Barebone vs 100% DIY

[moonbit]

A co-worker asked me to put a computer together for her. She's only going to use it for docs and light web surfing. So I started looking around for parts, and figured since there will be few demands placed on this machine, I could go dirt cheap. Then I thought..."oh, barebones!" But my cursory searches have led me to believe that using a barebone system won't be cheaper. However, to those more in the know, I'll ask -

Is it cheaper to pick up a barebone system, or just build from scratch?

Don't recommend a pre-built system, as she wants to actually see me put it together. I will still research them if it will give her significant savings, and tell her so.

Thanks!

 

[Blain]

Why doesn't she get a cheapie Dell or HP?

 

[DSF]

You can usually get pretty cost-effective systems, complete with a warranty, at Dell Outlet.

 

[Ika]

For cheap computers that don't need any sort of tweakage or power, usually the best way to go is with a hot deal on a Dell or a Compaq or something. You can generally get a decent machine for $200-300, which is hard to do with DIY.