How to Choose Between Buying or Building a Computer

Step-by-Step Guide

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   Step 1: How comfortable are you with working with the electronic components?

   If you are not comfortable at all with working with electronics or the inside of computers, building a computer may not be for you.
   
   However, if you like the prospect of "doing it yourself" then you may want to consider building your next computer.
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   Step 2: How much time are you willing to spend?

   Building a computer can be time consuming, not just in the actual building of the machine, but the amount of time it will take to research and pick the components you wish to include in your new machine.
   
   Also consider the time it takes for components to arrive if using mail-order or buying off the internet, as well as the time it would take to install and setup all the software, which is usually done for you one fully complete systems.
   
   As oppose to buying a computer, you'll have a complete, fully working system that should be ready to go right out of the box. , Building a computer may not always be less expensive than buying one, especially if you also need to buy an operating system and other software along with the hardware.
   
   If you are truly on a tight budget, it may be worth researching what kinds of deals are available on complete systems.
   
   Also consider what you may already have available, such as do you already have a nice monitor and keyboard you can use? Could you also reuse your hard drive? Do you already have a copy of the operating system and other necessary software that you can reuse on a new machine? These are factors to take into consideration if you want to build a machine versus just buying a new one. , First and foremost, if you are looking to get an Apple Macintosh, the decision to build versus buy is virtually already made.
   
   The only way to get a Macintosh is to buy one through Apple or any of their retailers, as the only way to build a Mac from the ground up is very technical, and also illegal.
   
   Beyond that, do you just need a machine to surf the web and/or do office productivity type of tasks or do you want to get a fully customized high-end gaming rig? As you move into the higher-end of PCs, building the machine instead of buying one makes more sense, especially as building your own machines affords you the luxury of being able to pick exactly what you want to go in your new machine.
   
   Also, are you looking to get a laptop versus a desktop? Although it may be possible, but it is much more difficult to build a laptop and often more expensive, then simply to buy one.
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   Step 3: How much money are you willing to spend?

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   Step 4: What type of machine are you looking to get?

Detailed Guide

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