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Did you ever build a gaming PC? Would you do it again?

have you built a gaming PC? would you do it again?


  • Total voters
    241

Marchizmo

Member
Putting it together is half the fun, I was browsing the parts at Micro Center and some guy asked me if I wanted to buy a streaming pc. I said I want to put it together tho.
 

S0ULZB0URNE

Member
I built many but now rather have a place do the building of parts I pick as it's only about $100 more and you not only get better(cleaner)wiring but you get a warranty at some places.
 

dcx4610

Member
I've built more than I can count but I loathe the term "gaming PC" as if that it's only purpose. I'm sure there are plenty of people that literally only turn on their "gaming" PCs to play games but the real ones are on our PCs all day, listening to music, browsing the web, watching videos, etc. My PC is my all in one device for entertainment. Gaming is just one part of it.
 

Ulysses 31

Member
Whenever it's time to replace the motherboard, CPU and Ramm...

3766613c3151711661215c3d0b8f02da2dad461f.gif
 
I put together a gaming pc back around 2011. It was fun at the time. What isn't fun is watching how quickly it becomes outdated if certain parts aren't upgraded every now and then. I love having a pc for RTS games and MMORPG's but I prefer the simplicity of buying a console and not thinking about anything for 5-6 years.
 

Buggy Loop

Member
I built so many, even my 386 back when I was 9 years old or so. Back then you had to read the motherboard book for sure, like the placement of pins/jumpers made big differences in the setup. Also had a book for all the problems, like IRQ adress problems when you would plug a device in.. I had a fighter stick hotas back in mid 90’s where I had to, I shit you not, open the HOTAS, remove a capacitor and a resistance in the circuit board, just to make it work with my motherboard due to some obscure compatibility problem. Thankfully the solution came from the stick manufacturer.

Nowadays it’s so easy, there’s absolutely no reasons to not do it, especially with YouTube. It’s easier than freaking IKEA.
 

Brigandier

Member
I have built many, some ridiculous ones fully water cooled and alsorts or daft shit lol... I had to sell my pc and monitor last year due to financial problems.... I miss my PC bad.

I will absolutely one day build a top dog rig again 🙏
 

Drake

Member
I built my rig back in 2014. i7 4790k, 16gb of ram, 780ti and a 1tB HDD. I would definitely do it again. I mean it's super easy to do. I've upgraded some parts throughout the years though. I ditched the 1TB HDD and I now have 4 SSD's in my rig. I upgraded my GPU to a 2070 super a few years back. Maybe next year I'll finally get a new mobo, CPU and ram, but for everything I currently do my setup works great. I still play everything at 1080p 60fps which is all I care about.
 
I built a really nice PC during the 360/PS3 era. Something was faulty that would result in random games crashing the entire system after about 30 minutes of playtime.

I spent so much time and money testing and trading out parts, took it to multiple repair places who couldn’t find anything wrong with it.

It wasn’t my first build but definitely my last. Still have no idea what the issue was.
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
I build a new gaming pc every few years and will keep doing it until i die. Building one today is a lot easier than it was in the 90s. We didnt have youtube back then when we had to figure out how to set dip switches on PCI cards and jumpers on hard drives/disk drives using an ata cable. Inb4 boomer, am a millennial lol.
wow, i'm glad we have SATA and NVME these days. setting up those old ribbon cable hard drives sounds like hell
 
Here is mine 5 liters dream PC (will be outdated soon):
z74PUyk.jpg

12600K, 3070, 32GB, 3SSD's. 400W HDplex external PSU. All undervolted (of course!). Was very fun to build and tune! It have additional 120x12mm Scythe fan on CPU/mobo that I never saw anyone did on this case. Case + PSU was expensive as hell.
I can do anything after that. 🙃
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
Here is mine 5 liters dream PC (will be outdated soon):
z74PUyk.jpg

12600K, 3070, 32GB, 3SSD's. 400W HDplex external PSU. All undervolted (of course!). Was very fun to build and tune! It have additional 120x12mm Scythe fan on CPU/mobo that I never saw anyone did on this case. Case + PSU was expensive as hell.
I can do anything after that. 🙃
holy shit
that's smaller than a PS5. you fit a 3070 in that? what the fuck?!?!
if you can fit components like these in a box like that...
1. your motherboard has a fucking genius design
2. you're a PC building genius and you should get paid for making stuff this well
 
Build one like 7 years ago, won’t do it again.
I have barely played a game on it. Waste of money on high end stuff (that time).

