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:
“A custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume thereof nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless.”
—James I of England, James VI of Scotland (1566–1625)
“The philosopher believes that the value of his philosophy lies in its totality, in its structure: posterity discovers it in the stones with which he built and with which other structures are subsequently built that are frequently better—and so, in the fact that that structure can be demolished and yet still possess value as material.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)