For many years, it's usually been cheaper to build your own PC using hand-selected components than purchase a pre-built machine, but is that still true in 2026?

Person installing a graphics card inside a desktop PC case - Dikushin Dmitry/Shutterstock Building your own PC used to be the best alternative to buying a prebuilt one. Instead of settling for ...

Building your own PC is kind of like cooking: deeply satisfying if you know what you're doing, mildly traumatic if you don't. Pre-builts, meanwhile, are microwave meals. Not bad, not great, and ...