PC411: Built by the factory, or built by you?

In this installment of PC411, I'm going to tell you about manufactured personal computers and ones built at home. Each personal computer is different, which is why it's called a PC in the first place; personal computers are tailored to the user's needs. However, some manufactured PCs simply don't cut it for some people. In this article, I'm going to show the differences between manufactured computers and ones built at home. Ultimately, I hope this article will help you, the reader, determine which type of personal desktop computer would be right for you. Let's get started!

Manufactured PCs are among the most common in the market. The reason why most consumers buy manufactured PCs is simply because building one requires a good amount of technical knowledge. Most would consider it much easier to buy a PC rather than build one of their own. However, as I've stated earlier, some manufactured PCs don't always suit the user's needs. Additionally, PC manufacturers have great customer support, and only one place to go to whenever a PC is malfunctioning. The downside to this, however, is that when a PC needs to be shipped out for repair, it needs to be shipped in its entirety. In my personal opinion, I wouldn't like doing this due to the fact that privacy is a bit of a concern. Of course, the companies would never give out personal private information, but it's a legitimate worry. Another good thing about personal computers is that they usually come with upgrading options. Though it wouldn't be on the same level as a personally built home computer, it's nice to have that option.

Home built PCs are an entirely different beast. The main thing that sets these apart from manufactured PCs is that the final product is reliant on the builder's skill and knowledge. The best part of a home built PC is that, with the proper information, it can be suited exactly to your needs. A major upside to building a PC is that it can be cheaper overall than buying a manufactured PC, if you pick the best parts for it. One of the main reasons people build home PCs is for gaming purposes; technology constantly evolves and PC gaming will continually push the envelope, requiring new parts as time goes on. Building a home PC makes it easy to upgrade the entire system with newer parts. Additionally, some people build home PCs just as a hobby. The major downside to a home-built PC is that you can't send the entire system to be troubleshot, you have to do the troubleshooting yourself to find the faulty part to get it repaired or replaced.