Mid-Range
| Dell Dimension 4700 | Gateway 5200X | |
| Price | $1,246 – $150mir = $1,196 | $1,174.98 |
| Processor | Pentium 4 530 – 3 GHZ | Pentium 4 530 – 3 GHZ |
| RAM | 512 MB Dual Channel DDR400 | 512 MB Dual Channel DDR400 |
| OS | Microsoft Windows XP Pro | Microsoft Windows XP Pro |
| Optical 1 | 16x DVD +/- RW | 16x DVD +/- RW |
| Optical 2 | 16x DVD-Rom | 16x DVD-Rom |
| Hard Drive 1 | 160 GB SATA (7,200 RPM) | 200 GB SATA (7,200 RPM) |
| Floppy Drive | Yes | Yes |
| Front Panel | USB 2.0 | 8-1 Media Card Reader |
| Monitor | 15 inch LCD | 15 inch LCD |
| Video Card | ATI Radeon X300SE 128 MB | ATI Radeon X300SE 128 MB |
| Sound Card | Integrated | Integrated |
| Keyboard / Mouse | Standard | Standard |
| Case | Standard | Standard |
| HP A850Y | Build | |
| Price | $1,258.98 – $100mir = $1,158.98 | $1,235 |
| Processor | Pentium 4 540 – 3.2 GHZ | Pentium 4 540 – 3.2 GHZ |
| RAM | 512 MB Dual Channel DDR400 | 512 MB Dual Channel DDR400 |
| OS | Microsoft Windows XP Pro | Microsoft Windows XP Pro |
| Optical 1 | 16x DVD +/- RW | 16x DVD +/- RW |
| Optical 2 | 16x DVD-Rom | 16x DVD-Rom |
| Hard Drive 1 | 200 GB SATA (7,200 RPM) | 200 GB SATA (7,200 RPM) |
| Floppy Drive | Yes | Yes |
| Front Panel | 2 USB – 1 Firewire | 2 USB |
| Monitor | 17 inch LCD | 17 inch LCD |
| Video Card | ATI Radeon X300SE 128 MB | ATI Radeon X300SE 128 MB |
| Sound Card | Integrated | Integrated |
| Keyboard / Mouse | Standard | Standard |
| Case | Standard | Enlight / 350 watt |
Link to wish list: http://secure.newegg.com/app/WishR.asp?ID=1321168
Comparison
With this system, it is cheaper to build before rebates, but after rebates it is no longer any cheaper to build than to go out to the store to buy. These systems are great for those who multitask and do some gaming. It will run almost any game on the market currently, but it will not have quite as much power as the first build. The Dell is somewhat over priced for what you get, and the Gateway has the best price for what you get (before rebates). You would get the most with the HP and the custom build, but you would have to be willing to pay a little extra. If you decided to go with a CRT monitor, you could save a lot more on a custom build, but for comparison purposes, an LCD was used and priced in the configuration.
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You don’t address the issue of build or buy!
Which makes your article “JUNK”.
As a owner of multiple HP products and having to deal with their customer support more than once and one of those times it was a over 5 hours that their tech person helped me.
One of the times it was help for a computer that was 2+ years out of warranty.
NOW Whether to build or buy,
THAT IS STILL THE QUESTION THAT WAS NEVER ANSWERED.
Congratulations, you just commented on a five-year-old article.
Go buy a Mac. Apple people love it WHEN YOU TALK IN ALL CAPS LIKE A BLITHERING IDIOT. You’ll fit right in.