OT - New Computer Advice

[Shaun Sullivan]

I have now lived for almost 3 years on my 1.9ghz 512mb Alienware PC. It has been a GREAT machine and I am considering buying another from Alienware (I just hate to wait 30+ days to get it -- when I want something I want it now!) but I am also exploring other options.

Any of you guys have any advice on either
A) Great PC Deals

B) How difficult it would be to build my own? (I have plenty of experience istalling video cards, hard drives, memory etc...)

OK don't laugh, but since I'm impatient I am considering option C:

C) Go to Best Buy and pick up a stock 3.x ghz Gateway and then add gobs of memory and a PCI Express video card....Maybe I am too impulsive.

I have the new computer urge big time any advice would be appreciated.

Shaun Sullivan
PureSim Baseball
www.puresim.com

[QuikSand]

There are regularly good deals on Dell computers, with build-your-own options. Plenty of people, even power-users, seem to begrudgingly agree that they put together a pretty mean deal on their packages. I strongly suspect they will beat the pants off anything you can load up at Best Buy or order from Alienware.

I'm shopping for a new poker system, and am about to pull the trigger on a Dell from this site (http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/outrageous_desktops?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd) -- Celeron-based system, with 17" LCD monitor and 80G HD for under $500... count me in!


Also... keep tabs on the Hot Deals (http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/categories.cfm?catid=18) forum at FatWallet. Lots of stuff shared there, and usually feedback on whether the deal is really a good one, which I often find handy.

[sterlingice]

Option C has two dangers. First, why waste the money? Hit the sweet spot unless you're drowing in cash and positively must piss away $2K for marginal performance increase only offset by bragging rights. Secondly, lots of those stock computers have very little room to upgrade and are made from substandard parts.

Option B sounds like a job for Fat Wallet. Hate the people, for the most part, but love it as a resource. Hit them up and that's where you'll find a deal if that's the route you want to take.

If you have lots of experience installing cards and such, building your own is pretty easy. Newegg ships in 2-3 business days and it'll take another few hours on top of that to assemble it.

Then again, if you're a "I must do it and I must have it now" person than maybe your best bet is getting a premade one. I'm from the "I'm poor so I'd rather wait and save some bucks and get what I want" so my choice is easy- that's why I'm in the process of building my second box this weekend.

SI

[Mike D]

I like to build my own PC's. I can't afford to go out and buy a whole new system every few years....but I can sneak new parts by the wife without much fuss. :D

[MizzouRah]

Wow, SI and I agree. I just ordered a VERY NICE system from NewEgg that I'm putting together tomorrow (for my wife's aunt :(). Took two days to get here as well. I'm extremely happy at what I was able to get for $850.

17" LCD monitor
wireless keyboard and mouse
64 bit Athlon processor
SATA HD
decent video card
etc.....

I highly recommed NewEgg if you know what you're doing.. and it sounds like you do.


Todd

[Mike D]

NewEgg is a great on-line reseller for personal use. We bought a bunch of crap from them (based on my reccomendation) at work and everything came in seperate boxes costing a fortune in shipping fees.

Tiger Direct is probably a little more reliable, longer in the tooth, but a little more expensive.

[QuikSand]

Piggybacking on this thread… here’s the system I am envisioning right now:

Dimension 3000 Qty 1
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor w/ HT Technology (3GHz, 800 FSB), Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition Unit Price $762.00
Save $85 on select Dimension™ 3000 P4 desktops through Dell Small Business.Special Offer
- $85.00

