Purchasing/Building a PC

Hey guys(and gals), I'm looking for some help. May I get some advice in regards to purchasing/building a pc. What I'd like to know is how much I'm going to save if I order the parts myself vs buying a setup that's ready to go. How are your experiences in getting the parts/building it yourself? Do the pc builders feel their machines are reliable and trouble free? I'm more of a novice here, so all comments are welcome, but I'd love to hear from the inexperienced pc builder as well.

-I'd like to spend sub $600--that doesn't include the monitor. So if I can go lower, the better. Or if someone can convince me that there is a marginal performance increase for a tad more money..

-I'll primarily be using it for video editing/Wacom related stuff.

-Does it make any sense to consider a Mac?

-Any other expertise would be greatly helpful.

thanks.

EDIT: Realized I posted this in the wrong forum. Sorry. Is it possible to get it moved?

wrong forum, and no it makes no sense to consider a mac. $600= absolute base mac mini.

yes, as stated in the other post up there, I realized I put it in the wrong forum.

-I'd like to spend sub $600--that doesn't include the monitor. So if I can go lower, the better. Or if someone can convince me that there is a marginal performance increase for a tad more money.. 600 is a fine amount of money (if we're talking US dollars)

-I'll primarily be using it for video editing/Wacom related stuff.

Which means you'll want a good graphics card (probably 1GB of dedicated Video Ram will be fine) and a processor that is quad core or better.

-Does it make any sense to consider a Mac?

Yes, you should consider it but as soon as you reach the obvious conclusion that Macs suck for their price then... you'll want to stick with windows.

What I'd like to know is how much I'm going to save if I order the parts myself vs buying a setup that's ready to go?

I just did a quick search on buying some PCs online in America and With that 600 dollars you could make a machine that is just about the same as a $1250 PC.

-Do the pc builders feel their machines are reliable and trouble free?

If you make it right and put the in the time to search for parts that are compatible with each other then you're PC will turn on. Then just get the right software and your pretty much good to go.