Computer Build or Buy?

H

Hooch

New Member
Hello everybody! I am new to this site and it looks to be a very good one! So here's the deal...I graduated and am going off to college...blah blah blah. I need a computer. I download a pretty hefty amount of music and like to have msn messenger, itunes, and about 3 internet pages open at one time. With all this in mind, does somebody want to throw out some ideas for what parts to buy and the cost of doing so? I want the best bang for the buck...i'm already broke, but since i have to buy one, it is essential that it will perform. All replies are appreciated!

-David aka Hooch
 
If that's all your going to be doing then it won't cost too much, but what's your budget? If you're on a really tight budget then it may be best for you to buy from Dell. If you're going to build a computer you'll have to think about monitor, speakers, and an OS.
 
I agree with Yasu. If you need a very basic system, you would get better deals with Dell or buying from best buy. Since sometimes stores have specials where you can get a whole computer package for around $200-$300, and it would cost more than that to build one yourself.
 
this is all very true...but looking at some of the builds on here you can make an extremely nice system for what looks to be around a thousand bucks. It doesn't take many upgrades on like the Dell website to have an $1,800 computer, and even then it still might not perform as good
 
Well for what you want to do, theres no need to spend $1000. A $300 machine will be just fine.
 
if i had to, i could swing a $1,500 system, but i would like to save as much money as possible for other stuff i am going to need in the future...like food! haha
 
if i DO go and buy a name brand computer...starting off with the low budget model...what upgrades do you think I should make if any? memory, hard drive, processor? because if i upgrade all 3 of those, the system goes very quickly up to around a thousand bucks.
 
Well if your only using it for web browsing, instant messaging, and listening to music, a $300 system will last you a solid few years. But if you want to get into gaming, or heavier programs, you should look at getting a custom build, since there generally cheaper than high-end pre-builds.
 
You really don't need to spend over $600 on a computer if you're just going to be doing what you said in your first post. You might want to wait a few months until Dell starts their "Back to School" sales. Once those start you'll be able to buy a decent computer at a low price, and it'll probably come with and LCD monitor also. It's all up to you, I'm just trying to help you save some money since I'm pretty much going through the same thing(starting college and all on a limited budget).
 
Processor: Intel Pentium D 805 533MHz FSB LGA 775 Dual Core - $128
Mobo: ABIT AW8 ATX Intel Motherboard - $89
Ram: CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) - $81
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS - $75
Video Card: POWERCOLOR Radeon X300SE HyperMemory - $50
PSU: Thermaltake TR2 W0070 430W Power Supply - $24
Harddrive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB SATA 3GB/s - $80
Optical Drive: NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Beige - $34
Case: APEX PC-115 Beige Computer Case - $25 (take out the PSU that comes with it and put in the one i told u to get)
Speakers: Logitech THX Z-5300e 5.1 Speaker - $134

$720

a bit more than u need... but perfect for ur needs...
It would be ideal for:
light multitasking
BLASTING THE MUSIC COLLEGE STYLE WITH 200WATT SPEAKERS
Watching DVDs
doinge everything u need it to with little or no resistance with low end dual-core...


if u want a price list with the whole shibang (monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc...)

Processor: Intel Pentium D 805 533MHz FSB LGA 775 Dual Core - $128
Mobo: ABIT AW8 ATX Intel Motherboard - $89
Ram: CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) - $81
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS - $75
Video Card: POWERCOLOR Radeon X300SE HyperMemory - $50
PSU: Thermaltake TR2 W0070 430W Power Supply - $24
Harddrive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB SATA 3GB/s - $80
Optical Drive: NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Beige - $34
Case: APEX PC-115 Beige Computer Case - $25 (take out the PSU that comes with it and put in the one i told u to get)
Speakers: Logitech THX Z-5300e 5.1 Speaker - $134
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2 - $90
Monitor: Fujiplus FP-988D Silver-Black 19" 12ms LCD Monitor - $180
Mouse and keyboard: Logitech Internet Pro Desktop Black Wired Keyboard - $17

a total thing like this with everything would come to around
$1000...
u don't need that ABSOLUTLY, but it will play music AMAZINGLY...
and it will do everything u need without resistance...
if u want to cut some money off get a celeron and just one stick of 512MB ram and a worse mobo...
sound cut the speakers or sound card tho...
 
thanks for all of your help. I think i will probably end up buying a really low-buck pre-built computer and just try to stash away money over time, until i can afford to build a really nice tower. Therefore, in the long run, i will have the best of both worlds. :)
 
dont forget dell and hp use "not name brand" parts. they use cheap memory cheap video cards and call them radeon x800 or nvidia 7900 but they really arent. when you build a computer you get name brand stuff like ultra, enermax, evga, xfx, real nvidia cards, real ati cards, thats part of the reason why they are so cheap. i opened my hp and no name on anything. i open my custom build everything has a name. the specs may not match but a less spec'd out home build may run better than a higher spec hp or dell
 
another thing to think about if you want to build your own is if you have a tower already that you can use parts from. for example, i had a monitor, keyboard, mouse, cd-rw, dvd-rw, and a 60GB hard drive. all i did was buy a case w/ psu, mobo, cpu, cheap vid card, and 512mb of ram and for around $300 i had a sweet new setup. recycling can be your friend.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top