Sophomore Jacob Uzzell has joined the rapid growing community of gamers that have taken their gaming experience into their own hands by building a custom computer. Pre-built desktop computers like Dell or HP have seen a downturn in sales as people have moved into the mobile era, but the market for PC parts has seen rapid growth in the last few years.
“My PC only has Windows 8 installed right now, but I’ve considered having Linux installed as an alternative. I’m definitely upgrading my PC right now, almost starting from scratch,” Uzzell said. “I ordered the parts I wanted off of Newegg and Amazon individually. The market for them is huge. AMD [Advanced Micro Devices] can’t even keep up with demand.”
When people think of video games the current big consoles come to mind. With Sony’s Playstation, Microsoft’s Xbox or Nintendo’s Wii, the world has come a long way since Pong. But more and more serious gamers have turned toward buying or building high end gaming computers.
“The games are cheap, and the graphics and frame rate are way better than any console. Plus with a PC, I can use new technology that can’t really be implemented by Nintendo, Microsoft or Sony without causing health problems because their hardware isn’t powerful enough to deliver smooth picture quality,” Uzzell said.
Valve’s Steam is currently the most popular PC gaming platform. With 65 million users and over 3,000 games, this past year it has seen a 30 percent increase of around 15 million accounts and continues to grow. For comparison, 110 million users are on Sony’s Playstation Network and 48 million users are on Microsoft’s Xbox Live.
“I only built a PC because I think the new consoles are lackluster. The consoles are not worth it when a superior PC can be built for slightly more. You actually end up saving money since games go for such low prices. The online experience is free too,” Uzzell said. “A $60 game for Xbox might go for $7.50 during a sale on PC.”
This is all easier than one might think. With access to the parts and a will to shell out the cash, the technology isn’t too difficult to comprehend with basic computer knowledge. With YouTube tutorials and many other resources available the process is growing more and more user friendly.
“Peyton Reber [sophomore] helped me a lot with my first build. It was more I was too nervous to do it myself. Now I know there is no reason to be; it’s really simple and easy. It took maybe an hour the second time except for a laughable mistake where I had to go to Peyton. He literally just unplugged a cable so everything would work,” Uzzell said “It didn’t take long for me to understand. Now I have no problem tinkering. My favorite pastime has always been gaming. Building my PC has just become a part of that.”