Catalog Number: 4

Module Description Product Code Sku Id
Processor Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor w/ HT Technology (3GHz, 800 FSB) WL308B [221-6493] 1
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition WHXP [412-0721][412-0688][463-2282][420-4834][420-4927] 11
Memory FREE UPGRADE 512MB Dual Channel 400MHz DDR SDRAM 512M4P [463-2952] 3
Keyboard Dell Quietkey® Keyboard QK [310-1582] 4
Monitors SAVE $150! 17 in E173FP Flat Panel Display E173F3P [463-5952] 5
Video Card Integrated Intel® Extreme Graphics 2 IV [320-2870] 6
Hard Drive 80GB Ultra ATA/100 7200RPM Hard Drive 80 [340-3274] 8
Floppy Drive and Memory Keys No Floppy Drive Included NFD [340-8688] 10
Mouse Dell 2-button scroll mouse SM [310-1871] 12
Network Interface Integrated 10/100 Ethernet IN [430-0412] 13
Modem No Modem Requested N [313-3607] 14
Document Management Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0 AAREAD [412-0705] 15
CD or DVD Drives -- Read, Write and Store Data Single Drive: 48x CD-RW Drive 48CDRW [313-2237] 16
Sound Card Integrated Audio IS [313-2758] 17
Speakers Dell A215 Speakers ADA215 [313-1874] 18
Productivity Software Pre-Installed WordPerfect®, Powerful Word Processing COREL [412-0701] 22
Security Software Pre-Installed No Security Subscription NS2 [412-0754] 25
Digital Music Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software MMBASE [412-0741] 27
Digital Photography Paint Shop™ Pro® Studio trial, Photo Album™ Starter Edition DPS [412-0744] 28
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options 1 Yr Basic Plan B111YOS [950-9797][412-0360][902-9550][960-2800] 29
Onsite System Setup No Onsite System Setup NOINSTL [900-9987] 32
Internet Access Services 6 Months of AOL 9.0 Optimized for Small Business AOLSMB [412-0586][412-0670] 37
Mail-In Rebate $100 Mail In Rebate MIR100 [463-4502] 81
Purchase Intent Purchase is not intended for resale. NOT4SEL [462-4506] 138
TOTAL: $677.00

…after another $100 MIR, this end up being under $600. Anyone spot anything in the options above that sounds like it needs tweaking? Is $110 to upgrade from a Celeron 3000 to a Pentium 4 worth it? (I don’t play a lot of high-end games… but wouldn’t mind being able to handle the newer releases if so inclined)

[Shaun Sullivan]

There are regularly good deals on Dell computers, with build-your-own options. Plenty of people, even power-users, seem to begrudgingly agree that they put together a pretty mean deal on their packages. I strongly suspect they will beat the pants off anything you can load up at Best Buy or order from Alienware.

I'm shopping for a new poker system, and am about to pull the trigger on a Dell from this site (http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/outrageous_desktops?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd) -- Celeron-based system, with 17" LCD monitor and 80G HD for under $500... count me in!


Also... keep tabs on the Hot Deals (http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/categories.cfm?catid=18) forum at FatWallet. Lots of stuff shared there, and usually feedback on whether the deal is really a good one, which I often find handy.

You're right Quick,

I can build an amazing machine that will probably last me 3-4 years for under $4,500 at Dell. I basically maxed out everything. The good news is my work pays for half of any PC purchase for employees that have been with the company for a certain amt of time so I can get this box for $2,250

Dell Dimension XPS Series - Gen 4 Pentium® 4 Processor 570 with HT Technology (3.80GHz, 800 FSB)

Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional

Memory 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz (2x1GB)

Monitors FREE UPGRADE! 19 in E193FP Flat Panel Display

Video Card 256MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon™ X850 XT PE

Hard Drive 500GB Performance RAID 0 (2 x 250GB SATA HDDs)

Network Interface Integrated Gigabit Ethernet

CD or DVD Drive Dual Drives: 48x CD-RW Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ double layer write capable

Sound Cards Sound Blaster Audigy™ 2 ZS (D) Card w/Dolby 5.1, IEEE 1394 capability

Speakers Dell 5650 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System with Subwoofer

Productivity Software Microsoft Office Professional-Includes Outlook,Word,Excel,PowerPoint,Access

[cthomer5000]

We should price that system out on newegg and see what it comes to.


edit: wow, that's a $795 processor. :eek:

[cthomer5000]

You've got an unbeatable deal there Shaun. Plus you get the supported and it's all assembled and ready to go when you get it.

edit: And that system is a monster, obviously. :)

[Eaglesfan27]

You're right Quick,


I can build an amazing machine that will probably last me 3-4 years for under $4,500 at Dell. I basically maxed out everything. The good news is my work pays for half of any PC purchase for employees that have been with the company for a certain amt of time so I can get this box for $2,250

Dell Dimension XPS Series - Gen 4 Pentium® 4 Processor 570 with HT Technology (3.80GHz, 800 FSB)

Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional

Memory 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz (2x1GB)

Monitors FREE UPGRADE! 19 in E193FP Flat Panel Display

Video Card 256MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon™ X850 XT PE

Hard Drive 500GB Performance RAID 0 (2 x 250GB SATA HDDs)

Network Interface Integrated Gigabit Ethernet

CD or DVD Drive Dual Drives: 48x CD-RW Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ double layer write capable

Sound Cards Sound Blaster Audigy™ 2 ZS (D) Card w/Dolby 5.1, IEEE 1394 capability

Speakers Dell 5650 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System with Subwoofer

Productivity Software Microsoft Office Professional-Includes Outlook,Word,Excel,PowerPoint,Access
Sounds like an excellent system. I can't wait to get an ultrapowerful system like that one day (after we get our house.) That seems like a good deal to me as well (I've caught myself looking at several sites recently even though I know I will wait to purchase for at least 2 more years.)

