thought about it. should i just buy a comp and not build?

[craniumdesigns]

so i'm looking to upgrade my comp from my current athlon xp 1700 setup. i was thinking of building something, but after everything it was gonna be like $500 for ram, cpu, mobo, psu, and vid card. i would use the other parts from my current setup to build the rest (case, hd, etc). and that's with NO OS. so that would be at least $600 for a new comp with xp.

i can go buy a decent comp from dell, hp, etc for the same price with EVERYTHING including vista. i am not a hardcore gamer. i dont overclock. i barely game at all. i would like something that can handle running all my web design apps at once (photoshop, dreamweaver, etc) and maybe run something like world of warcraft, or the soon-to-arrive warhammer online.

what do you guys think? just buy a decent setup from a company with the vista pre-packaged , or build it? and if i buy from a company, what brands should i aim for? i'm guessing dell would be the best, with hp in 2nd. or maybe i'm wrong. please help me out. THANKS!

 

[krotchy]

Until you start to pass 800 dollars or so, it is typically going to net you more to just buy from Dell/Hp or whatever.

The reason being is typically on the software end. They will bundle the OS and other stuff for you, while that adds extra to your build directly.

Compare the 2 and see what works best for you, but for 600 dollars I suspect you wont beat an OEM building for you.

 

[craniumdesigns]

do i need a C2D setup for what i want to do? or will a pentium d work? or should i pick an amd cpu?

 

[craniumdesigns]

nevermind. looking at prices on dells for what i want and i'd rather build something.

 

[krotchy]

Whatever you do, dont get anything labeled pentium. Athlon X2 (Socket AM2) low end, or Core 2 Duo Mid-High End tend to be how the deals fall.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: krotchy
Whatever you do, dont get anything labeled pentium. Athlon X2 (Socket AM2) low end, or Core 2 Duo Mid-High End tend to be how the deals fall.

Agreed.