Custom gaming PC builds
Bring your own parts, or tell me your budget and the games you play and I'll spec the full parts list. Built clean, cable-managed, BIOS updated, drivers in, and benchmarked before you pick it up.
Build laborfrom $150
One-man shop · Owner-operated · Sacramento, CA
My name is David Schaffer — I've been building computers since 2003, right here in Sacramento, California.
I build & fix gaming PCs.
Custom builds, honest upgrades, and repairs that actually fix the problem — not a sales pitch.
That's 22+ years of hands-on builds — and I'm a gamer myself. Tell me the games you want to play and your budget, and I'll spec a machine that hits it. If an upgrade isn't worth your money, I'll tell you that too.
Custom gaming buildsYour parts or my parts list — built, cabled & benchmarked
from $1502003Building PCs since
22+ yrsHands-on experience
1 personOne person, start to finish
$60 diag.Credited toward your repair
Services & pricing
What I do — and what it starts at
Straightforward labor pricing. Parts are at cost — you buy them, or I spec the list and you order. Final quote is always confirmed before any work starts.
Upgrades
GPU swaps, more RAM, NVMe SSD installs, and CPU / motherboard platform upgrades. I'll check compatibility first — and tell you honestly if your current rig is the bottleneck, not the part you were about to buy.
Laborfrom $75
Diagnostics & repair
Won't boot, random crashes, blue screens, overheating, or just painfully slow. I find the actual fault — PSU, drive, thermals, RAM — and fix that, not everything around it.
Diagnostic$60 · credited*
Virus cleanup & tune-up
Malware and virus removal, bloatware stripped out, startup cleaned up, Windows updates and drivers sorted, and thermals checked. Most machines leave noticeably faster than they came in.
Cleanup / tune-upfrom $80
Data recovery
Photos, documents, and game saves off failing or dying drives. I assess the drive first and quote per job — if I can't get your data, you don't pay for recovery work that didn't happen.
Per jobQuoted up front
Just describe the problem
“It freezes in Warzone.” “It was fine yesterday, now it's a black screen.” That's enough to start. Call or email what it's doing and I'll give you a straight first read — free.
First conversationFree
* The $60 diagnostic fee is credited toward the repair if you go ahead with it. Prices above are starting / typical labor ranges — your exact quote is confirmed before work begins, so there are no surprises at pickup.
Build planner
What should your budget buy?
Drag the budget, pick how you play. This is the same honest starting point I'd give you on the phone — my go-to combo is AMD Ryzen + Nvidia GeForce for the best frames per dollar.
$700$1,750$3,500
This is a planning guide, not a quote. Prices move — call and I'll spec the exact list at today's prices before you spend a cent on parts.
The $1,200 build I'd spec
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 5 7600
- Graphics
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti
- Memory
- 32 GB DDR5
- Storage
- 1 TB NVMe Gen4 SSD
- Target
- 1080p high-refresh / 1440p ready
- My build labor
- from $150
The balanced spot: strong CPU headroom for upgrades later, and the GPU does the heavy lifting where it counts — in game.
How it works
Four steps. No runaround.
1
Call or email me
Tell me the problem — or the games you want to play and your budget. Phone or email, whichever is easier.
2
Get an honest quote
Up-front labor quote and, for builds, a full parts list to approve before anything is ordered or opened.
3
Drop off in Sacramento
Drop-off locally in Sacramento. I do the work myself — your machine isn't shipped off or handed to a stranger.
4
Pay when it's right
You pay when it boots and benchmarks right. For repairs, the $60 diagnostic comes off the final bill.
Why Schaffer PC
Why hire a one-man shop?
◈
Building since 2003
I've built through every socket, chipset, and GPU generation since the early 2000s. That experience is how I spot the cheap PSU or the dying drive that a checklist misses.
🎮
A gamer who actually plays
I spec machines for real games at real settings — not benchmark charts. If I recommend a part, it's one I'd put in my own rig.
✓
Honest advice, no upsell
I will tell you when an upgrade is not worth the money — when a $75 SSD beats a $400 GPU for your actual problem, that's what I'll recommend.
☎
You talk to the person doing the work
No ticket queue, no call center. You call, the same person answers, does the work, and stands behind it.
My honest go-to: Ryzen + GeForce
For most gamers, AMD Ryzen CPUs paired with Nvidia GeForce GPUs are the best frames-per-dollar combo going — strong gaming performance without paying for cores you'll never use. If your budget or games point a different way, I'll show you why before you buy.
Service area
Sacramento & nearby
I'm a service-area business — no storefront, no street address to drive to. You drop off in Sacramento by arrangement when we talk, which keeps overhead (and my prices) down.
SacramentoArden-ArcadeCarmichaelCitrus HeightsRancho CordovaElk GroveNatomasRoseville
Outside that ring? Call anyway — if I can't help, I'll say so plainly and point you somewhere that can.
FAQ
Common questions
Can you build with parts I already bought?
Yes — that's half my builds. Bring what you have and I'll build it, check compatibility as I go, and flag anything that won't play well together before it becomes a problem. Build labor starts at $150.
How long does a build take?
Once all parts are in hand, most builds are done in 2–3 days — built, cabled, updated, and benchmarked. Repairs depend on the fault and whether a replacement part needs ordering; I'll give you a realistic timeline with your quote, not a guess.
What about warranties?
Your parts carry their manufacturer warranties — I'll give you the receipts / part list so you can register them. And I stand behind my labor: if something I assembled or installed isn't right, bring it back and I'll make it right.
Do you come to my home?
Work is done at drop-off in Sacramento so I have my full bench, tools, and test parts on hand — that's how I can diagnose properly instead of guessing at your desk. Arrange drop-off when you call.
What if the repair costs more than the PC is worth?
Then I'll tell you exactly that. Sometimes the honest answer is “put that money toward a new build” — and I'd rather lose a repair job than sell you a fix that doesn't make sense.
PC broken? Or ready to build the one you actually want?
Call or email directly. Describe the problem or the games — you'll get a straight answer and an up-front quote, not a sales script.