Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you might’ve heard about the PC parts Crisis going on right now. Somehow, this has actually made it almost more cost efficient to buy a Pre-Built Gaming PC for the first time probably ever. So, if you are in the market for a new system right now, and have decided to go down the pre-built route, how do you decide what to look for? Well, if that sounds like you, you’ve come to the right place! Here are 7 things to consider before buying a Pre-Built PC.
1. What are you going to be using the system for?
Are you a big multiplayer FPS gamer? More of a content creator or streamer? Or perhaps not a gamer at all and actually plan on using the system for graphic design. Depending on what sort of purpose the PC will primarily serve, you will need to look at certain areas more. Also, if you really aren’t tech savvy, ensuring you have enough storage space and memory can make the difference between a having a great time with your PC, or a rough one. So, just make sure you do a lot of research online into what sorts of hardware will best serve the types of games or programs you plan to run. Because honestly, your future self will thank you.
2. Budget
After you’ve done your research, it makes choosing a budget even easier. Why? Because knowing what parts are more important for you, gives you a better idea of where you can save. So, say you are wanting a Pre-Built to mainly store your video files on. Having good storage is far more important in this situation. I would advise setting a budget a little below what you would be prepared to buy. Then if you do find the perfect PC, you can go a little over if need be. Also factoring in shipping is another cost many people forget. So, either account for that in your budget, select a company that doesn’t charge for shipping, or pick up the PC yourself from the retailer to save money.
3. Monitors
Now you might be asking, “What would monitors have to do with this?” Oh, my sweet summer child. There is nothing worse than getting a shiny new PC, only to discover that your graphics card only has 3 ports that are all Display Ports. Meanwhile your monitors only use HDMI. Then you gotta go out, get 3 adapters and then plug the cables into each other and… uggh it’s making me mad just thinking about it! The solution is to sus this out beforehand. If you already have monitors, check what ports you have before picking a system. This can save you a lot of hassle and dealing with annoying, potentially dodgy extension cables. On the opposite side, if you haven’t picked a monitor out yet just keep in mind what sorts of cable options you have to work with, to also avoid this annoying problem.
4. Space
Looking at a case on a website isn’t always the best way to judge its size. Often, you might think a system might not be too big, but then you get the box and realize it’s half the size of your desk! Measuring up the size of the system you’re looking at on your desk and making sure the system will fit before you buy it can save you a world of hurt later.
5. Warranty
One thing that can be helpful if you’re a complete noob in the world of PC building, is the warranty. Often most, if not all your system in a pre-built, will be covered by a warranty. This means if you have any problems with your system you can take it, or send it back, to where you purchased it from and they will repair it for free. But be careful though. Different companies have different length warranties. Double check yours before you buy to ensure it has a length of time suitable enough for you.
6. Maintenance
It can be very tempting to buy the prettiest water cooled pre-built you can find. But, despite how nice it would look on your desk, there is more to buying some of these more complex builds than you think. Water cooled builds needs to be flushed and refilled every 6 months or so, while items like fans also need to be regularly cleaned. No matter how simple your build is, there will always be an element you have to maintain. But how much that is, will be very dependent on how complex the build itself is.
7. Expandability
There will no doubt be some of you out there who are getting a pre-built solely because it’s the only way to get a graphics card for a good value. If this is the case, and you plan to change up a lot of the components later, it might be worth going for a build that has future proofing in mind. For example, if you know down the line you might want to do water cooled build, it might be worth getting a pre-built with a case big enough to support that. Or perhaps you can go for a pre-built that has super basic hardware, as you have full intentions of simply upgrading it yourself anyway, so you can save some extra money that way.
So, there were 7 things to consider before buying a Pre-Built PC.
Just remember that when it comes to Pre-Builds, don’t get too caught up on looks. Often, cases and some parts can get tapped out due to availability, so don’t get too set on the appearance and focus more on the value.
Do you think there are other things to consider before buying a Pre-Built PC that I missed? Feel free to comment them below.
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