PC gamer and build your own PC?

A question about : PC gamer and build your own PC?

Some of the replies on our PC (desktop) gaming to laptop gaming swap poll suggest several of you build your own PCs so we thought we'd find out..

Are you a PC gamer and build your own custom PC?

Best answers:

• I didn't actually put the parts together myself but sat down with the son of a friend who does it and set up my specs and got him to do it.
  I did not have money to burn putting the wrong components in the wrong way and frying my motherboard lol
  My PC is custom built and not store bought so I guess you could say I built it myself though
• Its the only way!! It helps you understand PC's more if you build custom!
• i find you could build a pc to the specs you require much more cheaply (because you get the option to shop around) than buying a named production line pc.
  theres things in a production pc that i will not use because i dont bother with such things, for e.g card reader, i simply plug in cam or phone and put them in a file with usb cable no need to take appart the phone then to access the sd card. i dont use wifi i use ethernet as its more stable way of connecting so a wifi card is N/A to me.
  i dont need bluetooth.
  more often than not production pc's are kitted out with entry level gaming spec hardware and a upgrade is required to game without graphical issues or running on absolute min graphic settings.
  production level pc's are usually small, not very good for upgrading to larger hardware due to lack of internal space and cooling is usually an issue with just an exhaust fan on the back and maybe an inlet fan in the front so you cpu cooler (stock) blow already warm air onto a CPU that required to be cool at all times for optimum life span.
  i once opened up a 1 year old PC and totted up the cost of the parts going by the serial numbers off them.
  the whole tower inc case and psu mobo hdd and accessories etc came to Ј230.00 the monitor 17" came to Ј59.00 the person paid Ј599.99 for it.
  for that price i could have built a quicker more reliable system with a larger screen.
• They cut corners with off the shelf PC's too. They'll put the cheapest PSU's and motherboards and RAM in them, knowing that people buy off the headline numbers and don't dig deeper. It's those bits that can limit the performance of the system or make it expensive to upgrade in the future.
  They also load them down with bloat ware and freebies that you don't want or need. Far better to start with a clean install and put the freshest drivers on it from scratch.
  Two PC's with seemingly identical Spec could have vastly different performance for games:
  Intel i5
  8Gb ram
  Nvidia Geforce 660 Graphics
  Could fly, or it could be a total dog!
• My son built his last PC a few months ago and saved about Ј500.
  It only took a few hours and if there was anything he wasn't sure of he used youtube or a manufacurer's website to confirm.
  Never having done it before he was a bit nervous, especially at the scary moment when he switched it on for the first time but it was fine.
• I used to do it when I was gaming. But now my hands are knacked, I have to confess, I bought my last pc prebuilt and stuck a gfx card in it. Custom building you get exactly what you want/need and save on the costs too.
  As an x gamer though, I feel quite ashamed of buying a prebuild. Would never have even considered it in all my years as a gamer
• I've been building my desktop PCs since I was a teenager.
  I think it is advantageous for many reasons. Firstly, you get to decide on every single component that goes into it. No pre-built PCs with less-than-dandy motherboards or PSUs, you get to make sure that every component fits whatever specification you have.
  It's cheaper as you're cutting out labour costs, not paying over the top for "brand" names and you can shop around to make sure you get the best deal on components.
  Because you've had the final say on every component, I find that the necessity to upgrade or replace the PC doesn't crop up as much. I built a PC for a friend 3-4 years ago and they upgraded for the first time this year (RAM and extra HDD), and that PC still runs the latest games without a hitch. In my case, I built myself a new, rather-fancy and excessively specced PC this year. My previous PC was a much more modest build and lasted five years or so with only one upgrade (storage).
  And I think you also save money in maintenance. People who build their own PCs are usually comfortable and savvy enough to know when a hardware error occurs, what is likely to be causing it. We get used to the various error messages, so if a Memtest fails due to faulty RAM on-boot, we know the symptoms and can diagnose and make our own repairs/replacements without spending extra on getting a specialist to just look at it.
• I've built my own machines for years but haven't put a new one together for a while since my last setup still plays most games on fairly high settings and I don't play games like I used to.
• I build my own, because it's cheaper and I can keep everything tidy.
  it's also easier than people imagine really.
• It is a lot easier than people imagine. I would definitely still be building my own if my hands weren't so rubbish!!! I really hated buying this one lol. Couldn't even fit the gfx card myself and had to show my son how to do it
• I've built all my previous PC gaming machines myself but with the latest one i selected all the parts i wanted then overclockers UK built it with them. Good job on the built for the most part. Since then i've added and changed quite a few things myself.
  My systems seem expensive for the spec they are but it's because i sick with good brand name components for reliability and i try and keep it nice and quiet.
• I am like many here, if you buy a store-bought computer you will end up paying hundreds of pound more for it; what you are best doing if you are not technically minded is going to a small shop and telling them what you want.
  Even if you buy the gear yourself and then take them parts to a shop.
  They will put the parts together for you and it will be much cheaper.
  I do not know how much my computer would cost in PC World, but Ј650 + Ј100 for time and labour is great, I run many of the newest games right now at 60+FPS at the highest settings.
  I have been told my computer would be Ј1,200+ to get if I were to buy from a catalogue or whatever.
  More than enough for my needs
• Always build them myself, I will say those worried about it, there really isn't much you can get wrong, you can't plug things in the wrong place and if you don't plug something in it just won't work until you figure it.
  The other advantage of self building if you can buy a decent board, big cooler and mid range processor and overlclock like crazy (with safe voltage and temps of course) and get even more performance for your money.
• I'm primarily a PC gamer but even though I could easily build my own machines (I work in IT and spend plenty of time repairing/rebuilding machines) I prefer prebuilt machines as my last two have been a lot cheaper than I could build them for and I can get a next day on site warranty. Because the desktops use standard parts it's easy enough to then customise the machines as I want.
  Both the current and last machines have been from the Dell outlet and both have been based on Intel's enthusiast platform (Nehalem for the last, SandyBridge-E for the current one) which were pricey not just for the processor but the platform was as well particularly with Nehalem which used a type of ram which was fairly new and carried a hefty premium.
  I have no complaints about the machines themselves either, I find Dell power supplies are usually very solid and aside from the garish lighting on the Aurora R4 case (which thankfully can be turned off) the internal design is very good as most parts are easily accessible for swapping around. One feature I particularly like is a second set of battery powered white LEDs which are placed round the inside of the case to illuminate the internals making it easier to prod around inside.
  John
• I did, I used cast off parts from my son - added some new bits and have an excellent system now. So far have not had a game I cannot play.
  Not bad for your kids rejects lol.