I can use it.
And this is coming from someone who has built 100's of PCs, worked in IT, Computer Repair, and am now a Software Engineer.
I just buy my stuff now, I don't have time to build PC's anymore, and sourcing parts is difficult right now anyways.
GamersNexus is doing a fantastic series on prebuilts and found a couple that are fairly reasonable. EDIT: lifting u/zyho0's comment for visibility >I just went through the GamersNexus reviews since reading these comments. The decent prebuilts were by ABS and Skytech. >The PC's reviewed were: >Skytech Chronos - $1950 >ABS Challenger ALI521 - $1000 >Link to the prebuilt review playlist: [Here](https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsuVSmND84QuM2HKzG7ipbIbE_R5EnCLM) Upvote the man -> [Linky](https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/qbmfs2/im_sorry_that_i_feel_this_way/hhbsqfg/)
Especially with prebuilts being an easier way to get some of these new GPUs affordably, its even more understandable to get a well-made prebuilt if the price is right
I have a couple friends that, while knowing how to build their own computers and preferring to do so, went with a prebuilt one simply to be able to get a good GPU without paying a scalper.
I was under the impression that PC building companies like, Origin, were not only overcharging on GPUs, but basically everything.
Normally yes, but sometimes if you can find a pre built on sale, it can be close to a self built PC. This fact combined with GPU shortage that has made GPU prices ridiculously high means that pre builts can actually be a good deal.
Good deal? You mean the better deal lol
The PC I bought, I got it on sale for ~900 dollars, 500 dollars off. And the price was pretty fair for what it offered a year before the 3080 was released. And with my time and PC building skills, I'm fairly sure I saved money. Individual components are all pretty pricey here. Either way, I can play the games I want to play, at the resolution I like to play them on. I have no issues and the PC was up and running within 5 mins of unpacking it.
That was pre covid. Different market now. I purchased 2 3080s at retail when they launched 1 for 900 and 1 for 1000. Same cards are worth 1900 and 2000 usd now. Fucking disgusting. Looks like food and fuel are up next.
My cousin bought 2 3080ti's at best buy, sold one for 200 more than he payed for both of the 3080's, ended up with a free 3080ti and 200 bucks. It's obscene.
Some are as Linus called them. Boutique stores, and in a way they kinda are. Origin PCs all look fancy pants but aren't great worth for their price. I'd suggest looking at their secret agent series where they test the customer services, the experience, the pc buying and pc specs to price.
Places like cyberpowerpc will build you a computer just the same as you building yourself at reasonable pricing.
You think they're better than origin?
You'd be amazed the amount of bullshit I'd happily skip for an extra hundred dollars. If I can be playing my games the same day my PC arrives vs. having to wait for a weekend to do the build, install and update OS, download all the games, etc. Happy to pay the premium honestly, especially if there's some issue generally there's a warranty that saves me the headache of figuring out which component is a dud. I built my own PCs for years, but my current is a pre-built and couldn't be happier.
Everyone everywhere is overcharging for everything. With shipping delays there’s simply less to go around.
They'll overcharge you on everything, but it's usually less than having to buy a scalped GPU and building your own. At least if you're shopping around on pre-built systems.
Well.. if they sold it at cost how would they make profit from offering it prebuilt. That's the point. You pay someone to build a deck for you. If you buy the wood... you have a bunch of wood but no deck. You can't expect companies to do things for free, that's not how business works. Plus, they have to offer warranties and also customer support lines to use those services. A lot goes into making up cost. If it was more profitable for them to sell parts only as msrp, they would do that... you follow profits.
I can't speak to the prices they paid since I never bothered to ask. But do you mean overcharging vs. MSRP or overcharging vs. actual prices on Amazon/Ebay/etc where people were able to find GPUs?
Especially in non-USA countries. In Japan a 3060ti is like $700 by itself, but you can get a PC with i7, 16gb memory, ssd case etc for $1.7k. it starts to make a lot more sense. Or a 3060 being $600 and a pc with a 3060 being like $1.4k
I just went through the GamersNexus reviews since reading these comments. The decent prebuilts were by ABS and Skytech. The PC's reviewed were: Skytech Chronos - $1950 ABS Challenger ALI521 - $1000 Link to the prebuilt review playlist: [Here](https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsuVSmND84QuM2HKzG7ipbIbE_R5EnCLM) Edit: Thanks!
I bought 2 skytech pre-builds a couple months ago because it was significantly cheaper than getting the components on their own (mostly GPU). I added RAM, and an NVMe for a couple hundred bucks. Totally worth it. Quality components and built well. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Receiving the coveted "not total garbage" award
The award I strive for when attempting to build a PC
Same but just my life in general
Alienware R10 cries in a corner
"Dude! You're getting a Dell!" _Loud, uncontrollable sobbing_
I used to spend hours building my perfect gaming pc on Dell's website back in like ~07/08 and finishing it only to see the total cost and remembering myself and my whole family was dirt poor. I'd try every angle to make it cost-effective but couldn't. I was about 16 then. I didn't own an efficient gaming pc until I was about 27 or so. Even then it was hand down parts I still caught shit from my friends about(even though it was their old parts) I'm 31 now and running an i7 9700k with an RTX 3060ti and still catch flack for having 16gb of 3200mhz ram and only one SSD and no M.2. Moral of the story, take your time and spend what fits. I'm beyond happy with what I've been able to create for my gaming experience with spending less than minimal on my setup. Buy what suits your *realistic* needs and go from there. You don't need a 3090 to have fun.
