Building a custom PC is a fun yet overwhelming task. With countless components, fluctuating prices, and ever-changing benchmarks, even tech enthusiasts can feel out of their depth. With the advent of AI in almost every task possible, I wondered if AI could also pick PC components for you, and sure enough, there were a couple of tools already on the internet.
Curious to see if they were worth their silicon, I gave them a shot. Here’s how it went.
Why AI for PC Building Makes Sense
As much as I like to pretend I’m a PC-building pro, I’m not exactly a hardware savant. Sure, I keep tabs on the biggest industry news, but I don’t obsess over new GPUs every week or memorize motherboard specs in my spare time. My last deep dive into computer parts was two years ago when I built my own rig, and since then, I’ve happily moved on with my life.
Fast forward to now, when my friend asked for help building his gaming PC, and suddenly, I realized I wasn’t as up-to-date on the latest trends and pricing. All I had was a starting point: the AMD Ryzen 7800X3D, which, thanks to local market quirks, is a steal where I live. As for the rest of the parts, I needed a hand.
I had already checked the PC benchmarks, but in the end, I didn’t want to spend hours swimming through product listings. So, I turned to an unexpected helper: AI. After all, if AI can sift through all the reviews, prices, and compatibility information about computer parts online, it’s the perfect solution for what I was facing.
Putting AI to the Test
I jumped onto Google and searched for AI PC building tools. Several popped up, but Newegg’s Custom PC Builder caught my eye. The tool allows you to enter key specs like CPU, GPU preferences, budget, and the intended use of the PC—basically, a dream come true for someone who already had a few pieces of the puzzle in place. My prompt was simple:
PC for gaming, Ryzen 7800X3D, Radeon Graphics, price $1500-1800.
I hit Build with AI, and within seconds, the tool presented me with a custom parts list that ticked nearly every box.
Newegg’s AI didn’t disappoint—it didn’t try to pull any rookie moves like pairing the Ryzen chip with an Intel motherboard. Better yet, it paired my Ryzen CPU with an AMD EXPO DDR5 RAM (which even some pros miss), and recommended a liquid cooling system for that beast of a processor. Since the tool uses Newegg’s database, it shows real-time prices.
And if any of the suggested parts didn’t quite meet my expectations? A few clicks, and I could easily swap them out for alternatives. Best of all, I could throw everything into my cart and check out right then and there. It was almost too easy.
The Downsides of Letting AI Build Your PC
Of course, relying entirely on AI comes with risks. AI is prone to errors, especially when it doesn’t understand context or makes compatibility errors. Having a bit of background knowledge is essential—it lets you spot when the AI suggests something odd, like pairing a low-end PSU with a high-performance GPU.
Similarly, being familiar with which GPUs to avoid or what specs to prioritize can save you from blindly trusting AI’s recommendations and ending up with a subpar build.
Case in point: I also tried a tool called
PC Builder AI
. For my $1800 budget, it threw together a system with far inferior parts. Can you imagine paying the price of a used car for a DDR4 system?
The Verdict: Can AI Handle Your Next Build?
AI PC builders aren’t perfect, but they’re an incredibly convenient tool if you already have a basic understanding of computer components. Tools like Newegg’s AI PC Builder help bridge the gap between tech enthusiasts and full-on hardware experts, delivering surprisingly competent builds that are a good starting point for further tweaking.
If you’re ready to build your dream rig without spending hours researching components, give an AI tool a try—you might be surprised by how well they do the heavy lifting. Just remember to double-check its homework.
