ok, so instead of building my own gaming rig, ive been looking and researching for a few months, and the more i look at these deals the less i want to build my own, ive compared and ive seen that it saves only about 100-200 dollars, which doesnt really matter to me, so is it worth it to buy a pre built one, and if so can u tell me the best site, so far ive found

ibuypower
cyberpowerpc
tigerdirect
newegg

which one should i go from? i want less then a 1200 machine that kicks butt. ive done some customization and found what i want to be around 1200, anyone out there have a better site or recommendations?

Scratch TigerDirect off your list.

Newegg is one of the most reputable, if not THE most reputable online retailers out there. But their specialty is components, not systems. Sure, they sell systems, but they're preconfigured & cannot be customized. In other words, you're stuck with whatever it is they're offering (mostly HP & Acer).

Rumor is that iBuypower & CyberPowerPC are one & the same. They both get mixed reviews. The obvious advantage is that you can pick & choose the components to build the best PC you can afford. However, many people are clueless when it comes to hardware & they end up with a bad config, then blame the builder.

One of the big things to look out for is the power supply...their standard units suck & the NZXT units aren't much better. Thermaltake units are OK, but they're pricey. Unfortunately, that's all they offer.

Generally, the default motherboard choice isn't a good one & neither is the video card, so you'd have to pick & choose better ones. Basically, you'd just have to go down the list & select what you need...that goes for all the hardware.

I just did a quick run thru at iBuypower & the total was roughly $1500 for a reasonably decent Core 2 Duo system...but that was without a monitor & with WinXP rather than Vista.

If you don't want to build it yourself -- look into having a local PC shop where you live help you put the thing together. On our part, we can help you with create a parts list to give them.

I would recommend Velocity Micro if you want to buy retail. I got one for my wife last year and she loves it. The best buy for your buck (and the most satisfaction) is to build it yourself. They aren't hard (I built mine a few years back). Do your research about componants so everything is compatable and go to it.

thanks for the follow up guys, but ive already seen velocity micro, and there prices are ABSOLUTELY unreasonable, no offense but im sure if i had 5000 to blow it would be decent haha for the upper machines,im still debating building my own, but it doesnt save that much money now a days....