Birthday 'round the corner. You know what it means folks~

BoxOfWonders

Ill try to keep it short. My 18th is comin round the corner and my dads girlfriend has promised me a new computer. No word on budget, however Im pretty sure moneys not an issue with her. Shes a cashbag. /crossedfingers

Currently Im running a ****box of a comp not even worth mentioning, so...

Requesting opinions.

Intel® Core™ 2 Quad-Core Q8200 Processor (2.33GHz, 4MB cache, 1333MHz FSB)
21.5in S2209W Full HD Widescreen Black (1920 x 1080)
4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [4x1024]
512MB nVidia GeForce 9800GT graphics card
1TB (7200rpm) SATA Hard Drive
512MB nVidia GeForce 9800GT graphics card
Integrated 7.1 Channel High Definition Audio
21.5in S2209W Full HD Widescreen Black (1920 x 1080)
Logitech X540 Speakers


Price € 1,314.85
Total savings € 329.30
Total € 985.55
from Dell.

As of today, this deal is only on offer for 9 more days. Is it worth the buy? Would purchasing all of the above [or the equvilant/better] seperatly save a few bob?

Funny thing is, an iMac at about pretty much the same specs comes in at €1,349.00. They dont seem overpriced to me, as uneducated in computing as I may be.

Any advice would be greatly appreaciated. Cheers.

StopNotWorking

I couldn't find a PSU from HWVS, but I'm sure they have some. They also build computers for 50E I think? Could be less.




EDIT: I'm not recommending the above list, just showing what you can get for the price of your dell. Generally I would always recommend someone build a computer yourself, but if you buy from hardwareversand.de they will even build the computer for you!

Dinner

I'd recommend HWV too. Got my computer off them a while back. Awkward payment method though (international bank transfer) but you can fully customise it.

They'll put it together for €20, don't think it's gone up but if you're not into self builds it's worth it. On Hardwareversand just click on English and then PC Configurator and it'll walk you through the bits you need.

BoxOfWonders

StopNotWorking wrote: »

I couldn't find a PSU from HWVS, but I'm sure they have some. They also build computers for 50E I think? Could be less.




EDIT: I'm not recommending the above list, just showing what you can get for the price of your dell. Generally I would always recommend someone build a computer yourself, but if you buy from hardwareversand.de they will even build the computer for you!

Thanks for the reply! Unfortunatly I know very little about computer hardware, and wouldnt really know the good from the bad, let along even recognise even half of that stuff above. I could always go through soemone else n building one, but Id be warry of being overcharged, since I wouldnt have a clue on what I was really getting. So Dell was the safe bet.

Am I loseing out on much by getting a Dell? I really rather not go through all the complications of building a comp by my self. If it meant it paying out an extra 100 or two then Iit could be acceptable. Then again an extra 200 could add quite a bit to a comp huh...

**** I just realised as I was typing this. I havnt a ****ing clue. To make things worse Im just goin around in circles in my head. Im just too damn worried about waisting money or getting somthing Id regret in the long run.

BoxOfWonders

Dinner wrote: »

I'd recommend HWV too. Got my computer off them a while back. Awkward payment method though (international bank transfer) but you can fully customise it.

They'll put it together for €20, don't think it's gone up but if you're not into self builds it's worth it. On Hardwareversand just click on English and then PC Configurator and it'll walk you through the bits you need.

Ill look further into it, cheers.

StopNotWorking

If you want to play it safe then by all means do what you wish. Posting here puts you in our grubby hands though :P

The list I made is only an example. I wish you knew some of the basics so you could see yourself the improvements capable with a home build over the likes of dell.

Ask nice enough and I'm sure some of us could run through a good build list with you

EDIT: I was in a similar situation to yourself OP. When I was 17-18 we got a family computer from dell, at the time I was into computers but knew nothing about them, so obviously Dells "gaming" computers were the range to choose from. Long story short I recently tore the dell apart and put the CPU and hard drive from it into my own custom build.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055334204&page=7

You see the picture of my desk? See the little white box between the printer and the desk? That's my old dell lol, Its absolutely useless now since I tore it apart. But I couldn't be happier, the computer I have now is one I can keep up to scratch for a long time. Unlike the dell!

Solitaire

BoxOfWonders wrote:

Am I loseing out on much by getting a Dell?

Aside from your soul?

Well, if that doesn't bother you then a good few hundred out of pocket certainly :eek:

Always self-build - well, self-specify your system anyway. If you're smart enough to question the wisdom of Dell in the first place you're better off buying elsewhere and not-getting-ripped-off

Big question: What are you using this PC for? That has a huge impact on what you'll need. Any special restrictions (size, noise, electricity bill, monitor resolution)?

Off the top of my head an X3-720BE would be a much better choice than a Q8200 for most builds. The problem is that HWVS are still waiting on stock for budget AM3 motherboards or 4GB DDR3 memory kits. And you'll need at least a HD4870 1GB if you want to play any games on a 1920*1080 screen (that Dell is, surpise, surprise, well underspecified with that 9800GT).

darealtulip

I would never buy a Dell! waste of money, you get a better comp for less if you do a self build. As somebody above mentioned hardware versand builds the comp for you for €20!! you can't go wrong with that! I'm sure people on this thread will help you choosing the right stuff.

BoxOfWonders

If you want to play it safe then by all means do what you wish. Posting here puts you in our grubby hands though :P

See, the problem here is I trust those damn grubby hands.

Big question: What are you using this PC for? That has a huge impact on what you'll need. Any special restrictions (size, noise, electricity bill, monitor resolution)?

Lets start there then.

Lets get the gaming thing straight. I dont need a beast. Im not one o those competitive FPS freaks, no CoD4 for me. No no. That said everyone likes their gamez. Id like a machine capable of playing your general game and MMO without putting too much priority over the other aspects of the computer.

Second on the list would be production. I enjoy messing around with photo, movie and music editing software. Not having coral paint hang on me when making a brush stroke would be fantastic. Something that could decently handle the creative side would be much loved.

3rdly. Media center. Yeah I know this kinda thing is expensive but I dont need much. Nice flatscreen [No specifications on size. Nothing below 20in tho ofc] and good enough speaker system would do the job. Mainly this comp will be used for listening to music, watching anime, movies, viewin photos etc.
The main focus point of the comp woudl be this.

That may be a lot to try to squeeze from 1kish [ just under if possible] but Im countin on you guys. ^.^;;

Ask nice enough and I'm sure some of us could run through a good build list with you

I would be honored to be left in the hands of the people of this forum. As grubby as they may be.

Help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help help

BoxOfWonders

Whats this guyz, was I forgotten about already?

Oh my, oh my~