I want a new PC, but I'm really struggling with Buy or Build.
I've always built my own systems from scratch in the past... but they tend to be quirky... kind of like the Millenium Falcon. You know they're fast, but you have to be somewhat gentle with them at times and you'd never hand them over to anyone else (willingly.) When they work, they work well, but when things start going wrong it can get really frustrating.
The process of construction can be entertaining though. I took out power to an entire apartment building once. That was an expensive mistake. I've definitely learned a few things since then, but I don't build for friends any more. Mostly because I don't really enjoy questions like "why does my computer make this weird noise" or "how come I don't have feature xyz?" So I just do it for me. Even the kids get prebuilt systems.
So... here I am, present day, looking at the remnants of my last machine. It's going on about 4 years old... it's kinda noisy, kinda flaky, 2 gig of RAM, AMD 64 processor, about 400GB storage space. Vista does ok with it... some days, not so good on others. It's not a BAD machine... but nowhere near top of the line. I've got a laptop from work, which is pretty badass, and basically eliminates any real need for a new PC other than just wanting one.
I've been looking at the iMac All-In-One models, which are pretty damn sweet and I could boot camp XP or Vista on them. Very tempting if they weren't so damn expensive. I love the form factor though. That's not something I can build.
I've also been looking at building something with these specs (
NewEgg Wishlist ) although I'd probably double the RAM to 4GB (for VMs) and add a second 500GB HD. Hard to say.
The iMac would cost me roughly twice what the homebuilt machine would. Is the form factor worth the cost? The apps? The support? What's the tangible value of these things?
What would you do?