Great tips for PC hobbyists
Yeah, I admit it: I'd rather build a new PC than buy one ready-made because I can perpetuate the illusion that I have some Old World craftsman thing for assembling off-the-shelf parts into a functioning rig. Millions of otherwise ordinary PC hobbyists take matters into their own hands with Intel and Athlon-powered machines every day just by replacing a video card, expanding system memory, or upgrading a hard drive. But relatively few realize that to take it a step further and build a machine completely from a parts list and a usage spec (e.g., "gaming rig," "tivo clone," "cheap web server") requires just a little bit of planning and some Saturday-in-the-garage spirit.
If you want to get a taste of what's possible, check out ExtremeTech's Build It article series. Given a variety of needs and budgets, the editors provide a great array of approaches to building a system for peanuts or princely sums.
The bottom line? You're not building a machine to save money. Dell and Gateway rarely lose on pure cost/capability. It's best to build when you want to completely control the parts spec, have very specific performance goals, or simply want to learn about how a PC becomes whole from a bag full of parts. I say if you ever disassembled a four stroke engine -- lawn mower, edger, whatever -- and you haven't yet looked into building a PC, you're too curious to be missing out on this highly accessible pastime. That, and Half Life 2 just came out and your current rig totally can't deal.