So, it's kind of noob like i suppose to ask- but

I've currently got a 6 year old desktop and 3 year old laptop the latter of which is a PoS that annoys me to no end.

So I think it's finally time to ditch the old desktop (or turn it into whatever like a server or box for me to just fuck around with), and get a new one.

Thing is, I'm not sure if I want to build it or buy it.

I'm looking for something that can hold it's own with gaming, and I tend to work in photoshop and painter and such, mildly interested in some video editing, but no real desire to play with Maya/Poser/etc etc all those rendering things (2d not 3d artist whose not artsy enough to want a mac). i'm fairly certain i'll be wanting Windows XP Pro on it, and already bought a nice monitor earlier this year. Nothing in the current desktop will get moved over as it's all IDE not SATA and all the cards are PCI not PCI express so what's the point anyhow?

Advice on which way to go?

On one hand, I'd like to build one just to do it. On the other, getting more for the $ is higher priority.

[Edited on May 29, 2007 at 5:42 PM. Reason : .]

5/29/2007 5:41:52 PM

You'd defin save lots of money building your own desktop. It's fairly easy and fun. Order all yours parts from newegg. It all depends on your budget too, and how much gaming you want to do. Defin go with the nvidia 8800 series of cards though. No point in ever buying anything lower nowadays since they offer the 8500/8600 for lower end, and 8800's for higher end.

5/29/2007 5:51:52 PM

I'd definitely say build for a desktop. You can fine tune it for more of what you tend to do, cutting out extra crap and saving money. Fro example, what's the point of having a super fast video card if you never play games? Then you can put that money towards more hard drive space if you have lots of music you listen to or a fast DVD burner if you like to copy movies.

5/29/2007 5:58:46 PM

1) Go here: http://bensbargains.net/
2) Search for "Dell" in the search box on the right hand box.
3) Compare the specs there with what you can do buying parts from Newegg

You might do better getting a dell, and adding on parts as needed. But of course its more fun to build yourself, and you can argue that the parts are higher quality when you research each one.

One possibility is buying one of the Dell deals for a decent desktop with a 19" monitor, selling the monitor for $200 or whatever on craigslist, then getting a decent PC (aka dual-core, 1gb of ram) for $250. Thats what i'd do if i was really trying to save $$$.

5/29/2007 6:21:50 PM

The answer to the build versus buy question depends on how much you're spending. IIRC, the tipping point is around $1000-$1200. i.e. less than that = Dell, more than that = build it yourself. At the lower end of the spectrum, Dell will give you more hardware per dollar and on the other end you can give yourself more hardware per unit dollar.

Figure out your hardware requirements then price how much it would be to get what you want from Dell and then figure out how much it will be to build it yourself. Don't be afraid to do some price comparisons.

5/29/2007 7:28:54 PM

^I'd say its more right around the $600-800 mark of where the net benefit of building your own computer finally becomes worth it. Anything lower and you can't beat software and/or monitor packages (also printers and such), but those computers are usually shit boxes.

My $900 computer beats every system spec dell can offer for that similar price (for pc box only) but it did take time to research and find deals so that's one offset cost in time. Shit, I can't find a similar box for under 1500 w/ no monitor and they don't offer 8800 640MB GTS... (odd)

Finding deals is fun, plus building them.

5/29/2007 8:53:25 PM

it really depends on what you want...

if one of the dell deals fits you perfect, its a deal, but when you start customizing it the deal goes to shit real fast
they charge too much for disk drives ram and graphics card changes so if you need fast or big in those areas you're better off building your own.

5/29/2007 10:05:27 PM

Quote :

"they charge too much for disk drives ram and graphics card changes so if you need fast or big in those areas you're better off building your own. "

when i used to buy dells for my primary machines, i would buy it and add on ram/graphics/drives (usually bought for great deals). the reason to get a dell is youre getting a working PC with up to date specs for so cheap...and that goes for laptops and desktops. if you need to add something on, that usually doesn't kill the deal.

5/29/2007 10:19:05 PM