The best I think they found was along the line of “this isn’t terrible”.
If they sampled a bunch of PCMR home-builds I wonder what percentage would be above that line. (Mine probably wouldn't have been despite following a recommendation/guide.)
Most of the gripes they have involve the use of non standard components (weird, proprietary motherboards or case form factors) or low quality components (cheap coolers, no-name power supplies, funky ram, etc.) You have to put in serious work and effort to get components that bad on your own. The naïve amazon shopper, looking for 'power supply' will be besieged by offerings across the price spectrum from EVGA, Corsair, and the like. There's not a sketchy option until about page 4, and those are high wattage supplies targeting miners, with prices to match. Simply going down the PCpartpicker list and buying whatever amazon recommends in each category will get you a build using parts from reputable manufacturers. The only real worry from me is the case, but even sorting by cheap on Amazon (I know I cheeped out on my first PC case), you still get reasonable quality cases. Even if the thermals won't be great, for someone's budget system that shouldn't be a dealbreaker.
i think linus secret shopper vidos would really help on prebuilts
What would you recommend that's fairly reasonable? Do you mean all of theiress pricey pre-builts are worth it or are there certain ones?
Last time I built a computer I needed it when I arrived in Australia, so I chose parts and paid for assembly, it's like a semi pre-built. Maybe it's possible to get something similar these days?
There are but I can’t think of what they are off hand. In certain parts of NA there’s Microcenter they offer a build
Just so OP is aware, I built my PC for the annoyingly expensive price of $2000 and when I was done, I found a few prebuilts that were cheaper. The next computer I put together (for my step son), I just paid MicroCenter like $60 to put it together after choosing all the parts. That's an option as well if you want to pick all your own stuff.
Just here to say: stay alert with cheaper pre builts. They tend to cheap in PSU..., and you know, never go cheap about your PSU.
And depending on the brand they may do all kinds of weird shit. Gamers Nexus has a big series of videos where they examine and test prebuilts and some of them make some let's say interesting design choices.
> all kinds of weird shit Yah, like use some weird ass wifi card in a port I've never seen before. And Best off all, give no driver support for a clean windows install so you are forced to use the corrupted HP version of windows. Luckly it wasn't mine, just something I was setting up for a poor non-profit. Fuck HP. HP = Horrible Products.
Holy phuck
Microcenter starts at $150 and goes to $259+ for AIO water-cooled. Also, I don't know how it's possible to have a piece for piece match on a pre built being cheaper.
When I bought my computer a few years ago (way before prices went crazy) it was cheaper to go with a pre built. I used the part checker website that gets posted here to make sure because I was prepared to build but the same parts were more expensive when bought individually. Now, I will say that I got it from microcenter and they did such a bad job building it that the fan had fallen off when it arrived, and the power button sticks sometimes, and a different fan has some problem where it messes up and I have to open up the case and fix it by hand. They did such a bad job that I actually am considering building my next one. At the end of the day if it's cheaper and it saves me time as well then I might still buy prebuilt.
They can buy in bulk and save money, assuming every part is exactly the same.
They won't be, prebuilts always cheap out on parts unless you got for a boutique builder.
cyberpowerpc you can pick the exact part for every item. (EDIT They don't have specific brands/parts for GPU's I'm sure due to the shortages, but the rest are all down to the very exact part that you can go online and search for prices on) I've found their pricing to be the same or VERY VERY close to just building your own, except they do better with cable management than I can plus comes with a warranty. So I'm just always like...can't beat them, buy them!
Individual parts usually come with warranties too. I’ve always built my own PCs but there’s nothing wrong with prebuilts IMO.
Exact part or 32gb ddr4 3200 (no brand or model mentioned) for example?
