Should You Build Your Own Computer? Pros and Cons

There are both advantages and disadvantages to building your own computer. Building, instead of buying a computer can make a lot of sense under the right set of circumstances. It can also be a waste of time and money under the wrong ones.

The primary benefits to building your own computer can come in the areas of price, component selection, and customization. Although the overall price differential for a basic PC is not as great as it used to be thanks to the low cost mass produced machines now available, you can still get a lot more performance from the individual components for the same price.

If you only need an entry level, bargain basement PC, buy one off the shelf. However, anyone who wants more than the basics and is interested in the challenge should consider building their own. Essentially, building your own PC allows you to upgrade every component on your machine over those you would get in a comparable pre-made computer and spend slightly less in the process.

There are two strategies that can be used to exploit this advantage depending on the user's need. First, you can build a top of the line gaming PC or other high performance computer for a lot less than it would cost you to buy a comparable PC already built. Alternately, you could spend the cost of a stripped down entry level computer, and build one that is several steps up in quality and performance.

Building a computer is not as difficult as it may seem, or as you've perhaps been lead to believe. If you can use a screwdriver, snap components into place, follow instructions and exercise care in the process, you can build a computer. Don't let anyone tell you any differently. The most difficult part of the entire project is selecting the components and understanding their performance capacity and how that relates to the other components and to your intended purpose.

Different uses require different priorities. Gamers want great sound, top flight graphics processing and plenty of processor power. A photographer may require absurd amounts of disk space and RAM. The point is, start out knowing what you want to use the computer for and then research your parts list from there.

The case must be able to accommodate all the components you select, including extra fans. And remember to plan ahead so that you build in the ability to expand and upgrade your computer in the future. This is another huge advantage to building your own PC as most ready made computers allow very little in the way of potential for expansion. With a little forethought, you'll find that the computer you build will suit your needs for years by allowing you to upgrade as needed.

From there you can customize a homemade PC anyway you'd like. You are only limited by your imagination. Lights, clear cases or towers and high end outer hardware are all available and inexpensive.

So what are some of the disadvantages? Well, frankly, it can be a pain if you aren't organized and have a difficult time maintaining a clean and orderly work area. Also, it is fairly common that at least one of the components you purchase will have some sort of malfunction right out of the box. When this happens, troubleshooting the problem can be potentially tricky depending on the problem. For example, it's pretty easy to determine that you got a bad power supply, but a bad RAM module might not be as immediately evident.

And remember that you'll have to buy the operating system and this can amount to a significant portion of your overall expense. Despite these drawbacks in the end, building your own computer is a very satisfying project that allows you to own a high end machine for the cost of a mass produced ordinary machine.