Why gamers should never go for pre-built PCs

I often see people who claim to be 'gamers' buy pre-built PCs (although this trend has reduced in the past couple of years) to avoid the hassle of building one themselves. This is a really foolish thing to do. Pre-built PCs might be a good choice for any other purpose, but certainly NOT games (this includes Alienware too). Read on, to find out why.

First, I'm considering the regular high-end PCs which are not marketed as 'Gaming PCs'. Such PCs often tend to include very powerful processors (such as the Intel Core i7), but less RAM (in gaming context) and no dedicated graphics card. For example, a PC having a 3rd generation Intel Core i7 usually has just 4GB of RAM  (of high frequency) and NO dedicated graphics card. 4 GB RAM is more than sufficient for most purposes, but would be just about manageable for modern games. Usually, the impact of having less system RAM  can't directly be observed in terms of game performance, but the game takes an eternity to load (that is, to enter into the game from the menu or load a saved game).

Now, the real major issue is with respect to the graphics card. If a pre-builtPC is not specifically marketed as a 'gaming PC', then it is almost certain not to have a dedicated graphics card. I'm sure most gamers know that no PC game released within the last few years can run satisfactorily with an onboard graphics chip. In fact, most games refuse to even launch, when they don't detect dedicated graphics hardware. This means, in spite of spending a lot on a high-end PC, the buyer needs to invest in a mid-range graphics card at least, as well as more RAM. Cost of RAM isn't too high, but the cost of a graphics card can be significant. And having a VERY high end processor is certainly an overkill with respect to games, because most games depend a lot more on the graphics card than the processor (except maybe RTS games). For example, a PC having a mid-range processor and a high-end graphics card can run a game much better than a PC with a high end processor and a mid-range graphics card.

Now, the REALLY enthusiastic gamers go for gaming PCs such as Alienware. Agreed, they are powerful enough to run almost all recent games at their highest settings. But they are GROSSLY overpriced. And although they do have a powerful graphics card, their high-end processor would be an overkill (as I have indicated in my previous paragraph).

The main disadvantage with pre-built PCs, whether they can run games or not, is the lack of component choice. The vendor offers some set combinations, and you have to choose one among them. You won't be able to customize every component as per your requirement. For a gamer, it is always beneficial to hand-pick every component of his PC so that it offers the greatest bang for the buck, without any component being a bottleneck or an overkill. He can then build it himself, or get it done by a professional for a nominal fee. When the main purpose is gaming, the combined cost of the components, and maybe the fee paid to the person who builds the PC, would still be much lower than a pre-built PC. So be smart, and choose wisely. If you're a gamer, always say no to pre-built PCs.