Is Micro Center a good retail source for a custom-built desktop PC?

go to pcbuilder.net or pcpartpicker.com to set a list of what you need to buy and a suggested pricing.. since you are buying a complete system parts you may get a break on the price.

Micro Center may not use optimum cable layouts but just slap it all together and run a system test/burn in test.
As for warranty they may give a 30 day warranty other than that you are left with the individual parts warranty rules

I'll take a look at the two sites you mentioned.

Micro Center offers a three-year tech support and full replacement warranty for $280. I would plan to get that to have ready access to support and repairs.

I don't think Micro Center has a presence in Canada but would you know anything about the quality of their work?

David - you made me chuckle. I'm old school. The first microcomputer chips I ever worked with were 8008 and 8080. I find the idea of ensuring the innards of a computer look pretty and are well lit a bit amusing. Just my opinion for myself. No judgments about folks who are into it.

Lee - yes and no. My most-intensive use is image editing mostly using ON1 Photo Raw. But I insist on very smooth operation and performance. My Dell T5810 workstation with Xeon processors, 64GB RAM, SSDs, and a GTX 1660 GPU is unsatisfactory. From my conversations with ON1 tech support I am aiming at what amounts to a very good gaming system. I'm retired now and I open my PC box when I need to, not out of joy. I've used Dell systems all my life - first one ran Windows 3.1.

I'm considering a custom build, a Dell Alienware Aurora R13, and a Dell XPS 8950. I posted three questions relating to these since I want to get to a final decision. The Aurora R13 comes closest to my needs especially since in response to another question I posted David Johnson says should work with 2 SSDs.

Thanks for the feedback about Micro Center. I find about a $500 difference for similarly-equipped machines although I can get Dell Pro tech support for longer than the Micro Center warranty. And to your point there is one person I call.