[ The PC Guide | The PC Buyer's Guide | Requirements Analysis ]

Buying, Building and Upgrading

Once you have determined that you need (or want) a PC, you have to decide what route you are going to take to getting one. If a notebook PC is in your future, this section won't really apply to you (though you will undoubtedly find the scintillating writing spellbinding to read nonetheless! ;^) ) If you are looking to get a desktop PC, you have several distinct choices in how you are going to go about obtaining it.

This section takes a look at the often-discussed and sometimes confusing question that faces many PC enthusiasts: should I just buy a pre-made PC or "roll my own"? And for those of you who aren't into PC hardware, consider getting into it. :^) Building a PC isn't all that difficult and can be very rewarding, both in terms of getting what you want in a PC and increasing your knowledge and understanding of PC systems and components. At least, read the section on building a PC to see what you're missing out on.

Since the main question is "to buy or to build", I will be approaching this section with that in mind. The first two pages discussing buying and building respectively, and provide a list of each's relative advantages over the other (you can infer the disadvantages of each by looking at the other one's list of relative advantages). I also cover a couple of other related issues, and finally, discuss upgrading an existing PC, which is an alternative to getting a new PC entirely.

Next: Benefits Of Buying A New PC

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