Barebones kits often suck :-)

And building a comp nowadays is trivial. Just match part for port. Half of them are even color coded now.
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Very good point. And a good double check is to browse forums like Anandtech or Tom's Hardware to see what other people are using.

On a related note, unless you keep current on the computer market, expect to take a month or so doing research to select parts.
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There's not much to gain by building your own PC in this day and age. Hardware sells for a slim margain, so customizing an online PC or at your local super store will be darn close to you doing it by yourself.

5-10 years, my answer would be much difference.

If you do decide to build your own. Start off with a good case the opens/closes easy.
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I have built several PCs in the past and I would agree with this statement. You can buy a good, manufactured computer for so cheap now, building your own really doesn't pay anymore... :-)
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sometime you can get a package deal with motherboard, processor, memory, and such, all you would have to do is buy your case... I have to agree with earlier post, dont skip on the power supply or the video card... They other this is if you can go with say a 10,000 rpm drive compared to 7,200, that will make a difference too... The only other thing i would say is more memory, i would say get 4 GB over say 1 GB, will make a huge difference, especially if you are going to run windows 7.... Just my 2 cents... Good luck
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You're gaining quality components that you hand pick and a clean OS installation that's free of bloatware.

There could be 5 other reasons, but those 2 alone make it worth building a computer every time to me.
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If going to Win7 and building a new PC. I'd put at least 15 GB of RAM. Why not, RAM is cheap? The OS can support it and if a few years will be closer to the norm. You have buy any laptop/desktop with a lifecycle in mind and think "how useful will this PC be in 4-5 years time". Having the RAM now will make it a better PC for a longer time.

You're right about a good power supply too. I would also recommend round cables instead of the ribbon ones for better cooling.
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4x4GB is somewhere in the neighborhood of 600$ for decent stuff. Far cry from 'cheap'
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Exactly the same reasons I build my desktops. With the added bonus that I go with a bigger than required power supply to permit future upgrades.

Many manufacturers put the minimum power supply required to run the computer when it leaves the factory. So, when you want a new video card in two years you'll also be buying a new power supply. If you really hit bad luck you'll also be buying adapters for the proprietary motherboard connectors.

I bought an HP laptop a few years back and spent at least 12 hours removing the factory-installed junk that I didn't want. Using this example with a rate of $20/hour for my time, that gives me an extra $240 to justify building a desktop.
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If you want to "know" your PC, you should format it and install all the drivers from scratch whether it is home built or a big name. It can be involved as manufacturers are not keen on supplying OS on disk. As long as the cab files are there, you should be able reinstall the OS via WinPE.
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That's $38 a GB; sounds cheap to me.
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So if you're gonna format it the day you get it anyway... What's the point of even buying a big brand pc?
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His target budget was what 750-1000?

common sense here folks...
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It's assembled, you know the drivers will work, has warantee, and is easy to get.
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:-):-)
Just buy one that meets your needs and go!
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Most components (as long as you stay retail and not OEM) have a better warranty than most prefab warranties. Also I can have parts to my doorstep in 3 days. My last work Dell order took 5 weeks.

And easy to get isn't really an argument when I can fill a shopping cart with parts and have it delivered just as easy as a custom pc order from dell or HP. in store easy? I question why anyone would buy a computer in store where you have absolutely no ability to customize...
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Dell FastShips are great for business desktops or laptops... For a gaming rig, I would build it but be ready to troubleshoot issues! As noted before, go big on the PS, RAM, and video card... :-)
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I'm not familiar with WinPE but will look into the idea. Some reasons I went the hard route were the lack of an O/S disc and that I bought an extended warranty. I know the pros/cons to extended warranties on laptops but in this case the price of the computer and warranty package worked out right.
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On an idea to related to the original poster's questions, what are people doing about "burning in" systems?

If memory serves right I used Prime95 on my last build.
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WinPE is a free tool from Microsoft that allow an OS to be loaded on the PC from a CD or thumb drive.

It is the industry standard for booting off of CD's and is a great tool for virus repair or manipulating files that would normally be locked or in use. It can edit the registry without the registry being loaded.

In general, I think the extended warranty is worth it, especially on laptops. One trick for desktop is to tape the warranty, disks, and all the manuals to the inside cover of the case; you'll never go hunting for them.
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