[Ice Max]

as others said, it is greatly worth it to build your own computer rather than buy one from dell (or pretty much any company for that matter) at 1000. the only thing is you have to know what types of part work with each other (such as cpu socket type, video card interface, etc.) by doing a little research, you can figure out whats best for you and whats the best value that you can get.

 

[dj_mocok]

If you aren't that confident yet, you can always bring your "recipe list" to your local computer shop, and ask them to install everything for you. They probably only charge you like 50 bucks or less for that. Better than getting DELL anyway.

IMO DELL is for those grannies grampa housewives (less computer-friendly) who can't use computer and need all the help they can get when they have problems with them.

The part that is a bit tricky is probably setting out the mobo and installing the CPU in it. If you got a bad mobo, the space is so crammed and everything is so tight, it feels like you might snap the mobo into half when you try to install the CPU.

 

[PerformanceFirst]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScrambleDog /img/forum/go_quote.gif http://www.dell.com/content/products...AID=0038386869 Go the the second column from the left, the one with the $479 price and click on customize. Deal ends 3/28. $479 includes 19" flat screen monitor, 1GB Ram, 160GB HD, AMD 3800 which is faster than a P4, your choice of Windows. My recommendation would be to pay an extra $30 and get the DVD burner, and an additional $40 and get the faster video card. Total price = $549

I second this. The appeal of Dell lies in deals they offer like this. If you want a high end computer, you're better off building your own.

 

[uzziah]

just get more ram; what you've got is fine unless you have special needs like games, video editing, heavy programming etc.


save your cash, and get an extra 256mb or 512mb stick. don't buy from dell. figure out what you need and get from newegg.com or the like.

 

[uzziah]

edit: if you're REALLY into photoshop, then yes, perhaps a more powerful pc is in order. here's my big suggestion: take a look at fatwallet.com; dell desktops are up there all the time, i think there's one now

 

[roastpuff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah /img/forum/go_quote.gif just get more ram; what you've got is fine unless you have special needs like games, video editing, heavy programming etc. save your cash, and get an extra 256mb or 512mb stick. don't buy from dell. figure out what you need and get from newegg.com or the like.

The OP has stated that he has a RDRAM setup, which is nearly impossible to get cheap RAM for... ergo, he needs a new computer.

 

[Loganberry]

I'll third the post regarding the Dell deal.

Dell is famous for putting out deals on computers for a week or two and this one is a really good deal. If you already have a monitor, you can sell the one that comes with the deal for $200 on ebay bringing your cost down to $350.

To keep up with Dell deals, bookmark this website Fat Wallet and visit the "Hot Deals" forum and search for Dell.

Just got this link from Dell - Same Deal as posted before but thru Dell business Expires 3/28- Choose the $479 to get 1GB memory, add the DVD burner and upgrade the video card.

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/s...=04&l=en&s=bsd

 

[KYTGuy]

Check out www.Ibuypower.com They are good folks, great support staff, and they honor their warranties.

 

[jeffro]

This thread is becoming a pretty good reference for computer components.

Thank you all for the help. I was thinking of going for the Dell deal everyone agrees with, but the idea of building my own is pretty intriguing.

I remember horror stories of people not getting their BIOS to flash using Windows 95 (ten years ago). Has building your own gotten that much easier with new operatig systems.

Anyone want to send me to a good resource for choosing components that work together?

 

[Computerpro3]

www.hardforums.com (great place to get started)

and after you get to where you really know what you're doing

www.xtremesystems.org/forums (where all the world records come from)

 

[uzziah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by roastpuff /img/forum/go_quote.gif The OP has stated that he has a RDRAM setup, which is nearly impossible to get cheap RAM for... ergo, he needs a new computer.

ah! good point

 

[nysulli]

do the dell deal, you can always add a second HD or more ram if you feel it necessary for less then dell will charge you

spend the 150 for the 5000+ core, the difference between the 3800 and 5000 at newegg is about 120 bucks, so for 150 its not that bad of a deal. stick with 1 gig ram, you can add a second gig if you feel the need for 65 bucks on your own (half what they want), for the HD, its up to you, i don't know if that case can fit a second, but if it can, stick with the 160, get yourself a 400 gig for 100 bucks to add to it, or add an external HD to the 250 gig upgrade. add $50 bucks to go with the 20 inch widescreen digital monitor, 40 more for the vid card, 30 for the dvd burner, and 10 for the optical mouse

799 total with the 250 gig HD, add say 100 bucks for some external or internal HD addition, and 65 for a second gig of ram, your still under 1000 with a pretty nice machine, and a plenty of workspace on a 20" panel

 

[uzziah]

i doubt you need the upgrades

 

[Computerpro3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nysulli /img/forum/go_quote.gif do the dell deal, you can always add a second HD or more ram if you feel it necessary for less then dell will charge you spend the 150 for the 5000+ core, the difference between the 3800 and 5000 at newegg is about 120 bucks, so for 150 its not that bad of a deal. stick with 1 gig ram, you can add a second gig if you feel the need for 65 bucks on your own (half what they want), for the HD, its up to you, i don't know if that case can fit a second, but if it can, stick with the 160, get yourself a 400 gig for 100 bucks to add to it, or add an external HD to the 250 gig upgrade. add $50 bucks to go with the 20 inch widescreen digital monitor, 40 more for the vid card, 30 for the dvd burner, and 10 for the optical mouse 799 total with the 250 gig HD, add say 100 bucks for some external or internal HD addition, and 65 for a second gig of ram, your still under 1000 with a pretty nice machine, and a plenty of workspace on a 20" panel

For that price I just built for a client a Conroe E6300 Machine with 300gb hard drive, 2GB ram, premium case and motherboard, etc. No reason to go AMD when the price is the same; that e6300 hit 3.4ghz on stock voltage, which annihilates every chip AMD and Intel make for $180.

 

[fatcat28037]

What do you intend to use this computer for? how long do you plan to keep it?