Build-a-PC advice for a total newb?

Gesture wrote:

When I see how little $400-500 buys at an OfficeMax for a desktop; obviously, build your own.

But buying a more advanced Dell machine (XPS) at the outlet with a coupon can be a excellent value.

I like building for several reasons. The main one: you can choose your own power supply and built-your-own power supplies have their own ON-OFF switch; not just the computer switch. I like that as a safety feature.

Many great build videos on YouTube. Much easier than working on a car or doing in-home plumbing.

Agreed. Getting a good value on a pre-built PC depends on the manufacturer of the PC, the retail outlet purchasing from, and the timing of the purchase.

When I helped my three friends buy a new PC, we bought Dells from our local BestBuy when they were on sale or had a price matching status. Bought from BestBuy since it's local and easy to return the PC if necessary rather than repack and ship back. My friends prefer and feel more comfortable buying locally since sale prices or price matching gives them the same price as amazon. The Dell outlet could have a slightly better price but they all preferred to buy from the local BestBuy. Never had to return any of the Dell PCs though and they are all very happy with them.

Agree also on building one's ownPCs. I like selecting the specific motherboard with the features I want, the higher wattage power supply (might already have a used one), roomy case (have two to choose from) which makes later maintenance easier and has removable hard drive cages, and being able to select a good optical drive that has good "user" reviews. (yes, I still burn CDs and DVDs )

Thanks,
Sky

EDIT: Dpreview, there seems to be a problem with the spacing of words in "one's own PCs" above. When I composed my post and when I edit it later, there is a space between own and PCs but when I submit the post, it ends up as "ownPCs". Could be the underline that's causing the problem.