Upgrading PC

[cashhH]

I am looking to upgrade my PC soon, but I haven't been following the hardware world for awhile now so I don't have much of clue of what to buy. I'm planning to use the PC for gaming and basically everyday use. Not really looking for top of the line stuff, and willing to spend about $2k. Not sure if I should consider building one or just buy one an XPS system from Dell.

Heres the system I built on their site:

Intel® Core?2 Duo Processor E6400 (2MB L2 Cache,2.13GHz,1066 FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista? Home Premium
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs
250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache?
Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
20 inch UltraSharp? 2007WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
256MB nVidia GeForce 7900 GS
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Logitech Z5500 500 Watt 5.1 Digital Surround Speakers w/control pod

$1,788

No Keyboard, mouse, software, etc. Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks in advance guys/gals!

 

[mcurphy]

If you have the knowledge to build, I would say build your own.

Here's some current hardware prices off the top of my head:

CPU - E6300 $187
Mobo - Gigabyte GA-965P S3 $108
GPU - Sapphire X1950XT $230
RAM - G.Skill 2x1GB $185
PSU - Enahnce 5150GH 500W $70
HDD - 320GB Sata - $85
Opticals - Whatever you like - $50
Case - $50-$100
Sound Card - $70?? (not sure on this, I don't use one)
Speakers - (I have no idea, lol haven't bought a set in 3 years)
OS - Windows Media Center w/ Vista upgrade $105 (not sure if this is still around since the vista release)
20 inch UltraSharp? 2007WFP - $360

So all together looks like maybe $1600 if I did the rough math correctly. And that doesn't include speakers.

Edit Also notice that by building your own, you can completely customize it to what you need. The build I threw together above has a larger hard drive, fast graphics and faster RAM than the Dell system. But also note that by building your own, you will not receive the tech support that you would through Dell.

I'm sure some others will pipe in if I made any errors.

 

[Harvey]

The biggest problem I've seen with most department store brand computers is, they often include undersized power supplies. Some current systems include PSU's in the 300 - 350 watt range.

Does the system you spec'd include the power rating for the supply? If it isn't at least 450 watts, preferably more, you need to include that... if it's even available.

For $1,700, you can build a much better system, including your choice of name brand components and XP or Vista, for a lot less.

Your profile says you're in OC (Orange County?) California. Some local shops, like PC Club, will let you start with any of their defined systems and swap components (vid card, hard drive, case, power supply, etc.) for the difference in the basic price of each item, and they'll deliver it set up with your OS and warranty it for a year. Then, if you need it, your warranty service is a local phone call or a quick drive, instead of shipping your system anywhere or waiting for days for something to be shipped to you.

They're not the only company that works this way. Shop around. Living in southern California, there's no excuse for anyone with half a clue about components to buy a desktop system from Dell, Gateway, etc.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

 

[cashhH]

The biggest problem I've seen with most department store brand computers is, they often include undersized power supplies. Some current systems include PSU's in the 300 - 350 watt range.

Does the system you spec'd include the power rating for the supply? If it isn't at least 450 watts, preferably more, you need to include that... if it's even available.

It wasn't listed, probably around 350-400 like you said.

For $1,700, you can build a much better system, including your choice of name brand components and XP or Vista, for a lot less.

Your profile says you're in OC (Orange County?) California. Some local shops, like PC Clug, will let you start with any of their defined systems and swap components (vid card, hard drive, case, power supply, etc.) for the difference in the basic price of each item, and they'll deliver it set up with your OS and warranty it for a year. Then, if you need it, your warranty service is a local phone call or a quick drive, instead of shipping your system anywhere or waiting for days for something to be shipped to you.

Yeah I heard of PC Club

They're not the only company that works this way. Shop around. Living in southern California, there's no excuse for anyone with half a clue about components to buy a desktop system from Dell, Gateway, etc.

I know I know

I haven't been following much of the PC world for almost 2 years so after checking out all the new hardware, I have no knowledge of any of the new models. Its crazy how fast technology moves forward. But I'll take you guy's advice about building my own system.

Appreciate the help..! Thanks.