Does Building Your Own Computer Still Save Money?

[Angrboda]

If it's something fairly simple and low end, probably not. They're almost giving low end computers away these days.

If you're looking for performance, or some special configuration, probably.

This is what originally got me into building my own. I had purchased an OEM pentium box, which was quite stable and functional (an intel design VX board), but after owning it for a year, i realized that the component choices weren't exactly what I'd have picked, given my druthers. So I started buying junk components and putting them together to teach myself how to do it, before I spent real money. Now, it's more a fact of it being all that I know. It would feel weird and unfamiliar to put those decisions in the hands of a stranger. That, and I just love this shit. I have chronic depression, and building and unbuilding computers is what I used to do to pass the time during depressions, as I didn't have to think. (This is before the amputation of my fingers. I still lean that way, but anymore I don't, as it's considerably more difficult now, physically.)

I disagree with Moros Synack, but who knows where the truth lies. I don't want to get into sabre rattling, but I've been a moderator on one of the most popular technical channels on EFNet, and after 10+ years of watching how average people can go horribly wrong, in addition to my own build experience, and experience arguing and dispensing advice on technical matters on IRC, I'm a bit more cynical.

(p.s. My fastest box is a c2d e7400. Need fast hardware. Message me for my paypal account. )

Speaking of obsolescence, my first box was an IBM-PC clone with 128 KB of memory and cost $4,000 in 1984. Oh man does that bring back memories. I remember upgrading to DOS 2.1 and thinking that was the cat's meow.