Thorough Price Comparison of Custom-Built PCs vs BTO PCs with 3 Different Configurations

For those considering building a custom PC, it is natural to wonder whether a custom-built PC or a BTO (Build To Order) PC is cheaper, and how much the price difference is.

Custom PCs offer various advantages such as design flexibility, customization options, the desire to assemble a PC, and the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills about computers. However, the price difference remains an important factor when deciding how to get a new computer.

Since the average price varies depending on the specifications, let’s compare the prices of different PC builds such as standard, mid-range, and high-end models.

Also, PC parts are highly affected by exchange rates and global events, causing prices to fluctuate significantly. Even without such factors, prices change daily to some extent. This article will explain these reasons as well.

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PC Parts Estimation & Compatibility Check Tool

Automatically checks each component you need when selecting parts for a custom-built PC—perfect for beginners.

About the Price Difference Between Custom PCs and BTO PCs

This article compares the price differences between custom-built PCs and BTO PCs for standard, mid-range, and high-end builds.

First, the comparison method will be explained before looking at the prices for each build.

How the Price Difference is Compared

If the comparison is made by build type without explaining the assumptions, it is unclear how the PCs were selected. Therefore, the comparison method is explained first.

For each build, a BTO PC with a market-average price is selected, and then PC parts with almost the same specifications are chosen for the custom PC to compare prices.

Therefore, the results may differ if compared with prices from generally cheaper manufacturers or during sales.

The reason for comparing several builds is that the price difference is significant when compared to custom PCs.

It would not be appropriate to compare only one build and declare, “This is the price difference between custom PCs and BTO PCs.”

When choosing parts for the custom PC to match the BTO PC, the following specifications are used:

• OS
• CPU
• CPU cooler type (air or liquid)
• Memory type, capacity, number of sticks, data transfer speed
• Motherboard chipset, memory slots, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth availability
• GPU chip
• SSD type, PCI Express version, capacity
• Power supply capacity and 80PLUS certification

The basic specifications that directly affect PC performance—CPU, memory, GPU, and storage—are the same.

Trying to match specifications any further is often not possible because BTO PCs do not always list every detail, and narrowing down further could result in selecting unrealistic price points. Therefore, as long as the main performance aspects are the same, it is considered acceptable.

For parts that cannot be exactly matched, advantages are highlighted in blue and disadvantages in red.

CPU coolers are selected based on the CPU’s performance.

On Pasolog, about 30 actual machines have been reviewed with units borrowed from manufacturers, so the typical CPU coolers used are known, and similar cooling performance parts are chosen for the custom PC.

The following criteria are used when selecting PC parts for the custom build:

• Matching the above list of specifications
• Among matching parts, those from well-known manufacturers and with lower prices
• Prices are based on Amazon as of 2024/05/13
• The Custom PC Parts Estimation & Compatibility Check Tool (ver 2.1.0) is used for part selection and searching.

This tool allows beginners to estimate and check compatibility just by selecting parts.

It can save multiple builds and calculate power supply requirements, so it is highly recommended.

Basically, as long as the specifications are met, the cheapest parts are selected. However, in practice, personal preferences often increase the cost.

For example, focusing on the PC case design, adding heat sinks to memory, or choosing white-themed parts and accessories.

Therefore, expect the actual build cost to be higher than the listed price.

With these assumptions, the prices of BTO PCs and custom PCs are compared.

Comparing Price Differences for Standard PCs

Standard PCs are for everyday use, compared here without a graphics card but with mid-range specs.

The price is around 100,000 yen, making it relatively affordable among computers.

The BTO PC referenced is Mouse Computer’s standard PC, “mouse SH-I5U01“.

The price difference is about 45,000 yen, with the custom PC being cheaper.

With this price difference, even if you focus on the PC case design, the custom PC is still cheaper.

Even with a 5,000 yen PC case, if you expand your budget to 10,000–15,000 yen, you will have many more options and can choose a case you like.

This time, since the BTO PC uses DDR5 memory, DDR5 memory and a compatible motherboard were selected. If it were DDR4, the total would be around 85,000 yen, making the price difference about 50,000 yen.

Comparing Price Differences for Mid-Range PCs

Mid-range PCs are for demanding tasks like 3D gaming and video editing, requiring good graphics performance. The comparison uses mid-range CPUs and GPUs.

The price is around 150,000–250,000 yen, which is the main price range for PCs.

The BTO PC referenced is Dospara’s gaming PC “GALLERIA RM5C-R46T“.

The price difference is about 40,000 yen, which is smaller than for the standard PC.

It was expected that the higher the PC price, the greater the price difference would be for custom builds, so this result is a bit surprising.

Since mid-range PCs are the most in-demand, BTO manufacturers work hard to keep prices down, so the price difference does not widen much. This gives the impression that BTO makers are working hard rather than custom PC prices being high.

However, with about 40,000 yen, you can upgrade the CPU or GPU, increase storage capacity, focus on PC case design, choose a modular power supply, or select a motherboard with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. There is room to consider various options.

If you upgrade all these aspects, the custom PC may become more expensive, but there is still enough margin to customize to your preferences.

Comparing Price Differences for High-End PCs

High-end PCs are for demanding tasks like 3D gaming and video editing, especially for those who want high FPS or more efficient work.

These builds mainly use high-end CPUs and GPUs, with larger storage and often an additional HDD as sub-storage.

The price is around 250,000–400,000 yen, making it a high price range for PCs.

The comparison uses a high-performance BTO PC as a reference.