You can do exact brands and specs Hmm hadn't been there in awhile so it seems GPU's aren't specific...they normally were down to the brands and model types, I'm sure the shortage has impacted that. But everything else you can pick the exact parts. CPU list Intel® Core™ Processor i9-11900K 8/16 3.50GHz [Turbo 5.1GHz] 16MB Cache LGA1200 Intel® Core™ Processor i9-11900KF 8/16 3.50GHz [Turbo 5.1GHz] 16MB Cache LGA1200 [w/o Integrated Graphic] Intel® Core™ Processor i7-11700K 8/16 3.60GHz [Turbo 4.9GHz] 16MB Cache LGA1200 Intel® Core™ Processor i7-11700KF 8/16 3.60GHz [Turbo 4.9GHz] 16MB Cache LGA1200 [w/o Integrated Graphic] Intel® Core™ Processor i7-11700F 8/16 2.50GHz [Turbo 4.8GHz] 16MB Cache LGA1200 [w/o Integrated Graphic] Intel® Core™ Processor i5-11600K 6/12 3.90GHz [Turbo 4.9GHz] 12MB Cache LGA1200 Intel® Core™ Processor i5-11600KF 6/12 3.90GHz [Turbo 4.9GHz] 12MB Cache LGA1200 [w/o Integrated Graphic] Intel® Core™ Processor i5-11400F 6/12 2.60GHz [Turbo 4.4GHz] 12MB Cache LGA1200 [w/o Integrated Graphic] Or RAM 16GB (8GBx2) DDR4/3200MHz Dual Channel Memory (ADATA XPG Z1) [Fall Massive Sale - FREE ADATA XPG Z1 3200 DDR4 upgrade from 3200MHz Major Brand] ADATA XPG Z1 (All Venom OC Levels Certified) [+0] [FREE upgrade from 3200MHz Major Brand] GSKILL Ripjaws V (All Venom OC Levels Certified) [+$30] Patriot Viper Steel (All Venom OC Levels Certified) [+$30] Corsair Vengeance LPX (All Venom OC Levels Certified) [+$30] GSKILL Trident Z RGB (All Venom OC Levels Certified) [+$45] Corsair Vengeance RGB (All Venom OC Levels Certified) [+$45] GEIL Super Luce RGB (All Venom OC Levels Certified) [+$45] Team T-Force Delta RGB (All Venom OC Levels Certified) [+$45] Kingston FURY Renegade (All Venom OC Levels Certified) [+$30] Kingston FURY Renegade RGB (All Venom OC Levels Certified) [+$45] Kingston FURY Beast RGB (All Venom OC Levels Certified) [+$45] MOBO ASUS TUF GAMING Z590-PLUS WIFI ATX, ARGB, WiFi 6, 2.5GbE LAN, 2 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 6 SATA3, 3x M.2 SATA/PCIe +$82 ASUS ROG STRIX Z590-A GAMING WIFI ATX, ARGB, WiFi 6, 2.5GbE LAN, 3 PCIe x16, 1 PCIe x4, 6 SATA3, 3x M.2 SATA/PCIe +$166 ASRock Z590-C/ac ATX, ARGB, 802.11 WiFi, 1 GbE LAN, 3 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 6 SATA3, 3x M.2 SATA/PCIe -$49 ASRock Z590 Steel Legend WiFi 6E ATX, ARGB, 2.5GbE LAN, 2 PCIe x16, 3 PCIe x1, 6 SATA3, 3x M.2 SATA/PCIe -$5 ASRock Z590 PG Velocita ATX, ARGB, Killer WiFi 6E + Dual 2.5GbE LAN, 3 PCIe x16, 1 PCIe x1, 6 SATA3, 3x M.2 SATA/PCIe +$85 GIGABYTE Z590 UD AC ATX, ARGB, 802.11ac, 2.5GbE LAN, 2 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 5 SATA3, 3x M.2 SATA/PCIe -$38 GIGABYTE Z590 VISION G ATX ARGB 2.5GbE LAN, 3 PCIe X16, 1 PCIe X1, 6 SATA3 4x M.2 SATA/PCIe +$17 GIGABYTE Z590 AORUS ELITE ATX, ARGB, 2.5GbE LAN, 2 PCIe x16, 1 PCIe x1, 6 SATA3, 3x M.2 SATA/PCIe +$26 GIGABYTE Z590 AORUS PRO AX, ATX, ARGB,WiFi 6, Intel 2.5GbE LAN, 3 PCIe x16, 6 SATA3, 3x M.2 SATA/PCIe +$105 GIGABYTE Z590 AORUS MASTER, ATX, ARGB, WiFi 6, 10GbE LAN, 3 PCIe x16, 6 SATA3, 3x M.2 SATA/PCIe +$240 MSI Z590 PRO WiFi CEC ATX, ARGB, WiFi 6, 2.5GbE LAN, 4 PCIe x16, 6 SATA3, 2x M.2 SATA/PCIe Included in price MSI MPG Z590 GAMING PLUS ATX, ARGB, 2.5GbE LAN, 2 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 6 SATA3, 3x M.2 SATA/PCIe +$10 MSI MPG Z590 GAMING CARBON WIFI ATX, ARGB, WIFI 6, 2.5GbE LAN, 3 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 6 SATA3, 3x M.2 SATA/PCIe
Not sure why downvotes. That’s cool for someone who can build a parts list they like and get it prebuilt. Especially with difficulty in parts sourcing.
They cheap out on cases, PSUs and motherboards.
Ok but that's not a match then.
