Jon Peakman' Post

12 Reasons to Build Your Own PC

fantasticbuild

Recently, a buddy of mine told me that his 4-year-old PC was getting outdated and that he wanted to get a new rig. The big electronics retailer down the street had some good deals, he said.

I gritted my teeth. He kept going on about how it was too bad every computer today has Windows 8 on it and how it costs so much money and time to build your own. Thankfully, he said, the store down the street has a gaming computer on sale.

That’s when I thew up my hands and told him that, as his friend, I could not support him buying a “gaming computer” (or any other PC) from a retailer. He asked me what the big deal was. I told him: the big deal is, if you use your computer for more than just light Internet browsing, if you want to get the most for your money, and especially if you plan to use it for gaming, you really, really should build your own.

He asked me for one good reason why building was so much better than buying. I gave him five, and now I’m giving you a dozen. Here are 12 reasons why you should build your own PC instead of buying it pre-built:

Read More


Choosing the Right PC Parts: Tips for First-Time Computer Builders

image

There’s lots of reasons to build your own computer but the main 2 are so you can give it the performance you want it to have and to save money. But building a rig for the first time can be an intimidating prospect. All those parts! All that electricity flying around! All those weird terms like “form factor” and “SSD” and “PCI Express 3.0 x16” that have increasingly occupied your mind ever since you first floated the idea of upgrading your computer! You start to wonder why you tried this and didn’t just go to a computer recycling site instead. It’s a lot to think about – and a lot to buy. Here’s a short guide on how to get started and keep things as simple and stress-free as possible.

Read More