…but I am mostly computer illiterate and don’t know what I need or want.
I’ve been seeing an advertisement on TV lately for some Dell desktop for $399 after a mail-in rebate but looking around its site, I don’t see it listed on there… the closest I see is for $499 and after being enticed by something a hundred dollars cheaper, I don’t especially want to pay that extra money so I got to thinking about other companies or maybe even having one built for my needs, which is web browsing with the occasional game or download… nothing intensive.
Which would be more economical? And just how economical? I’m still in love with that $399 figure.
I’m not sure what you’re going to get for $400. Almost anything will work for browsing the net, typing documents, doing Excel spreadsheets and similar things. The sticking point would probably be the games. Some games require a lot of horsepower. Check the backs of the boxes and see what they say.
I’ve been checking out prices a lot recently, but I’ve been looking at component prices, not pre-built systems. The only tool you need is a screwdriver, and there’s even a For Dummies book about how to build your own system, so if you’re not especially squeamish about computer innards and you have a free afternoon, this may be the way to go for you.
The big question is, what do you plan to do with this computer? If you’re only looking to do word processing and web surfing, you can get away with not using the newest parts; the Athlon XP is fairly inexpensive and well-suited for this use. If you’re looking for a gaming rig, you’ve got to spend a little extra on things like a graphics card. You’ll also want a little more horsepower if you’re frequently doing things like video encoding or 3D modeling.
It sounds like you’ve already got a computer. If you’re happy with your current keyboard, mouse, and monitor, you can save some cash by keeping what you’ve got. If you want a new monitor and don’t have your heart set on a flat panel display, I was able to find a decent 17’’ monitor on Newegg.com for $100 .
If you’re not planning on playing a lot of really graphics-intensive games and don’t need a new monitor, you can put together a pretty good system for around $400, and that includes the cost of shipping. I’m looking at Dell’s site right now, and to get roughly the same performance from a Dell, you’re looking at over $820 after rebate (That’s with a 17’’ monitor).
Anyway, I’m starting to ramble. If you’re not terrified by the prospect of connecting some cables and tightening some screws, building your own PC will almost definitely save you money. If you’re interested, I can provide you with the parts list I used to get that $400 figure.
On the commercil it says 499 before the rebate. I like Dell and have never had a problem with them. But as others have already said it depends on your needs.
What do you want to do with your computer? This will determine what sort of computer to buy.
If you’re just interested in basic office functionality, get yourself the cheapest PC with the most bundled software, and you can’t go wrong with Dell. If you want to play games, everything changes. You’ll need a decent screen, and if it’s a flat panel, it needs to have a fast response rate, and the fastest processor and best video card you can afford. It’s worth trading off processor speed for the graphics card. At your price point you’re probably looking at a Radeon 9600 or Geforce 5700.
I don’t want a Mac. I have used a PC all my adult life and don’t particularly care to learn to use a different system as the one I know now works perfectly well.
As I said in the OP, I want it mostly for surfing but want the hard drive space and RAM there if I ever have need for it, especially for things like mp3s and mpegs. I don’t download a lot when compared to some other heavy users but I do want the capacity for it.
For games, I don’t need anything cutting edge but would like to have a video card that lets me play the less graphics and speed intensive ones. For example, I love playing Civ III, a two or three year old game that doesn’t take up much when compared to, say, The Sims 2, but I’d like the ability to try out games somewhere between those two extremes.
And while I like the idea of spending only $400 on a computer, I am not married to the price. I need something to replace the current piece of junk I’m forced to use at the moment and if it costs me another two hundred dollars or so, I won’t mind… much more than that and I start getting antsy though. I’ve got other things I need more than the computer and don’t want it eating up too much of my budget.
I guess what I am saying is that I want something that isn’t top of the line but isn’t bottom of the barrel either. Something midstream but not so far back that it’s automatically cancelled from using any new software to hit the market.
