I have to buy a desktop for some one. A complete budget system i-e CPU, LCD (no CRT), mouse, keyboard etc,. The budget is $500. Now the obvious choice that came to my mind was DELL, but then again, I though better consult with you guys to see if there is anyother option too. regards Mack
Is the PC going to be pre-built or are you going to build it yourself? You need all the peripherals right?
Well, for that price range, it better not be for gaming.. unless you're loving Diablo 1. Well, I came up with this setup in a couple of minutes, so I'm not going to say it's flawless, but at least it fits the price range... having to get that LCD really kills the capabilities though Barebone system : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16856110032 $99.99 DVD-rom/cd burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827106029 $26.99 17" LCD monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16824009074 $194.99 Keyboard/mouse: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16823126152 $17.99 RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820141436 $40.99 CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103606 $112.00 TOTAL: 492.95 without shipping or tax Onboard video, sound, and NIC. I have to say though, that barebone system comes with a 250W psu.. that makes me more than a little bit nervous. Even with that basic setup, I'd be kinda scared to boot it. And I know I could have gotten a cheaper LCD, but that one was easy to find cause i ordered that one the other day. Well, I feel bad knowing I haven't given it my all.. but lemme know what you think. One more thing... Just dont go with Dell.
The impression I get is that he was thinking of getting a prebuilt, but wanted to check with us to see if we think he can just build one inside the price range. As for the peripherals, he said "A complete budget system i-e CPU, LCD (no CRT), mouse, keyboard etc" ... so yeah, it seems that way.
Yeah less than $500 for a system is cutting it fine, what Fred suggested is good if you want to build yourself.
It is mainly for multimedia use, watching movies, web camera, music etc,. No GAMING AT ALL. I checked the Dell website, and found the following two systems: system 1: (Cost $479.00 ) http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DB110C&s=dhs system 2: (Cost $549.00 ) http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DB110D&s=dhs I am trying to avoid Building a system myself, but if really makes a difference than i would consider it. I don't want to take the trouble shooting responsibility. Moreover i think +30 to the budged does make that much of a difference,..
Well, it is really up to you.. I just have a personal problem with Dell. Prebuilt systems usually do not use the highest quality parts and really cut it close with the power supplies, which often ruins components.. but like i said, it is totally up to you.
I think the following would do the job: Motherboard/CPU: ECS KM400-M2/AthlonXP 2800+ $105.99 RAM: Kingston ValueRAM PC3200 512MB $40.99 Hard Drive: Western Digital 80GB PATA $44.99 Optical Drive: Gigabyte 16x DVD-ROM/52x CDRW $27.99 Case/PSU: Antec SLK1650B w Antec 350W PSU $62.99 Keyboard/Mouse: Logitec Pro Desktop $17.99 LCD: Acer AL1706b 17" 12ms $169.99 Total: $470.93 (+shipping) (+tax for CA, NJ) If you get a pre-built rig, Dell doesn't seem too bad, but I'd also look at HP budget desktops.
I had a look at HP,. they are good,.. but again,.. the demand for LCD fails it,.. Thank you for your help,..
Hey Mack I have dells computer at the moment. They make their CPU's differently. My PSU was fired up due to my mistake but now I cant use any other PSU for it. I have to buy one from Dell, which is quite expensive *(around 200NZD for just 250W). I would never go for dell in the future due to this reason. But you can go for dell at the moment coz dell has declined its prices due to their less gross sales this quater. You will get hell lot cheaper desktops. It is only good as long as you dont need to upgrade your system in the near future. Its not as difficult as you are thinking. It saves your money, gives you knowledge and makes feel confident. So in the near future if you come across any problem with your computer, you dont need to call customer support for just changing HDD and pay more than $50 just for that.
Motherboard 49.99 Gigabyte GA-K8VM800M Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail at Newegg.com Processor 129.00 ( make sure you get a warrenty bent pins accidents can happen) AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 1600MHz HT Socket 754 E6 Processor - Retail at Newegg.com Memory 40.99 CORSAIR ValueSelect 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM System Memory - Retail at Newegg.com Case/Power supply 56.99 Antec Solution SLK1650B Black Computer Case - Retail at Newegg.com Hard drive 45.99 Western Digital Caviar SE 80GB 3.5" IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM at Newegg.com LCD 148.99 ( 20 dolar rebate) JetWay M1731S-Black 17" 16ms LCD Monitor Built in Speakers - Retail at Newegg.com Cd burner 17.99 BenQ CD Burner Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model 5232X - OEM at Newegg.com *total comes to about 527.93 exculding taxes* **subtracting mail-in rebate 507.93 w/o taxes**
Have you tryed Ebuyer, you can get a pre built PC then add a few bit to it to make it that much better and it will be under £500 incuding delivery and tax here is what I built. Acer Aspire T135 AMD Sempron 64bit 3100+ 80GB 256MB DVD/CD-RW Windows XP Home Inc Keyboard & Mouse AGM A-17 17" TFT 8ms 500:1 (1280 x 1024) Hard Coating & Anti-Glare Black MultiMedia Monitor - 3 Years Warranty XFX GeForce FX5500 256MB DDR AGP 8x DVI/TV-Out - Retail Box Corsair (VS1GBKIT400C3) 1024MB (2 x 512MB Matched Pair), DDR400 / PC3200, non-ECC, Unbuffered, CL3, Memory Modules With Lifetime Warranty Total: £458.99 eBuyer
if you were to buy a pc for £500 off ebuyer, to make that pc pretty good, could cost an extra £100-£500 maybe even more depending on what hardware you wanted to buy. you'd be better off building one from scratch. if i were to buy that pc from ebuyer, the cpu, graphics card and motherboard would have to be replaced and an extra hard drive added, and it would be alot. but it depends on what the pc if for, maybe its just for general use eg surfing the web, word processing etc.. but if the budget is $500, you'd be better off buying a pc.