The BTO PC referenced is Dospara’s gaming PC “GALLERIA XA7C-R48S“.

The price difference is about 80,000 yen, the largest among all builds.

When comparing high-end PC builds, the price difference between custom PCs and BTO PCs is often more pronounced.

Especially, the higher the performance of the parts, the greater the difference tends to be.

With about 80,000 yen, you can upgrade the CPU to a Core i7, increase storage capacity, focus on PC case design, choose modular power supplies, higher 80PLUS certification, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, LED lighting, and more.

However, upgrading the GPU to the next level, such as the RTX 4090, costs at least 300,000 yen, which is 130,000 yen more than the RTX 4080 SUPER. Carefully consider whether such high graphics performance is necessary.

Summary of Price Comparisons

Comparing the price differences for standard, mid-range, and high-end builds, custom PCs are cheaper for all builds.

For standard and mid-range builds, custom PCs are about 40,000 yen cheaper, and for high-end builds, about 80,000 yen cheaper.

However, for custom PCs, the cheapest parts that meet the specifications are selected, so not all features or designs are included, and some builds may feel plain.

Therefore, this price difference can be considered the budget for adding personal preferences such as features and design, which is the real pleasure of building a custom PC.

Of course, minimizing costs to make it cheaper than a BTO PC is also an option, but since building a custom PC is a unique experience, enjoy customizing it to your liking.

Although custom PCs are cheaper, price alone should not determine which to choose.

Other factors such as customization, design, warranty, repair, disposal, and required time also differ between custom PCs and BTO PCs.

Price is important, but knowing the other pros and cons will help in choosing between a custom PC and a BTO PC.

About Price Fluctuations for Custom PCs and BTO PCs

PCs are products whose prices change frequently due to various factors such as exchange rates and global events.

Impact of Exchange Rates

Most PC parts are developed and manufactured overseas, in countries like the USA, China, Taiwan, and South Korea.

Therefore, they are inevitably affected by exchange rates, causing prices to rise or fall by tens of thousands of yen depending on the timing.

As currency values change, the import cost of PC parts fluctuates, which is directly reflected in prices.

For example, when the yen is weak, the price of imported parts rises, causing PC part prices to increase. Conversely, when the yen is strong, imported parts become cheaper, and PC part prices tend to decrease.

For custom PCs, since parts are purchased individually, they are more directly affected by exchange rates.

On the other hand, BTO PC manufacturers buy parts in bulk, so short-term exchange rate fluctuations have less impact on their prices.

However, in the long term, BTO PC prices are also affected, so it is important to watch these trends and time PC or PC part purchases carefully.

Supply Shortages of PC Parts Due to Natural Disasters and Global Events

PC part prices are also affected by supply shortages caused by natural disasters and global events.

Natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods can directly damage factories that manufacture PC parts, including semiconductors.

Also, events like pandemics or sudden increases in demand can cause supply shortages and price increases.

PC parts are relatively quick to reflect these influences in their prices, but BTO PC manufacturers often secure large quantities of parts in advance, so they are less affected in the short term.

However, if supply problems persist long-term, BTO PC prices will also rise.

Here are some specific examples of natural disasters and global events:

• HDD price increases due to floods in Thailand
• Increased demand and factory/logistics shutdowns due to COVID-19
• Increased demand from cryptocurrency mining

HDD Price Increases Due to Floods in Thailand

The large-scale floods in Thailand in 2011 had a serious impact on PC part prices.

Especially, major HDD production sites in Thailand were damaged, halting production and causing prices to rise.

This supply shortage lasted for several months and affected the prices of PC parts overall.

Increased Demand and Factory/Logistics Shutdowns Due to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic that began in early 2020 caused a global semiconductor shortage, raising PC part prices.

Not only PC parts, but also factory closures and production delays due to the pandemic affected semiconductor supply, causing shortages in industries such as automotive and PC manufacturing.

Especially, remote work and online classes caused a surge in demand for PCs and tablets, while factory closures and logistics delays disrupted supply, leading to price increases for products related to semiconductors, including PC parts.

Increased Demand from Cryptocurrency Mining

GPU shortages due to cryptocurrency mining also had a major impact on the PC parts market.

Mining is the process of using a computer (especially the GPU’s processing power) to create new cryptocurrency coins and verify transactions, with new coins given as rewards.

When cryptocurrency prices (especially Bitcoin and Ethereum) surged in 2017 and 2020, many people started mining, leading to GPU shortages and price increases.

At that time, mid-range and high-end GPUs became 1.5 to 2 times more expensive than before the price hikes.

As many GPUs were bought for mining, consumer stock ran low, making it harder for gamers and creators to get GPUs, and prices soared.

In this way, various factors cause large fluctuations in PC part prices.

Also, besides these, prices fluctuate daily to some extent, so unless there is a major event like those above, it is not good to worry too much about timing.

Summary: Price Alone Is Not Enough for Comparison!

The price differences between custom PCs and BTO PCs were compared for standard, mid-range, and high-end builds.

Here are the key points again:

Since the cheapest parts that meet the specifications are selected, the price difference can be considered the budget for customization in terms of features and design.

Price difference is important, but customization, design, warranty, repair, disposal, and required time also differ between custom PCs and BTO PCs.

Therefore, it is best to choose between a custom PC and a BTO PC after understanding these pros and cons.

あわせて読みたい

PC Parts Estimation & Compatibility Check Tool

Automatically checks each component you need when selecting parts for a custom-built PC—perfect for beginners.