Ok, so I’m moving out this week. And I don’t have a personal computer of my own. But newman said i could use his, but i don’t want to intrude for the rest of the time we live there…
So I will be in the market for a computer…soon. Where can I pick up a new (preferrably) computer, for cheap? I know you get what you pay for…but I don’t use a computer for stuff other than, word processing, internet, music (i-tunes), digital camera, and the occassional photoshop. I don’t need something with amazing soung/video cards, and I don’t have a ton of data to store.
Would a $450 Dell Dimension desktop be my best bet? Or would having someone build me one be better?
EDIT- I will most definitely upgrade in the future to a better computer, but for the next 6 months to a year i dont care.
im not the biggest computer nerd out there, but i’ve always heard you’re best off building your own part by part…get more for your money that way supposedly… :gotme:
i got a dell last year, no problems with it whatsoever, i give them a :tup:
450 bux @ Dell will not go very well with photoshop… I don’t think.
If you want to do any editing I recommend a lot of RAM and a very nice video card.
For 450 you can build a pretty sweet system. most of the stuff these days is plug and play anyway… so goto newegg.com or pricewatch.com and price out some stuff.
3.0+ ghz proc
1+ gig of RAM
128meg+ vid card
120+gig HD
ASUS mobo w/ 800FSB
and a decent powersupply… I was pissed when my cheapo PS went out after a couple hours of operation.
BTW - I’ve gone 4+ years without a printer… e-mail > paper
Monitors are a dime a dozen… unless you want a flat panel, your going to pay for one of those. I got one at work now and I’m in love… I have a 19" CRT at home… and I just may be upgrading soon.
if you’re just looking for something to get you buy, and do decide to go the build-it-yourself route i have a decent, somewhat older (late 90’s early 2000’s) monitor at home i can sell ya dirt cheap…from my old Gateway
if you build it yourself chances are your gonna pay a little more than if you buy a bare bones system through tiger direct. building yourself is easy but its cheaper if you are buying a stellar system. i build my own but if im building one for someeone else that only wants word pocessing internet and other stuff to go with something like that dell or a tiger direct special.
-edit- rob beat me to the punch dere yeah, a bare bones plus some upgrades wouldn’t be a bad start. I know a guy in derby that built me a custom PC for design work, the sucker has been flawless for two years, just now put some extra RAM in it for IL-2 sturmovik Cost was $800 out the door, but fully 1/3 of that was my graphics card. if you’d like his contact info I can snag it for you.
That’s $465 right there, and using the cheapest prices on pricewatch. Then you’ve got to add in case, ide cables, CPU heatsink, thermal paste, cooling fans, optical drive, keyboard, mouse, monitor, maybe speakers and a printer.
Just buy a dell. It’s guaranteed to work. If it breaks Dell has good tech support and warranties. Don’t go down the long dark road of a homemade cheap computer unless you’re ready for headaches. I’ve been there, it sucks. I’ve learned my lesson: Cheap ass parts make for a cheap ass computer, and don’t buy online from anybody but newegg.com unless you’re prepared to eat the cost if something breaks, even if it’s supposedly under warranty.
a DELL for 450 is a POS… and you will not be able to do decent editing… its more of a PITA then necessary. I know, my fiance used to have one… it was sent back the next day for a full refund.
A case is 28 bucks…
Huge Nerd Corner is free tech support…
I’m not sure where you can get a decent vid card for 80 bux… but thats probably not going to like editing very much.
I see where your coming from… but a $450 dell is not a “good” computer for editing. A used 100 dollar computer can do word processing, internet, and misc crap… but editing is pretty intensive, and you need a good combo to pull it off, and not kill yourself.
If he was in the $600 range for a DELL I would still be skeptical.
The video card in particular I was thinking of was a Radeon 9600XT 128mb. Listed on pricewatch for like 80. Anyways, you’re probably right that a $450 dell isn’t gonna like photoshop much. IMO if he’s gonna spend $450 I’d go Dell just for reliability and warranty. If he can spend like 800 then he could probably build something better than Dell could possibly try to compete with, like you’re saying.
I’ve got a barebone setup if you want. P4 3.0, 1gb ram, Asus p4p-800. Just throw it in a case with a dvd/cdrw and a good video card and you’re set. I’ll let it go cheap.
Dell builds specialty parts which means most of their hardware is not upgradable unless you buy it from dell, I built my computer off newegg over a year ago and have had no problems with it.
You can pick up a 160 gig for $50 at circuit city or a 120 for $40 depending which sale they have that week. It occurs often.
Radeon 9800Pro go for about $130 and is more than enough for what you want it for. The 9600XT which I have is only one step down from the 9800Pro and if you can get it for $80 then you saved $50.
if I could do it over again (probably in 2 years) I would have bought the All in Wonder… its basically the pro, but with TV in/out capabilities. (for those that didn’t know)
yeah, a bare bones plus some upgrades wouldn’t be a bad start. I know a guy in derby that built me a custom PC for design work, the sucker has been flawless for two years, just now put some extra RAM in it for IL-2 sturmovik 
Cost was $800 out the door, but fully 1/3 of that was my graphics card. if you’d like his contact info I can snag it for you.