Help Me Build a Complete System, Budget = $800

[kjackson09]

My sister works for the school board and this year they are given a one time grant of approximately $800 for personal technology gain. She has decided she wants/needs a new computer.

The computer will be used primarily for:
-internet
-mp3's
-watch movies
-burn cd's
-childrens games etc

Her only real request is that she wants to have an LCD monitor. Preferably 17" but overly picky as to which monitor it is. She turned to me for advice and now I turn to you. Is she better off with a pre-built system like a dell? Or is there a system I can assemble, or order assembled which is better than a prebuilt. No idea where to start, your replies are greatly appreciated.

 

[bamacre]

Dell Outlet and buy the LCD at NewEgg or ZipZoomFly, or even at Dell Home using coupons.

If you are not familiar with Dell Outlet, you can read about it here...
http://www.tfnn.net/forum/index.php?topic=4578.0

For desktop, I would recommend an XPS 400 or a Dimension E510/5150.

 

[JMoore]

Once in awhile Dell usually comes out with a nice deal and then they'll throw in the lcd as a upgrade. I'd wait for one of those. I've seen 2 of those kinds of deals in the past month and I haven't even been looking.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: JMoore
Once in awhile Dell usually comes out with a nice deal and then they'll throw in the lcd as a upgrade. I'd wait for one of those. I've seen 2 of those kinds of deals in the past month and I haven't even been looking.

Those deals were most likely due to the fact that Dell was hitting the end of their fiscal quarter. It will be the end of July until we see those kinds of deals again.

 

[kjackson09]

But with a dell, and at that price. Aren't you missing out on a video card, and a decent motherboard vs if you were to build one yourself?

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: kjackson09
But with a dell, and at that price. Aren't you missing out on a video card, and a decent motherboard vs if you were to build one yourself?

Video card for what?

The XPS 400 has a 945P board, and comes standard with an X300 video card, more than capable of "childrens games."

You can build a system with that budget, but if you work the Outlet inventory hard enough, you can find a system for a lot less than the cost of building. If you need some serious help, PM me, I have a script that hits their inventory and finds better deals.