[Delphinus]

Dell is a little bit hit and miss. I got lazy when I needed a new computer so I ordered a Dell. Been a perfect fit and a decent machine with no problems. So when my folks had needed a new machine I told them to go Dell, and it's been nothing but headaches and the tech support, now that it's all offshore, has been .. less than stellar. It's funny but I've talked to others who have had the exact same situation.. i.e., Dell was good for them but not so good for those they recommended it to.

Anyhow for the money and the laziness factor I'd probably go with Dell again, and recommended Dell just with the caveat that "it might work out well for you, but it might not."

PC's are just a tool. I'm Comp.Sci. but I couldn't be bothered to build my own system, not that I couldn't, it's just that .. well .. there are more interesting things to do with one's time. So my best advice is figure out your interests and what you want out of a PC, and build around that. If you like to tinker, go ahead and build your own. If you want to go with gaming, or multimedia, then you know what sort of hardware you need, and so on.

I guess I'm embellishing a little. I did build my own PVR out of a PC and I'm planning on rebuilding it soon. Once you go PVR for TV you will never go back. Holey mackerel what a difference that's made.