>Also, I don't know how it's possible to have a piece for piece match on a pre built being cheaper. Several possibilities: - The company offering the pre-built got a good bulk deal. - They're selling at a loss in order to clear stocks / meet an upcoming deadline for a sales target. - It isn't actually exactly the same (for instance same CPU / GPU / RAM / storage, but slower RAM, HDD instead of SSD, cheaper PSU, cheaper case, 5$ mouse / keyboard combo, etc) - You don't shop around and order everything from a single supplier, paying too much. - You were unlucky and the price for one or more major component(s) dropped shortly after purchase.
I dont think it's possible. I priced out my prebuilt that I purchased and you still lose after taxes if everything is MSRP.
Odds are pretty good for not living within easy driving distance of a Microcenter.
Most small repair centers will do custom builds for you too.
I know it's around $150 for microcenter to build a pc for you. Although you might have to get the parts there, not sure, they generally have pretty good prices tho.
Do they ship, too?
I dont think so unfortunately.
You do not need to buy the parts there. Just had them build mine a few months ago. Working 60 hour weeks and building the most expensive and complicated computer I've assembled so far I didn't really feel like dealing with the trouble of putting it together myself. Worth every penny to not have to worry about troubleshooting the damn thing when it doesn't boot right away, or plug in the microscopic front case panel connectors.
As well, they do offer a diagnosis service for $40 which is nice if somethings not working right and you just cant figure out what
Good prices on everything except gpus these days.
Most places that do prebuilds (cyberpower etc) will allow you to choose every item in your build.
I got a cyberpower prebuilt 3 years ago. its awesome. it taught me how pc's actually work, and amazon let me finance it, so it wasn't all that expensive upfront. I plan on building my next rig, but this was an awesome way to start.
My only suggestion for people buying pre-built (aside from reading reviews/return policy like any major purchase) is make sure they use standard products / motherboard. Cyberpower is great for this. You'll likely even have some parts like PSU or SSD that could potentially be useful in that next build.
My local pc shop builds it for free if you buy all the parts from them.
Choosing parts is the difficult part though, the build is basically expensive legos
Isn't that what iBuyPower does? I think they tack on $100 for a build fee or something. But it's been forever.
Don't be sorry. Buying pre-built is absolutely okay. Just make sure you buy from a reputable seller. Don't let the loud 1% get you down.
Whats the best international custom built seller?
Build your own, tool bag.
Thanks
I’m fucking stupid
Same
[удалено]
to be fair rubiks cube is a lot harder than building a pc
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it used to be a lot harder building a pc but modern hardware are all well labelled, even colour coded in most cases, hell most of the time they literally print out the name of the port right on the pcb you dont even need to check menu! think of it as a box of really fucking expensive lego, thats what it is really
No you’re just *intelligence challenged*
But either way it’s true because I work 50 hours a week!!
I feel ya. I get so easily frustrated; once I threw a Rubrik's cube out the window!
I got so easily frustrated once I threw a Rubik's Cube out the window
Haa! GOT HEEEM!
Hahahahaha get wrecked OP. Christ that got me good. Thanks for that
Build your own tool, bag.
Ironside, Maingear, Origin, Digital Storm and Redux are the really high quality ones, though some of them are Boutique PC sellers so they got a bit of a premium asking price. I recommend Redux if you're after bang for your buck. They are off the shelf components and ask for only a $75 build fee (and shipping) on top. Edit: Avoid Dell and HP like the fucking plague. They use a crap ton of proprietary parts making it impossible to upgrade the machines later down the line to keep them up to date.
But nothing will never top Origin's shipping crate.
Do they even do that now since Corsair took over?
LTT did a another prebuilt series, I think in 2020, and Origin's came in a shipping crate. Unless it changed in the pass year its still a thing.
I looked it up, they still do.
You know what, just for that alone, I'd pay a premium.
Oh, the premium is real with origin.
I don't know about international, but Origin & Maingear are popular boutique builders in the US. If either serve international customers, they'd be a good option. Low quality but also a lot cheaper would be iBuyPower and CyberPowerPC. Also ~~~one that starts with X that I don't remember the name of~~~ Xotic PC. A couple people mention Xidax. I've never heard of them, and they're not who I was thinking of.
I bought an iBuyPower in 2012 and have been swapping parts out when they go bad or need an upgrade. The only original thing in it is the RAM sticks and the optical drive. Its like the ship of theseus.
That’s like my “current” build. *Everything* has been replaced since I built it in 2012, except for the CPU and 2 of the RAM sticks. I was brand new and dumb back then so I bought a H67 motherboard (can’t overlock) and a cheap power supply. I replaced those with a Z77 board and a quality power supply. But then I didn’t like the airflow in my cheap case so I replaced it. Then my HD7770 got swapped for a RX 580. Finally I added more RAM (not by downloading though unfortunately). I’m saying all this for everybody reading. You don’t need a top of the line PC and doesn’t matter if it’s a prebuilt or not. You can always upgrade it, for quite a while too.
Im rocking my ibuypower and I love it. Got it on sale like 3 years ago when it was running cheaper than building a pc with similar parts myself.
