Most people waste money on PC builds without realising it

[VidiTechnica]

A lot of PC builds look impressive on paper but are full of unnecessary spending.

People overspend on things like RGB, high end motherboards, or excessive cooling while ignoring the parts that actually affect performance.

For example, expensive storage doesn't always translate to real world gains for gaming:
Crucial P3 Plus 1TB NVMe SSD

And throwing money at cooling without understanding airflow doesn't fix bad setups:
Corsair 4000D Airflow Case

The result is builds that cost more but don't perform much better.

It's easy to get caught up in specs and marketing instead of focusing on balance.

Where do you think people waste the most money in a PC build?

[Vanessa26]

Motherboards are where most people overspend

[John]

RGB is the biggest money sink for no performance gain

[HeartbreakKidOscar97]

People underestimate how important balance is

[WhatUQuant]

I love my RBG

[RayOfLight31]

That works if you are disciplined about it, most people are not. Every bit helps at the moment

[Fox]

Same thing happened to me. The games that get talked about the most are rarely the ones I end up spending the most time on.

Worth a try if you get the chance

[DotEXE]

I love the way you put that. There is usually something in the structure that tells you more than the surface does.

Happy to keep discussing this

[SortedMate]

That matches what the more reliable sources are saying. I will keep following it

[Northernah]

Couldn't agree more. Cheers for sharing

[QuantumDay]

I would probably do it differently. Appreciate it

[Aaron]

Can't argue with that. Proper useful that

[Piston]

Couldn't agree more. Cheers for sharing.

That is what I found too. Thanks for the thread

[DarkEnergy27]

Not bad at all. Worth a look if you have not already

[Daemon55]

People obsess over CPU tiers and then pair them with a monitor that cannot show the difference.

I have seen builds where the graphics card costs four figures and the display is still some ancient 1080p panel from the garage.

Meanwhile the keyboard feels like typing on a lunchbox.

Balance is somehow less exciting than giant benchmark numbers.

[Cheugy89]

Counterpoint: sometimes wasting money is the hobby.

Nobody needs RGB synced RAM to gain three frames but if someone enjoys opening the side panel and admiring the glowing rectangle then mission accomplished.

Not every build has to survive a spreadsheet audit.

That said, spending huge on aesthetics and then buying the cheapest power supply available does make me nervous.

[Wendy5]

The amount of money people throw at motherboards is wild.

You ask what features they need and the answer is usually something like "future proofing" which translates to using exactly two USB ports forever.

Then they never enter the BIOS again after day one.

That board has more capabilities than the owner.

[Rachel]

I think storage is where people quietly overspend now.

Every build guide acts like you need a drive fast enough to communicate with satellites.

Most people are launching games and opening browsers, not editing cinema footage.

The loading screen is still going to show tips nobody reads.

[ElectricPilgrim]

My favourite is the person who buys top end parts and then refuses to spend money on a decent chair.

Congratulations on your 400 FPS. Your spine has left the chat.

Peripherals and comfort get ignored constantly.

People benchmark everything except themselves.

[GhostRider]

I partly disagree.

A lot of so called wasted money is really buying longer replacement cycles. Spending more once and keeping a machine for years can make sense.

Where people go wrong is buying expensive parts with no actual plan.

There is a difference between headroom and fantasy.

[Dom66]

Every generation there is a new sacred component category.

One year everyone needs liquid cooling. Next year everyone needs absurd RAM speeds. Then suddenly vertical GPU mounts appear like decorative shelving.

The cycle continues.

[Weary Renegade]

Cases are funny because people either spend almost nothing or build a small architectural project.

Then six months later they never look inside again.

Meanwhile airflow gets defeated by a decorative solid front panel because clean lines apparently cool components now.

[RayOfLight]

I still think people underestimate monitors.

You interact with that more than any internal component.

A sensible GPU plus a genuinely nice display usually feels better than the opposite.

But displays are not exciting to photograph.

[Always_Craig96]

I once watched someone insist on premium thermal paste and then leave the protective film on the cooler.

That conversation changed me as a person.

There are limits to optimisation.

[GlobalBob37]

The funniest waste is buying parts for hypothetical activities.

"I might start streaming."

"I might get into 3D rendering."

Three years later the machine has opened exactly one spreadsheet and eight thousand browser tabs.

[BringItOnRhodes43]

People act like building PCs became irrational recently but this has always existed.

Back in the day people bought sound cards and giant towers to play solitaire with extra authority.

Technology changes. Human behaviour does not.

[Lazy Sentinel]

I would argue the opposite problem exists too.

People cheap out on power supplies because they are invisible and then trust a bargain unit with hardware worth a month's rent.

That is not saving money. That is gambling with receipts.

[Andrew4]

The amount spent chasing silence can get absurd.

Special fans, dampening, premium coolers.

Then the room has a window open and traffic outside sounds like an airport.

Respect the commitment though.

[ProperJobs]

My personal rule is spend for your actual use today, not the imaginary version of yourself.

The imaginary version always edits video, streams daily and learns Blender.

The real version watches videos while eating toast.

[Rogue Sam]

People forget software matters.

I know someone with a ridiculous build that still feels sluggish because startup launches seventeen apps and twelve game launchers.

No hardware can save that situation.

That machine boots directly into administrative regret.

[Ryan65]

There is also a strange prestige thing.

Someone asks for a mid range build and replies appear recommending enough hardware to simulate weather systems.

Forum culture sometimes treats reasonable budgets as a personal insult.

[DiamondDallas_X]

I love when benchmark charts convince people they need another five percent.

Then in actual use they cannot tell which machine is which.

But they will defend the purchase forever because spreadsheets happened.

[Seb5]

My controversial opinion is that cable management is overrated.

Yes make it tidy. No I do not need every wire bent at mathematically satisfying angles.

Close the side panel and return to reality.

[Cheugy]

One place people rarely regret spending more is storage capacity.

Performance gains become invisible eventually but running out of space is immediate and annoying.

Nothing makes a premium machine feel ordinary faster than uninstalling things every week.

[Amber Tiger]

The biggest waste is upgrading out of boredom.

Your PC did not suddenly become slow because a launch event happened.

Companies release new hardware and half the internet starts looking suspiciously at perfectly good machines.

Your graphics card does not know a keynote happened.