#1 Quality – Want the most well built and reliable parts available? Or are you looking to avoid the common unreliability issues with prebuilt ‘generic’ desktops and get something that will last.

# 2 Upgradeability – A custom built computer is generally far more upgradable than a prebuilt. Want to add a second or bigger/more powerful Graphics card, you can. Want to add liquid cooling or upgrade your storage, no problem.

#3 Speed/Power – When building a custom you can get the absolute latest/fastest parts all around. Meaning you can have the fastest Processor, Ram, hard drive and the best Graphics, along with a board and cooling that can support it all. With a prebuilt computer its impossible to get everything.

#4 Gaming – If you want to play games, a custom built computer is the ultimate. Get all the gaming specific parts you want and have your computer tailor made for you and the games you play.

#5 It’s Custom! – Get what you want and need. Want tons of lights? Want a pink computer? Want tons of storage? Whatever you want out of your computer is possible. Get what you want and nothing you don’t.

Things to consider for your custom build.

Case – How does it look? Will it provide enough cooling for your components? Will it fit the board/GPU/fans/coolers you want? Does it have space for enough hard drives? Do you need a DVD drive? How sturdy is the construction? Is it all metal or is it plastic? Does it have the ports you need/want on the front? Is it easy to clean? Is it easy to build with? How will it be for cable management? Does it fit your budget?

Motherboard – Does it support the processor you want to run? What speed of ram and how much can it support? Does it have enough NVMe/M.2 slots for you to use? What about USBC, Thunderbolt, and Wifi? Does it support a USC on the front of the case? Will it fit in your case?
Does it have enough PCIE slots? Is it a good brand? Does it have heat sinks for cooling? Does this board fit in your budget?

Processor – AMD or Intel? What type of processor best suits my software? Is it powerful enough to handle the intended use? Will your processing needs change? Will it be powerful enough in the future to do what you want? How much heat will the processor make? Do I need liquid cooling and if so, how big of a cooler? Do I need a processor with integrated graphics? Do I want a processor that can be overclocked? How much power does the processor require? What Ram speed does it support? Does it fit on my motherboard?

Ram – How much ram do I need? What speed should I get? Will it make a difference? Can my motherboard and processor support it? Will I want or need to upgrade later? What size sticks should I get? Do I want RGB or a certain color?

Graphics Card (GPU) – AMD, NVIDIA, or Intel? What card will perform best for my intended use? Will it fit in my case? Will I need supports? Does my power supply have the connections and power to support it? How many fans does the card have? What kind of cooling will it need? How many monitors does it support? Do I want to run Multiple GPUs? SLI or NVLink? What is my budget for the GPU?

Cooling – How many fans do I need? How many come with the case? Do I need liquid cooling? Will the fans and coolers I want fit? How loud are they? Where will my computer be sitting/located? How often will I be cleaning it? Do I want RGB’s?

Storage – How much storage do I want or need? How fast and what size drive should I use for my main drive? Do I need a second drive and if so how fast do I need it to be. What speed drive does my board support? NVME, M.2, 2.5”, or 3.5” drives? What makes sense for my board, case and budget? Heatsink or not?

Power Supply – How much wattage do I need? Modular or not? Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze?
Will I need to add to my build in the future? What cables do I need? Do I want upgraded cables?
Noise? Adjustable fan speed? RGB? Brand? What is the warranty?

Lights – Do I want any lights anywhere? Do I want to be able to adjust the color? Does my board have a controller or adequate connections? Do I need a separate controller? What will look good with my case? What will work with my case?