Well...it was really worth it. I had gotten prebuilts in the past but I always hated all the crapware they snuck onto my computer, not a problem this time. The prebuilt desktops I was looking at weren't powerful enough for the money either. This way I know something about everything that is in my computer (I researched the parts) and I really got involved. I could have taken all the parts to someone to put together for me without doing anything other than purchasing them and I wouldn't have spent a dime more than I did. As far as compatability issues I used pcpartpicker (thx so much for someone turning me on to that site) and it gave me a great range of parts, prices and told me where the best deal was (and told me when parts weren't compatable of course). Except for my lack of being able to build it all on my own, I can't say I have any regrets. Prebuilts are convienent but they sell prebuilt computers to make a nice profit. I would rather spend that money on a better computer......and I did. It took me a day to setup the software and download the freeware I enjoy using (CCleaner, Daemontools, 7zip, Tor, utorrent, etc.,) but that day is behind me now. I also had to figure out how to get Windows 7 to recognize my other hard drive but it really wasn't that big of a deal. The whole thing was an adventure instead of a chore or just another day shopping. I would highly suggest it to anybody.