• An original model Xbox360 120GB Hard Drive
• An original model Xbox360 transfer kit
• Manhunt (Xbox)
• Halo: First Strike (Novel)
• Half-Life Platinum Collection (PC)
• Baldur's Gate 4 in 1 Box Set (PC)
• Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (DVD)
• Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (DVD)

I'd rather buy one pre-made, since I haven't a clue what I'm doing.

i dont know how this works really so ill reply here
 
I bought a couple gaming PCs pre-built in the past, but after dealing with terrible customer support and faulty hardware on my last one, i built my own computer by myself for the first time this january, all brand new, top of the line type computer.
It was like 780 bucks and newegg was doing a big sale, i haven't had an issue yet, and i set it up the same night i got all the parts together

• An original model Xbox360 120GB Hard Drive
• An original model Xbox360 transfer kit
• Manhunt (Xbox)
• Halo: First Strike (Novel)
• Half-Life Platinum Collection (PC)
• Baldur's Gate 4 in 1 Box Set (PC)
• Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (DVD)
• Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (DVD)

I built my first PC several years ago and I don't ever think I'll go back to buying pre-made PC's unless they had a really, really good deal on one.
 
Keep up the great work, Vito!

I'd rather build my own, that way I know exactly what's in it, and if anything goes wrong, I have no one to blame but myself!

Wow, this is so nice of you. May I ask why you're doing this? (just out of curiosity, of course)

Funny, I actually just wrote an essay comparing and contrasting building a PC versus buying one.
 
My vote goes towards building. Its pretty easy to understand how to do it if you take a little time to do some research, and you get a better machine for less money. Also, if it breaks, you don't have to pay some jerk at best buy hella monies to fix it. 

This blog was accidentally posted twice. I just wanted to let everyone know that this is the official one, and that the duplicate has been deleted. Thanks!

Just in case my first post doesn't count, for whatever reason.

Build my own as much as I can get away with.  Do my own upgrades and everything.  Even if the entire PC needs an upgrade, I'll go to a place that allows me to customize every piece of hardware so I know what's going to be in my box.

I built my own PC a couple of years ago, with the help of a friend. It's a lot cheaper, and you choose which parts you want, instead of getting an overpriced pre-made machine that will probably be more powerful than you need it to be.

Mix of both. I buy second-hand, which are by definition pre-made, and then upgrade parts of it whenever I have the spare cash and inclination to do so. It's not a particularly safe way to go about things, though, but then I'm really only comfortable with the simple stuff like adding drivers/RAM/HDs etc.
 
I love these Steam giveaways the most. Especially when the "Give and Get" promotions start rolling around and people are feeling generous. Props to Vito and rentfn.

the type to build my own gaming pc.

both.  i bought my computer prebuild and then over the years i upgraded the video card and RAM.

Let's try this again.  I don't build my own, due to vision problems.

Building your own PC is the way to go if you know what you're doing. It's easier to squeeze the most off your money, especially if you're on a budget. Upgrading a pre-built can be a good solution too, as long as you're not spending more on core upgrades than what you'd pay if you built it from scratch.

I built my first PC gaming rig this past summer.  It was so easy, I think I would do it again :D.

I'm way too lazy to build my own PC.

I wouldn't be able to build my own pc, I'm the type that will go crazy thinking I may have screwed something up and the pc won't work correctly if I built it. 

Used to build my own stuff. Now I find it too frustrating, and I prefer buying it pre-made. The extra price makes up for the headaches

If I had the money and knew enough about computers to build one, I'd do that.
 
Unfortunately I have neither. Which means I probably can't buy a new one either :(

i dont have the technological savvy to build my own PC.  as cheaper as i sure i am, i think i'll keeping my gaming to my consoles. i dont have the patience to sit at my desk anyway

I like to build my own PC, as I can usually find the parts a lot cheaper online than buying a pre-made PC.  Also I would like to see first hand what is actually in my PC.

I prefer to build my own PC - I can build a top-of-the-line machine for probably 2/3 the price of a pre-built one.
 
I suppose if money weren't a subject, acquiring a quality pre-built (e.g. Falcon Northwest, Velocity Micro, Voodoo when they were still around, etc) would be nice for the professional job and warranties. You KNOW that they won't screw up the overclocking, for example.

I actually just built my own PC very recently, and am on it right now :)

I've built my own PC a couple years back. Don't think I'll ever buy a pre-made one, I feel it's better in every way to have one built by myself. That way I know what's in it, what are its possible problems, what to change and when.

My current PC is a Dell XPS 720, and I plan to never buy pre built again. It was insultingly over priced, but it had a monthly plan and that was the only way I could afford it at the time. With in months ones of the dam side panels literally fell off the side of my computer. They used glue to hold it in place instead of screws or a latch and the heat from inside the computer melted it.  
 
While not a huge deal, as I rarely use it any more, the DVD drive has a little latch that flips down when you open the DVD drive and I always have to lift it down when I close the DVD drive or else it gets stuck on it and won't close.

i built one myself in January and it was awful! Next time I'm just going to spend the extra $50 to get it built for me and save my self 10 hours of headache.

I'd rather go pre-built for security/warranty if anything breaks. Also, I would spend every moment from picking parts to using a self-built PC in blind panic at it breaking or me already having broken it.

One hour left!

OK, contest closed! The winner will be PMed later today and a new contest will begin tomorrow!