I know the idea of building your own can be daunting, but it's really easy once you do a little research. First, read entirely through an online PC building guide such as this one -
http://www.diyallday.com/how-to-build-a-computer/ - this will familiarize you with the components, terminology, and an outline of everything necessary to complete a build. You already have a starting point, the specs of the Dell you're considering, so next you should start the process of picking exactly what you're going to buy. A handy site for this is -
https://pcpartpicker.com/ - as it will automatically find the lowest prices, as well as warning you if any of your picks are incompatible. To me, picking the parts is as much fun as the actual assembly of the PC, and I don't mind spending as much time as it takes to get it perfect. The build is almost a let-down, because it will only take an hour or two, but when your new rig fires up the first time and runs perfect, the feeling is like nothing else. If it doesn't (God forbid), you'll already be familiar with every component, and after the initial panic, you can quickly figure out which part is the culprit ( or which connector you forgot to plug in). By this time you should know enough to deal with any problems, but if not, there are dozens of online forums (like this one!) where you can get specific advice for your problem. The reward is a machine that's built exactly to your specs, for less money, with no crappy OEM parts (typically the cheapest available parts). But the real reward is not having to depend on useless "help lines" , indifferent warranty clerks, and crooked repair shops when there's a problem. You will probably know more than they do, so if you do have to return a defective part, you won't so easily be given the runaround. Anyway, I hope this helps you decide to build your own, you'll be much happier with the result...
