Hell no, I build everything. But I have no idea where you get your pricing.
I bought everything over the course of several weeks by being patient and waiting for the best price. I got the CPU/Mobo in a combo deal at Microcenter, and used Slickdeals for the best prices on everything else. I saved hundreds over the prices you'll find if you sat down and did a full build on one random day because I shopped wisely. Its not hard to do, you just can't be impatient.
Don't sit here and boast that midrange systems are pumping out games at max quality, because it's a flat out lie. What you're calling max and what actually is max are two far different things.
I'm saying my PC is pumping out games at max quality. My PC is not mid range. My PC I just sold recently was mid range at its age, and it could play games at better quality than a console but it could definitely not play them at max quality. My current one is a step below top of the line, but that's why its $700 and not $1500. I always build PC's that way, because the value of buying the newest PC technology is poor. You're making an idiotic argument from a cost/performance perspective that if you build a PC you have to build top of the line. If you have the disposable income, great, go for it, but I'd rather spend that extra money elsewhere.
If you want to argue consoles are better, you can make that argument in several ways. Certain exclusives, and being able to play with your friends online who play on consoles are both legitimate arguments, and its also why I don't
just game on PC. My PC is a far superior single player gaming experience for the games I like to play (partly because of performance, partly because I don't pay for single player PC games) and a far superior media center. Saying that its cheaper than gaming on PC though is just not one of them, unless you're also spending $60 per game - but who is on PC? My PS4, even though the console itself costs half as much as the PC, is going to cost me two to three times as much in the long run due to paying for PS Plus yearly and buying the games I want to play at $60 a pop.
Which is more fun and a better use of your money is completely subjective based on personal taste, technical knowledge, what your friends have, etc. I have a console for different reasons than I have a PC, because they broth bring something the other one doesn't.
However, which is better from a cost/performance standpoint is absolutely PC, and its not even close. That is what TyGuy and I are saying. PC gaming has a stigma attached to it from years ago that it costs a fortune in not only initial investment but also upgrade costs to keep up with new games. Neither have been true for years.
Gaming PC's take a bit more effort and intelligence to put together and operate, which is definitely a negative for the lazy dipshit crowd that makes up most of console game communities, but Steam Machines may help move some people over to the master race.