Sporty pretty much covered it. I basically felt that I could put together a better quality and performing system than one off the shelf and that it would last me longer. I think also that over time I will be able to more easily upgrade the system, even changing out the motherboard if need be, instead of just getting a new system and junking the old one.Darin McGrew wrote:Just out of curiosity, why did you build your own system, rather than buying a complete system? Did you want an atypical configuration that wasn't available as a complete system? Or was it just for the fun of building it yourself?
I could have paid much less for a system that would meet my basic needs now, but later would likely end up feeling like a slug (like my current computer). I have looked around at off the shelf systems with similar capability and I do think I saved a bit of money. Though, it isn't quite an apples to apples comparison, since some of the off the shelf computers come with stuff that I didn't want or I picked some better quality/performing components for my system.
That and I think it is a rather fun exercise in picking out the components that would work well together and ones that closely meet my needs. I got the speed I was looking for, back side ports that I wanted, convenient front ports that I need, something that is easily expandable, a case that looks really cool, and so on.
I also learned quite a bit that I didn't know about the hardware side of things. It seemed rather daunting at first, that is why I initially was looking to get a kit to start from, but the more research I did on components, the more I felt comfortable in piecing it all together. The info from Stan and Sporty helped. I also spent a lot of time IM'ing Randy Underwood, an electrical engineer friend of mine (and a Derby Talk member), getting advice and insight on components and compatibility. He built a system recently and that's what got me started on thinking about building my own.
