The best buy desktop is something that can be had for cheaper. Although the memory would be somewhat expensive, it doesn't have a dedicated video card so it's sharing the memory of the system.
The cost consideration is like this, with a custom system, upgrade paths can be followed more often, and upgrades can done piecemeal. There's also the consideration that a custom system depending on which parts are chosen, can be closer to an expensive workstation than a 700$ desktop with shared video memory and crapware out the wazoo.
One of the newer cost cutting measures is the non-inclusion of media for the operating system / office programs. Getting media after the fact is difficult and time consuming (thus creating a barrier to entry making prices lower yada yada yada)
Otherwise if you don't want the headache of judging which particular components are necessary, I would suggest getting an Apple Mac Product.
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