The question of whether to build a computer or to buy a pre-built computer has been asked more and more in the last year or two. With OEM manufactures such as Dell, HP, and Gateway, running advertisements all over your newspaper, TV, and internet using various marketing techniques, people seem to drool at the “blazing speeds and performance” that they offer for a very low price. These OEM dealers seem to offer top of the line technology for a very low cost, and some people have started to question whether building is really as beneficial as it was a few years ago. In this article, we are going to compare these OEM systems part by part with a custom built computer, comparing prices and other useful information to show the pros and cons of each. This is intended to help your decision, not make it for you: there are pros and cons to each.

Three different ranges are compared, taking a look at high end / gamer configurations, mid-ranged systems, and budget systems. Since Dell is currently the only OEM manufacture to offer true support for the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition on the LGA 775 chipset, it is compared head to head with a custom build. In the mid-range and budget-ranges, similar OEM systems from the three major manufactures - Dell, HP, and Gateway - are compared against each other, and against a custom build.

The goals of this article are to point out the differences, the advantages, and disadvantages of building vs. buying a computer. Although an exact match was tried for, brand names were unavailable, so parts are matched by specs, not exactly by brand (more on this later.)

Please note that prices in this industry change on a daily basis, and that the prices listed are subject to change day by day. If you would like to build from the parts listed in any of my custom builds, there is a link to a page where you may purchase them or take a look at the quality brands used.