So, the votes have been counted, analysed and re-counted, and the results are in: my cobbled-together self-build PC has won the £250 Challenge.

I spent the entirety of the building and voting period enthusiastically claiming that a self-built PC was the only one worth choosing thanks to its mix of decent components and effervescent, charming personality.

In practice, though, that meant that my PC ran Ubuntu and the beta version of Windows 7 rather than a proper, paid-for OS, had cables trailing around the case and a decent selection of ports and sockets on the front that didn’t actually work.

And then there was the case, which looked like the next Transformers movie if Michael Bay’s budget was reduced to nothing and sounded like a vacuum cleaner echoing around the Grand Canyon.

But, when stacked up against the competition, the Warrior 250PCWGFS fought valiantly and earned more votes than anyone else.

So my first thanks my go to the readers – those who voted for my self-build PC and those who made helpful suggestions along the way. Grimer, Allan Simpson, Claave, Nathan, Lex, Nick, Ian Devlin, Peter Tennant, pcernie, technogeist and the enigmatically-named E: I owe you a pint after you all pointed me in the right direction and helped me avoid the many pitfalls associated with building a prize-winning PC for such a low price.

I also need to thank the rest of the team for providing such varied competition: Darien’s second-hand bundle was a genuine threat, but Bayon’s PC – which exuded all the excitement and personality of Swine Flu – didn’t exactly cause me sleepless nights.

The various suppliers deserve gratitude, too: Scan.co.uk, Micro Direct and especially Ebuyer, where I qualified for free delivery and managed to eke a few more quid out of my budget.

I realise that this speech is going on a bit, though, and I’ll start getting weepy in a minute – so I’ll end with a suggestion to the lucky reader who will eventually claim my PC as their own: it may be called the Warrior, but be gentle with her.

And I’m not claiming any responsibility when the CPU melts or the case decides to spontaneously combust.