On 18 Aug 98 at 15:57, Changhsu P. Liu wrote:

> ... I don't think I can save too much by building it using parts
> from different manufacturers.
> ....
> If you still think it's better to build by yourself, please
> elaborate on the reasons...

  Popular books to the contrary, it has almost never been possible to
save very much while building yourself a *current* system from
scratch.
  There are basically two ways to save money building your own
system:  re-use components you already own (upgrade), and aim for
technology that is 6-18 months old rather than the very latest thing.
  There are, however, two advantages to doing it yourself:  you may
choose better-quality system components than a mass-market maker
will, and you'll learn a lot about your system.

> ....  I would still want to have the best expandability and no
> propritary parts. Of all name brands like HP, IBM, SONY, Compaq,
> Dell, which offers the best value and expandability? Do they
> usually use pretty good motherboards?

  Compaq often uses good but proprietary parts.  For standard parts
at a good price, it's hard to beat Dell.

David G