While I would never urge a tinkerer away from trying to build their own computer (it can be a lot of fun), I just want to get an idea of what your objective is. You're not really going to save any money going that route, and the performance on pre-built computers is going to be great if you get the right system.

I used to build computers for clients, but the support was a nightmare. These days I just tell people to swap out the drive of a regular old Dell for an SSD and they'll have a fantastic computer.

I also suggest getting a 4th gen Intel Core i5 or i7. After that, a pre-built computer is going to have everything you need. A huge hard drive, tons of RAM, etc.

Personally, I despise Windows 8. I will not be "upgrading."