There was a time when I built PCs from scratch and sold them at a profit, and I was able to generate a pretty decent side income from it. In total, I built and sold right at 200 computers before I moved on to other interests.
Today, computers are mass-produced commodities, and that makes it pretty hard to purchase all the individual parts required to build a PC at prices low enough to make a profit when selling the assembled unit.
After all, it’s hard for the little guy to compete with the big guys these days due to economy of scale.
That being said, there are still some benefits to be derived from building your own computer instead of purchasing one at retail. Here are a few of the reasons why some folks still build their own PCs:
1 – The process of building a computer offers a true learning experience, giving you an opportunity to learn about the discrete internal components that make up a working PC and how they work together as a system. When all is said and done, you’ll know details about a computer’s innards that most users will never know.
2 – You’ll end up with exactly the computer you want. When you buy one off the shelf, you rarely get exactly what you’re looking for in a PC. For most people that isn’t a big deal, but to others it makes all the difference in the world.
When you build your own machine from scratch you get to choose the exact motherboard, CPU, video card, storage devices, and other components that will become your new computer. What’s more, you even get to choose a case/chassis to put them in.
3 – A home-built PC is usually easier to upgrade than a mass-produced model. Since none of the parts are proprietary, you can swap one or more of them out for a newer and faster model without having to replace the entire PC.
4 – Building a computer from scratch is fun and creates a sense of accomplishment. Anyone who has ever built a PC will tell you that it’s a real thrill when you press the power button and watch it come to life and boot up into Windows, Linux or whatever operating system you ended up installing on it.
5 – While it’s absolutely essential to do it correctly, assembling a pile of computer parts into a working PC isn’t as difficult as you might think. There are countless videos on Youtube that explain in detail how to choose the parts you’ll need, and you’ll find many more that show how to install them inside the case and onto the motherboard.
Bottom line: Even though you probably won’t save any money by building your own computer, there are still plenty of other reasons for doing so.
If you decide to take the plunge and build your next PC from scratch, I recommend doing some research on Youtube and maybe even picking up this great step-by-step guide on Amazon in order to learn exactly what’s involved.
Then, when you’re ready, order the parts
And by the way, I’m always happy to help out whenever I can. If you have questions or need advice, feel free to contact me. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
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