When did buying a prebuilt PC become a taboo in the PC community?

[MatthewOU2015]

I hang around in the PC building communities on reddit, facebook, etc and recommending a prebuilt PC is a recipe for downvotes or getting made fun of. Not everyone has the time or the skill to build a PC. The amount of posts on tech support forms from people screwing something up is really high. Nobody can recommend a prebuilt without being shit on.

[WorcesterSauce]

I think a lot of it comes from where you buy it from. You are almost never getting good value when you buy a premade PC from somewhere like PC World or (Insert non-UK mainstream store here).

You can get decent ones online, but normally picking a pre-made will include some more expensive parts which don't really offer you much performance or fit your needs exactly.

If you hate or can't build a PC, the best thing to do is to buy from a company who let you pick your individual parts and then assemble them for you before shipping out. Novatech for example do this in the UK.

[tikcol]

I hang around in the PC building communities on reddit, facebook, etc and recommending a prebuilt PC is a recipe for downvotes or getting made fun of. Not everyone has the time or the skill to build a PC. The amount of posts on tech support forms from people screwing something up is really high. Nobody can recommend a prebuilt without being shit on.

You don't have to build it yourself you know, you can order the parts and have the nearest hardware store build it for you. I did that with my last PC and they charged me 20$ or something.

[jellmoo]

I think it's not so much a thing against buying a pre-built PC, rather it's the audience buying a pre-built PC. People who are PC aficionados who regularly visit these communities. It's not about being against the notion for the bulk of the population. These are people who absolutely should buy a pre-built machine.

[AcidContainer]

Made an account just to make a post when I saw it lookin for latest Shadowlands stuff lol.
AFAIK It always has been, but I guess there was that period of brands making a scene like alienware and razer.
Usually its because building one is far better and cheaper than a prebuilt when used for gaming. Of course there is a lot of learning, knowledge and experience required with mistakes becoming costly. I think the general consensus is its usually best to learn as much as you can about it first.

[Queen of Hamsters]

People like to divide themselves into "us vs them".
More at 11.

[Linkedblade]

I hang around in the PC building communities on reddit, facebook, etc and recommending a prebuilt PC is a recipe for downvotes or getting made fun of. Not everyone has the time or the skill to build a PC. The amount of posts on tech support forms from people screwing something up is really high. Nobody can recommend a prebuilt without being shit on.

It's because mainstream and enthusiast collide when it comes to gaming. It's like this in any tech field. You have you average person come through and you always have the enthusiast shit on them.

It comes down to prebuilt PC's are always moderately priced and have sketchy parts or insanely overpriced and have decent parts. Take any oem PC company like Alienware/apple or any boutique PC company like Cyberpower and check their pricing compared to self built and you can see the margins.

[Thunderball]

It was always a stupid idea and was always frowned upon in the enthusiast community. Things have changed however. It used to be that you had to become the enthusiast to build your own PC: building, picking components, figuring out the compatibility and sourcing quality parts used to be something you had to research for a while. These days the information is readily accessible: you have step-by-step video instructions for everything, including building a PC. Figuring out out a cookie-cutter build takes 30 minutes. You can order all parts online in 5 minutes. So given the fact prebuilds still have most of it's disadvantages: shitty, unknown parts used and 25-40% markup it just doesnt make any sense to go with a prebuild.

[Saltysquidoon]

Because you'll get ripped off and it's almost impossible to fuck up building a PC.

I don't know how it could be a taboo though, how will anyone ever know what your pc is unless you tell them?

[Indigenously Abled]

Because you'll get ripped off and it's almost impossible to fuck up building a PC.

I don't know how it could be a taboo though, how will anyone ever know what your pc is unless you tell them?

Laughs in The Verge.

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I hang around in the PC building communities on reddit, facebook, etc and recommending a prebuilt PC is a recipe for downvotes or getting made fun of. Not everyone has the time or the skill to build a PC. The amount of posts on tech support forms from people screwing something up is really high. Nobody can recommend a prebuilt without being shit on.

Honestly, at some point in 2017-2018 IIRC with average hardware prices being outrageous, it was more economical to buy a pre-built desktop.

[Bigbazz]

I hang around in the PC building communities on reddit, facebook, etc and recommending a prebuilt PC is a recipe for downvotes or getting made fun of. Not everyone has the time or the skill to build a PC. The amount of posts on tech support forms from people screwing something up is really high. Nobody can recommend a prebuilt without being shit on.

