Review My Desktop Order - Dell or MonarchComp?

[Saku]

Hello,

Im about to graduate college so I decided to finally buy a new computer. I do some web design, video editing, and am also into gaming.

My knowledge as far as current technolgy is relatively bare compared to most on this forum. I dont want to go through the trouble of building one myself. I have heard good things about MonarchComputers so I have been looking at their pre-built systems.

Would Dell or Newegg be a better option? I want to also get an LCD, would it be better to buy from a company that offers a desktop package that has an LCD included?

I want to spend $800-$1400, and want to the option to upgrade important components. I plan on buying an AMD system, but not sure whether I should get the Athlon 64 3500+ (939) or Athlon 64 X2 4200+ 512KB 90nm (939). So here is what I plan on buying unless you guys think I can do better:

$871.81 link

# Case: Antec Sonata II Piano Black Quiet Mid Tower 450Watt ATX 2.0
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# Motherboard: DFI NF4 SLI Infinity Audio/GB-LAN/IEEE-1394/PCI-E/SATA3G/DDR/ATX 64 939
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# Processors: AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (939) (OEM)
# Heatsink: Thermaltake AMD K8 Venus 7+ Highest Performance Cooler
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# Memory: 1 GB (2 pcs 512) DDR (400) PC-3200 OCZ Value (OCZ4001024V25DC-K)
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# Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE 160 GB SATA3G 8MB Cache 7200 RPM (WD1600JS)
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# CD-RW/DVD-ROM: NEC ND-4570A/GNB 16X Dual Layer DVD±RW (Black)
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# Video Card: ATI (Connect3D) Radeon X800 GTO 256MB GDDR3/PCI-E/VIVO/DVI (Retail Box)

OR

$1351.81 link

# Case - Antec Sonata II Piano Black Quiet Mid Tower 450Watt ATX 2.0
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# Motherboard - Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe nForce4 SLI Audio/GB-LAN/IEEE-1394a/PCI-E/SATA3G/DDR/ATX 64 939
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# Processor - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ 2.2GHz (939) w/ AMD Certified Thermaltake Heatsink and Fan
# Memory - 1 GB (2 pcs 512) DDR (400) PC-3200 OCZ CL2 Platinum (OCZ4001024ELDCPE-K)
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# Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar SE 250 GB SATA3G 16MB Cache 7200 RPM (WD2500KS)
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# CD/DVD-RW - 2 x NEC ND-3550A 16X Dual Layer DVD±RW (OEM) (Black)
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# Floppy - Mitsumi Floppy 7-in-1 USB Card Reader / Smart Media
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# Video Card - EVGA GeForce 7600 GT KO 256MB GDDR3/PCI-E/HDTV-Out/Dual-DVI

OR

$1414.00 link

# Case: Thermaltake Soprano Mid Tower Case w/Clear Side Window w/Enermax EG565P-FMA REV.2.0 ATX 2.01 w/SLI Support 535W Power Supply
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# Motherboard: Abit KN8 SLI nF4 Audio/GB-LAN/IEEE1394/PCI-E/SATA3G/DDR/ATX 64 939
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# Processors: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ 512KB 90nm (939)
# Memory: 1 GB (2 pcs 512) DDR (400) PC-3200 OCZ Value (OCZ4001024V25DC-K)
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# Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE 250 GB SATA3G 16MB Cache 7200 RPM (WD2500KS)
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# CD-RW/DVD-ROM: NEC ND-3550A 16X Dual Layer DVD±RW (OEM) (Black)
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# Video Card: ATI (Connect3D) Radeon X1900 XT 512MB GDDR3/PCI-E/AVIVO/Dual DVI (OEM)

Your feedback is GREATLY APPRECIATED!

 

[Ayah]

*Seagate drives
*X2 3800+ AM2
*nvidia 570 ultra
* f#ck MC's Thermaltake coolers and go with retail

 

[bX510]

For webdesigning + video editing, MACs dominate there. Many web designers use macs for webdesigning. If you were to buy a PC though, i think you should get the 1400 build because you want your computer to be able to handle any powerful programs in high resolutions.

BUT, if your doing some lite designing work the 800 would do.

 

[Powermoloch]

Better check this place

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com

 

[Saku]

Thank you guys so much for your replies.

Originally posted by: Powermoloch
Better check this place

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com

I just checked that place out and their prices seem very competitive. Thanks for the link.

I already have a Mac (PowerBook G4) for design work and now want a PC
for faster processing/gaming/video editing/etc.

Some1 on the other forum mentioned waiting for Conroe to come out and using a coupon at Dell. So as of right now that is what I intend on doing.

Once again thanks alot, and any more advice would be much appreciated.