Building Your Own Gaming PC vs. Buying From an OEM
Introduction
There has been a friendly feud amongst gamers from all around the world regarding personalized self-built PC’s and purchasing from OEM’s (Original Equipment Manufacturer). There are various point of views and differences in perspectives when it comes to choosing between the two. In this article we will explore the pros and cons of both and decide which one’s a better choice for our own selves.
Building Your Own Gaming PC
If you assemble your custom gaming PC it will completely change your gaming experience for the better. It will allow you to upgrade components at any given point of time and make your gaming experience phenomenal. You might feel intimidated at the thought of building your own PC. Although, if you are a hardcore gamer, we know that the thought of building your own personalized PC must have crossed your mind many a times. Building a gaming rig in accordance to your preferences is the only way to get what you want and how you want it. Building a PC is the next step towards becoming a pro gamer. It might be a bit difficult but is definitely worth it for those who want to create a system that functions according to their demands. A custom-built gaming rig is definitely a dream for many and if you choose you can make this dream come true for yourself.
Here listed below are the pros and cons of building a personalized PC. Read through and decide for yourself.
Pros
One – The biggest advantages of building a computer from scratch is that you get to select the parts according to your preferences. The pre-built computer systems that you purchase have certain specifications and components that have already been selected for you. This may lead to losses for the consumers as they must compromise with certain features. They won’t necessarily get all that they want. If you decide to build a computer from components, you will get to choose the parts that best match the system they want. Even if some vendors allow you to customize your computer system, you’d even then get limited choices.
Two – There may be a difference in the parts of a pre-built system even if they are the exact same model. The main cause of this is – suppliers provide the parts that are available to them at the time the computers are being built. For example: Dell has multiple suppliers of memory and they might decide to switch amongst them and choose the one that is less expensive and more cost-effective for them. They may even swap between hard drive brands on same grounds. The gaming pc building benefits will help you to feel assured of the company you’re getting the parts from. This will help you to get it easily in case you want to replace anything in the future.
Three – You will get to learn a lot, and knowledge, is always attractive. This advantage is rather tangible. If you start to build a computer from scratch, you will have to thoroughly research its components and understand their usage completely. This will improve your understanding of computers and its requirements. The knowledge of the components and the knowledge of the sub systems of a computer will help you repair your own hardware problems without having to pay a professional in the future. This is another positive prospect of building your own gaming PC.
Four – It is cost-effective. The more powerful your potential desktop is, the more likely you are to save a lot of money by building your own. The reason – various premium components have high marked up prices to boost the profit margin of the manufacturers. Some small companies that build high-end systems produce them from the parts of your choice but they mark-up the price in order to cover the costs of production. Though time consuming, building your own PC is a good alternative monetarily.
Cons
One – The biggest disadvantage with building your own gaming PC is the lack of support or direction from any organization. This might be a problem as the various components or parts you will need to build the PC will come from different manufacturers or stores and you will have to deal with them directly in case of any problems. Pre-built systems have the advantage of a warranty card and you only have to take it to a store to deal with any problem. Even though this may seem like a huge problem you can try to resolve it yourself if you don’t want to wait around for the manufacturing company. This will improve your skills and develop your capacity to deal with computer related issues. It’s an advantage disguised as a disadvantage.
Two – It might get really tiring to choose the parts needed to build a PC. Especially if you aren’t familiar with the technology and manufacturing companies and this is your first attempt to build a gaming PC. If you do not perform thorough research everything is bound to go haywire. There are various guides available online that will help you reach your objective. However, if you don’t have patience and lose your calm midway, this might be a disaster.
Three – Cost, can both be an advantage and a disadvantage in this case. The bigger budget companies are most likely to get bulk discounts because they buy in large quantities. Due to great competition in the budget market, acquiring all the parts that you require to build your gaming PC might be difficult, both physically and monetarily. If you are looking for a PC with high productivity and efficiency without any sacrifice in quality, building one according to your taste is the best choice. But it may cost more, and the components might take a while to arrive.
Buying From an OEM
At times, you will face a scenario when your assembled PC won’t feel like your best choice. This can be connected to various factors that affect the hardware market, like inflated prices or lack of supply of various components. Prebuilt desktop companies, however, hold a trump card in such instances. They generally keep a good stock of the varied components required for a PC and also have good connections to perform transactions, if needed. This enables them to produce computers at a much lower cost than someone who is assembling parts via online transactions. This is even more evident during such detrimental periods in the market.
Even though most consumers are not familiar about an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) product, they are gaining popularity with time. This rise is testament to the advent of online shopping. In this blog, we will delve into the intricacies of OEM products, their distinct characteristics from retail products and try to solve the age-old conundrum – Should consumers opt for an OEM?
OEM can be defined as a parent company that manufactures a product, and subsequently sells it off to another company, which finally resells it under its unique brand name. OEM’s are also often referred as “contract manufacturers”. OEM originates from a Dutch phrase which in English can be roughly translated to “under own brand.” Although the term is flexible, but OEM is usually referred towards manufactured products in all major industries. However, it can also be used to cite a company that produces the raw materials for a fast food. For example- milkshake.
OEMs are distinct from value-added resellers (VAR’s). A VAR is an enterprise that purchases the components from the OEMs, either the whole product or parts, and subsequently improves it with add-ons. The final step includes increasing the value of the product and selling them off directly to the consumers. An OEM generally follows a b2b model (business to business).
Pros
One – It is stress free and there is the privilege of getting a quick and hassle-free delivery. In case an auto shop wants to purchase an auto part from the market it has to make numerous phone calls and a huge amount of time to find in the market the part the customer wants. But, in case of OEM components, the manufacturer can be contacted directly to purchase the parts. The components are just a phone call or a click of a button away. Easy and efficient.
Two – The components or parts are better in quality and are durable. The OEM parts are sent directly from the automaker to the auto repair shop, thus the consumer can enjoy a higher level of quality. The automakers provide a minimum of one-year guarantee on OEM parts. The OEM component that replaces a defective part has a high level of performance and the same as the previous original part. Both quality and warranty for that quality is offered for OEM cards, therefore the guarantee makes it a really enticing purchase.
Three – OEM components are considered to be a safer bet and are considered to be more dependable because they are made by the original product parts provider. They are dependable and user worthy. There are various benefits of an OEM gaming pc as it cost-effective and gives you a hassle-free experience.
Cons
One – Potential conflicts between OEM’s and the potential business partners might arise that may lead to the unavailability of certain components. OEM and partner relationships are likely to suffer if both their business cultures are different, in that case communication between the two can be problematic and issues may arise. Due to disbalance in communication there might be a major crisis, leading to the unavailability of certain components. Therefore, issues regarding communication is a major drawback when it comes to buying from an OEM.
Conclusion
When you buy or build a computer the primary criteria you should look at is upgradeability. Machines such as the CyberPower Gamer Master 9500 or the Alienware Aurora are easy to upgrade without the need of any tools. This suggests that when the prices for parts drop, that is your window to add parts of your choice without any hassle.
Building a PC of your own is a dream come true for any gamer, but it has various advantages and adversities. Re-building a machine might be suitable both economically and in terms of hard work, if you can get the OEM parts. Whatever it may be, you will have the PC of your own which has everything that you want. So, go ahead and make the right decision!
We at Neighborcomputer provide professional computer services and can help you get smoothly through both the above-mentioned processes which will give you the opportunity to own a PC of your choice.
We will love to assist you. Contact us!