Disagree, it is alot more than just plugging in chips and cables. It is picking the components and manufacturers you like and trust its the decision of what case suits you best, not some cheap mass manufacturers pile of plastic with sharp edges. It’s picking the memory with the best timings, your favorite brand of GPU’s, not some on board crap or lowest bid no name brand ati or nVidia branded board. It is also learning the what nots and what to do’s when building, learning on what to do if it doesnt work on first boot. It is a whole lot more than plug and play and 100x’s more satisfying than buying pre-built. No my friend it isn’t quite as simple as you play it out to be. Only suckers buy pre-built.(This rant excludes DIY laptops as they suck and arent worth the time)
The vast majority of computer users are better off buying a computer that "just works" out of the box. Assembling computers is strictly for hobbyists or special purpose usage.
I buy pre-built, it’s not worth the effort to me to do otherwise. I could do all the research to find the “perfect” components and then all the labor to put it together, but my time is more valuable than that. I go to the place I trust, I start with one of their specs I make a few adjustments, come back in a week and walla. I dig in the guts all day at work, at home I just want to plug the damn thing in and go. I don’t want to have to be a nerd at home, home is for relaxing and spreading parts all over the place is not relaxing.
If you like it that’s great. But that doesn’t mean those of us with better things to do with our time are suckers. It means we have a pool a sexy wife and a bike trail.