I do enjoy playing games on my bed or sofa, recently I throw my sofa away as my toddler is to dangerous so I play on my “yogibo”. My pc is there dying alone lol.
 
holy shit
that's smaller than a PS5. you fit a 3070 in that? what the fuck?!?!
if you can fit components like these in a box like that...
1. your motherboard has a fucking genius design
2. you're a PC building genius and you should get paid for making stuff this well
Honestly it's a genius case. It fits normally a Zotac 2070 Super and any ITX/DTX motherboard. (I had 8700K and 2070S before)
Now my new Zotac 3070 is sticks out a little in front :messenger_grinning_sweat: but I don't mind - it have much better cooling. You can even fit that PSU inside this case if GPU is narrower (like some 2060S).
 
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built a few and love doing it. i would really like to build another one but at the moment don't plan on it due to costs. it's not that i can't afford it but i don't feel it's good value. i might be better off getting an Xbox Series X for £450. i find myself playing less these days so it doesn't make sense to drop thousands on a high end PC. i'll keep using my PC and maybe in a couple years i'll change my mind.
 

Garibaldi

Member
Yup. Built a few. Last one was a custom hard tube water cooled one. Doubt I'd bother doing that again as it was silly money and is largely a maintenance nightmare. For example, removing the ram requires a full drain and removal of the top radiator as it blocks the retention clips.

The building of the pc itself is child's play.
 
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64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
Yup. Built a few. Last one was a custom hard tube water cooled one. Doubt I'd bother doing that again as it was silly money and is largely a maintenance nightmare. For example, removing the ram requires a full drain and removal of the top radiator as it blocks the retention clips.

The building of the pc itself is child's play.
this is why i stick with air cooled or at most AIO. custom tubed PCs look like complete hell to maintain and set up when AIOs give you similar performance at half the cost and even less maintenance
 

Knightime_X

Member
It all depends on how much I save.
If the prebuild has all the hardware I want at a lower cost I'll just get that.

Obviously, the reputation of the seller needs to be good too.
 

Little Mac

Member
Built a few in the past and enjoyed it for gaming, but over the years, as I tackle adult shit, my free time dedicated to gaming has become more and more limited, and the simplicity and accessibility of the console experience became more attractive. Got an xbox series machine because of gamepass and don't think im going back. I am interested in the steam deck though but waiting for future hardware revisions aswell as seeing how Valve supports the platform going forward.
 

YukiOnna

Member
Yes. It's therapeutic and really simple, there are also many guides that walk you through it with ease. I'm building a new one from scratch next year.
 

Pejo

Member
I used to exclusively build my own PCs. At the time it was fun as I was learning how hardware worked etc. Now, I go to one of the manufacturer outlet sites, look for refurb or scratch and dent units with a good start and just swap out the parts I'm unhappy with, with upgrades. Usually I go for something with the CPU/Mobo combo that's what I want, and buy a separate graphics card or PSU, sometimes add better cooling. It's basically the same thing as building from scratch but usually the cable management (my least favorite part of a build) is already done for me. Plus you know it boots up.
 

Topher

Gold Member
Built quite a few over the years. Taught both my sons how to build theirs. It is a satisfying experience.

Yes, never again. F*ck PC, viva Mac!

I'm typing on a Mac right now. I have gaming PC that's just for gaming. Seems a bit silly to me to have all those fans blowing out air when all I'm doing is browsing the web or sending emails.
 
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Built quite a few over the years. Taught both my sons how to build theirs. It is a satisfying experience.



I'm typing on a Mac right now. I have gaming PC that's just for gaming. Seems a bit silly to me to have all those fans blowing out air when all I'm doing is browsing the web or sending emails.
I use my Mac as a working machine as a journalist and I will never use a PC as professional hardware never again. I have a PS5 for gaming. But great for those who want options.
 
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Yerd

Member
Building since the 90's. Also buy gaming laptops for gaming...on a laptop....when I want game while travelling.

Only recently started water cooling after a desire to do it for years. Only now have the disposable income to do so
 

KungFucius

King Snowflake
You need to add, I have built many, upgraded many and will continue to build & upgrade more until I can't do it anymore.
 
As someone who has never invested in a PC on any level, I find spending upwards of $2k on another gaming machine a difficult jump. Id rather just consume how Sony and Nintendo tell me, like a peasant
 

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
My first gaming PC had a cyrix processor and no GPU. There was no USB and I can't even remember the names of the shitty connections on the motherboard. Nowadays everything just plugs in and you press on.
 

Lasha

Member
I always assemble my own PC. The process is borderline idiot proof compared to when I was younger. I tend to build high end then run 5-8 years with minor upgrades. I would never buy a prebuilt.
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
My first gaming PC had a cyrix processor and no GPU. There was no USB and I can't even remember the names of the shitty connections on the motherboard. Nowadays everything just plugs in and you press on.
holy shit you're old. i didnt even know who cyrix is until you brought it up
 

hinch7

Member
Been building PC for many years, and I always build my own. My very first PC was from a system iterator but since I've gone custom.

