Gaming PCs

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Custom vs Prebuilt Gaming PCs

Should you buy an off-the-shelf gaming PC or build your own? It's a question that's asked time and time again. Let's run through the pros and cons of each quickly so you can make a more informed purchase decision.

Less Time Building, More Time Gaming

While there's plenty of 'build guides' on the net demystifying the difficulty of building a PC, it's still not something everyone is up for. It may be the time commitment required to not only build the PC itself, but also to research all the components that's off-putting. Or, perhaps it's the potential of accidentally damaging hundreds of pounds' worth of hardware that's too daunting.

With a prebuilt gaming PC, you don't have to worry about any of this; it's the easiest way to get into PC gaming. A prebuilt gaming PC is pretty much ready to go right out of the box. All you've got to do is hook it up to power and a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, and go through the operating system's set up. Before you know it, you'll actually be playing your games - not messing with front-panel headers and connectors.

Warranties and Support

And if anything were to go wrong with your prebuilt gaming PC, the onus wouldn't be on you to diagnose and fix the issue. As you're covered by a warranty with a prebuilt gaming PC, you'd be able to turn to the PC manufacturer's support team for help instead. AlphaSync PCs, for instance, boast three-year collect and return warranties, giving you huge peace of mind.

Customisability and Price

Go down the DIY route, however, and you can choose exactly what goes into your PC, from the all-important graphics cards down to the number of case fans. There's a huge range of prebuilt gaming PCs out there, but there may not be one with the exact spec you want.

It's typically cheaper to buy and assemble all the components yourself, too. That said, with a prebuilt gaming PC, you're not just paying for the hardware itself. You're also paying for its assembly, its warranties, and access to a support line, which for some is worth the premium.

How Much Does a Gaming PC Cost?

The cost of a gaming PC can vary widely depending on the hardware that's inside it. The more powerful the processor and graphics card, the more it's going to cost. Other hardware like the memory and storage will affect the price tag as well, but it's this CPU-GPU combo which has the biggest impact.

On one end of the spectrum are entry-level £500 gaming PCs, and on the other are top-of-the-line £3,000 gaming PCs, which can handle whatever's thrown their way: 4K gaming, real-time ray tracing, high-bitrate streaming, and more. On average, however, most people end up spending around £1,000 on a gaming PC.

A prebuilt gaming PC equipped with a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, for example, is ideal for high-refresh 1080p gaming in many of the latest releases. Stretch your budget to £1,200 - £1,400 or so and you'll be to pick up a prebuilt gaming PC capable of higher-than-60 FPS gaming at 1440p or even 4K, resulting in a notable increase in visual fidelity and smoothness over a console.

Do keep in mind that these prices are only for the desktop tower itself. You'll still need to purchase peripherals and accessories separately.

Gaming PC Under £500

For those looking to get into PC gaming on a budget, you can pick up a gaming PC for under £500 here at Ebuyer. A sub-£500 gaming PC more than likely won't have a discrete, high-performance graphics card, however. Instead, these entry-level systems rely on the processor's integrated graphics.

Today's iGPUs, as they're known for short, are powerful enough to run popular games with simple, lo-fi graphics like Minecraft and Roblox at smooth frame rates, as well as many of the top esports titles. But don't expect to run the latest AAA releases on a £500 gaming PC - at least not at a decent resolution or frame rate.

If you can't stretch your budget now, you can always upgrade one of these £500 gaming PCs with a graphics card later. Upgradability is a key benefit of a gaming PC, after all.

Gaming PCs at Ebuyer

Here at Ebuyer, we stock a range of gaming PCs from all the top brands, including AlphaSync, Medion, and Lenovo.

If you want your new gaming PC by tomorrow, next-day delivery is available. We also offer finance packages for added flexibility. And don't forget the Ebuyer Price Match Promise - we won't be beaten on price.