I'm deciding between building my next PC and buying an MSI Aegis prebuilt from Costco, currently listed at about my target budget until this Sunday. It has a Ryzen 9 9900X, GeForce RTX 5080, 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD. I mainly play games, but I'd also like to do some video and photo editing and occasional streaming.
My current system is a prebuilt, but I was hoping to build the next one myself. I'm wondering whether building would actually save money right now, possibly by choosing something like an RTX 5070 Ti, or whether the Costco system offers better value. I can spend a little more if there's a good reason, but I'd prefer to stay under budget if possible.
I'm also concerned that component prices could rise, and I'm currently in a good enough financial position to buy before that becomes a problem. What would you recommend? Are there particular parts, prebuilt companies, or build strategies I should consider?
5 Answers
You could also look at boutique builders such as Andromeda Insights. They may offer a lower price or a stronger gaming-focused CPU than the Costco system, though their lead times can be around a month, they charge when the order is placed, and shipping costs may apply. Make sure you’re comfortable waiting and verify the warranty and support process before ordering.
Building your own system may not save much money anymore, especially once you compare complete systems at current component prices. The bigger advantage is choosing better-quality parts for areas prebuilts often cut costs on, such as the motherboard, power supply, cooling, case, and memory. I’d price the Costco system component-by-component using a parts list and compare the total before deciding.
The Costco machine looks reasonable if the price matches your budget. It should also be upgradeable, so you can replace individual parts later and sell the originals. Before buying, check the exact motherboard, power supply, cooling setup, and case dimensions rather than judging only by the CPU and GPU. The case needs enough room for future upgrades, and proprietary components can make prebuilt systems harder to modify.
One major advantage of the Costco option is convenience. Costco’s return policy for electronics is limited to 90 days, but within that period you generally have an easier path if the system arrives defective or you change your mind. Some prebuilts also include a two-year warranty, which can save you from diagnosing and replacing individual parts when something goes wrong.
Buying parts over time can make a self-build easier on your budget, but it has a downside: the return period may expire before you assemble everything and discover a faulty component. If you take that route, prioritize parts that are likely to change in price or availability, such as the GPU, RAM, and storage, but avoid spreading purchases out so long that testing becomes difficult.
That’s a good point about return windows. I’d need to keep the buying and assembly timeline fairly short so I could test everything while the parts are still covered by their retailer return policies.