Actually the only computer I have ever owned has been 1 that I built from 'spare parts. Since then I have built myself 3 more and aslo 1 for my Dad. Usually I upgrade about once a year if the money is there. Mostly just things like more RAM or a better video card. Everything has gone better than expected until my latest box had a motherboard issue. It's really helpful to have forums to go to in search of similar problems with computers.
My box isn't anything special:
Ultra 650w psu
fried motherboard(next 1 is going to be a Gigabyte)
XFX 8800 Alphadog Video
3g Kingston Hyper 'X' RAM
400g HDD SATA
FDD
DVD burner/player
pci wireless card
It's fun to build it myself and learn so much in the process. I would like to be considered for membership in the SBCC.