[quote name='Rhett']It's fairly easy to put a computer together, even for a first-timer, but the BIGGEST issue is just making sure your motherboard and power supply support everything else. Additionally (but don't let this discourage you!) I've ordered two mobo's off Newegg in the past, and one was mislabled (it said it'd work with my CPU, but it didn't), and the other was DOA.
Newegg, however, has stellar customer service, should you require it. As well as the cheapest build-it-yourself prices.
Just get someone who's built a few here to give you the best bang for your buck, and you'll be set from there on. I also have a problem with static electricity, but I've tinkered inside my computer before, and assembled it, and had no issues, so don't let that put you down.
Though, if you're absolutely serious about not wanting to deal with putting it together, and don't care about saving 300-400$, then just go with IBuyPower.com -- Overall just a great place, very simple to customize, and cheaper than Alienware (which is all glamor).[/QUOTE]
I've gotten 4-5 motherboards from Newegg, and 2 of them came DOA. They do pay for replacement, but it takes a week or two longer to get your PC together, which always annoyed me.
That said, I pretty much despise Alienware, but it seems most people here do also.
I also really think you should build your own. Getting a good case + PSU is pretty crucial, imo. I've had mediocre cases that put a lot of strain on cards before, and can sometimes pull my video card a little loose to where I have to open it up and re-seat it, for example. Better cases also usually mean a better airflow design, which can drop your internal temperature a few degrees, which can also help keep the internal hardware working longer. And a cheap PSU can fail in a year or two, and make you use more money in the long run.
It really isn't hard to put together a computer, and I personally have never in 10 years destroyed a chip by touch, and I handle ICs frequently. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, since I learned the theory of it in college, but it's never happened to me.
It does, however, take up a lot of time to find all the parts you want (both for performance and budget), but I'm sure there are guides for that everywhere. Putting together a PC will likely take more than 2 hours from scratch, especially if you've never done it (just putting the motherboard in the case could take the first-timer 30 minutes, for example).
BUT the good side is, you save money, get a PC perfectly suited for you, and you can swap out parts in the future if needed much more easily than you could if you bought a prebuilt. Want 6 HDDs in the future for some crazy RAID setup? You can plan ahead and buy a suitable case / motherboard. Want more than 4 USB ports so you don't need an external hub? You can plan for that too. The options go on and on, but that's why it's more time consuming.
