When building your own computer it can be said there are several advantages and disadvantages in doing so. This guide outlines the disadvantages of carrying out such task.
Choosing components
If your new to the building computer scene or have been away from it a while then your faced with a daunting task of what to choose for your build. We have covered this issue in the past by putting together a guide on choosing a gaming pc parts which should help. In short it is a very time consuming task that requires several days if not weeks of research on various parts checking the compatibility, performance and of course cost. Get it wrong and the project could be delayed by getting parts sent back, or worse, breaking something because it has been installed with something that is incompatible.
Finding your parts
Once you have decided what you want in your custom built pc, you then need to source them. I can guarantee that one retailer will not have all the parts you want. You may end up having to chop and change your parts choice or bite the bullet and fork out for 2 or more delivery charges to ensure you get what you want.
Other question you also may have at this stage is who are you buying off? How long have they been around? What is the return policy? How good is the customer support? You are going to have to do a little research into this as well. Last thing you want is someone running off with your money and you not getting the parts you ordered!
Putting it together
Ok, so all the parts fro you build have arrived and sat in one big pile ready for you to make the magic happen. This is going to be the most daunting part for you. You may find you have 20 parts to go into the computer and you need to work out not only what order everything goes in but also how everything fits together. Some parts are only going to cost £50 but some parts such as motherboards may set you back as much as £300. Graphics cards and CPUs are not cheap either, costing upwards of £800 so if you break something you will be doing more than kicking yourself!
Another problem when building your dream computer is have you got the space and tools to carry out the task? This is not something you can do on your bed with a borrowed screwdriver. Make sure you have a clutter free space that is several times large than the case and an arsenal of different screwdrivers.
Support
The big one! If something goes wrong who can you call? Troubleshooting problems with home built pcs is very frustrating and not to mention time consuming. If something hasn’t gone right then you will find yourself having to beg, borrow or even buying similar parts to rule out certain components from the problem. Try and make sure you have access to alternative parts or be prepared to have to shell out again.
Another downside is if a component fails later down the line you maybe without a working PC while you wait for a replacement part. You are also not going to have a full warranty so again if something fails the person that has to come up with the replacement is you.
Conclusion
It’s not all gloom and doom. Building a custom gaming PC has its advantages but be prepared for the worst. If you can live with the worst case scenario and have a lot of patience for the hardware and software side of things then give it a go but make sure you are prepared for what you are about to let yourself in for.