A PC for the home used to be so simple. You walked into an overcrowded electronics or computer store, dealt with a salesperson who may or may not know more than you about computers, settled for what's in stock and then hoped you could get it home in the back seat of your compact car. Increasingly, those who've owned their first or second PCs are buying direct, a trend that has alarmed computer makers who push their goods through retailers. You can buy some of their systems online, and in some cases they've set up kiosks in stores for direct ordering.
Buyers pick the features they want and the custom-built PCs are shipped directly to their homes.
No more cramming 17-inch monitors into the back seat of a Chevy Cavalier. Here' s a look at two high-end PCs, each sold using some form of direct marketing. One's from a traditional PC company, and the other's from the most non-traditional computer maker around. You knew this was destined to happen. It offers base configurations for each of these niches, which a buyer can tweak online at will.