What's the best deal on a pre-built PC system ? (It's for an older user, I prefer self-built)

[Dufusyte]

I recommend a local Mom/Pop store. The advantages are:

- You do not get weird proprietary stuff
- You can upgrade
- If something goes wrong you have someone local you can deal with
- When you want to upgrade, you can bring it back to the store and they should be able to do the upgrade for you as well.

This would be a good plan for somebody who does not like to build their own. You can establish a relationship with your local computer store, and let them do the building/upgrading for you.

Any thoughts of "I will never upgrade" are wishful thinking, unless you plan to die within three years.

 

[Salvador]

Now.. My boss had a computer built for me by a local guy and I must say that the experience pretty much sucked.

First of all, he paid way too much for what he got. No weird proprietary stuff, just cheap parts. He doesn't give very good service and every time you get the guy over to repair something, he wants to charge $80 an hour even though half of the time was spent bs'ing about what he does for a living. When you do need to call him, you get his voice mail and he'll get back to you in a day if you're lucky. When he does get back to you, he's very impatient and not very helpful.

Now.. YMMV. My advice is if you want to go with a third tier box builder, check the place out first. You might just get better CS and TS (and free CS and TS) from a place like Dell. Sure, you might have to wait on line, but just put it on speakerphone and relax. It's better than having one guy to deal with that you happen to dislike.

Sal

 

[dullard]

<< I didn't say I could save 400 on the 799 advertised special. >>



We were all talking about buying a computer for $799 or less, and I said you could probably save $50 on that $799 system. Then you jump in saying you can save up to $400 on two completely different systems. I just pointed out that the $50 I mentioned is what you could save by building the $799 computer.



<< Beat the price by 400 on the p4 system by getting a comparable amd system which we all know to beat a 1.3 p4 wouldn't have to be much more then 1.0 gig tbird cpu. Being the cost of p4 1.3 isn't bad compared to athlon 1 gig (about 80 bucks) then the rdram cost (about 80 bucks) at pricewatch it shouldn't be too great of a price deduct going amd. It was 2000 plus 80 for shipping and I priced a 1.2ghz system with everything the dell had plus with all top name brand retail package components with full 3 year warranties for 1571 shipped. So i add 140 markup and build cost and that is damn near 400.00 dollars. Now one can say obviously the amd should have ran 160 less so the remainder is 240 bucks or 380 before my markup. So I saved a bunch on a 2000 dollar system, Duffard!!! I don't know if in a home based pc at dell I can even get t0 4000... >>



You also missed the point completely. Instead of Dell, go to Gateway (or any other company you choose) and customize an AMD then compare your savings (it will be far, far less than $400). In fact the difference is quite near $100 on that system you mentioned. You can't compare buying a P4 to building an Athlon - instead compare buying an Athlon to building an Athlon or compare buying a P4 to building a P4.

 

[Ryan]

Go with Gateway I have one (look in my sig), and it cost 1600 total. It's better at it's price point than anything that Dell can offer.

 

[Duvie]

I have gone to compaq, gateway, &amp; micron...and with some of them the price difference is greater, but most are right around the 300 range still. Plus with gateway and compaq it is really hard to tell the type of quality products you are receiving. When I compare I am using name brand at highest level. I can't verify if the 40 to 60gig hdd's are 5400 rpm or 7200rpm. I can't tell the brand of dvd-rom and cd-rw all the time. makes it difficult anyways. I just use it to see if I am outrageous.

Lets end this anyways...it isn't on line with topic.

I say go buy from local mom and pop...obviously shop around with estimates...That way you can get high quality non proprietary parts, and local service.

the dell 799 is a helluva a deal, and this week may be two good to pass up...I however have already mentioned why I don't support dell. I have recommended hp systems to a couple of friends a year ago when I was too busy working to do the research and build them systems. They bought athlon classics, but are very happy with the hp setups, the look, the bundle of quality components, etc.

 

[dullard]

Ok, back on topic now. If you want a somewhat major company to custom build the computer try Colfax International. There you can usually choose between 3 or more motherboards (for each CPU), any possible RAM, dozens of CD drives, a dozen or so HDs, and good choices for the rest. The choices are as good as you will ever find on a national company. The 1.0 GHz Athlons start around $480 (complete except monitor).

 

[Duvie]

I checked them out and they are a bit cheaper then the other amd oem builders...choices are good high quality stuff so that is nice...

that athlon 1 gig at 460 (i can't seem to find) is most likely because default hdd, vid card, dvd-rom, etc is no pick. Pretty much that 460 is just the mobo, 128mb ram, 1 gig athlon, case, 48x cd-rom and win me.

 

[stevel114]

This topic is sure getting side tracked. My vote would go for Gateway. The reason is selfish. They don't use propietery parts any more. The cases are excellent and you can upgrade them with clone parts, can't with dell or compaq. They also have stores you can go to now to see what you are getting. Kinda of a test drive store. Having worked at large companies and ran some mom and pop stores I would rather see a gateway come in the door for repair or upgrading than a dell or compaq. The only complaint I have with Gateway is that they change the brand name parts inside from week to week. But at least they will build you a AMD system. More bang for the buck for sure.

SL

 

[Flat]

I would recommend you purchase a built computer from monarchcomputer.com, I like the company and they offer good prices on higher quality products than Dell or Gateway. Going with them you get the tech support and everything of Dell, and the prices are not much higher than building a computer yourself

 

[dullard]

<< I checked them out and they are a bit cheaper then the other amd oem builders...choices are good high quality stuff so that is nice...

that athlon 1 gig at 460 (i can't seem to find) is most likely because default hdd, vid card, dvd-rom, etc is no pick. Pretty much that 460 is just the mobo, 128mb ram, 1 gig athlon, case, 48x cd-rom and win me. >>



Yes that was the barebones minimum. I quoted a price without the cd-rom (my bad). As you add more parts you will definately get over $700 for a good machine (although if it is for an older person a dvd, CDRW, Zip drive, expensive sound card or vid card may be wastes of money). The high quality choices are what I like.