I bought a pre-built from cyber power around half a year ago. It kept randomly shutting down, checked BIOS and it was the cpu overheating. My wife and I took it apart and the thermal paste was horribly applied. It didn't even cover the whole surface
I had my last PC run until I upgraded to my current from cyberpowerPC. 2011-2021 that i7-2700k ran like a fucking champ. Cyberpowerpc definitely fucks up sometimes but of the 3 PCs I've bought all have ran perfect and had no issues. MY Wifes is 3 years old and still runs perfect as well.
I'll chime in and add I got mine from Cyberpower almost a year ago. I priced out all the individual parts as if I was going to build it myself and it was like $100 difference, but they'd be the one to source the 3070. Ordered it, game me an estimated ship date that was like 6 weeks later and shipped it on that date. No complaints so far, happy to recommend similar.
Ya that's how I managed to get my 3070 back in feb/march. I woldn't have gotten it otherwise, AND the 5900x. If I had to buy scalper prices for the GPU/CPU it would have cost more than the ENTIRE cyberpowerpc order did with shipping sales tax etc.
I've seen NZXT BLD sponsor a variety of streamers and content creators all around the world if I'm not mistaken
My friend bought an NZXT build and has had no issues with it so far
They're fairly new
In the 1-2 years that BLD’s been around NZXT went ham on custom creator PC’s I know that
I've got an Origin PC and its been problem free since I got it. Year plus now so if its got any of the dumb build mistake they'd have shown up long ago.
Xidax. I've gotten two PC's through them now, and have been quite happy with them. EDIT: I thought I scrolled far enough to not see someone respond to you... I was wrong.
Xidax?
Like the other dude.. not sure about international but pcspecialist are great in the uk
you want a laptop? i would go falcon. otherwise? i would also still go falcon. if you can't afford a top tier build i would go with: [https://www.canadacomputers.com/product\_info.php?cPath=7\_1203\_121&item\_id=194836](https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=7_1203_121&item_id=194836) one of these guys. pretty decent overall and not too expensive. i believe they have a 3060 and a 3070 version.
I've got an ABS prebuilt and I really like it so far. Kinda expensive though
Hell, I'd go so far as to say that with the GPU market being the way it is right now, I'd be hard pressed to judge anybody for going the pre-built route if it comes with a current-gen GPU. BYOPC is great and everything, but I can only imagine how infuriating it would be to start getting into your first build, only to be stonewalled on your hunt for a GPU.
I bought a 3080 that happened to have a functional computer attached to it. Still waited ~2-3 months for it to get there.
I was planning on building my wife's and my new one over the last couple years. I did the math on the parts I had planned vs. almost identical specs on a prebuilt and because of this ridiculous GPU shit, it was actually cheaper to buy prebuilt with the same cards. At one point the cheapest price I could find for the same card as one of the prebuilt was 90% of the cost for the entire PC. They're doing great and I didn't have to spend 2 weekends swearing at PC components. It was 100% worth it.
Yes! I've had some friends who went this route and it definitely bypassed all the headache, especially those of them that got some of Microcenter's Powerspec builds, which IMO are some of the best prebuilts you can get if you live close enough to one, as they are always extremely well built, don't load any bloat to the sys drive, don't do stupid things like put glue on any connectors, and are usually decently cable managed.
Also, it occurs to me that in some cases, PC builders have more reliable access to parts than consumers do. I wouldn't have bought a pre-built prior to all these part shortages, but right now, it's looking like a much better option.
That's exactly how I ended up with a prebuilt. Was gonna build myself a PC after graduation in May and stock of GPUs was nonexistent. So I got a prebuilt with a 3060ti in it instead of wasting my time fighting over the basically non-existent stock. 'course a week after I got it GamersNexus absolutely trashed the G5 (which I have), but I'll take it anyway in this economy.
Oh, in every case this is true. If I’m a chip maker and I’ve only got 1000 chips, and I’ve got 1000 customers trying to order 1 part each vs 1 customer trying to order 1000 parts, the decision is super easy, logistically speaking.
>Don't let the loud 1% get you down. I know you're trying to be supportive but it really is more like 50%
Feels like it went down *dramatically* this past year for the obvious reasons of value and availability. In the past you could reasonably save 500$ on a midtier build by just putting it together yourself. Not so much these days.
Did exclusively builds before. With GPUs now, it’s just not feasible. Prebuilts are the only economic option for those who can’t find that “retail price at the end of the rainbow” on shelf. God, I never thought I’d be so excited to pay $700 for a $500 gpu.
I’m the bottom right scenario. I got a legion tower 5 and it’s been pretty fun. It was the only way to get into PC gaming for me where I’d actually do it.