[MizzouRah]

NewEgg is a great on-line reseller for personal use. We bought a bunch of crap from them (based on my reccomendation) at work and everything came in seperate boxes costing a fortune in shipping fees.

Tiger Direct is probably a little more reliable, longer in the tooth, but a little more expensive.

All of my stuff minus the monitor and case came in the same box.


Todd

[MizzouRah]

We should price that system out on newegg and see what it comes to.


edit: wow, that's a $795 processor. :eek:

I priced a similar system to the one I bought at newegg over at Dell.com and it came to almost $1200. Man, if I had that kind of job incentive and money to spend, oh how I could build a dream on Newegg.com. WOW! It would eat that XPS Dell and spit it out.


Todd

[Draft Dodger]

NewEgg is a great on-line reseller for personal use. We bought a bunch of crap from them (based on my reccomendation) at work and everything came in seperate boxes costing a fortune in shipping fees.


I feel the same way about Newegg - love to use them, but you really have to be careful about shipping. Some stuff the shipping is dirt cheap or free, while other, similar items, the shipping is exorbitant. And, you don't seem to get any breaks by buying any quantities of stuff.

[daedalus]

…after another $100 MIR, this end up being under $600. Anyone spot anything in the options above that sounds like it needs tweaking? Is $110 to upgrade from a Celeron 3000 to a Pentium 4 worth it? (I don’t play a lot of high-end games… but wouldn’t mind being able to handle the newer releases if so inclined)From everything I've read, it's a worthwhile upgrade (Celeron -> Pentium). Since it doesn't seem like you play graphic-intensive games too terribly often, the on-board video probably would not hurt you terribly much. If it's not TOO expensive, I would give serious consideration to moving up to 1 GB of RAM instead.

Oh, yeah. Wireless keyboard and mouse may be worthwhile consideration for reducing desktop clutter as well, though buying it later when it's on sale might work out better (price-wise as well as giving you more options) than snagging the one from Dell.

[MizzouRah]

You can get an AMD 64 3000+ ATHLON 64 bit processor for $146. :)


Todd

[MizzouRah]

Dola,

After months of looking, debating, and basically waiting for the right moment, I finally bought a 17" LCD monitor!!

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=24-180-020&DEPA=1

I've been wanting one of these for quite some time and well, this is a great deal, imo. :) Next week can't get here soon enough.


Todd

[sterlingice]

You can get an AMD 64 3000+ ATHLON 64 bit processor for $146. :)


Todd
Since I don't have a ton of cash, I went with the 2800 which was only $127. Plus, I didn't want to skimp on the mobo and spend that extra cash there (Asus K8V SE).

SI

[PilotMan]

You're right Quick,

I can build an amazing machine that will probably last me 3-4 years for under $4,500 at Dell. I basically maxed out everything. The good news is my work pays for half of any PC purchase for employees that have been with the company for a certain amt of time so I can get this box for $2,250

Dell Dimension XPS Series - Gen 4 Pentium® 4 Processor 570 with HT Technology (3.80GHz, 800 FSB)

Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional

Memory 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz (2x1GB)

Monitors FREE UPGRADE! 19 in E193FP Flat Panel Display

Video Card 256MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon™ X850 XT PE

Hard Drive 500GB Performance RAID 0 (2 x 250GB SATA HDDs)

Network Interface Integrated Gigabit Ethernet

CD or DVD Drive Dual Drives: 48x CD-RW Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ double layer write capable

Sound Cards Sound Blaster Audigy™ 2 ZS (D) Card w/Dolby 5.1, IEEE 1394 capability

Speakers Dell 5650 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System with Subwoofer

Productivity Software Microsoft Office Professional-Includes Outlook,Word,Excel,PowerPoint,Access
Wow! I just wet myself.:(

[Shaun Sullivan]

Update:

The machine was delivered to my front door today (2 business days after I ordered it). That is pretty amazing considering how I loaded this puppy up.

Up and running, most of my key s/w and development tools installed, I'm loving life. The hyper threading is nice for simming PureSim in the background without impacting web surfing.

I love everything about it so far.