The last three PCs I’ve bought have all come from Alienware. Far and away the best PCs I’ve ever used. 'Course, I like them because I’m a hard-core PC gamer. Good luck finding one for five hundred bucks, but there might be something a little pricier but still in your price range.
Oh, and whatever you do, stay away from Hewlett-Packard. Their PCs are crap, especially the Pavilion line.
I would reccomend staying away from ALL of the large OEM’s, like Dell, Gateway, HP, and so on. They really tend to scimp out on things like the power supply, which is really hard to advirtise, given that a 300 watt model from a good brand (Antec, Thermaltake, Sparkle, Ernmax) is much better than a generic 500 watt model. They also tend to use cheap generic RAM, which can cause problems.
Generally, to get the best price/reliablity, you have to build it yourself. The next best option would be to find a white-box maker, and go though them. Monarch Computers has a pretty good reputation - Play around with the config options, you can get a pretty nice machine for about $500 from them.
Go to fatwallet.com, there are deals on computers and computer parts. Or pricewatch. The people on fatwallet combine rebates with in store savings with pricematches, coupons and various other 'ittle schemes to get the best deal. If you are really cheap I would buy a bare bones system on pricewatch.com then find deals on RAM, a hard drive and a monitor on fatwallet. If you are in college you can probably buy a copy of Windows XP or some other operating system cheaply. At IU they sell Windows XP for $5.
Problem is if you get a low cost computer like a $400 model you will get a good CPU (I haven’t seen any new units with less than 2.5Ghz) and a new unit but you may not get a monitor, you may only get 128MB RAM, 20GB hard drive, and maybe no operating system.
Anyway, even if you buy the pricewatch $180ish model you still need to spend another $150ish for a monitor, better hard drive and RAM assuming 20GB and 128MB isn’t enough. (All after rebates, closer to $300 before rebates). Plus you need to get someone to build it for you. If you have friends who like building computers good for you, but you may have to pay. You may be better off with a complete system. Yeah. I’m no computer expert but having written all that crap I say get a dell.
Right now you can get a good system for $469. the Dimension 2400 is most likely the model you are referring to with your $399 statement. Right now it varies from $299-$548 After rebates. No monitor though, you’d have to spend another $80 for a new monitor ($80 after rebates is about as low as monitors go. Used monitors are $25-40). Hell the $299 system isn’t half bad. 256MB RAM and a 40GB Hard drive is not really inept. If you play computer games you may want to get another stick of DDR Ram though. But 40GB isn’t really a small amount of hard drive space unless you collect alot of porn and videos and crap like that. Even if you do you can probably hook up another Hard drive you get on fatwallet (on fatwallet you can get deals on 80GB hard drives for $30 all the time) as a slave hard drive. So you may need to spend another $150 total after rebates for a slave hard drive, another 256MB stick of RAM and a monitor. But that would be a fine system, maybe 120ish GB of hard drive space, 512MB Ram and a new system.
Or if you’re courageous you can get a refurbished dell computer. They start at $319 with no rebates. But with the refurbished model you can get a monitor for $29 and free shipping. $350, but its refurbished.
Check out fatwallet too. Right now I see several deals for good dell models for $400-500.
Yeah. You don’t have to know as much computer junk, you never get spyware or adware or viruses. (you still get spam.)
They look cool.
The down side is, they ain’t cheap.
Is there a Frye’s Electronics near you? Surprisingly, they don’t have a web site, They don’t have an advertising budget, just word o’ mouth. They say, it keeps their prices down. They have EVERYTHING electronic.
Actually, they do have a corporate website, but it gives store locations and little else.
They also have an “online-only” subsidiary at Outpost.com. Prices are often higher than in the brick-and-mortar stores, however.
There’s a helpful person (in Orange County, I think) who scans the Fry’s newspaper ads and puts them online here. He/she does a pretty good job of pointing out which prices are valid in which regional stores (Northern California, SoCal, TX, WA, IL, etc). The site is updated several times per week as the new Fry’s ads come out on the dead-tree medium.