PC deal question.

[Duke_of_Ray]

Hey all, this forum was recommened to me for this question. I know a guy who says he will build me a PC for 750$. The PC will be a.....

P4-2.8ghz
512mb RAM
128mb Video Card
40 gig hardrive

To me this sounds a little high, for just the pc.(Plus XP would be an extra 100$)

Anyways my question is I have 600$ to spend oon a PC, and I need to get the best possible for my money. I mainly want it for gaming, so where can I get a good deal, or would it be better to buy the parts myself and have somebody build it, or try and build it myself?

Thanks to any help!

[Nohto]

P4-2.8ghz
512mb RAM
128mb Video Card
40 gig hardrive

That description is too vague to tell if it is a good deal. Which 2.8ghz processor? What kind of ram? What make/model vid card and what make/ model HD? What case and power supply are you getting? What is the motherboard?

[Nohto]

would it be better to buy the parts myself and have somebody build it, or try and build it myself?
It matters what kind of experience you have in building computers and how mechanically inclined you are.

[Lithan]

My guess is he's trying to rip you off.

512megs ram ~75$
40gig HD ~50$
2.8 ~ 175$
128meg video ~50$

Now if it's 2x256 bh5, a 36gig raptor, a 2.8C and a 128meg radeon 9800 pro on an asus 875 board, it's another story... but I'm guessing it's not.

[Nohto]

You forgot the price of the MB, and the case, does it come with a cdrom, a floppy drive case fans etc... You can't expect the guy to do it for free either.

[Duke_of_Ray]

I not sure about the brands, but I am sure it would be your mainstream stuff, though I doubt it is a radeon video card. I would get a case, and everything. It would be ready to run when I picked it up. I just was wonder what better deal I could get for 600$. All I need is the PC, I have everything else(monitor,speakers......)

[Nohto]

I am sure it would be your mainstream stuff
Doesn't quite cut it. If your sure than why are you wondering if he is giving you a good deal? There are too many variables. The case could cost anywhere from $16 to $200+, the same for a PSU. You need to get detailed info. For $600 you could put together a system. I would probably go with an AMD Barton 2500 and build from there. Find a MB that suits your needs. You can get an Abit, Asus, MSI either a 400 or 600 for under $70.00, find a cheap case, like a Maxtop that has the side and blowhole fan, buy a Fortron PSU, and then get 256 Megs of ram for now that way you can get decent ram and if you want more than you can purchase another stick when you get more money.

[Duke_of_Ray]

Ok maybe this is a better question, maybe not.

What can I build(myself lets say) for 600$? I need a PC that can play all the modern games, as thats what it is mainly for. If you don't mind let me know what the best I could do with 600$ is, and where can I get the best deals on PC parts? Again thanks for the help!

[tylerhskate]

Newegg has some pretty good deals as does zipzoomfly, check on pricegrabber though and make sure you also check their reseller ratings, and did you not read what he said above you...

[Nohto]

I would just go with NewEgg personally except for the PSU and I would buy that from Dealsonic

[Duke_of_Ray]

Originally posted by Duke_of_Ray
Ok maybe this is a better question, maybe not.

What can I build(myself lets say) for 600$? I need a PC that can play all the modern games, as thats what it is mainly for. If you don't mind let me know what the best I could do with 600$ is, and where can I get the best deals on PC parts? Again thanks for the help!

Yes, but I what kind of video card could I get that is a resonable price, and pretty good? Will all my stuff work together? thats my worries.

[Nohto]

personally I like ATI. I would buy everything else you have to have and then spend the rest on a video card. THG has a revies with almost all of the new cards and their benchmark results

[Lithan]

case/good psu $50
2.8c $175
SP94/fan $50
refurb IC7 $55
512x2 crucial pc3200 $160
128meg 256bit 9800 pro $175
wd800JB $60
Nec DVDRW $65
SB Audigy $40

---------------
$830 (But worth the extra $230 over buying a cheaper video card, only 512megs ram, a crappy cdrom, and a generic PSU.)


Refurb A7N8x DLX/NF7-s/etc $50
2600+ xp-m $95
Sp97/fan $50
Case/PSU $50
512x2 Crucial pc3200 $160
128meg 256bit 9800pro $175
Wd800JB $60
Nec DVDRW $65
Soundstorm sound $Onboard

-------------
$705

To drop the price under $600 Go to CDROM and 512megs ram instead of dvdrw and 1gig.

Cheapest rig I can spec for you...

1700+ xp-m 42$
16x dvdrom 22$
a7n8x Deluxe refurb 50$
512meg pc3200 80$
wd800JB 67$
ALU800/fan 20$
Fort 350 31$
Case 15$
9800 refurb 145$
Shipping ~35$

Looking at about 500$ for a dirt dirt dirt cheap system that'll run any game you want. Of course you are using refurbs. To make it all retail will wind up adding about $100 more to the price.