In 2023, 20% of desktop PCs sold in Russia did not belong to any brand, that is, they were assembled in an artisanal or semi-artisan way right in the store or on the radio market according to the requirements of the customer (most often – from spare parts brought by him). In 2022, such devices occupied only 11% of the market, according to a report by a partner company of several electronics manufacturers. “Izvestia” writes about it.

At the same time, the sale of such devices has more than doubled over the year — to approximately 260,000 units, the authors of the document calculated. These data were confirmed to Izvestia by a source close to one of the equipment importers.

Handcrafted assembly of computers to order has always been practiced, but the growth of interest is observed for the first time since the late 1990s and early 2000s, noted the leading analyst of the Mobile Research Group, Eldar Murtazin.

“Since desktop computers of the world’s leading brands have ceased to be delivered to Russia – at least in parallel they are imported much less than laptops – the niche is captured by local collectors. Unlike a laptop, it is not a problem to assemble a desktop PC “on your knee” from spare parts that you managed to purchase. At the same time, such a device with comparable characteristics may turn out to be cheaper than a desktop of a well-known brand,” said the expert.

The main buyers of self-assembled computers are gamers who need “pumped up” PCs with certain characteristics. Such PCs are also needed, for example, by developers working from home, people in creative specialties, and small businesses.

“A request for PC assembly instead of buying a ready-made one is a market trend closely related to the development of gaming in Russia. This option attracts the consumer with the opportunity to get a system with optimal technical characteristics for him and save money. Today, it turns out to be cheaper to assemble a computer yourself than to buy “off the shelf”. The difference in price between the ready and assembled system is about 10%,” – noted the IT holding Fplus.

According to Avito, over the past year, the sale of computers assembled by private individuals increased by 66% compared to 2022. In 2023, the average price of such a PC was 40,000 rubles.