OEM prebuilts (Dell, Alienware, HP, etc.), while a waste of good GPUs, were somewhat available during that period. Some self-builders were turning to buy those,

OEM prebuilts (Dell, Alienware, HP, etc.), while a waste of good GPUs, were somewhat available during that period. Some self-builders were turning to buy those, just to get the GPU out of them. New PC gamers would have been able to at least back-order a prebuilt PC, versus playing the indefinite refresh lottery for a console.