| From: "Steve Petrie, P.Eng. via talk" <talk@gtalug.org> | 1. Contrary to my earlier assertion, NCIX in fact has included an item for: | Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Edition 64Bit DVD SP1 OEM | Price C$187.99 [Reg. C$214.98] If you buy Win 7 pro, in a bundle, from a big manufacturer, you can save most of that money. | 2. And the the (now corrected) NCIX total price for hardware components alone, seems reasonable: | NCIX: $1593.13 PCPartPicker: $1517.98 | Caution: NCIX has made some hardware substitutions, so the total prices are only generically comparable. This price seemed quite high to me, at least compared with an off-the-rack computer. Here are some you could consider. If you go to NCIX's site, and select "Business Desktops", you can filter <http://www.ncix.com/category/business-desktops-cc-1357.htm> - i5 or i7 (but the filter seems to let through i3 machines) - Win 7 pro Here's a similar page from Canada Computers, another Canadian chain. They have in-house service too (not warranty service for branded computers). <http://www.canadacomputers.com/search_result.php?checkVal0=1&checkVal1=1&checkVal2=0&subcat20=1&subcat21=2&checkVal3=1&checkVal4=1&checkVal5=1&checkVal6=1&checkVal7=1&checkVal8=1&checkVal9=0&subcat93=4&pagePos=0&keywords=&manu=0&search=1&ccid=1203&cPath=7_1203> (I hope that link works.) You probably want to reject out of hand Small Form Factor (SFF) machines because you cannot customize them enough after-purchase. You need to check carefully whether they have the ports and slots you think that you want. (None has everything to meet your requirements.) None of these is what I call inexpensive. But they might be better value than your custom build.