A few questions, buying a desktop

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Bex372

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Hey everyone. I am in the process of buying my computer for college, and I need a little help. I was originally going to build my own AMD system from scratch with my friends, but my father wasn't comfortable with having no service and support. I guess it's understandable. So anyway, we're going to go with a dell. My needs aren't anything too extreme, I game a lot, but other than that, mostly normal college kid tasks (music, movies, etc.). Here's the specs I think would be suitable for a nice system.


at least pentium 3ghz
1gig RAM
6600GT
160gb HD space
DVD-rom and CD/DVD-RW drives

Now my main question is, which processor should I get? I have, directly from dell's website, each of the processors and how much extra the faster (?) processors cost. Which do you think would be the best bet? I also would appreciate any other advice you have.



Pentium® 4 Processor 630 with HT Technology (3GHz, 800FSB)

Pentium® D Processor 820 with Dual Core Technology (2.80GHz, 800FSB) [add $100 or $3/month1]

Pentium® D Processor 830 with Dual Core Technology (3GHz, 800FSB) [add $270 or $8/month1]

Pentium® D Processor 840 with Dual Core Technology (3.20GHz, 800FSB) [add $510 or $14/month1]

Thanks in advance.
 
I'm not quite sure I understand. Your dad isn't happy with no support? Why does he care if it's your PC? Trust me, Dell support is like no support at all. They read responses off a computer screen, whether they defy common sense or not. If a comp you build breaks down, you will have the experience to fix it, or if need be, you can take it to a good, local PC shop and they will take care of it for ya.

EDIT: If you don't want to build one your self, there's always Monarch Computers. They have a very good rep for building custom systems.
http://monarchcomputersystems.com
 
Pentium® D Processor 820 with Dual Core Technology (2.80GHz, 800FSB) [add $100 or $3/month1]

this will do u fine for movies, music and gaming. nothing TOO extreme right? Ur gonna need to hit the books anyways...:rolleyes:

In terms of the "best", naturally it is the most expensive. :p But buck for buck, its the one listed above. :cool:
 
I agree 100% with macdude, buying a dell is like buying a one-way ticket to hell, its just not gonna lead you anywhere good. Anyway, heres a few benefits of building your own comp.

1. Experience
2. Faster Better Comp
3. Cheaper
4. Looks Better
5. Say you built one
6. Its what YOU want
7. You know exactly what your getting for your money.

A P4 processor runs fairly cheap if that is what your after but for the AMD system from scratch you were talking about, now that can be expensive there is a lot of AMDs, I would suggest a 64bit, like a 3000 would probably do you fine, for gaming videos and music, I'm running on a 3200+ and everything runs great for me. I would say explain this more thourough to your father, and convince him that its your computer and you understand that building one is your responsibility but I mean look man, techist.com we have what a little over 30,000 members and growing every day, we all post problems on here everyday, and anwsers, super easy and friendly forum to help you out if you need support or anwsers. I say go the extra mile and build it yourself.
 
Well, since you guys are being of no help. Bex, just stay with the 3GHz...You won't need to upgrade, that should get you by just fine. I don't know much about Dells, seeing as how I build my own computers, but since you said that you game, you might need to drop in a Video Card. Make sure it comes with an AGP or PCIE slot.
 
Believe me, I've tried to convince him that it's so much better to build my own, but he's so concerned that the computer will catastrophically break down, and I'll have to pay $200 dollars an hour for someone to come fix it.
 
I have a DELL. I got it 3 years ago when i was inexperienced about computers. I had to call tech-support and it was just terrible. First of all i couldnt understand the guy on the other end of the phone, he didnt even fix my problem and was just reading from a computer screen. Anyway, DELL doesnt have good tech-support.

Monarch or build your own is my suggestion
 
Heyyo,

Yeah, don't get dell. comp shops charge maybe $60. How much of that pricetag on dell's is going towards tech support? probably over $300 EASILY. Hey, they gotta pay the bills.

Now, buying custom is fine man. Most give you a 1 year warranty on all parts from the manufacturers. The actual store will probably be 15 days to a month.

Plus, do dells even have the power to run a 6600GT? not likely unless you pay out an extra $100 for a better dell PSU.

Don't expect upgrading to be great either. their OS is oem, and modded to only work with dell computers, more specifically, their mobos. So that's a kick in the pants. You'd be better off with HP (Helewett Packard) than dell. Yeah, if anything get HP, or another decent pre-built comp setup, or custom. Heck, go down to a local comp shop, see what kindof setups they have. They probably would give you free tech support for a year.
 
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