$1000 Computer

[20mm]

exactly what i would say...plus you can tell everyone you built the system your self...that's the fun about building your computer...you built it. not some kids in china or some thin like that.

 

[gaara]

Quoted from Tom's Hardware Guide:

Even if the pricing and general specifications for a vendor-built machine were essentially the same, I would always lean toward building a computer myself. This comes from experience and a few easy to comprehend facts. First, when you buy a computer from a vendor, your support comes from the vendor. If you buy the components separately and register them yourself, you gain access to support from the manufacturer of each individual part. Second, it's very difficult to find out exactly what components are in computer purchased from a vendor. They may say "80 GB hard drive" but they don't often (if ever) give you the model number, cache size and other details you may want to know about.

Finally, it's my belief that it's always better to start off with a blank hard drive and populate it with the software you decide to put on it, not pre-loaded stuff that you may never use and may have a Hell of a time tracking down and deleting (does a gamer need Microsoft Money pre-installed?). The so-called "recovery disc" that comes with many pre-built computers can be a nightmare here. After you get your computer software set up the way you want it, any problem that you have sometimes requires you to restore the computer - unwanted apps and all - to the state it was in when you bought it. I'd spend a lot more to build the same machine myself just to avoid these pitfalls.

You'll get exactly what you need and you'll know exactly what you're getting when you build your own. You won't be paying for anything you won't need or want.

 

[stephen_s]

I don't see it being cheaper right now b/c i have to buy a monitor, windows, and everything else if I build it. Does the premade computer have bad parts or other weaknesses?

 

[Dan DeVille]

Thanks for the replies so far. I was thinking about buying a full system from Best Buy with an Athlon 64 3300+, 512mb of ram, and a monitor for about $650 and adding a graphics card. Would this be a bad idea and why?

Is that with a mail-in rebate? I don't think that's a bad price. Hell, I paid about $1200.00 with the upgraded flat panel and a printer/copier/scanner.

 

[stephen_s]

Thanks for those posts. If i build it is it easy to break parts?

 

[stephen_s]

Probably a few mail in rebates. It is one of their sunday newspaper ad deals.

 

[gaara]

Yes and no.

If you know what you are doing, the chances of a part breaking is slim to none. But on the flipside, if you haven't a clue, it generally leads to more problems.

 

[20mm]

not if you handle them properly and yes prebuilt computers ussualy come with cheaper parts...one more reason why you wanna stay away from them.

 

[stephen_s]

Will the parts not work as fast or will they break or what?

 

[Elbatrop1]

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 2800+ $120

MOBO: ASUS A8N-E $139

RAM: Kingston ValueRAM 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 $110

VID: MSI nVIDIA GeForce 6600 Video Card $125

Monitor: NEC/MITSUBISHI AS700-BK 17" CRT Monitor -RETAIL $124

Case: Whatever w/o PSU $40

PSU: Thermaltake W0014 Silent Purepower 480W $60

Optical Dirve: LG DVD+/-RW 16X Drive, Beige, Model GWA-4161B - OEM $52

Mouse: Whatever $20

Keyboard: Whatever $30

Speakers: Logitech X-230 2.1 $35

OS: XP Home $95

Approx: $995


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