Budget Graphic design desktop

[scottrussell]

So after successfully putting together my 2nd build, I've decided to put one together for my friend who is a graphic designer, photographer, and light gamer. Right now we're trying to figure out if its honestly worth building one when you can get for instance a dual core processor, 2 gigs of ram, 500gb hard drive, and 17inch lcd monitor for $650 from HP.

This computer needs to run photoshop cs2 and be capable of playing half life 2 as those will be the highest end programs running.

This is what I've come up with so far, with my concerns next to them, most of these are matching the specs of said HP computer just for the sake of figuring out if building is a better deal:
AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core Processor 5000+:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103194 95.00

2048MB system memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145034 75.00-40.00 rebate: 35.00

250gb hard drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148262 70.00

Lightscribe dvd burner:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106072 35.00

motherboard with GeForce 7050 built-in video card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131214 73.00
-Not really sure about the motherboard, not really sure about onboard audio. I'm debating which would be better: getting a motherboard with GOOD onboard video, or buying a cheap video card that would work better than the onboard. I also need wireless capabilites, can anyone find a motherboard with that? I could also opt for full size atx if its actually cheaper

card reader:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820223073 12.00

19-inch widescreen lcd monitor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009091 180.00
-Don't know much about monitors or quality, but I don't wanna buy a straight up crappy one

Case with psu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811116024


Thanks!

[Katreat]

If you want a low end computer it is hard to beat the pricing of powerhouses like HP and Dell. If you are building in the low end market, the reason is you want to control the quality of your parts, and make specific selections that suit your needs.

If you found an HP that has exactly what you want for $650 then it is very unlikely that your will be able to beat that price. The warranty should take care of the quality of parts issue because if it breaks they are going to fix it.

The problem I find in the low end market is the boxed computer usually does not meet all my needs. Like in your situation, if I was getting a computer for photo editing I would want a much bigger HD than 250 GB. So, if I went with the HP I would find myself spending more having to replace the HD or maybe buying an external to off load the pictures too. Things like that are why I build it myself even if it end up being a bit more espensive. I get what I want, not what they want to give me.

Kat

[Masaki 7-11]

Here's a build for roughly $650 with all the necessary parts/software you'll need to get the computer up and running:

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model DH-20A4H-08
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106245
$30.99

COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119115
$34.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148261
$66.99

Acer AL1706Ab Black 17" 8ms LCD Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009088
$149.99

GIGABYTE GA-MA69VM-S2 AM2 AMD 690V Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128043
$59.99

SAPPHIRE 100206L Radeon HD 2600PRO 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 CrossFire Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102103
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate (not included in total price)
$64.99

COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS-460-PMSR-A3 ATX12V V2.3 460W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817171028
$34.99

Rosewill RCR-102 52-in-1 USB 2.0 Black Card Reader
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820223073
$11.99

mushkin 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996527
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146118
$48.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ Brisbane 2.1GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADO4000DDBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103774
$59.99

Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B 1 Pack
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116056
$89.99

Subtotal: $653.89

[Masaki 7-11]

Regarding the build I posted above, although it does feature a slower processor than the one in your build list and most likely slower than the HP build, overall, the build I posted above will be a lot faster because the video card is much faster than any integrated graphics.

HP computers usually use low quality parts in their computers and will make upgrading a very daunting task, most manufactured computers (such as the HP) have 300W power supplies which will make it very difficult since any new parts will probably need more power than the computer can give it.

Vista is quiet buggy/slow at the moment, so when making a lower budget computer, XP is a better choice since it has good compatibility, and is faster for the same price as Vista, this is not an option you can usually make with a HP computer since most come with Vista as the only choice.

For another $50 you can upgrade the monitor to a 19 inch and get a 500GB hard drive instead of the 250GB, if the plan is to use this computer for at least 2 years, a computer you build yourself will be a much better choice than a computer you buy from the store.