Another advantage to building your own system not mentioned (unless I
missed it) is that pre-built systems might not be available with the
latest and greatest components because the vendors are limited to what
they can reliably source with a fast turnaround, whereas when building
your own you can be more patient and selective. Given the need for the
person who builds a pre-built system to get paid, you'll be getting a
lower spec than you could build yourself and maybe paying the same or
more for it. You might save even more down the line when you want a
component repaired or upgraded and you feel comfortable ordering and
swapping it in yourself instead of worrying you might break something
unless you pay somebody to do it. The only downside I've experienced
is that I'm still too scared to overclock it too much and would have
felt better about getting someone who's good at it to do that for me.