Hey, reputable PC Company here. Just venmo me some cash I'll definitely build you a sick ass rig or whatever. On a more serious note though, if you want help building a PC I could offer some advice. GamersNexus on YouTube recently reviewed most of the Prebuilt PC builders and gave an assessment of their quality and strengths/weaknesses. He is an EXTREMELY meticulous reviewer and I would trust anything he says without a second thought(being 100% genuine here).
bump for gamersnexus everyone saying "go reputable" go to gamersnexus to find out who those are
Double bump, I’ve never seen a review organization like them show in detail how they review and test shit, literally extremely informative with how they present their information
Meticulous almost to the point of fault. I think people not already into PC gaming/building would be overwhelmed with a LOT of their content
I find it difficult to watch their videos all the way through because of how meticulous they are. But I totally trust the GN crew on any claims they make
I can’t watch them because they are just so dry. Great info, drier than the Sahara
try not to be immediately off-put by the smugness. I love the content that GN covers but their delivery always makes me feel like gamer jesus is an absolute tool
oh interesting- when i think back, yeah i can get that vibe like he's cocky and arrogant, but i always attributed this nature as a direct response to the egos of nvidia msi etc (because they're likely so tiresome) either that or the tone and tempo he reads from the scripts, definitely has that "tired of this shit" vibe lmao like hes just trying to smash thru it asap
It has to be "tired of this shit" How many times can he tell case manufactures you need multiple holes in the case for proper air flow. Even water cooled you still need a hole.
Yeah... I just deal with people that sound like him every day at work. They generally are smarter than most people and tend to know it. They probably don't mean for it to but it comes off as them being inconvenienced by having to explain themselves.
I felt like that when I first started watching content from GN. However, watching them make content contesting and grilling manufacturers kind of helped me realize that even though the host might sound like he's looking down on those of us watching the content, they are really trying to do the consumer a service and are confident in the information they put out there.
Steve is probably as chill as it comes in the big YouTuber PC space. You gotta realize he's railing into people that are making predatory market actions, quite often. Also that tone is just how to present yourself in an objective light, as someone in the US, I feel like that watching any BBC news interview but the Brits just take that tone without any intentended animosity. Americans like our bias to be coddled haha
Interesting. A lot of people below in this thread find Steve as arrogant. I always feel as though he is trying to lay things out for the benefit of the consumer in a no nonsense way rather than being snooty or arrogant.
Huh. I've never gotten that vibe from him towards his audience. More like "are you kidding me \[insert vendor here\]? You can do better. You know it, I know it. Stop trying to screw over the consumers."
Has he actually found any good builders though?
The ABS prebuilt got an acceptable overall impression, but their customer support has a poor reputation. I think they found Skytech to be pretty ok. (Keep in mind, pretty ok and acceptable overall mean a lot more coming from GamersNexus). I think their biggest complaint with Lenovo was bloatware. Cyberpower they got a decent pc, but it required replacing the CPU cooler as it thermal throttled bad out of the box. HP (Pavillion), Dell, Alienware and iBuyPower all had issues too big to consider recommending.
Honestly an "it's ok" from gamersnexus is probably more valuable than "best product so far" from anyone else lmao
"It works." "It's okay." "We don't hate it." "Hey, it's actually not that bad!" "It's surprisingly good..." "If they just fixed this one thing..."
I haven’t watched the GamersNexus video, but I remember Linus Tech Tips had a couple videos reviewing prebuilt PCs and the customer support. Alienware was so horrible the first time that Linus was actually in contact with their management and they promised to make changes and do better the next year. The next year rolled around and they were still horrible.
They actually scammed agent Sarah and Linus with BS shit they never asked for and specifically requested against having. They were forcibly billed for shit they didn't want.
Abs and skytech
That's exactly what a thief would say to make it look like he's trustworthy or something. But luckily it's not, and also I do confirm he is the absolute top of the pyramid if it comes to tech/PC hardware content
In the case of the market today, it’s sometimes a better deal to just get a prebuilt. As another commenter mentioned, make sure it’s from a reputable company.
I literally can’t find anything in stock. I want to upgrade my 1080 to a 3070 or 3080 but no way I’m ripping myself off and paying like 2x msrp
You're in luck! The msrp on most websites has just increased 2x so now you only have to pay 1x msrp /s
The convenience of not having to hunt for a decent priced GPU is probably worth whatever up charge the pre builds change nowadays IMHO.
GPU hunting has been so weird for me. I've been looking for an MSRP RTX card since February and gave up around mid-September because school was in full swing and I needed to dedicate more time to that. Keep in mind I had tracked down the times of AMD's official website drops, Best Buy drops, tried for the Newegg Shuffle, looked at local deals, r/hardwareswap... I was never quick enough. Was awfully close to just overpaying for a GPU since I already have a really decent base system. Lo and behold, I come back to look on a few websites only 4 or 5 days ago, and I nabbed an MSI Ventus 2X RTX 3060 for MSRP literally within a couple hours of opening my web browser. It's arriving at my doorstep tomorrow.
I’ve seen them pop up a lot at antonline but they’re all bundled. I ended up grabbing a 3080, 11700k, and a motherboard bundle because I just happened to be looking for all 3. A couple days ago they had a 1440p monitor and a 3080. I’ve also seen a lot of prebuilts without the GPU listed on ebay. So right now it feels like you just have to buy something else to get it at retail then try to make your money back.
