As I stated above, that works if you do not value your time. You work for free. That's okay, but it's not for everybody.
> If I build it, I know what’s in it.
Yep, and that's sometimes the most important thing. My daughter and I put together a series of desktop computers for her over the years, the last of which was a dual-boot Linux/WinXP box. She learned a lot. She also decided, when it came time to get a portable, to get the small Macbook (about $1000) and VMware Fusion to run Windows and Linux as VMs. So she has effectively three computers, portability, plus the high quality and support of an Apple product.
It's great to live in a country and time with lots of choices.
My daughter and I put together a series of desktop computers for her over the years, the last of which was a dual-boot Linux/WinXP box. She learned a lot. She also decided, when it came time to get a portable, to get the small Macbook (about $1000) and VMware Fusion to run Windows and Linux as VMs. So she has effectively three computers, portability, plus the high quality and support of an Apple product.
Then by your own account you did not value your time or your daughter's time by deciding to build those desktop computers.