If you don’t want to build a PC, why not
simply customise an existing one?
Building your own PC is a fun experience,
one that allows you to choose the components you want and really get to know
your PC. Some would argue that everyone should try it at least once.
But what if you don’t want to? Putting
together a PC isn’t a small task by any stretch of the imagination. You have to
learn about the parts, select them, and then put them together without making a
mistake. Most of the time you’re juggling a mixture of fragile, expensive and
complicated components, and one slip could send hundreds of pounds straight
onto the scrapheap. It’s not a process for the faint-hearted and, indeed, you
might be better off getting someone else to do it for you.
Building
your own PC is a fun experience, one that allows you to choose the components
you want and really get to know your PC.
However, that doesn’t mean you’re also
denied the ability to choose and customise the parts you want in it. It’s just
that you do the fun bits and someone else does the hard bits – the bits where
things have the potential to go spectacularly wrong. If you’d rather let a
professional carry that burden, you’re in luck: online pc builders (such as
computerplanet.co.uk) let you build the PC of your imagination, without then
requiring you to put it together.
But why might you do this? What are the
benefits? And conversely, what do you give up by doing so? Over the next few
pages, we’ll look at what it means to buy a PC, whether you build it from
scratch, choose parts for someone else to build or go straight for an
off-the-shelf solution. That way, you can decide whether you want to take the
plunge or let someone else do the tinkering for you.
Pre-Build Vs From Self-Build
When you’re buying a system online, you
have two main options: order the parts and build it from scratch or customize
an existing system.
There’s no doubt that building systems from
scratch is something only the advanced user should attempt. These are people
who know what they want in a system and have the time to put it together or who
simple don’t trust anyone else to do it. Pulling a coherent system out of thin
air requires you to know a lot about components - their requirements,
compatibilities and capabilities - and that’s hard to learn simply by sitting
down and doing research. It can take years to become experienced enough to know
what graphics card complements which processor, and whether a case is
appropriate for the system you’re building or not.
There’s
no doubt that building systems from scratch is something only the advanced user
should attempt.
If you’re not part of the PC-building
elite, you might be wondering what you can do instead. It’s an easy question to
answer. Instead of trying to compose a system from nothing, start with a
pre-build, off-the-shelf system, and then go to work on turning it into the
system you want.
Virtually any company that sells PCs will
give you the option to start with a pre-build base and customise it to your
needs. They’re normally available in a range of budgets and can be used to
guide the inexperienced user towards a working system. Think of it a bit like
buying a car. You don’t have to choose the individual engine parts to construct
a car, because someone else does that for you, but you can then decide what
colour it is and whether the seats are fabric or leather. Either way, it does
the basic job of getting you from A to B, but one is more personalised than the
other.
“You’ll normally find that pre-builds are
worth the money even after you consider the labour premium”
Of course, it’s not just about skipping the
difficult part. There are other reasons to get a pre-build that might factor
into your decision. To highlight these factors, we’ve looked into the pros and
cons of getting someone else to build your system against the alternative of
building yourself so that we can answer the question: should you get a
pre-build?
Pro: Favourable Economy
One of the good things about pre-builds is
that the components inside them tend to be cheaper when bought as part of a
bundle than if you were to buy them separately and build the same machine
yourself. It’s mostly just economics at work; the builder needs to buy
pre-build parts in bulk, so the wholesaler can offer them a discount, which can
be partly passed on to the customer. The customer is then incentivised to buy
bundles, which means they spend more money overall, so the builder gets a
better deal than if the customer was to buy just a few parts. Microsoft even
offers a rebate program that allows certified builders to claim money back on
PCs they build.
One
of the good things about pre-builds is that the components inside them tend to
be cheaper when bought as part of a bundle than if you were to buy them separately
and build the same machine yourself.
For interested buyers, these factors
combine to mean that pre-builds tend to be easier on the wallet. In theory,
because you’re forced to buy everything from one source, it can mean that you
end up paying more for some parts than you would from another supplier.
However, component prices rarely differ by more than a few pounds, and once you
factor in extra costs such as postage, the price of a pre-build is only very
rarely higher than if you were to build your own machine out of the same parts
bought from their cheapest source. Certainly, the cost on your time is much
smaller as a result.
It’s not an immutable rule, of course.
Discounts and sales could mean that some parts can be found significantly
cheaper elsewhere, and if a supplier has limited availability, the price might
stay higher than it should be. Do your research, though, and you’ll normally
find that pre-builds are worth the money even after you consider the labour
premium they involve.
Con: Potentially Limited Customisability
As we’ve indicated, one of the best things
about building your own PC is that you can decide what goes in it. With a
pre-build, of course, you inevitably have to sacrifice some of that flexibility
when compared to a fully bespoke system.
It can be component-level flexibility, such
as being unable to choose a particular CPU due to restrictions on available
motherboards, or it can be peripheral-level, such as a company not having the
device you want in stock. Either way, if you want a pre-build, that’s a
trade-off you’ll have to live with.
In fairness, many companies will give you
the option to completely redesign a system even if you choose a pre-build as a
base. Computer Planet, for example, compiles components and allows you almost
unlimited free range in deciding the contents even on pre-builds, but Dell’s
system has a much more limited set of choices depending on the model you
select. Remember, though, to take care when you’re altering a pre-build’s specs
that you aren’t losing out on discounts or perks as a result of doing so.
Choosing what goes into your PC is
ultimately the best thing about buying one from a serious PC-builder rather
than a production-line retail outlet, so don’t forget that you’re the one in
charge. If you can’t find a system that has what you want, get on the phone and
talk to someone. It’s likely those limited options won’t be quite as limited as
they seem when a computer system’s doing the arbitration.