The problem I have pre-builts, is that they tend to cheap out on parts/components. And for price you can always get better by going separate; usually ending with a better value/performant PC with higher quality components. Tbh it honestly isn't that hard to do with so many guides online.
 
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Shakka43

Member
I first started messing with a Dell Optiplex, adding GPU, PSU, fans, lights and SSDs, once I got familiar enough with PC parts I fully built my current PC and wouldn't go back to prebuilds.
 

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
As someone who has never invested in a PC on any level, I find spending upwards of $2k on another gaming machine a difficult jump. Id rather just consume how Sony and Nintendo tell me, like a peasant
I have never spent even close to that. I'm pushing the boat out on my current build and it will end up in the $800 range as long as GPU prices keep falling. I generally aim for the 400 - 500 range.
 

BlackTron

Member
I've built more than I can count but I loathe the term "gaming PC" as if that it's only purpose. I'm sure there are plenty of people that literally only turn on their "gaming" PCs to play games but the real ones are on our PCs all day, listening to music, browsing the web, watching videos, etc. My PC is my all in one device for entertainment. Gaming is just one part of it.

I think we only say gaming to indicate the capabilities of the PC, not its only intended use. All that other stuff you can do on a normal PC, so that capability is assumed, if you say GAMING then you know the PC is buffed. Doesn't have to be 4090 per se, but able to throw down.
 

Crayon

Member
Ima go against the grain here and say that it is not so unbelievably piss easy to do.

People have different degrees of mechanical inclination and experience with taking things apart and putting them back together. For some people, building a pc could be a challenge. I think nothing that most couldn't handle with some youtube guidance, but I don't like playing it off like only an imbecile could find it difficult.

I work with people every day training on some simple mechanics so that they can use our equipment. Some look at me like I'm crazy when I show them how to use a quick connect because it's so easy for them. Some need several tries at it and some tips. I've (almost) never found someone's level of handiness to reflect on their general intelligence or capability. I've met super smart people who will crossthread a nut just looking at it, and epic dumbshits who can overhaul and engine.
 

ZoukGalaxy

Member
Built all of them since 1995, in an obscure time when motherboard pins were cryptic, even with the manual. You had a true sense of accomplishment after successfully assembled everything without sparks and without broke the bare processor, without any lid back in time 😹
viceland GIF by Motherboard

Delete Old Man GIF
 
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LordOfChaos

Member
Built my first in the Athlon XP era, another with about the first quad cores. It's easier than ever, and I'm also older and earning more and could do it, I'm just not gaming that much, and have my PS5. Maybe eventually, but it feels more like doing so because younger me would have wanted it then like oh yeah I'm going to game on this every day.
 
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Ima go against the grain here and say that it is not so unbelievably piss easy to do.

People have different degrees of mechanical inclination and experience with taking things apart and putting them back together. For some people, building a pc could be a challenge. I think nothing that most couldn't handle with some youtube guidance, but I don't like playing it off like only an imbecile could find it difficult.

I work with people every day training on some simple mechanics so that they can use our equipment. Some look at me like I'm crazy when I show them how to use a quick connect because it's so easy for them. Some need several tries at it and some tips. I've (almost) never found someone's level of handiness to reflect on their general intelligence or capability. I've met super smart people who will crossthread a nut just looking at it, and epic dumbshits who can overhaul and engine.

Building a PC is not difficult. The lack of being able to do so shows a weakness in their ability to read instructions, planning and then applying it. Handiness plays no part, you're just screwing nails and plugging things in with the only thinking being what order to do (going back to planning stage). Expecially with tower PC's, which will have little variation in installation besides the PSU position/direction and thinking about positive/negative airflow
 
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Mattdaddy

Gold Member
I've built 3, first two were fun and easy. The third one I got all assembled and went to turn it on and nada, sucker was dead. Trying to troubleshoot what was wrong was the biggest pain in the ass... I finally got it sorted but it took a while, I had to send some bogus parts back, I was all stressed out. It sucked.

My current PC is prebuilt and its going 3 years strong with no issues. I know its cheaper to build it... but Im older and lazier now. I dont mind paying the premium to just have it taken care of after that last fiasco.
 
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poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
My 11 year old son and I just took apart two PCs, transferred most of the guts of one to the other and then built a new PC with new components and some of the drives etc from one of the old ones. Took maybe an hour from start to booting to windows on two PC's. I'll probably use the old parts to build a 3rd PC and donate it, an AMD A10-6800k build is probably worth something to someone.
 
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