>I would say that DIY only saves you money at the high end. At the low >end, it's cheaper to buy off-the-shelf. But, that said, since you're >not headed for a low end, DIY can save you a bucket if you have a fair >grasp of what you're doing.
True. Although when you compare apples to apples it's often really close in price anyway (the big saving often come in from configuration changes). The same exact gear is almost always more expensive when bought via the retail channel - but you can get the same functionality cheaper by shopping amongst different components. You also should now that DYI often (not always, but often) also incurs more support time. A high end Dell (or any other big OEM) has it's combination of components tested eight-ways-from-Tuesday. A DYI box does not and that can sometimes bite you squarely in the ass. When something goes wrong you call Dell. When you need new drivers, you hit Dell.com. For what it's worth I've always gone DYI (well... except for my first 486 which I got mail order). My current box is a screamer with all the bells and whistles - but when something goes wrong, it's my problem. I might call nVidia, who'll blame Soyo, who'll blame MS, who'll blame MSI who'll blame Maxtor - you get the picture. I've even done a fair amount of case modding (cutting windows and custom paint jobs). It's a great feeling when everything works - but when everything doesn't you'll often find yourself swearing "next time I'm just getting a Dell". The industry is looking at this as well. Recent reports are coming out concerning root causes of "software" problems. Many of them turn out to be hardware issues: overclocking, stressed or incompatible components, etc. These issues account for a significant number of the blue-screen reports sent to MS for example. I guess all I'm saying is that sometimes it's a mighty attractive thought to have somebody else go through all that. ;^) Jim Davis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Find out how CFTicket can increase your company's customer support efficiency by 100% http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=49 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:156137 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
