This is every gamer’s eternal conundrum: to buy, or to build. The idea of building a gaming PC seems like something of a dream. You control every aspect of its design, and you’ll never have to worry that your PC won’t perform the way you want it to. On the other hand, buying a pre-built gaming PC feels so convenient. Just buy it, plug it in, run to Steam, and get started.

There are reasons why people ultimately land in camp build or camp pre-built, and those reasons largely depend on what the gamer is trying to do and the gamer’s level of comfortability with tech. Both have advantages and disadvantages, but it’s typically easy to determine which one will be better for you.

Custom Built Gaming PCs

Most people who are looking at custom building their gaming PCs are doing it for one reason alone: they want to max out all of their specs. The idea of being vastly overprepared for what any game can throw at you, as well as unlimited storage space to download those games, is wildly enticing. How great would it be to build a PC that can do almost everything?

You’ve probably realized that building a gaming PC is going to be expensive, particularly if your primary objective is to buy the best of the best. What you likely haven’t realized is that it’s likely four times as expensive as you initially thought.

Everyone is building cryptocurrency rigs right now. The demand is so high that prices on GPUs are through the roof. It’s unbelievable how hard and expensive it is to build a computer that will never know what “blockchain” even means. If you’ve looked at prices lately, you’ve probably come to resent bitcoin and everything it stands for.

Pre-Built Gaming PCs

Believe it or not, pre-built gaming PCs are pretty good. Even gaming laptops are lightyears away from where they used to be. They used to fall short, but innovation has made it relatively easy to put together high quality gaming components in a pre-set configuration for a relatively affordable price. You might outgrow your gaming PC after a few years, but it will live a long life if you’re maintaining it properly.

You might spend a few hundred bucks over the course of that PC’s life replacing or upgrading components, but it’s not much of a bother if you have basic knowledge about how your gaming PC works. You can even buy used PCs and strip them for some parts.

Pre-built gaming PCs, even higher end models, are surprisingly cheap right now. It’s shocking how cheap they are, especially when you compare and contrast them against what RAM and GPUs are currently selling for.

Which One Is Better?

As things currently stand, building a gaming PC is something of a pipe dream. Unless you have an excessive amount of expendable income and you’re massively impatient, it’s just not worth it. The allure of building a PC from scratch is tempting for anyone who is enthusiastic about tech, but it’s probably a wise idea to put that idea on hold for now. Start looking for a great pre-built gaming PC to suit your needs until bitcoin mining has slowed down or changed.

Don’t forget that the less you spend on your PC, the more you can spend on games and accessories. You’re going to want some options, whether you build or buy. Check your budget and do what makes the most sense for you.