Rated: 60% (2 votes)
Loading ...Dell v DIY
Chris
The words ‘enthusiast’ and ‘gamer’ aren’t the same thing. The best bit about my job and hobby (and the bit that makes me sound really geeky) isn’t how quickly my games run, but the hardware itself - I find it genuinely exciting. 
That’s why buy expensive cases and CPU coolers from the likes of Lian Li and Zalman (to name a couple of names off the top of my head), yes there will probably be cheaper options that will make games run just as quickly - but I like it when the hardware itself (how it looks, works, sounds) is the design focus.
A custom PC is more than just a games machine; it is in fact a geeky work of art, which should reflect your personality and what you use it for.
As the Dell v DIY feature in Issue 48 shows, there are plenty of reasons to go for a £1,000 off-the-shelf system - But for me, I’d go for the custom PC every time, because as geeky as it may sound, perhaps I want RAM with blue heatspreaders or a case that glows in the dark 
Hear Hear! There’s no substitute for a PC you’ve built with your own two hands. Now I know how women can spend so long looking at samples of carpet and sniffing perfumes: sometimes, you have to get it just right, and I’ll confess I spent well over £150 buying different Zalman coolers because I just had to get the right look-despite there being cheaper and better coolers on the market.
Gotta love it!
-Dave
Worryingly enough I understand this feeling.H-e-l-p!!
The best thing i find about building your own machine is that it is yours, it is something nobody else has.
I had the choice, learn to drive or mod my pc
can you guess what i went for 
i learnt to drive so i could get a job that would mean i could afford to mod my pc.
Being a geek these days (apparently) has become cool anyway so don’t worry guys.
Look at things like microsofts surface technology and the iphone and the media centre pc.
Few people can deny not having something pushing in those types of direction today.
I’ve seen a computer built in to a car dash that runs windows and hooks in to your home wireless network to transfer your media library.
No1 thought i was geek when i brought that one up !!
We are the gurus now guys, everyone else is just living in the stone age !
“Now I know how women can spend so long looking at samples of carpet and sniffing perfumes:” - DaveW
MY girlfriend built herself an ultra low-voltage Turion-based MCE2005 rig in an Antec Fusion V2 recently. Yes, she likes carpets and perfumes too, but she knows what really makes a living room rock.
I completely agree
My PC is mad
with weird touches that you would just never see in an Off-the-Shelf PC
CPU at 90 Degrees to normal for one…