Where to get a monster PC for a reasonable price
10-25-2005, 10:09 AM
#31
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Get a Dell, although not at their everday retail or low discount prices. If you get in a on a deal, its crazy, and there is no way you can build for less for something of that claiber(dells are usually very quiet and have a good trustworthy powersupply(not the $15 550w, speaking of which, try not to buy one of those). I got my computer an older 400sc, 2 years ago, a P4 3.2ghz, for $500 full system(not great specs, but top of the line intel chipset at the time, great quiet case, it was pretty much a barebone), the CPU alone on pricewatch was $600(that was cheapest oem, 90 day warranty deal), and to building something up to that with a super quiet case would have cost at least 800-850...
Have a little patience, key is
hard drive, ram, optical drives, are things you don't want to buy from dell(sometimes video card). Unless they're free or they're super cheap, don't buy extended warranties, don't buy accessories, unless they're extremely discounted.
Those 3 items can be had much cheaper at fry's(hard drive), newegg(DVD +/- RW).
But if you're looking to no even open the case, then you'll have to take hit on what they charge.
Althought that 2tb storage seems reasonably inexpensive
Have a little patience, key is
hard drive, ram, optical drives, are things you don't want to buy from dell(sometimes video card). Unless they're free or they're super cheap, don't buy extended warranties, don't buy accessories, unless they're extremely discounted.
Those 3 items can be had much cheaper at fry's(hard drive), newegg(DVD +/- RW).
But if you're looking to no even open the case, then you'll have to take hit on what they charge.
Althought that 2tb storage seems reasonably inexpensive
10-25-2005, 11:37 AM
#33
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my friends dell computer's power supply died. the computer is 2 years old. the thing that sux is the dell power supply's are proprietary, as i found out AFTER buying a regular replacement power supply. the dells dont have a hole cutout in the back of the case for the power supplies. what a pain.
10-25-2005, 01:04 PM
#34
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Originally Posted by HongKongBeef
my friends dell computer's power supply died. the computer is 2 years old. the thing that sux is the dell power supply's are proprietary, as i found out AFTER buying a regular replacement power supply. the dells dont have a hole cutout in the back of the case for the power supplies. what a pain.
That is a pain!
10-25-2005, 07:56 PM
#35
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Originally Posted by lazybummm
Get a Dell, although not at their everday retail or low discount prices. If you get in a on a deal, its crazy, and there is no way you can build for less for something of that claiber(dells are usually very quiet and have a good trustworthy powersupply(not the $15 550w, speaking of which, try not to buy one of those).
10-25-2005, 11:08 PM
#37
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Originally Posted by Imprezzy
Building that last system for the office was that much of a pain in the *** eh Nick?
I'm just busy with school and work and everything and don't really have time to do all the deal searching.
10-26-2005, 10:50 AM
#39
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All depends on how much your time is worth. Since the computer is for someone else, who, for their use of the system, won't notice the difference between a high-end component and a mid-range component, go with something easy.
I purchased two Dells for my MIL and SIL. Sure I could have spent a bunch of time finding components, putting everything together, and installing Windows and a bunch of software. But in the end, would they notice, or even care? They'd probably notice that it wasn't as clean-looking or quiet as a pre-built system. Performance-wise, sure my pre-built system would be faster....but again, how much time saved are we talking about for people who just turn on the computer to surf the web and do occassional word processing? Oh, and let's not forget the price of LCD monitors.
Some of the Dell deals are so crazy that I'm considering getting one for my next system. But yeah -- if you do get one, go easy on the hard drives and RAM since THAT stuff is super easy to replace and will drive down the cost significantly. Splurge on the LCD though, especially if your parents are older. Their eyes will appreciate it.
I purchased two Dells for my MIL and SIL. Sure I could have spent a bunch of time finding components, putting everything together, and installing Windows and a bunch of software. But in the end, would they notice, or even care? They'd probably notice that it wasn't as clean-looking or quiet as a pre-built system. Performance-wise, sure my pre-built system would be faster....but again, how much time saved are we talking about for people who just turn on the computer to surf the web and do occassional word processing? Oh, and let's not forget the price of LCD monitors.
