Is It Cheaper to Build a PC or Buy One? I Compared 5 Price Ranges

Key Takeaways

• The cost of pre-built and custom Basic Gaming PCs is practically the same, but the pre-built PCs are cheaper on labor costs.
• Custom entry-level to high-end gaming PCs are cheaper than pre-built options, with cost savings ranging from $100 to over $500.
• Pre-built top-end gaming PCs are significantly cheaper than custom-built options. However, you might not be able to choose the particular components that you want.

Conventional wisdom says that buying computer parts and building your machine is cheaper than buying one pre-built by someone else. But is that still true today?

I selected five pre-built desktop PCs from different manufacturers and compared their prices with the price of similar parts gathered from Newegg to see if a pre-built computer really saves money.

Basic Gaming PC

First, let’s start with the basic gaming PC. With a budget of less than $800, I found the NZXT Player: One desktop from NZXT. It features a nice, clean case with no RGB lights, but at least it offers decent performance. Its original price is a smidge over our budget ($829), but it’s a steal at the time of writing, priced at $699.

Here’s a comparison of the PC’s specifications versus what I could find on Newegg. Note that I only picked brand-new items sold directly by Newegg to ensure quality. Also, the price in parentheses is the item’s original price if it’s on sale.

As you can see in our table, similar specifications cost around the same price on Newegg based on their sale prices. Since NZXT already builds the PC for you, the pre-built computer actually wins this round. Of course, that’s if I base the comparison on the sale prices. If you rely solely on original pricing, the NZXT Player: One will cost $829, while the Newegg parts cost $758.93, saving you around $70 if you build the PC.

Note that I went with the RTX 3050 6GB on this build to match the price of the NZXT build. If you have an extra $30, I highly recommend going for the MSI Ventus RTX 3050 8GB for better performance. You could pick other GPUs if you have a bigger budget, but I suggest that you stay away from these five GPUs no matter what.

Entry-Level Gaming PC

If you can spend a little more, you can move up to the entry-level gaming PC. I chose a system from iBuyPower for this tier, which features a nice case with RGB lights and a gaming performance that should be able to handle a few AAA games, albeit not at the highest graphics settings.

I budgeted between $1,000 and $1,500 for this build, so this is what I was able to get.

At the entry-level tier, you save over $110 if you build your own PC. This even includes a better processor (AMD Ryzen 5 7600 vs. 7600X), so you’ll get even more bang for your buck if you choose exactly the same chip.

Mid-Range Gaming PC

Our budget for the mid-range gaming PC hovers between $2,000 and $2,500. At this money, I also wanted to go with a major PC brand, so I picked the Acer Predator Orion 5000 for this comparison. At this level, you should be able to play most games you want comfortably.

When you’re within this budget, you have the flexibility to choose components without worrying about going over budget. However, you still need to do this judiciously to make the most of your hard-earned money. That’s why I recommend you review our well-rounded PC buying guide before picking parts to add to your build.

As you can see, you’ll save a lot of money if you build your own computer at the mid-range level. You’re saving over $500 with the on-sale parts, and even if you none of the components were at a discount, you will still save $324.08. You could then use this money to get yourself a nice display, like this 39-inch InnoCN curved gaming monitor that goes for less than $500.

High-End Gaming PC

You will get amazing gaming performance at this tier. However, you should also be prepared to spend over $3,000, which is what we’re paying for with the Alienware Aurora R16. I chose the most expensive pre-configured desktop model that Dell offered to gamers, and then we’ll compare the cost of similar parts from Newegg.

Although the price difference at this tier between the pre-built and custom PC is no longer over $500, you still save more than $275 if you go the custom route, which is still a pretty significant sum. The savings mostly come from discounts and promos, though. So, if you remove all of those, the difference falls to a little over $56. At this point, I would rather go with the pre-built as the labor and incidental costs of building the PC myself would be higher than that.

No-Holds-Barred Gaming PC

This is the level where performance is your only consideration, no matter the cost. This is the type of PC that most gamers could only dream about, and we’re starting our budget at $4,000. I selected the Corsair Vengeance i8300 as the pre-built representative, especially because it’s one of the first pre-built computers to use Intel’s next-generation desktop processors (codenamed Arrow Lake) that use Intel’s new CPU naming scheme.

Pre-built PCs at the higher end of the spectrum are surprisingly more affordable than custom-built ones. This is likely because component prices at these performance levels are often out of control, especially as manufacturers know that people who buy these products can afford to pay for them.

However, while you will save money with pre-built PCs, you cannot be sure what the manufacturer would put in your computer unless it specifically states so. This means that if you’re gunning for the best that money could buy, you might not get every drop of performance with a pre-built.

Is It Cheaper to Buy a Pre-built or Build Your Own?

According to our data, pre-built PCs will save you money at the extreme ends of the spectrum—when you’re on an absolute budget and when cost is no issue. But for everything else in between, custom-built PCs are actually cheaper.

However, you should note that the prices here do not include incidental costs like thermal paste and screwdrivers. Furthermore, you have to spend time building the PC yourself or find someone to do it for you. These are additional costs that you need to consider, especially as the cost of time varies from person to person.

One advantage you get with pre-built PCs, though, is customer service. If you run into a problem with your computer, you could call the manufacturer, and it could help you troubleshoot. Pre-built PCs are also important if you know nothing about specifications, as the manufacturer could simply ask for your budget and what you want to accomplish, and then you’ll get a recommended package.

Given that I know my way around computers, my only consideration would be the price difference. If it’s less than $100 and I’m confident of the quality of my pre-built supplier, then I’d go with that option. But otherwise, custom PCs are the way to go.