Scribbled by Mike Reindel

 Undeniably, the best place to purchase a PC is at the local PC store on the corner of your street.  In most cases, you will find people who know what they are talking about, and who have been in the business for many years (unlike some chain stores, who hire teenagers off the street who only know how to turn one on). Even if the place has not been in business for a long time, it is still the best way to buy a computer.  Usually, the person you talk to is the one who will build your PC.  You should be able to fully customize the PC to your specs - all the way down to the brand and model of the motherboard.  Dell, Gateway, Compaq, HP, etc.  do not allow for this to happen.  They give you what they mass produce, usually sacrificing quality for quantity. You can get a better hard drive or video card at the corner shop, amongst other things.

There is one drawback, but it is also a plus: support.  If you have a problem, you can drive it right over there and have them look at it.  If you're lucky, some will even come out to your house on a warranty call.  Sure, the corner shop doesn't have 24/7 tech support.  You can only call them during business hours.  However, if you need a part, most places will have it overnighted and have it replaced next day, allowing you to have your PC back in less than two days.  If for some reason the corner guy decides to pack it up and leave, don't worry.  All of your hardware is fully covered by the manufacturer's warranty (usually three to five years).  And some may even honor warranty requests after they've closed the business.  For me, the choice is simple, not only because I run one of these corner shops, but because I hear the complaints of these large companies, and am glad that I can relieve some frustration about the PC to people who don't feel comfortable using it.  There's nothing better that seeing someone leave the store happy as a lark after coming in fuming about a POS that they bought from a bigger company.