Some of the Dell deals are so crazy that I'm considering getting one for my next system. But yeah -- if you do get one, go easy on the hard drives and RAM since THAT stuff is super easy to replace and will drive down the cost significantly. Splurge on the LCD though, especially if your parents are older. Their eyes will appreciate it.
10-26-2005, 11:05 AM
#40
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Originally Posted by Oski
All depends on how much your time is worth. Since the computer is for someone else, who, for their use of the system, won't notice the difference between a high-end component and a mid-range component, go with something easy.
I purchased two Dells for my MIL and SIL. Sure I could have spent a bunch of time finding components, putting everything together, and installing Windows and a bunch of software. But in the end, would they notice, or even care? They'd probably notice that it wasn't as clean-looking or quiet as a pre-built system. Performance-wise, sure my pre-built system would be faster....but again, how much time saved are we talking about for people who just turn on the computer to surf the web and do occassional word processing? Oh, and let's not forget the price of LCD monitors.
Some of the Dell deals are so crazy that I'm considering getting one for my next system. But yeah -- if you do get one, go easy on the hard drives and RAM since THAT stuff is super easy to replace and will drive down the cost significantly. Splurge on the LCD though, especially if your parents are older. Their eyes will appreciate it.
I purchased two Dells for my MIL and SIL. Sure I could have spent a bunch of time finding components, putting everything together, and installing Windows and a bunch of software. But in the end, would they notice, or even care? They'd probably notice that it wasn't as clean-looking or quiet as a pre-built system. Performance-wise, sure my pre-built system would be faster....but again, how much time saved are we talking about for people who just turn on the computer to surf the web and do occassional word processing? Oh, and let's not forget the price of LCD monitors.
Some of the Dell deals are so crazy that I'm considering getting one for my next system. But yeah -- if you do get one, go easy on the hard drives and RAM since THAT stuff is super easy to replace and will drive down the cost significantly. Splurge on the LCD though, especially if your parents are older. Their eyes will appreciate it.
10-27-2005, 08:44 AM
#41
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Originally Posted by Oski
All depends on how much your time is worth. Since the computer is for someone else, who, for their use of the system, won't notice the difference between a high-end component and a mid-range component, go with something easy.
I purchased two Dells for my MIL and SIL. Sure I could have spent a bunch of time finding components, putting everything together, and installing Windows and a bunch of software. But in the end, would they notice, or even care? They'd probably notice that it wasn't as clean-looking or quiet as a pre-built system. Performance-wise, sure my pre-built system would be faster....but again, how much time saved are we talking about for people who just turn on the computer to surf the web and do occassional word processing? Oh, and let's not forget the price of LCD monitors.
Some of the Dell deals are so crazy that I'm considering getting one for my next system. But yeah -- if you do get one, go easy on the hard drives and RAM since THAT stuff is super easy to replace and will drive down the cost significantly. Splurge on the LCD though, especially if your parents are older. Their eyes will appreciate it.
I purchased two Dells for my MIL and SIL. Sure I could have spent a bunch of time finding components, putting everything together, and installing Windows and a bunch of software. But in the end, would they notice, or even care? They'd probably notice that it wasn't as clean-looking or quiet as a pre-built system. Performance-wise, sure my pre-built system would be faster....but again, how much time saved are we talking about for people who just turn on the computer to surf the web and do occassional word processing? Oh, and let's not forget the price of LCD monitors.
Some of the Dell deals are so crazy that I'm considering getting one for my next system. But yeah -- if you do get one, go easy on the hard drives and RAM since THAT stuff is super easy to replace and will drive down the cost significantly. Splurge on the LCD though, especially if your parents are older. Their eyes will appreciate it.
Only thing is that he is building it for himself, and I'm sure he'd appreciate it if he put the time and effort in finding his prices for components.
But yeah, your topic is very good, since a lot of poeple forget about those kinds. Remember also, that if you buy a pre-built for someone else, you can give them the gift of a warranty, which to people who have no clue how to use computers except for internet and word, is great. A lot better than a Subaru warranty
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