In this article we want to address a topic that until a few years ago was indisputable: are pre-assembled gaming PCs more convenient or those created with our hands?
Before the semiconductor crisis, with the great abundance of silicon in the market, the advantage of assembling a PC piece by piece was undeniable. Then with the sudden rise in demand to the sky - did anyone say mining? - the components have become practically unobtainable, especially the fundamental ones such as CPU and GPU. With inflation and the world held in check by a tense geopolitical situation, things are improving very slowly.
So we asked ourselves: but today is it better to go to a pre-assembled gaming PC or not?
Pre-built gaming PCs: snubbed for years
The prices of a preassembled desktop PC have always been higher than homemade configurations. The production and assembly costs are obviously recharged on the final customer and then, in addition to the component manufacturers, those who designed and built the machine had to earn. And then someone marched a little on rampant ignorance. Moral of the story: assembling a PC at home was less expensive, it allowed you to fully customize your components and even the aesthetics by choosing houses, accessories, lighting and so on.
With the scarcity of components, however, the bargaining power of the big brands allowed them to secure a part of the precious stocks, while the free market was at the mercy of crazy and speculative inflation. Thus the pre-assembled gaming PCs have returned to be attractive to enthusiasts.
But how much can it cost to build a PC today?
Let's try to do a simulation of a mid-range configuration, the one on which most players would focus. Here is the list of components with relative prices:
- CPU: Intel Core i5-12400F, prezzo 208 euro
- GPU: ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 3060 V2 OC 12GB, price 487 euros
- RAM: 16 GB, Crucial Ballistix BL2K8G32C16U4B, price 80 euros
- SSD: 512 GB, Crucial P2 CT500P2SSD8, prezzo 54 euro
- Motherboard: ASUS PRIME H670-PLUS D4, price 170 euros
- PSU: Seasonic PRIME GX-650, price 14o euro
- sink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo V2, price 40 euros
- Case: NZXT H510, price 86 euros
The total is 1265 €. Obviously if we then want to add fans or something else the price goes up.
Intel Core i5 12400F 2.5Ghz 18MB LGA 1700 Box - Intel Core i5 12400F 2.5Ghz 18MB LGA 1700 BOX
