That's an interesting perspective. While the system as a whole might be "tested" I would prefer to have high quality components such as an ASUS motherboard. And since I usually have a higher end video card in my game box I would be introducing a new component to the system which breaks the "tested" environment anyway.

Do you rely on the vendor for driver updates as well then? If not then once again you break the "tested" environment.

The other reason I like to build my own systems is because I almost always only build a partially new game box. The video and sound cards from the old game box get moved to the new one. Ditto for the hard drives, etc. (though I guess next time around I will have to switch to SATA).

The old game box then becomes my new application box. It of course also inherits several things from the old app box (which gets retired).

For me at least buying a new system would likely create just as many (if not more) problems than if I continued on my current path. I also think it makes it easier for me to troubleshoot hardware problems since I put everything in there. I really do not want to have to deal with consumer level customer "support".

Of course I realize how people use their systems varies. I'm a Systems Engineer though so maybe that's why I want more control. For that same reason though I am more likely to turn to CPAN -- just as it's easier for me to build my own systems it's also easier for me to build on what others have done when solving software problems.