Refurbished vs Homebuilt

[redrobot]

I'm currently in the market for a new desktop for some light to medium gaming (MMO's and strategy games) and general internet/office use. My first thought was to build my own, but then I encountered some good looking deals in refurbished computers.

My budget is around $400-500 including OS and peripherals (except monitor).

The refurbs that I've been looking at are:

http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0328287
Pros: AM2+ board for upgradability, Windows 7, 6GB RAM
Cons: More expensive than the other refurb, DDR2


and

http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0326275
Pros: Q8200, lower price, DDR3
Cons: Small PSU, small case

Obviously I would need to install a discrete GPU. I was thinking of a 9600GT in either case which should keep me under $500 for either system.

Is there a home build that will afford me better performance/upgradability than one of these for a similar price or am I better off with the refurb?

 

[r_manic]

The only reason why I'd go for a pre-built system is because the manufacturer (assumedly) took the trouble of making sure the patches match up properly and work well together. I'm not sure if you can pick a good GPU for that microcenter system, and you might have to replace the PSU to accommodate the new hardware.

In short, go for the homebuilt system. Good luck, and don't forget to use this format when asking for build advice!