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Cheap Computers?

Jake, Colossus of Clout

15:13 / 26.01.07

I need a new PC, as my partner and I are starting a small business and the old laptop doesn't have the juice. It needs to run various powerful graphics programs as well as function for online gaming. Also, I need to be able to play Spore when it comes out. And

Macs are too pricy, so that's out. Less than $1000 definitely, preferably $600-$800, for a PC, monitor, keyboard, etc. I know most PCs are pretty cheap, but I'm interested in maximizing my $ value, here.

23:13 / 26.01.07

I've always wanted to get the necessary components and then just screw them to the wall* with a couple of fans, in lieu of a case. Hang a large flatscreen monitor and use bluetooth for the imput devices... I feel quite groovy about this idea. I don't have the expertise to go build-yr-own, though.

*okay, a little bit off the wall, for maximum airflow and perhaps fire prevention.

Jake, Colossus of Clout

23:48 / 26.01.07

Yeah, Ive never had my grubby paws on a PC's inner workings (well, at least not one that would ever work again), and I don't plan on starting now.

Dell and HP have what seem like reasonable deals, but I'd be mad if I could get something similar for less elsewhere. I've never bought a non-Mac computer before (and Macs are out of my price rage at the mo), and the sheer amount of optios is a little overwhelming. I just want to run business apps, manage a website and play a few games, specifically Spore and NWN2.

ibis the being

01:24 / 27.01.07

I've heard not-good things about Dell, that their customer support sucks and they use proprietary parts making repairs a bit more difficult.

I recently bought a brand spanking new desktop for $1000 including flat screen monitor and color printer/copier. I just walked into Best Buy, told them what I needed a computer for (photo & mp3 storage, personal accounting, wp & internet + I wanted a DVD burner), and they suggested this one - HP Pavilion a1630n... Windows XP Media Center Edition. I don't know that it's the super greatest PC ever but it suits my needs well and did not bust my budget.

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

08:12 / 27.01.07

Dell is honestly cheaper -- if you factor in a bit of money to "compensate" your labor -- than building your own as a starter 'puter. I like to tinker, so I upgrade every now and again, but last time I tried to encourage somebody to hot-rod a computer from scratch Dell wound up being more cost-effective in the long run.

Mon Oncle Ignatius

08:32 / 27.01.07

I'll join the recommending Dell group. I've not had much experience of their customer service directly, but at work we have had problems getting replacements parts (a laptop power supply for example). One advantage they have over home-building is that they at least have some sort of customer service, and warranty, for the whole machine rather than the individual bits you might buy.

But they are about as cheap as can be, and tend to deliver quickly. The flat-panel monitors Dell make are also quite nice, in the larger sizes. I have a 17" one at work which has an adjustable height stand, DVI and USB ports, which came bundled with a low-spec desktop for not very much at all. Dell have some reasonably-powerful dual Athlon 64s available at the moment which look like useful workhorses - and they always have some sort of sale or special deal on via their website.

Nocturne

10:44 / 27.01.07

Future Shop does this wonderful thing called price matching. If you can show them a competitor selling the same thing for cheaper, they'll match their price and lower it by 10%.

The catch is, such comptetitor cannot merely be an online wharehouse type business. They must have actual stores. The company I use to price match with is Canada Computers. I would not recommend buying directly from them as one of my friends had a horrible time trying to return a defective monitor.

The other place to check out is Future Shop's "Refurbished" computers. They usually come with a 1 year warranty. I bought my computer for $900 (tower only) and found the same tower there for $300. Mind you, that was a year later.

Best of luck!

Jake, Colossus of Clout

17:09 / 29.01.07

So this is what I think I'm going to get:

Dell XPS 410

2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Windows Vista Home Premium

2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs

320GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache

16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability

19 inch E197FP Analog Flat Panel Monitor

256MB ATI Radeon X1300 Pro

Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

It's $1170. More than I wanted to spend, but not cripplingly expensive, either. And it seems like a lot of PC for the price.

Does it seem like a good deal to those of you who know more about PCs than me?

Mon Oncle Ignatius

19:58 / 29.01.07

Looks like a good spec for your money from here. Not sure about that Vista thingy, but that's just me.

akira

20:33 / 29.01.07

You could probably buy all them parts, if not better one's for less money than that. Just have to find someone to build it.

Jake, Colossus of Clout

20:50 / 29.01.07

Yes, but i don't know anyone who would build it, so I would have to pay someone. This way, someone does it for me and I get a 1-year warranty.

Not sure about that Vista thingy, but that's just me.

Me either, but I still have my copy of XP if I hate it.

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

08:18 / 30.01.07

I have no problem with the buy-off-the-shelf plan, Jake, but building your own box is relatively simple -- no worse than baking a cake from a mix, really -- if you look into barebones kits and invest some time in e-mailing the company you're buying from or lurking on some newbie-friendly computer forums asking questions about what components go with what bits.

Never stop double-checking everything, though. I just accidentally got a SATA hard drive when I needed an IDE, which resulted in a whole lot of rigamarole. A learning experience, though.

akira

12:54 / 30.01.07

Thats nothing, I got some money when I was 16 and my brother build me a pc. He just finished making it and told me to flip the switch on the back so I did, unfortunatly I flipped the wattage switch, which wasnt what he meant, and it went bang. Got a new power suply which fixed it but something happend inside and it wouldnt work with any other cpu than the one that was in when I messed it up. I made a pc from scratch before christmas on my own and purchased all the right parts on my own. And the morel of this story is, brothers need to be more specific.

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