Pricing and availability

* Product prices and availability are updated by Equipboard every 24hrs and are subject to change. Equipboard may receive compensation for purchases made at participating retailers linked on this site. This compensation does not affect what products or prices are displayed, or the order of prices listed. For more information, please refer to our affiliate disclosure.

Reviews

Owner Insights

We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about Custom Built PC.

Value and pricing

  • The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X bundle at Micro Center offers strong value, particularly for digital art and gaming, despite being in black.

    Source
  • While building your own PC can offer better value, prebuilt systems may offer competitive pricing on high-demand components like GPUs, occasionally matching or slightly exceeding MSRP.

    Source

User experience

  • It's noted that after-sale support is crucial, especially for non-tech-savvy users, with smaller shops potentially providing more personalized assistance.

    Source
  • Smaller, local shops might offer personalized service like upgrading CPUs when new models are available, unlike larger builders.

    Source
  • Prebuilt PCs from services like iBuyPower and Maingear offer the advantage of a single point of contact for troubleshooting, which can be crucial for complex, hard-to-diagnose issues.

    Source

Comparisons

  • The AMD 7800X3D is viewed as a strong CPU choice, but the 7600X serves as a practical interim alternative if the 9800X3D is unavailable.

    Source

Features and functionality

  • WiFi 7 compatibility is noted as future-ready but not essential yet due to limited device support.

    Source
  • It's recommended to use RAM with a speed of exactly 6000 MHz and EXPO enabled for optimal performance, avoiding instability with four RAM sticks.

    Source
  • Users recommend NVME SSDs over SATA for better performance, suggesting separate drives for OS and applications to optimize system efficiency.

    Source
  • The Deepcool LS720 SE WH liquid CPU cooler is favored for its aesthetic appeal in white builds, fitting well with color-themed setups.

    Source

Setup and maintenance

  • Motherboards with WiFi 6 or 6E and USB-C ports are advised for future-proofing, with a preference for boards from ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, and ASrock.

    Source
  • Air coolers are praised for longevity and cost-effectiveness, while water coolers offer aesthetic appeal but may require replacement after 3-4 years.

    Source
  • The ease of assembly is often compared to adult Legos, but potential pitfalls include static shock and bending pins, which can be a concern for first-time builders.

    Source

Use cases and applications

  • Nvidia GPUs, like the 4070 Ti SUPER, are recommended for 3D applications due to their 16GB VRAM and solid gaming performance.

    Source
  • Custom PC builders are noted for their ability to specify components for specific needs, such as gaming or productivity, providing tailored performance over mass-produced systems.

    Source

Build quality

  • Owners prefer selecting brand-name components for custom builds, particularly with power supplies, to ensure reliability and avoid issues with unbranded parts.

    Source
  • White GPUs are often significantly more expensive, but they can be spray painted to achieve the desired aesthetic without voiding warranties.

    Source

Mods and upgrades

  • For color customization, aftermarket PSU cables in white or lilac/pink can enhance the build's cohesive look.

    Source

Software and compatibility

  • Windows compatibility issues can be a significant challenge, leading to unexplained system lockups without clear event logs or diagnostic errors, as experienced by multiple builders.

    Source
Add

5.0 out of 5

Based on 39 Reviews and 111 Ratings

5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star
hexcode

I built my own PC

I built my own PC, it´s great. Windows 10, 16gb RAM, Intel Core i7 9700k, Geforce RTX 2070.

eliranbenishai

The Spec

Intel Core i7 6800K | G.Skill Ripjaws-V 2x16GB DDR4 2400Mhz Kit | Corsair Carbide Air 540 White Edition | Samsung SSD 950 PRO M.2 512GB | Asus ROG STRIX X99 | Corsair HX850i 850W Platinum | Gigabyte GTX 1080

stringtone

If you're not getting something low-range, look into it

My friend helped me with a PC build and it runs like a dream

J

Custom PCs are top of the list

Anyone who likes both gaming and music will hopefully have a custom PC. Mine has a GTX 1060 graphics card. I don't really want to go hardcore.

bytebandit

It's ok

dual core i3, 1 tb hdd, no graphics card, random psu from a company i've never heard of before, and a random motherboard. also has an optical drive and a floppy disk drive for portable storage needs

giulio_soffici

Build

Asus Maximus Hero VIII ,Intel Core I5 6600K , Nvidia Gtx 970 G1 gaming , 8x2 GB DDR4 gSkill , SSD Samung 512GB, 1TB HDD , Corsair Carbide 400c case , Corsair H110i Aio Liquid Cooler

D

Computer knowledge helps!

