New build or purchase simple system?

[TallTravel]

OK, here are the details of my plans and current situation:

I have a new laptop, and there are times when I want a desktop. However, I don't want to spend much money. I also do not want to build my own PC. Here is what I own, both of which are new, which I would want to put into the new desktop.

Seagate 120 GB HD with no controller (was a back up in my old desktop)
Envision 20" LCD monitor

So here is what I " think " I need in a desktop:

Case
Motherboard (BARE minimum, don't need much for Word Processing and surfing, and basic sound)
I GB RAM
Ethernet/LAN connection
Video card
Sound card (to support 5.1 surround sound)
Wireless mouse, wireless keyboard
Single DVD/CD player

Note: I don't want a floppy drive, nor do I want a modem

Would I be better off going to a local PC supply shop and purchasing a really inexpensive system with no monitor and all of the above? I would likely end up purchasing a HD and installing my Seagate as a slave, but that would be far better than having to build my own.

I do not want to build my own.

[ktkendall]

You would be better off building your own, but since you do not want to then what are you actually asking?

[Foosa]

look into dell.(or any big company) They will be the cheapest for just word processing, internet, and sound?. Your local computer store can't beat dell prices.

[glc]

I would buy an entry level Dell, and put that 120gb hard drive into an external housing and use it as a backup device for all your PC's.

[TallTravel]

Originally Posted by ktkendall You would be better off building your own, but since you do not want to then what are you actually asking?

Because I CAN build it, and I am willing to do so, but I don't want to do that unless it is in my interest to do so.

My sense of the compatibility questions, the time involved to make sure all parts can and will work together, the " will this BIOS work with this part ", etc, etc, make it less wortwhile for me than for other people.

It is really the same thing as a home improvement project: I CAN do it, but do I want to? For this situation I am thinking it is far better to find a pre built version, and thus far I have no sense of how much it might save me to build it myself. If the answer is $100.00 savings for a simple system, I would most definitely say it is not worth it. If the answer is $300, then it would be worth it. However, I don't think the savings would be substantial.

Any solid way of estimating the cost savings for the above system? Build v buy?

[freakitchen]

For a basic word processing / internet box, you probably won't save ANY money by building your own. Once you've bought a copy of XP, basic home-builds can turn out more expensive than a Dell equivalent.

The benefits of build-your-own only become apparent when you're building a higher performance system, or one thats designed to be upgraded easily.

FK

[TallTravel]

Originally Posted by Freakitchen For a basic word processing / internet box, you probably won't save ANY money by building your own. Once you've bought a copy of XP, basic home-builds can turn out more expensive than a Dell equivalent. The benefits of build-your-own only become apparent when you're building a higher performance system, or one thats designed to be upgraded easily. FK

That is precisely what I expected to hear. Not sure why the above poster said I would be better off building my own. I just checked Dell.com and found an entire system without monitor, as I asked for above, for less than $300.00. That is hard to beat, and after spending some time at newegg.com looking for basic parts and the OS, it seems clear that I can't beat that.

Thanks for the re affirmation.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Sunset Not sure why the above poster said I would be better off building my own.

Because most of us here build our own computers and tend to stay far away from pre-built computers. There is nothing wrong with a pre-built if the specs indicate it will do all you ask of it, it's just most of us would rather use a computer that we built ourselves.

Cricket