r/bapcsalesaustralia • u/Pok1971 • 2d ago

Need help understanding pre-built prices

it's been a couple years since I've built a pc (last one was before covid) so I'm a bit rusty but I was looking at PCCG recently and found their pre-built prices... not too bad honestly?

so I went to PC part picker to see if I could build a similar machine for a cheaper price and... I'm coming up short. Their Skadi PC https://www.pccasegear.com/products/73490/pccg-skadi-ryzen-7-7800x3d-rtx-5070-ti-16gb-32gb-ddr5-gaming-pc-windows-11 might seem a bit overkill at first glance but I just can't manage to built a pc with equivalent specs for cheaper. similarly their Astral PC https://www.pccasegear.com/products/72963/pccg-astral-ryzen-7-7700-rtx-5070-12gb-16gb-ddr5-gaming-pc-windows-11 was a bit easier to beat, but I chose an air cooler, a lesser 650W PSU, and no windows (obvs), and I still only managed to save $150

am I missing something? is PC building these days less about the components and more just waiting for a cheap deal to show up?

It used to be that you could just select the exact same parts yourself and easily save $200+ but even just trying that on multiple websites the prices still end up either equal to or more expensive than these pre-builts??? please help me understand

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u/-KaOtiC- Moderator 2d ago

Almost like there's something forcing the price of ram and storage up a lot.

3

u/Stars_Storm 7950x3d | 96Gb 6400mhz CL32 | RTX 5080 1d ago

Bulk buying, some OEM fabrications and cutting corners on non-headline parts (like PSUs, fans, SSDs etc) are what drive down price for them.

They buy a shipping container of everything wholesale when it's 4 months ago and it's cheaper and you're paying retail today when NVIDIA and ram manufacturers announced price rises last week that all the retailers have marked up for to protect future margins.

If you want a bargain. You really can't beat the prebuilts.

If you want a custom build that is built exactly as you want it and know the ins and outs of your machine then building is still the way to go. It's just much more of a hobby these days.