Custom Built PC
A custom built (or assembled) PC is a personal computer system that is assembled from components selected by the end-user; it may be assembled by the end user or a system builder. The advantage of custom assembly is that components can be selected to match the user's application. Manufacturer options of mass-market computers may not meet the particular requirements of an end user. Since a wide range of standardized low-cost interchangeable hardware is available, most custom built computer systems are IBM PC compatible or Wintel-type, though Macintosh, Amiga, and other types are also custom-built.
A system builder specializes in customized or special purpose systems, which cannot be obtained off-the-shelf from major manufacturers. Generally, a system builder obtains parts from distributors, wholesalers, Internet vendors, or small computer specialty stores. Internet vendors generally offer a wider selection than small computer parts stores, and normal electronics stores, which are catered towards pre-built PCs. System builders are often either computer gamers or individuals whose requirements can't be fulfilled by a practical cost efficient pre-built PC. A consumer is more likely to buy a pre-built computer than attempt to build a machine due to difficulty and the lack of a technical support team when problems arise. On the other hand, it is usually less expensive to build a PC than to buy a pre-built equivalent.
Famous quotes containing the words custom and/or built:
“There is the grand truth about Nathaniel Hawthorne. He says NO! in thunder; but the Devil himself cannot make him say yes. For all men who say yes, lie; and all men who say no,—why, they are in the happy condition of judicious, unincumbered travellers in Europe; they cross the frontiers into Eternity with nothing but a carpet-bag,—that is to say, the Ego. Whereas those yes-gentry, they travel with heaps of baggage, and, damn them! they will never get through the Custom House.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“Here was a place where nothing was crystallized. There were no traditions, no customs, no college songs .... There were no rules and regulations. All would have to be thought of, planned, built up, created—what a magnificent opportunity!”
—Mabel Smith Douglass (1877–1933)