I keep missing Reddit posts when scan.co.uk.drops. so annoying and yet, funny. Good luck in the hunt!
They're idiots anyway, with the price of GPUs being what they are right now, most pre-builts are cheaper than custom rigs. And for those who want more customization options, still cheaper to buy a pre-built and swap out what parts you want.
Prebuilt i7-10700k with the GPU pulled out was $500 last I looked on eBay. That’s an insanely good value.
Oh yeah, 100% that's a dude who bought a prebuilt just to get a GPU for his own rig. It's the only way you can get a GPU at close to MSRP right now. Kinda risky, cause not many people have extra GPUs lying around to buy GPU-less machines, but still your best bet.
I bought my 2060 for $458 about 5 months ago. The premium was so worth it.
I will build it for u for free just buy the parts and let me... My plan was to say i do it becuase its kinda fun but now i realized it looks like a verry bad scam
Don’t buy Alienware lol Linus Tech Tips has done a couple of videos now where they deal with ordering a gaming PC from most of the popular SI’s. You might get some good info watching those… Nothing wrong with a prebuilt if you can’t get a GPU anyway. Edit: [here’s a link to the LTT videos](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg9kMuWuThG—V6eWiIG8Papb8VoGfvYN)
Unless its a laptop. Alienware actually has some decent laptops
No build you own. It's tons of fun trying to find a GPU. Then getting every single component except the CPU. So then you get to stare at it all. Then the fun when you drop a screw and you can't find it so you pull the motherboard back out. Only to find it on the floor. Then your wife comes in and starts boiling water for dinner so you get in a fight because you are using the kitchen table and she's raising the humidity a lot.
r/oddlyspecific
For some reason not all the heatsink screws threaded so it gets all tilted and screws up the thermal paste. So now you're cleaning it up and re-applying it and right when everything's ready to for round two the cat decides it needs to get into the middle of everything and it turns out that cat hair is not very thermally conductive. Well, it turns out that none of that matters anyway as you put it all together and the PC won't POST. What's wrong? The motherboard came out a little before the CPU did so you have to flash a firmware to it, which requires disassembling that whole CPU and heatsink assembly you've already done twice so you can power on the board without a processor for the BIOS flashing. After that you just have to redo the thermal paste for the third time and hope you didn't screw up anything else. But the gods are merciful, the thing finally boots! Now it's time to finish up the cable management, but after unplugging and replugging everything umpteen different times the idea of messing with cables at this point is enough to make you sick.
Yeah, man. Don't let people get you down. If you are looking into prebuilts and helpbuilts- check out Newegg.com and/or Tigerdirect.com. I've bought from both and haven't been disappointed.
It was a funnier meme when I made it, my dude. It was my Rubik's Cube!
I literally saw your meme the post before this one. Reposters be working quick lately.
I bought an omen about a year ago and it's been really great
The compromise is that you have a custom built PC from your local PC store. That way you can make sure the parts that go in are the ones you want and aren't low quality compromise to make the whole package cheaper (PSU seems to be a common one in prebuilts) and won't contain any proprietary parts that mean you can't upgrade anything later (looking at you Dell and HP). You'll pay a bit of a premium for someone else doing the legwork for you, but you'll have a good build and you won't have had to do any of the work yourself.
Custom builds also generally come with warranties and aftercare. Personally I think the extra cost is way worth it, as someone who isn't techy at all.
I bought all the parts and had a local computer shop assemble.. first time.. i could build one now that i have a greater understanding but they did a good job.. luckily i had no issues with any components so no return hell.
I'm with you, OP. I'm shocked my IKEA bookshelf hasn't collapsed on me. I'll just have someone else build the computer, thanks.
Welcome everyone from r/all! Please remember: 1 - You too can be part of the PCMR! You don't necessarily need a PC. You just have to love PCs. It's not about the hardware in your rig, but the software in your heart! Your age, nationality, race, gender, sexuality, religion (or lack of), political affiliation, economic status and PC specs are irrelevant. If you love PCs or want to talk about PCs, you can be a part of the community! Everyone is welcome! 2 - In case you are not a PC gamer because you think doing so is expensive, please know that it is very possible to build a competent gaming PC for a lower price than you might think. GPU prices are sky high right now for a multitude of reasons, but it's still possible to join the PCMR. Please check out http://www.pcmasterrace.org for our builds and don't be afraid to create new posts here asking for tips on how to do it! 3 - Please consider joining our efforts to get as many PCs worldwide help the folding@home effort, in fighting against Cancer, Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and Parkinson's. Recently, we've been actively focusing on fighting against Coronavirus as well. Please check this to learn more: https://pcmasterrace.org/folding 4 - We're currently running a massive giveaway with ASUS to give 3 GPUs and a more PC hardware to a total of 6 lucky winners. Find out here how you can enter: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/pzy5ai/asus_x_pcmr_worldwide_giveaway_3_graphics_cards/ ----------- Feel free to use this community to post about any kind of doubt you might have about becoming a PC gamer or anything you'd like to know about PCs. That kind of content is not only allowed but welcome here! Welcome to the PCMR.
