Hate to say it…but buy a Dell.

You can actually get something pretty decent, probably with a 2.4 Ghz P4 in it for that price.

:cry:  I have a pathetic P3-500 Mhz at home, with 128 Ram.  Only have about 10 Gigs of space, and a CD-RW drive.  Graphics card is okay.  What can I get for less that $800.

Does that come with a monitor?

Hector, do you want to build it or just buy a complete system?

TRUE INDEED,

DUDE you’re getting a DELL.  It’s the best deal for the money & includes most of the software that would run you couple hundred if bought seperatly.

Dell has a 2.8 P4 deal a lot (~$350 after rebate). It is usually listed on fatwallet, so check there.

If you like to build your own systems, I would go with a Athlon 64. You could build a nice system for $800. Get a “refurb” motherboard off NewEgg, I got a MSI K8T Neo Fis-2R for $50 ($35 after rebate) that came with everything but the I/O shield, and works perfect (normally ~$150 MB). You can find a nice deal on RAM if you look and have patience. I just picked up a NEC ND-2500A 8x DVD-+RW and a 5.1 soundcard for $33 after rebate (I paid $116 for the same burner a few months ago). Add in a few nice big hard drives, and you have yourself a very nice system that will last you quite awhile for a decent price.

with 800, you could easily build a new, moderatly fast desktop. and depending on how powerful you want it, you could prolly stretch your dollar and get a cheap monitor, with a little searching.

While I would probably end up building my own PC at this point, you may not be interested in doing that; and I would agree with everyone else that said to get a dell.  They are decent computers for the price, and I haven’t had too many problems with their systems—Just quickly configuring a system, and here’s what I’ve come up with for a little more than $800:

Dimension 4600C
Date & Time: August 02, 2004 9:47:03 AM

SYSTEM COMPONENTS
————————————————————————————————————————

Dimension 4600C

Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with HT Technology (3.06GHz, 533 FSB),
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition Unit Price
Memory 256MB Dual Channel shared DDR SDRAM at 333MHz (2x128M) Keyboards Dell® Quietkey® Keyboard QK [310-1582] 4
Monitors 17 in (16 in viewable,.27dp) E773c CRT Monitor
Video Cards Integrated Intel® Extreme Graphics 2 IV
Hard Drive 80GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive 80
Floppy Drive
Mouse Dell® 2-button scroll mouse
Network Interface Integrated 10/100 Ethernet
Modem 56K PCI Data/Fax Modem
CD or DVD Drive FREE UPGRADE! 24X CD-RW/ DVD Combo Drive
Sound Card Integrated 5.1 Channel Audio
Speakers No Speaker Option
Productivity Software Productivity Pack including WordPerfect
Security Software Norton Internet Security™, 90 day trial
Digital Music Dell Jukebox powered by MUSICMATCHDigital Photography Paint Shop™ Pro® Trial plus Photo Album™ Starter Edition
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options 1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year At-Home Service

———————————————————————————————————————-

TOTAL: $879.00

————————————————————————————————————————

Wanted to get a complete system.

Are you guys reluctant about dell because it doesn’t look cool…like say, the latest Alienware rig?

alienware is cool i guess…if say, you didn’t mind spending about 3 or 4x the amount its actually worth…but if you like the case THAT much, i guess its worth it, lol.

dell’s a pretty good value, and munkyxtc build one just a few bucks over ur 800 limit. i’m still a supporter of buying your own parts and building it yourself.

[quote author=“antman22”]alienware is cool i guess…if say, you didn’t mind spending about 3 or 4x the amount its actually worth…but if you like the case THAT much, i guess its worth it, lol.

dell’s a pretty good value, and munkyxtc build one just a few bucks over ur 800 limit. i’m still a supporter of buying your own parts and building it yourself.

Yeah, I agree, while alienware probably have the greatest looking cases on the market today, it’s hard to touch one in the market for under $3k—even though the guts of the computer are worth [wholesale] $500-900—As far as the computer I built, I selected the 4600C because of future upgradeability; as the other systems that come in a little cheaper aren’t as expandable as this model, this is a major deal when you want to get the most out of your money—You can also save an additional $50 if you downgrade that processor to the 2.8GHz P4; not really worth it if you ask me.  Also keep in mind that at that price all you pay is tax, and they’ll ship for free.  Hope that was helpful.

i personally would also build a comp.. i’ve heard a lot about dell not using the greatest parts, hard drives crapping out.. definately a cheap alternative but not exactly what i’d want.  My sister got a dell for when she went to school and it was fine for her because all she does is go on aol. 

I built my computer 2 and a half years ago and i love it.  It’s been getting a bit slow lately though not terrible which is pretty good considering i run a website on it but I decided to upgrade.  Instead of getting a new system I just bought a new motherboard and a new amd 64 3400+ processor.. I just find it easier to when somethings not filling my needs upgrade that specific part instead of getting an entirely new system.  Some of my parts from my computer now are even from my computer that i had before i made this one.  Still running strong.  And I even got a cute shiny metalic pinkish purple case.. not exactly as cool as the alienware cases but people tend to thing it’s cool haha.