I'm against who says that, if you need that you want a stable system for music production, you have to buy a pre-built rig. So I built my one, and it's working well. Having a bit of computer knowledge helps you a lot!

R

Really great, because you can choose what components to put in yourself

Really nice piece of gear. I've put all the stuff in myself, so it's fast like hell. And if I think it's too slow, I just throw some new components in. Pretty awesome.

chillizard

SPECS

i5-6600K 16GB DDR4 RAM ASUS H170 PRO GAMING MOBO RADEON RX 370 250GB SAMSUNG SSD + 2TB WD BLACK HDD

lumitect

Pc i got off craigslist lol

Quad core 3.6hz , 8gb ram, raddeon graphics (spelled right i think?) a cool see through side, 6 usb ports, 1 firewire port, windows.

Artist usage

Add artist
See how Martin Garrix uses Custom Built PC

Martin Garrix

Music Producer

AREA21

...
Verified via Twitter

In this Tweet, Martin is surrounded by parts— likely the mentioned parts he bought— necessary to custom-build a PC.

See how Deadmau5 uses Custom Built PC

Deadmau5

Music Producer

BSOD

...
Verified via Photo

Deadmau5 posted photo on Instagram, showing his new Custom PC

See how Arty uses Custom Built PC

Arty

Music Producer

...
Verified via Twitter

Arty mentioned on Twitter that he's upgrading his studio setup with a powerful custom-built PC, featuring an i7 3960x processor, PCI-E SSDs, and 32 GB of RAM.

See how Ummet Ozcan uses Custom Built PC

Ummet Ozcan

Music Producer

...
Verified via Instagram

We can see his enormous Custom Built PC he got in this picture

See how Röyksopp uses Custom Built PC

Röyksopp

Music Producer

Röyksopp

...
Verified via Barcodezine

Q: Do you use software for arrangement and then hardware for playing the music? Royksopp: that’s the most common thing. We don’t use Macs, we’re PC people

See how Paris Blohm uses Custom Built PC

Paris Blohm

Music Producer

...
Verified via Photo

On Instagram Paris Blohm shows his custom built PC. He says, "THE BEAST IS COMPLETE". Looking closely, it appears he installed an AMD FX CPU, as well as a SeaSonic X Series power supply.

See how DotEXE uses Custom Built PC

DotEXE

Music Producer

...
Verified via Facebook

DotEXE posts a Facebook photo showing his new custom built desktop PC. He shares the specs of it as well:

"PS: i just started building this new computer and im super stoked on it for pumping out new tunes. Heres some of the specs if anyone is interested:

-Intel i7-4930k -24 gb corsair ram -250 ssd + 3 tb drive -geforce 780 gtx Ti"

See how Yasunori Mitsuda uses Custom Built PC

Yasunori Mitsuda

Composer, Music Producer

...
Verified via Archive

"Custom Windows machine" is included in the equipment list on his website.

See how Project 46 uses Custom Built PC

Project 46

...
Verified via SoundCloud

Razer Music lists the parts that Project 46 used to build their PC.

See how Arston uses Custom Built PC

Arston

Music Producer

...
Verified via YouTube

Arston "I earned some money and bought my PC"

See how Sascha Dikiciyan uses Custom Built PC

Sascha Dikiciyan

Composer

...
Verified via Speakhertz - Talk Audio

"I’m no “laptop musician”. I use mainly a custom-built PC with Windows 7 running Cubase, Live and a ton of other software. I used to have several slave machines, but I hated dealing with them, so now I have only one PC doing it all with a better CPU ."

See how Ronan Mullins uses Custom Built PC

Ronan Mullins

DJ

...
Verified via Instagram

My Custom built PC serves as a gaming machine as well as a platform to run FL studio.

Genre Usage

Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.

Used With

Based on how musicians on Equipboard use Custom Built PC, it is most commonly used with the following gear.

Community setups

Show yours
orcasynth

orcasynth

Gear IQ 571

orcasynth

orcasynth

Gear IQ 571

I

ifad_world

Gear IQ 78

T

timmapper

Gear IQ 93

More Computers & Peripherals

Similar

Gear Guides