What's the coolest computer around?

The one you build yourself. And definitely not alienware. Overpriced is an understatement.

The one that packs in everything you need (with a little extra to spare) and that you can afford.

The ones cooled with liquid nitrogen

It changes almost weekly, but you can usually get in the ballpark by looking at Maximum PC and seeing what they did for their most recent ‘Dream Machine’, though you’d better have a fat wallet if you want to make one of the same level as their’s.

Seriously, the case alone on the 2015 DM cost about as much as an entire low-end PC, and they dropped five grand just on video cards. (Yes, with an S. It has four Titan X cards.) The total cost was $21,735.

But even if you can’t afford the parts they used, the fact remains that built systems are ALWAYS superior to anything you get off the shelf. Whether you build it yourself or just tell someone what you want and they build a custom computer for you, you get a far better computer when you get to choose the balance between price and performance for yourself and steer clear of the inferior components you get in a prebuilt system like a Dell or Gateway.

The problem there is that you have to be computer-savvy to really do it well. Which is better, the Radeon R9 380 or nVidia GTX 950? If you don’t even know what those are, then you have no chance in ever building your own system well, and will probably pay far too much for what performance you get if you can’t at least guide the component selection of someone who builds a box for you. Seriously, they are looking at profit margins for themselves rather than value for you, so it’s easy for the unknowing to get fleeced.