Why do people hate this

[Guest]

Ive seen a lot of hate for pre builts in my time in the tech community. Is there any specific reasons why? (Note i have built my own PC and dont plan to buy a prebuilt). Im just curious as to why they are so shunned

[TheRandomness]

Because it's usually cheaper to buy the parts to make a same-specced PC and build it yourself.

[Guest]

Just now, TheRandomness said:

Because it's cheaper to buy the parts to make a same-specced PC and build it yourself.

Damn that was fast

[NinJake]

What the randomness said, plus the fact you can get down to the nitty gritty of picking every part out yourself, meaning you can literally make it how you want it down to the colors of your case and components. The biggest part of it though is the cost-effectiveness.

[minibois]

Half the experience of your own PC, is building it (IMO). This is why it is very much shunned upon in the community.

Plus picking out your own parts is a huge part of it and by getting a pre built you're throwing both these things away.

 

Upgradeability is not amazing too usually, since many pre built use non standard mounting or cables/connectors.

4 minutes ago, TheRandomness said:

Because it's cheaper to buy the parts to make a same-specced PC and build it yourself.

Actually, that's not always the case. Sometimes because of the bulk deals some pre built companies can get, it can be more expensive to purchase stuff separately.

And most 'boutique system builders' have to adhere to some sort of margin on top of the buying in value of components + 'building fee', unlike just taking retail value of all stuff + building fee, which is how many think it works.

Some stuff has a bigger margin than what they have to put in a boutique PC, making it possible to get a put together system for less than components.

[TheRandomness]

Just now, Minibois said:

Half the experience of your own PC, is building it (IMO). This is why it is very much shunned upon in the community.

Plus picking out your own parts is a huge part of it and by getting a pre built you're throwing both these things away.

 

Upgradeability is not amazing too usually, since many pre built use non standard mounting or cables/connectors.

Actually, that's not always the case. Sometimes because of the bulk deals some pre built companies can get, it can be more expensive to purchase stuff separately.

And most 'boutique system builders' have to adhere to some sort of margin on top of the buying in value of components + 'building fee', unlike just taking retail value of all stuff + building fee, which is how many think it works.

Some stuff has a bigger margin than what they have to put in a boutique PC, making it possible to get a put together system for less than components.

Fine, I'll add in a 'usually'

[Drak3]

Because they've seen the following trend:

 

Good price to performance compared to DIY: Anchovy PC.

Good performance compared to DIY: Expensive as hell and parts aren't oriented to upgradability

 

Individual parts also tend to have 3yr, 5yr, 10yr, or lifetime warranties, whereas you often pay a premium for 3 yr with OEMs.

 

And OEM choices aren't always the greatest.

[Mira Yurizaki]

They hate prebuilt machines because they take too much pride in what they do. It's like scoffing at people who don't change their car's oil themselves. At least that's how I see it.

 

I don't hate prebuilt computers. If you'd rather spend your money on convenience, that's on you.

[Bananasplit_00]

because they are more expensive for what you get and because building computers is hella fun

[Moress]

A lot of people hate on Prebuilts, but not all of us do. I totally get wanting to buy a prebuilt to save on the frustration of building one yourself. And a lot of people like to omit windows on their customs builds, which (unless you like getting sketchy codes) adds about $100 to any build.

[LogicalDrm]

Bit of everything really. OEM PSUs and mobos, not being able to upgrade, horrible cooling, noisy, sometimes overexpensive for the specs (usually applies more when they are advertised as "gaming")... I would still say they are valid option for lower end gaming and general use.

[Alariel]

Don't hate them exactly. It's just that they're never built exactly the way I want them, and they often come with an OS that I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Alariel said:

Don't hate them exactly. It's just that they're never built exactly the way I want them, and they often come with an OS that I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole.

What OS tho

[Monte_Carlo]

Used to hate prebuilts because it was the cool thing to do.

 

These days I tend to avoid prebuilds since more than a few will use el cheapo proprietary motherboards and PSU, or skimp out on the PSU/mobo.  There is also aesthetics to consider as well.  While boutique builders will get you great style, cable management, and quality... you pay out the butt for that.  

 

Personally... in the future I wouldn't mind paying up a bit to have someone do a competent cable management job on a build for me.

[Stagea]

8 hours ago, NovaMan01 said:

Ive seen a lot of hate for pre builts in my time in the tech community. Is there any specific reasons why? (Note i have built my own PC and dont plan to buy a prebuilt). Im just curious as to why they are so shunned

I don't shun them. They are actually great for the mass market and businesses since they don't fix their own machines. Having a standardized setup makes for efficient management from an enterprise standpoint, and reduces support cost.

 

I do have custom systems for my personal use (not work) because I like building machines to my specification and I like the fact that the components are not proprietary (easily interchangeable).

[Heywhatsup]

Bit late to the party but when I was wanting to build my first PC 5 years ago, my dad didn't trust me to build it and wanted me to go with a pre-built system that his IT buddy found. It was some random desktop with Beats audio. Most overpriced desktop I've ever seen, they add features that you don't really need and that's how they justify their price points.

 

I didn't know much about PC parts at the time but I ended up building a PC instead and after comparing the specs, the difference was insane and the custom one was so much cheaper. Like other people said, the experience is a big part of it but if you don't care then no biggie. Nothing wrong with pre-builts, as long as they're relatively the same price as if you built your own.