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Best place to buy comp online?
- Thread starter methodman
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Dell's a good start. Check www.techbargains.com for coupons and deals (they've always got them).
Stay away from TigerDirect. i don't know if they have monthly payments or not, but their PC supplier (SystemMax IIRC) is horrible. Two of the three people who got systems from them (including my mom) have had problems with them and Tiger is a pain to deal with if you need support.
Out of curiousity, how much can you spend right now, and what's the computer going to be used for? You might be better off getting a barebones system and upgrading your hardware to what you want later on.
Stay away from TigerDirect. i don't know if they have monthly payments or not, but their PC supplier (SystemMax IIRC) is horrible. Two of the three people who got systems from them (including my mom) have had problems with them and Tiger is a pain to deal with if you need support.
Out of curiousity, how much can you spend right now, and what's the computer going to be used for? You might be better off getting a barebones system and upgrading your hardware to what you want later on.
element
Member
you can get some pretty wicked deals on dell's right now.
Check out this 9100.
Pentium® 4 Processor 630 with HT Technology (3GHz, 800FSB)
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs
20 inch UltraSharp 2005FPW Widescreen Digital Flat Panel (VGA / DVI-D / S-video / Composite / 4 x USB 2.0 / 12ms response)
256MB PCI Express x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) nVidia GeForce 6800
250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
16x DVD+/-RW with double layer write capability
Total: $1,459.00
The monitor alone is $600, and you can hook up a game console to it via the S-Video and Composite input.
Check out this 9100.
Pentium® 4 Processor 630 with HT Technology (3GHz, 800FSB)
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs
20 inch UltraSharp 2005FPW Widescreen Digital Flat Panel (VGA / DVI-D / S-video / Composite / 4 x USB 2.0 / 12ms response)
256MB PCI Express x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) nVidia GeForce 6800
250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
16x DVD+/-RW with double layer write capability
Total: $1,459.00
The monitor alone is $600, and you can hook up a game console to it via the S-Video and Composite input.
You're better off waiting a couple of weeks or so until you have a couple grand and can spend a large chunk of that on a PC. It would be pretty pointless to enter into a monthly payment agreement just to get your computer a few days faster. It would also suck if something happened where you lost your job and couldn't pay the payments.
hukasmokincaterpillar
Member
Buy all the parts seperately and build your own. Seriously. Its not hard at all, its kinda fun, you'll learn some stuff, it'll be completely upgradeable (unlike a Dell or any other OEM), it'll perform better and most important of all you'll save hundreds of dollars compared to a prebuilt PC with the same exact parts. I spent about $1200 to build my rig and the Alienware equivalent cost roughly $800 more. Thats a hell of a commision for a couple hours work if you ask me.
There's a ton of guides out there and its always good to do your own research, but here's an excellent resource to start with.
http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/guides/build/index.html
Lots of quality online outlets to buy the parts as well, I like Newegg.com personally. Good prices and pretty much everything you need to build a quality PC to your liking.
There's a ton of guides out there and its always good to do your own research, but here's an excellent resource to start with.
http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/guides/build/index.html
Lots of quality online outlets to buy the parts as well, I like Newegg.com personally. Good prices and pretty much everything you need to build a quality PC to your liking.
element
Member
I wouldn't say that. I mean if a person has to buy EVERYTHING, including a monitor and software, it can be a lot of money. Sometimes more then buying it part by part.
The same machine from Dell I listed would be about $1700 before tax and shipping on Newegg. Pretty much the same parts with +/- $5 on quality parts.
Intel Pentium 4 630
ASUS P5LD2
mushkin PC-4200 512MB x 2
eVGA Geforce 6800 256MB
Maxtor 250GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150
Pioneer Black 16X DVD+R
20" LCD
Antec Solution SLK2650-BQE
Microsoft Windows XP HOME
Logitech Premium Desktop Keyboard
Total = $1692.92
I'm all for building systems at home, but it isn't always the cheaper way to go.
hukasmokincaterpillar
Member
element said:
True, technically not always cheaper. And I didnt mean to imply Newegg.com as the end all be all, as always its best to compare prices of different outlets accordingly. Froogle and you'll easily save hundreds building that exact same system. But I also think the advantage to building your own is being able to pick the exact components you want to make sure you're getting the best bang for your buck. Take that P4 3.0ghz for example. Unless you're doing some major league Multi-Tasking an A64 3000+ or 3200+ not only performs better for the average consumer but its considerably cheaper. And the 939 pin will allow a seamless upgrade to dual-core if need be.
With OEMs like Dell most of the of time you're getting quality parts surrounded by lesser quality parts which end up bottlenecking the system in ways you may not initially be aware of. Generic PSU, generic RAM, even generic Mainboard. You also sacrifice the ability to tweak your system to your liking with a locked BIOS and a fair share of useless pre-installed bloatware in the software packages. I just think its a bad investment most of the time.
Monarchcomputer is one of the few places I'd trust to build you a quality machine for a good price. If you must go that route I'd highly recommend them.
element
Member
Not really. I went to pricewatch and just took the cheapest parts, and it still came to $1600. If you can build that same system for hundreds cheaper, I'd like to see it. The huge item is the 20" LCD, which is pretty much $600 anyway you slice it.
All of which can be replaced, if you are that picky. CPU, RAM, GFX card. The quality of the parts going into OEM machines has gone up dramatically in the last 5 years, especially on the higher end models (like the 9100 from Dell). It isn't like the days of the Pentium machines by Compaq, HP, and Gateway.
If you are getting into self building without any previous parts or software it can be VERY exspensive. Things that people just forget start to add up, 3.5 drive, cables, OS, case, CPU Fan (if you buy OEM CPU), keyboard, mouse, etc.
Computers in general are a bad investment. There is always something better the week after you buy yours, and the price always goes down.
Like I said, I'm all for self-built systems, the only pre-built system I've bought in 6 years was my laptop and my G4. But really some of the OEM deals are SO good recently, that they are hard to pass up.
Late Stage Marxist
Member
I'm extremely happy with my Dell, but I only went with Dell over other companies because of the look. Well that and the 256mb version of the vanilla 6800.
hukasmokincaterpillar
Member
element said:
Im too lazy to Froogle that whole package so we'll just have to agree to disagree there. I'll put it another way, you could build a system with better customized parts across the board that outperforms that system and is considerably cheaper to boot. Without question. Although I have to admit that LCD is rather sexy.
element said:
PSU and motherboard aren't easiest things to replace on an OEM machine, and wasting money on generic ram only to replace it later seems a bit redundant. I have a friend who purchased a relatively expensive Dell recently much to my objection and the psu, mobo, and 512mb sticks are all generic crapola.
element said:
Nah, if you shop smart you'll come out the better end of the deal compared to the OEM route. It takes a little more effort in your purchase but the result is always more bang for the buck. I understand thats not what every PC purchaser is looking for though.
And holy semantics Batman, did someone say you cant future proof a PC? Say it aint so.
WOW! I was actually looking to purchase that very same dell. But I'm kinda torn between that and this http://www.alienware.com/product_de...SysCode=PC-AREA51-5500-R1&SubCode=SKU-DEFAULT any suggestions? I have about 1500 to 1800 to blow. I don't really need a monitor but if I can get one at a bargain. thanks.