Hey Guys.
I have been so tempted to jump on one of the gaming PC packages from nebula etc.
I always find myself changing the PSU and the RAM and suddenly it’s $300 more expensive. I also think it could be fun to build it.
What’s the best way to source parts? Is one place known to be particularly cheap where I can get everything?
Any advice?
Thank you. I didn’t know that site existed. Any other advice on SSD, motherboard, cases etc?
Would you personally go for a AMD chip or Intel?
What's your budget? What games are you playing? What FPS/refresh rate/graphics settings are you targetting? Are you only gaming or are you also doing creative work? Do you need a SFF build or full size is fine?
We need more information to help you OP.
I would also highly recommend doing some research on YouTube and Reddit for the parts you do pick out.
Would you personally go for a AMD chip or Intel?
Really would depend on what you’re doing. AMD (especially the X3D chips) are known to perform really well in gaming scenarios whereas productivity tasks such as Premiere Pro or Photoshop or encoding/decoding tend to favour Intel. Also worth looking out for sales when you’re buying.
Edit: I know OP said gaming PC but they may also use it for other tasks.
It's fun to build it but it will cost you more in the end. Esp multiple delivery fees and if you are unlucky there could be incompatibility etc.
Make sure you go into with an attitude of having fun no matter what.
I just built a PC, and I did not pay for delivery at all. If you are fortunate enough, you can pick up parts easily ($0).
If you are rural, you are kinda SOL though. However, if you are in a metro location, then 99% of the time you are eligible for free shipping from the majority of retailers..
In most cases, if you simply buy at least two parts in one transaction, you can avoid incurring a delivery fee.
While it is more expensive, there is a significantly greater degree of customisation that you may even end up even cheaper than changing the prebuilt options. Plus, you get quality components instead of a well… bottom-tier QLC NVMe drive & 650 watt PSU that will become immediately obsolete if you upgrade to a Nvidia x80 series or higher in the future
Nice tips!!
Yeah it's heaps of fun building your own PC. My recommendation is to just research… lots! Look up some youtube videos of how to build a PC, watch some videos and read some reviews on the latest CPU's and GPU's and all the technologies associated. Then once you decide on what CPU and GPU you want, start looking at the other components that will work with those, and again - watch and read lots of reviews on each individual component. As you do you'll see the positives and negatives for each one and will eventually settle on the component list that best suits you.
Take your time, build your list, look for bargains on each part. There are so many resources out there and so many discussions where you can learn heaps about it all.
My recommendation is to actually start with a monitor, whether you'll use one you already have or whether there's an S-Tier one you want to aim for - find that and then figure out a build that will work best for that. Next would be size - do you want a monstrous glowing rainbow of a case or a small sleeper that can sit on your desk/tv unit where no one woult even notice it?
When I started I was moving over from PS5 / XSX and what I really wanted was 120fps for all games, and that was a good enough target for me.
Its all fun and games until you press the power button for the first time.
Is one place known to be particularly cheap where I can get everything?
Depends on what exact parts you want — MSY is usually competitively priced. Although, what you save on price though you pay for with customer service :-P
If you want more guidance, PLE Computers have a store in WA too, and have decent pricing but much better service as well.
With the questions, you are asking, probably best just to buy a prebuilt and save money..
If you DIY yourself, you have to be able to troubleshoot.. if something goes wrong.. an identifying which part is faulty..
You pretty much need a friend, with enough spare parts.. or have enough spares parts around…
Thanks for all the help and advice guys. I took all your advice and I decided to buy a build from tech fast. Felt like I got a good 5080 deal actually. Just have to wait now. Thank you all.
Great decision, I have also bought the techfast 5080 deal, because it is cheaper, than what I could put together myself..
Now the waiting game begins..
Yeah. How long do you think?
Cheapest isnt always better. IMO its better to buy from local stores with good support. Graphics cards in particular have a high failure rate. Alot of shops are very slow at doing an rma because they wait to have a few to send off in the same shipment.
Some stores may offer an on the spot replacement or upgrade for extra or tey have faster rma process.
I recall having issues with msy back iun the days it was difficult to get warranty caims processed. Since then Ive mainy bought from scorptec and was very happy with the service.
Amazon have great return/warranty policy so I would also get it from there if you have prime membership.
https://au.pcpartpicker.com/
Pair with cashback, discounted gift cards if available, etc.
Would suggest waiting a bit longer till RX 9000 drops and RTX 5000 starts shipping out so prices on last gen hardware will drop (i.e. RTX 4000 and RX 7000)
No