When you started hanging around PC building communities is the answer. I've been following them somewhat since the late 1990s, it's always been a thing. Of course since PC building became vastly more standardised and simplified, and since the industry has moved towards facilitating PC building it has become more and more a thing.

If you build your own system you win, in the past it was often much more expensive to build your own too, but these days you usually get more for your money, less compromise.

[Daedius]

Pre built PCs are generally RIP offs, often being twice the actual cost or more so.

Building a PC today has never been easier!

[chazus]

Part of the issue is that any discussion about pre-built pc's takes place in a builder community. There isn't any "Pre Built PC Community". Generally speaking, with lower quality, less options, and high prices sometimes, it only draws ire. There are very, very rarely, any good reasons for pre-built. Even if there are reasons sometimes. Either way, the groups they are discussed in already wouldn't want them.

It's like discussing the benefits of coal power in a renewable energy forum.

[deenman]

I hang around in the PC building communities on reddit, facebook, etc and recommending a prebuilt PC is a recipe for downvotes or getting made fun of. Not everyone has the time or the skill to build a PC. The amount of posts on tech support forms from people screwing something up is really high. Nobody can recommend a prebuilt without being shit on.

Uhm..you dont need to have the time or skill to do it,in my town i have a shit ton of pc shops,you go in,tell em what you want/need,you give em a price and they show you options and make it for you,any1 buying prebuild is simply getting scamed

[SinR]

Prebuilt you're buying a Name.

[DemonDays]

I hang around in the PC building communities on reddit, facebook, etc and recommending a prebuilt PC is a recipe for downvotes or getting made fun of. Not everyone has the time or the skill to build a PC. The amount of posts on tech support forms from people screwing something up is really high. Nobody can recommend a prebuilt without being shit on.

Stop being so precious.

The only taboo with buying a pre-built is if you buy from somewhere like Alienware without doing a single shred of research. You are being hilariously ripped off by these companies.

This is the same with literally anything else in the world. If you choose willingly to be ripped off without doing the bare minimum of research then people will mock you or feel sorry for you.

When did we all start being offended by literally everything.



PC Community doesn't care if you buy a pre-built off a reputable source. Like Scorptec or PCCasegear in AUS.

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Forget those people that trash anyone for doing that. Get what YOU want.

Exactly. Stop worrying about what others think.

If you wanna worry - then yeah. You're an idiot for not doing your research and getting ripped off by Alienware(for example).

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People like to divide themselves into "us vs them".
More at 11.

People like to be offended by literally everything and worry far too much about what others think.

More at 11.

[Nefarious Tea]

I hang around in the PC building communities on reddit, facebook, etc and recommending a prebuilt PC is a recipe for downvotes or getting made fun of. Not everyone has the time or the skill to build a PC. The amount of posts on tech support forms from people screwing something up is really high. Nobody can recommend a prebuilt without being shit on.

About the time companies fucked everything up by installed a fuckload of shadowy bloatware (read: corporate malware) on computers. So... around the late 90's, give or take.

[Biomega]

It's not a "taboo" it's just that modern PCs are so easy to assemble and the temptation for prebuilt systems to include subpar components and/or preinstall predatory software is so high that there's virtually no reason to get a prebuilt system.

Even paying someone to assemble it for you will usually see you coming out ahead.

[Mirishka]

I hang around in the PC building communities on reddit, facebook, etc and recommending a prebuilt PC is a recipe for downvotes or getting made fun of. Not everyone has the time or the skill to build a PC. The amount of posts on tech support forms from people screwing something up is really high. Nobody can recommend a prebuilt without being shit on.

Who cares what a bunch of morons on reddit/Facebook think? If you find a good deal on a powerful pre-built PC, snap it up and enjoy your gaming. You don't have to validate your gaming choices to anyone, and if you run into one of the 'REEL GAMERZ BILD PC' idiots, block them. One less source of stupid for you to worry about.

[Bellamas]

There is the build it tribe, and the buy it tribe. The build it tribe hates the buy it tribe. For what reason, we can never be completely sure.

I do know it is not because the build it tribe has any goodwill towards the buy it tribe. Their invective towards the buy it tribe is always so intense as to almost be shocking.