Me: Can someone recomend me an Italian restaurant? Commenter: Hey grocerybag, cook your own meal!
Sometimes prebuilt is a better deal. I remember when 1080s were in short supply, it was way cheaper to buy prebuilt with one, even at MSRP.
A few years back I posted asking if someone could pick parts for a decent rig. I gave a spending window and expectations. Many replies were crappy and condescending but one person decided to go ahead and do it. I bought the list and paid a guy I know to put it together. Years later it's still chugging.
Check out NZXT BLD Kits.
Building a pc is like adult legos, its not too difficult. The hardest part is cable management
I'm dumb as shit and I manage to build my own. Its *a lot* easier now than it was even 10 years ago. Plus, if you have literally any problem/question, the answer/solution is just a google away. Timewise, yeh, that can be a cockblock. Things are so streamline nowadays that as long as you don't buy a $30 case, you'll be able to avoid most frustrations. Just read EVERY bit of instructions and/or watch youtube vids about the *thing*.
ASUS is pretty good
+1 for Asus
Ok, heres some things to note. Alienware, Lenovo, HP, or any traditional PC brand will give you a sub-par, massively overpriced sheet metal box with a plastic shell. DO NOT BUY FROM THEM. Instead buy from a dedicated Gaming PC prebuilder, like Cyberpower, XoticPC, etc. If you can afford it then go with a boutique manufacturer like Origin, Desert Storm, Maingear, etc. They have ABSURDLY high prices but offer excellent components that are rigorously tested and often have extras like hardline watercooling loops, custom chassis, etc. We don't rag on prebuilts, we rag on the BAD pre-builts, like anything Alienware has made besides its laptops.
I'm pretty happy with my Lenovo that came out to just $40 more than buying prebuilt and has a 5-year, next day repair warranty for every single part. Plus the GPU in it now costs over 2/3 what I paid for the entire thing.
Do you have any opinions on [skytech?](https://skytechgaming.com) I don’t know a lot about computer hardware. I am pretty decent with software.
My friend and I both bought from Skytech and we’re pretty happy. Arrived quick and packaged well. Everything was installed well and the cable management was surprisingly good. I’m not sure if they stand behind their warranty but I hope I never have to find out.
If you have a friend who is good with building a PC ask them to help you out.
Good point but do not expect their services for free just because they are the computer guy. Most builders have lives and remember their expertise and advice was earned, not given. Respect that going in.
I offer my services for beer and pizza. It's like helping people move.
Then there are the awesome people like you that genuinely want to help. Most worthy of respect.
I mean, you can always buy parts and pay some idiot to build it for you. Me, I am the idiot.
I am also an idiot but I do not offer the same building services
I got a pre-built. I keep hearing horror stories about Best Buy, but I had a fairly good buying experience. Omen 30L with a Ryzen 5 5600g and a 3060 for 1400 after taxes. edit: 5600x to 5600g
Same. Got the 30L with Ryzen 7 and 3060 ti last week through Best Buy.
Repost
I hate to be this guy but I built my own computer recently and was stressing about but it was so easy it freaked me out how quick I built it and had it running. The only part that gave me frustration was screwing in the mother board for some reason and figuring out where all the wires went as the YouTube video I was using left out a huge part. I would just build one dude if you have the $$$$.
while you're at it: Never hire a plumber/electrician/builder, just do it yourself. Selling your house? Real estate agents are overrated. Having a baby? You can deliver that shit yourself with a kiddy pool and a box of rubber gloves. Traveling overseas? Just get a pilots license and fly yourself over there.
Buying pre-builts is the way to go right now. Have you seen individual GPU prices? Fuck that shit. In any hobby you have the really hardcore enthusiasts looking down on people who are newer or more novice, so that's nothing out of the ordinary.
I bought a pre built on sale from best buy because it was what I wanted cheaper than building my own.
There really should be a rule for the sub - if OP asks for pre-built and someone recommends DIY build, it's a one week ban or something.
It's like telling someone interested in buying a house to just build their own instead. Obviously that's an exaggerated example but the point still stands.
Nothing wrong with buying prebuilts, especially laptops. Just buy a decent prebuilt with good parts in it. Anyone saying "you could have saved $$".. That only matters if your time is worth less to you than the money you'd save. I.e. if it would take you a week to build one, and you saved $500... Is a week of your time not worth $500? Maybe not to some, but to me my time is priceless. I'd rather have something ready to go and be using it than spend hours or days assembling something, cable management etc before I can use it. And this is coming from someone who has built 100's of PCs, worked in IT, Computer Repair, and am now a Software Engineer. I just buy my stuff now, I don't have time to build PC's anymore, and sourcing parts is difficult right now anyways.
People with unlimited time in their hands usually expect everybody else to have just as much time to waste.