Finally I found a box PureSim runs fast on ;)

Shaun

[Samdari]

There are regularly good deals on Dell computers, with build-your-own options. Plenty of people, even power-users, seem to begrudgingly agree that they put together a pretty mean deal on their packages. I strongly suspect they will beat the pants off anything you can load up at Best Buy or order from Alienware.

No way, if you were to get the exact same components from Dell, you would pay MUCH more than Alienware or NewEgg would charge you. The problem is, you cannot usually get the same components, Dell cuts costs by using shitty components in places that are extremely important, but not listed in the usual specs most computer buyers are used to seeing - motherboards, power supplies, quality of RAM instead of just quantity. Hell, even the heatsink/fans they put in their systems are complete crap, all in the name of saving $10 per unit on each PC.

Even what they used to offer (service) is terrible.

[Greyroofoo]

I have a Dell right now and I regret buying it.
I found one morning that my computer wouldn;t turn on at all.
So I call tech support (which put me on hold for over 2 hours). So a week later a tech comes to my dorm and replaces the motherboard, processor and power supply (which were refurbished, not new) and the computer still wouldn't work. The tech stayed around for about an hour and came to the conclusion that Dell gave me 2 faulty motherboards and suggests that I demand a brand new computer or a full refund.
So right now I'm left with a computer that turns on after lets say, 10-20 tries if I'm lucky.
Right now I have to call Dell to schedule another tech to come out
And by the way I've only had the computer about 3-4 months

I'm hoping for a full refund so I can get alienware

[MizzouRah]

Alienware, Dell, HP, Compaq, Best Buy, etc.. all sell very overpriced PC's.

If you can or know someone that can build you a pc from parts at newegg or somewhere, I suggest you do that.

If you want to pay all that cash for them to skimp on parts and jack up labor, go for it. I will NEVER buy a name brand pc again.


Todd

[sterlingice]

I have a Dell right now and I regret buying it.
I found one morning that my computer wouldn;t turn on at all.
So I call tech support (which put me on hold for over 2 hours). So a week later a tech comes to my dorm and replaces the motherboard, processor and power supply (which were refurbished, not new) and the computer still wouldn't work. The tech stayed around for about an hour and came to the conclusion that Dell gave me 2 faulty motherboards and suggests that I demand a brand new computer or a full refund.
So right now I'm left with a computer that turns on after lets say, 10-20 tries if I'm lucky.
Right now I have to call Dell to schedule another tech to come out
And by the way I've only had the computer about 3-4 months

I'm hoping for a full refund so I can get alienware
Idiots. That's not a mobo problem, that's a faulty power supply or possbly even wiring between the case and mobo (to the ATX switch). This is what happens when you teach your techies based on a computer screen response.

SI

[MizzouRah]

Idiots. That's not a mobo problem, that's a faulty power supply or possbly even wiring between the case and mobo (to the ATX switch). This is what happens when you teach your techies based on a computer screen response.

SI

Definitly could be the switch, but I've also seen plenty of DOA motherboards in my time.


Todd

[JeeberD]

I have a Dell right now and I regret buying it.

I've had my Dell for nearly three years now with no to very few issues...

*shurg*

[RPI-Fan]

I've had my Dell for nearly three years now with no to very few issues...

*shurg*

IWS

[MikeVick7]

So what would be the best solution if you didn't know how to physically put together your own PC?

Also...I've noticed that on Tigerdirect that the majority of their PC's are refurbished. Is this a legit way to go?

[Greyroofoo]

If you want to find somebody to help you try to put together a computer, try a local college. I went to a small community college and there were always flyers on the bulletin boards of people who were willing to put a computer together for ya

[JeffR]

So what would be the best solution if you didn't know how to physically put together your own PC?

And want to learn? I'd start here: http://arstechnica.com/guide/building/

No guide will prepare you for everything, though. Research the parts you buy, and read through hardware-related forums to see what issues other people are running into with the stuff you're considering for your system.

Expect a certain amount of frustration; something is almost definitely going to go wrong. Last time for me, it was a bad motherboard and a re-used hard drive that decided to fail a day after I put it in the new system. It's damned satisfying when you finally get it all working, though, and you've got the added bonus of knowing your system and its quirks inside-out from the beginning.

[MizzouRah]

Dola,

After months of looking, debating, and basically waiting for the right moment, I finally bought a 17" LCD monitor!!

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=24-180-020&DEPA=1

I've been wanting one of these for quite some time and well, this is a great deal, imo. :) Next week can't get here soon enough.


Todd

Replying to my own post. :)

Just hooked up my new monitor and I'd have to say, WOW! it's really nice seeing things so crisp at 1280x1024!! This LCD is very nice.

Todd