Why BUILDING Your Computer is Something to Start Today
By: Trevor Davis-Dressner
Tags: Computers, Creativity, Electronics, Building, PC

The computer has been the product of years of research and development to evolve to what it has become today. Computers were initially designed to compute arithmetic algorithms to advance science and over time morphed into a household device with limitless capabilities. Everyday we use these devices to research, entertain, and visualize anything we wish to see. The options are endless, however using this device comes at no easy cost.

Household names such as Dell, HP, Toshiba, and Apple have the production of PCs and Macs down to a science but the price of these gadgets are far more costly than one may think. The cost of their computers are surfaced around the materials, parts, and most importantly the assembly. It takes raw materials from over 18 countries consisting of iron ore, gold, bauxite, and silicia sand amongst others.

Photo by Malachi Brooks on Unsplash

These raw materials are crafted together to produce key computer parts. The basis of the modern computer has 8 main parts. It has the mother board which is the “brain” of the device. It also has RAM and the Central Processing Unit (CPU) which are what process information and determine the threshold of how much a computer can handle at once. Computers also make use of a graphics card or GPU, which defines how high quality the screen will display. Computers being an electric device require power supply which dictate how efficient the electricity going into the device is used. As well as this you need a method of storage to hold all the files and downloads that will take place when you have your computer. And finally, a case and monitor to hold your parts and display your PC.

As you can likely gather from the overwhelming information just given, this is not an easy thing to learn as these are all complex parts. However this is where industrial leaders in computer markets make the bulk of their money. Assembly of computers can take several hours and is not an easy process. But many would be surprised about how intuitive the process is.

Upon basic research on the internet, one can quite easily find the information on how to create their on PC build. Using websites such as pcpartpicker.com and www.newegg.com, users can understand how astronomically cheap it is when you pick and choose parts for a complete build. Computer companies get away with charging anywhere from 300 and upwards of even 700 dollars more for prebuilt PCs than ones built by the customer.

It is understandable why there is such a price mark up, yet the question has to be asked why more people are not taking part in a process that could save them hundreds of dollars. Instruction manuals are provided with every computer part and there are detailed explanations describing each step of the PC building process.

This can be most notably seen when looking at the parts and aspects in computers developed by big named companies. If you take the time to find the parts on the internet separately and add up the total price, you will be utterly blown away about the difference in price. It’ll be quite noticeable that for so much time each computer you have purchased has been far more pricey then had you built it yourself.

Another large benefit of making the decision to build your own computer is how customizable it is. You can build the computer for YOU. If you are a gamer, your can tailor your computer to work effectively for running high speed games. If you work in data analysis, you can tailor your PC to processing many things at once whilst being less effective for highly graphic videos. There is a PC for every type of person and being able to develop your own allows you to be creative and make the PC suitable for your interests and needs. As well as this idea you can customize the look and the colors when buying fans and the case for your PC, and it allows you to choose amazing lights or different colored parts that work cohesively with your personal set up. This is the beauty of why it’s worth it to build your own.

The most common contradiction people question in the “should I build my own PC” debate is “Isn’t it cheaper to buy a prebuilt computer from juggernaut companies since the parts they purchase are cheaper for being in bulk?” Essentially people are questioning whether — since popular computer brands get cheaper deals on computer parts — its going to overall be a less expensive PC. While this may be true, comparing the prices of the computer parts to the prebuilt PC will still lead you to the cheaper result being buying the parts separately.

Photo by Caspar Camille Rubin on Unsplash

At the end of the day, buying a computer is buying convenience. If you are not willing to take the time to research a couple hours to gather your parts and you are not up for the short term task of computer assembly, then obviously buying a computer prebuilt is the choice.

However, for the vast majority of people on a tight budget or simply trying to get a bang for their buck, the light extra effort it takes to research and build a computer will almost always be SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper and more creative to fit your looks and needs.

Finally, it just feels good when your done to realize you just built such an amazing product and saved yourself hundreds of dollars! Most people will take a deep breath and say to themselves, “that really wasn’t that hard.”