Should I build?

[tetsuo]

My friend's mum wants me to find a computer set-up for her daughter to do homework on, the budget is $500. The daughter, my friend, has a 6-year-old who will also wanna play whatever games a 6-year-old likes to play. She will also want burn DVDs. Should she just buy a basic Dell, or since I already an 80Gb HDD and DVD burner I can use for it, should I just build her a rig? Here is a quick build list I picked out. Since I'm sure you will all have better ideas, I didn't set my heart on any of these.

Biostar P4M80-M4 Socket 478 mATX MB w/Celeron D 2.26GHz CPU

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?inv...COMB35&cat=MBB 79.99



Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-400 400 Watt Power Supply

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?inv...400-DT&cat=PWR 57.99


Kingston ValueRAM 1GB DDR RAM PC2100 184-Pin DIMM

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?inv..._1G-DT&cat=RAM 109.99



10-Bay ATX Computer Case w/Front Panel LEDs - No PS (Gray)

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?inv...01-GRY&cat=CAS 14.50



17-Inch AOpen F2705-12S TFT LCD Flat Panel Monitor (Black)
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?inv...321-DT&cat=MON 154.95

[The_YongGrand]

You can actually use a Celeron D (Socket 775) or a Sempron Socket 754/AM2 for all these. A newer socket like these will make upgrades much easier.

The rest of the parts, like the PSU is very good for her daily use.

[jayb1234]

Take a look around the dell outlet.

I see quite a few machines in there with dual core pentiums, pci-e vid cards, dvd burners and windows in your price range.

$350 dell outlet machine + $150 monitor will get you a lot better setup than anything you can put together yourself for that budget.

[barch 88]

She just needs a basic home computer. Dell, HP, Gateway, etc...will be fine.

[Staren]

I would have to say buy in this situation. The budget is kind of tight, and it doesn't sound like she needs a major system. I'd go Dell.

[ipam45]

just buy like a emachine or something it might even save you some money. it would be a nice build for first timers to practice on.

[tetsuo]

I was all set to adjust the build to include these instead:


Athlon 64 3400+ at newegg 2.4Ghz

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103010 99.00

includes mobo for free:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128262


But the opinion seems to be to go with factory made, so I'll recommend that.

[starflyer59]

Dell outlet is the way the go. Man! YOu can pick up a awesome computer for next to nothing at the Dell outlet. That way, she gets a refurbed computer with warranty and you don't have to fool around with fixing the custom build everytime something goes wrong. I have started selling Dell computers that I get from the outlet to customers. I just got tired of getting calls every single day and having to fix problems with a custom built, waiting on parts to to be sent back to the factory and getting a replacement. Custom built for yourself is good...custom built for someone else is just asking for trouble. They want you to end up supporting it for free.

Go with Dell outlet. the prices cannot be beat anywhere.

[mdehart]

Originally Posted by starflyer59 Dell outlet is the way the go. Man! YOu can pick up a awesome computer for next to nothing at the Dell outlet. That way, she gets a refurbed computer with warranty and you don't have to fool around with fixing the custom build everytime something goes wrong. I have started selling Dell computers that I get from the outlet to customers. I just got tired of getting calls every single day and having to fix problems with a custom built, waiting on parts to to be sent back to the factory and getting a replacement. Custom built for yourself is good...custom built for someone else is just asking for trouble. They want you to end up supporting it for free. Go with Dell outlet. the prices cannot be beat anywhere.

oh yes you can get hell of computer at the dell outlet something like $ 500.00 nice one .

my dad got one he loves it .