It used to be that the only way to build a PC was solely by the individual component method. What this means is that everything you needed had to be purchased separately. Case, power supply, motherboard, RAM, drives, fans, etc. Almost all of that stuff were separate purchases. The only real option you had to combine anything to make it easier was a case that came provided with a power supply and case fans. Other than that there wasn’t really much.
Today there are two other options, barebones and kits.
Barebones
This is a computer that has all or most of the components already installed. Newegg has a complete section dedicated to this.
There are two types of barebone PCs.
The first is the one that requires you to add things to do it in order to make it function. Usually this involves adding in RAM, a hard drive and not much else if anything.
The second is the all-in-one. It is a complete computer.
What’s the advantage of a barebone PC?
They’re dirt cheap. You can literally buy one right now for under $100, spend an extra $50 or so for RAM and a hard drive, add in your OS, attach a keyboard, mouse and monitor and you’re good to go – a brand new PC for under $200.
What’s the disadvantage of a barebone PC?
There are two disadvantages. The first is most of them use embedded components, namely the CPU and video, and they can’t be swapped out. The second is that they’re low-powered by nature and on the slow side.
Bear in mind there are fast barebone boxes, with some even offering Intel Core i7 support – but – and this is a big but, they’re so expensive you might as well go for a traditional tower PC instead. In addition, you will (not might, will) encounter cooling issues with fast barebones computer boxes.
Kits
On NewEgg they label their kits as DIY Combo Bundles. They range from dirt cheap ($100) to wickedly expensive ($4,000+), however the point is that instead of buying each component you need individually, you can buy the entire PC as a single purchase bundle.
Some of these kits include everything. Case, fans, CPU, RAM, drives, keyboard, mouse, the works. Others include just the basics.
The advantage of kits
It’s convenient and you don’t miss anything. If you’ve been building PCs for a while, there are times when you’ll build, get to the last step of the build and oops, you forgot to buy something you needed. Maybe it was case fans. Maybe it was a cable. It’s always something.
Kits are also cheap like barebones PCs are. They also bust the $200 price barrier easily.
The disadvantage of kits
You’re buying whatever the vendor has too much of that they need to dispose of. The parts – no matter what the price of the kit – are not guaranteed to work perfectly with each other. But then again you have no guarantee of that when buying components individually, so the risk is the same.
Final Notes
Bulk builds
If you have an instance where you need to buy several PCs (such as for a business or school) and need to get the most bang for the buck, kits are it. No question. You can bulk-purchase these boxes for next to nothing where the only real cost will be the operating system. And even then you can buy bulk licenses of that to shave off a few more bucks. NewEgg does sell licenses of Windows in bulk. Go here, then click "Volume Savings" on the left. Seek out the "3 pack" offerings.
Barebones are the best option for entertainment center PCs
If you wanted to know where a low-power, flat-cased PC would work best, the answer is an entertainment center PC. For this type of use, you do need embedded CPUs and video because they produce the least heat and have cases that are super-compact that will fit in your entertainment center. Many come built-in with the ability to be used via remote control which is all the more reason to check them out.
Want a touchscreen PC now? Get a barebone all-in-one.
I want to make clear that the all-in-one touchscreen models are so-so. Not very fast, and the novelty of them wears off quick. But, if you want one, it’s available. An example is the Shuttle SD50XB (the XA is white). The screen is a reasonably-sized 15.6-inch screen which does the job.
All-in-ones like that are "cool", but not necessarily great. Bear that in mind if considering one of these.
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Lance Lessler
1111 days ago
You left out one option that may be used either as the nucleus of a new system or for rebuilding an old one. That is the purchase of a bundle containing motherboard, processor, and RAM. These things can be put together by the vendor to focus on particular intended uses, such as gaming, multimedia entertainment, general office work, etc. From there, the choices for data storage, power supply, case, etc. may be less crucial. This kind of bundle also can be used to update a desktop system, or when there is a failure of a motherboard or processor, providing that the existing case, power supply, and data storage are not too much out of date.
Rich Menga
1111 days ago
Yes, you are absolutely correct. I should have clarified some of the kits mentioned above are of the components you mentioned where they only include “core” components and don’t include other things like the case.
NewEgg does have several of that type available, although I don’t have a direct link. But if you search through them, they are there.