Build a Cheap Pro Audio PC: The Truth
YOUR COMPUTERS COST TOO MUCH!
The most common question or comment we get on our social posts and ads:
I COULD BUILD IT CHEAPER MYSELF LOL
Here’s the deal; we don’t do comparisons to PCPartPicker builds or self-builds.
We’re not in that business, we build purpose-built PCs and we’ve done it for 25 years.
If you want to build you own, that’s entirely up to you, and that’s something you certainly can do.
But if you do, you won’t get the support that we offer, nor the certainty that the build will be solid for music production. Specs on a page mean nothing if the PC isn’t properly built.
You can spec your build on our website and choose your components, all of which have been rigorously tested to ensure performance, stability, and reliability with Digital Audio Workstations and audio hardware. That’s what we do, and we’re really good at it.
Sure, we’ll likely come out higher than if you PCPartPicker a PC build. That’s because we have the knowledge and the support to build PCs so that you don’t have to think about it being a PC. You simply create.
Believe us, we get the comment everyday;
“I can build this myself way cheaper than you guys”.
“Lol you guys are ripping people off.”
“These guys are a scam!!!”
The list of comments like this goes on and on and on, because on the Internet, everyone is a professional.
Let’s be clear — our company doesn’t rip off nor scam anyone. There’s plenty of “businesses” out there trying to copy what we do, and they can’t do it.
Why? Because they don’t actually run a business. That’s what we do. We’re not a corporation. We’re not HP, Dell, Apple, Lenovo, or any other large, faceless corporation that doesn’t actually care about how digital creatives do the work that they do.
So, sure, build your own PC with our blessing. You can shop around, agonize over your pick list, try to find the best deals, ask yourself and the Internet repeatedly, what is the best component to buy, and in the end spend more money than you originally planned, all while telling yourself that you’re saving money because you did it yourself.
But when you have issues, and you likely will — where are you going for support?
You’ll go to posts on Reddit and other forums filled with people saying they self-built a PC and their plugins don’t work, Pro Tools doesn’t work, they have DPC latency, their audio interface doesn’t work. The list goes on.
And you’ll find “answers” from tons of armchair professionals saying “Might be this, might be that”.
And the whole time, you’ll be asking yourself when you get to get back to making music.
And what if the build doesn’t ever perform the way you thought it should? You might not be able to return those parts.
So now you’re stuck with a PC that doesn’t do what you want it to do, trying to find help on the Internet from people who think they know what’s-what.
And believe us, there’s a LOT of those people on the Internet, and most of them don’t have the knowledge that we have. Doesn’t mean they’re bad, it just means they didn’t make this their business and livelihood. We did.
That’s why we started our business in 2000. That’s why we’re still in business. It’s why we were honored by the NAMM association at Winter NAMM 2025 for being in business for 25 years. It’s why Peter Frampton, BT, Alan Parsons, Joey Newman, Gotye, Adventure Club, and numerous other producers and audio engineers choose our PCs.
So, no, we don’t do side-by-side comparisons of parts vs the cost of our PCs, and we don’t undercut our business just because you can go to Amazon and buy some parts for a PC.
You don’t break a car down to its nuts and bolts when you buy it. You buy the car that does the job, has the specs you want, and usually, gives you the peace of mind that allows you to get to where you need to go without issue.
That’s what we offer at PCAudioLabs; Peace of Mind, backed by knowledge and support with over 25 years in business and the trust of professionals around the world.
The greatest asset any of us have at the end of the day is time. Your time is what what truly matters and is the asset you cannot get back if it is misspent. If you spend a month trying to spec out a pro audio PC build that goes wrong, how much time did you waste? Truly?
The answer is, a lot — and likely a lot of money, too.
In the end, if you build a great PC yourself, congratulations! You did it.
But, if you just want to be able to create, you can come to PCAudioLabs, where you can call 615-933-6775 and see that we have only two phone tree options, both of which get you to a human who can help you.
Or, go the other direction, and when you need us, we’ll be here to help.