Buy computer or build own?

[DeezNuts]

If you know what specs you want, Monarch Computers will build anything from a bare bones to a full loaded system for you at reasonable prices. They will build it and test it(it takes a while for it to get to you, 8-10 business days).

I just bought and received a top-of-the-line system(athlon64, 7800 vid card, blah, blah, im not super tech-savvy) from that site yesterday. Everything came out to be around $2k w/ shipping(no monitors), but this included everything, even a water cooling system. Sadly, I haven't been able to use it because I can't install windows due to a RAID(or some other tech mumbo-jumbo) drivers installation problem. My friends guided me through the whole process and picked everything out for me. Hopefully it will be up and running by the end of the weekend.

If you go with your friend building it, you should definitely watch him, as it isn't too difficult and will makes it a lot easier if you need to upgrade any specific part in the future.

DN