Self-made/Custom VS Branded Desktop Computers

As far as I have seen

Self-made/Custom Desktop - For those that can fix computer problems themselves and know about how to avoid overheating the computer in general.

Branded Desktop Computers - For total newbies that need the "support" provided by these companies.

Is it generally cheaper to get Self-made/Custom Desktops though?

It used to be. The market is so competitive now though that there isn't all that big a difference any more.

I doubt it. OEMs have the advantage of bulk. You're not going to be able to buy components at their rates.

Assuming you want the same components, that is.

Build your own machine unless you want some WOP douchebag fresh out of Wootxico Community College to be the guy that selects your components and puts them together.

The difference between the shit they give you and stuff you could buy for yourself is significant. A dell is going to have some crapass 4-4-4-12 timing ram in it and a piece of shit motherboard, guaranteed.

>>4
To add on to this, if you don't know what you're doing it's cheaper to just pay the wop an extra 33% than it is to try to build something yourself and fuck up or to get ripped off by a local computer store selling "custom" boxes

The one good thing with Branded Desktop packages I guess is that at times their packages monitor is cheaper. IE Dell's deals with LCD monitors. Try to get the same specs and buy the LCD Monitor separate and see how much the price can skyrocket.

Frankly, dealing with modern cpu issues like fans and cooling scares the fuck out of me; so I simply go for your generic hp crap. It does what I want it to, so other than losing 1337 cred it's the same.

huh? " fans and cooling scares the fuck out of me"  << lol?

just use the default fan. and some cheapass case.

The bundled fans are adequate, in that they should perform correctly in a case with good airflow (ie. not with fat bundles of cables all over the place, then with the case wedged up into a narrow gap somewhere with no ventilation around it), but don't expect them to be able to cope with overclocking, or to be particularly quiet.

Prebuilt systems usually come with low-rent, maxxed-out mainboards, low on ports and slots. Definitely not what you want if you're aiming for a cheap computer for now, to be upgraded in the future.

I bought a barebones kit from MagicMicro a while back, came fully assembled. All I had to do was add ram, cards, and drives. Simple tab-A slot-B shit. $350 for an Asus P4S800 board, a P4 2.6, and a big stupid black case with "Korean styling". After a bios update, I can upgrade to at least a 3.4 GHz processor. Hoorah.

>>10
Considering how you can get a 2800+ athlon 64 with mainboard for $130 at Fry's, you were ripped off.

I know nothing of comps but I built my own by simply reading stuff from Cnet/Computer Builder's Warehouse/PCworld, and the like. Just glance over computer tech articles over the past three months in general, searching for the things you want to buy. Only problem I had was that I somehow "lucked out" and got some bad chips from Corsair, memtest crashed or failed to show complete results before freezing. Everything else works fine. In about 2 weeks it'll be error free.

HAY GUYZ WHERE CAN I GET A LINUXE PC?!!
I WANT TO BE AN INTERNETR H4CK3R!!!11

LOL!!!

Brand computers have a good design usually. Dell for instance has clamshell cases and a separate path for the heat from cpu to flow. Compaq has slide and lock for hard drives, 1 screw to open the case. If you were to buy a cheap custom case you will most likely get crap.

>>13
Walmart.

I stay away from any HP or Compaq, just because I'm a bigot.  Anything else is fine though.

>>14
The obvious solution is not to buy a cheapo case. There are self-assembly cases out there that are screwless (or nearly screwless), have a chassis air guide for CPU cooling and other nice features. At least you have more choice.

>>16 you're an idiot; HP is pretty decent. Dells are the ones to avoid.

>>18
Disregard that, I suck cocks.
HP and Dell both do too.