I'm pretty computer-literate. I've built plenty of machines, serviced plenty and so forth. Without doing a ton of research, what are most people's opinions on buying a new machine? Is it cheaper to buy the parts and assemble them yourself? Wait for one of Dell's rebate/coupon deals? Go elsewhere? Just curious about other's opinions.
If simplicity of support is important to you, go with Dell. With coupons and sales, it's the cheapest combination of support + computer that I know of. Component breaks, you can call Dell for a replacement in warranty.
If you're not afraid of troubleshooting and don't mind tracking down support from multiple sources for a hodgepodge of components, then building your own machine from parts acquired from various deals will always be the cheapest route. If I were doing this, I'd use Pricewatch.com and the Anandtech and FatWallet forums to track down those deals on components.
/r/reds
I think it also depends on the OS you plan to run. If you want to run windows and don't have a copy of it you can use, it doesn't make a lot of sense IMO to build your own computer b/c buying microsoft software directly will probably eat any savings you get from building your own box.
School's out. What did you expect?
The Sony VAIO VGN-B100BD Laptops are flooding the market on EBay. They are going way below retail value.
http://search.ebay.com/b100bd_W0QQsojsZ1QQfromZR40
I also have one up for sale. But I won't give you a direct link to it, unless you want me to PM it to you.
I would recommend you go with a laptop. They can just about do anything as a desktop does nowadays and they are mobile.
Vaio's are nice. My sister and dad each have one.
I have a HP Pavilion Laptop. I love it.
School's out. What did you expect?
Me personally, I just go with doing it myself and building a piece-meal computer made up of parts that are tailored to my tastes. For instance, I will only use AMD cpu's in my machine and to my knowledge, Compaq and E-Machines are the only ones that use AMD cpu's. You probably already know about this site, but I do a lot of shopping from www.pricewatch.com. You can find some good deals, but watch that the sellers don't make their jack on S&H.
As much as I would like to get a laptop, I don't think I can squeeze one into my budget. I'm going off to grad school and my assistantship has to pay all my bills.
On the recommendation of a computer literate friend, my wife bought her laptop from www.powernotebooks.com
Very helpful in allowing one to customize at a cheaper cost than Dell.
Originally Posted by BuckeyeRed27
whats your price range?
if you're looking for something to get you through the net, go with a dell Dimension 3000..you get a 2.66 GHZ processor with 512 DDR ram and an 80 GB HDD. 15IN LCD or for 80 bucks more you can get a 17 incher, which is really nice. this is what we have at schools and such.
i wouldn't really recomend to individually buy parts unless you know what you're doing. plus it'll cost you up to 500 more to take it to the shop for them to build it.
i'd go for the dell. they have the best tech support, and probably the best computer available for now 549 bucks, a $100 off discount.
Apple iBook G4. Screw the glitch--down with Windows.
“And when finally they sense that some position cannot be sustained, they do not re-examine their ideas. Instead, they simply change the subject.” Jamie Galbraith
I could handle the assembly with no problem, so that wouldn't be an issue. I suppose I have to figure out whether or not the cost savings of building my own would be worth the hassle of figuring out which type of board goes with which processor, which processor I would want, tracking down the best deal on the rest of the components and ordering each individually. I guess my price range is probably up to 600 but I'm still contemplating whether I could drop up to 750 on a laptop.
Well, ignore my suggestion then.
“And when finally they sense that some position cannot be sustained, they do not re-examine their ideas. Instead, they simply change the subject.” Jamie Galbraith
I'm going to look out for deals for you and PM you, if you don't mind. If I find one, it won't be ebay.
www.Techbargains.com usually post the lasted deals on laptops and desktops.
Oh, I definitely don't mind. Any extra eyes are always appreciated. That said, I'll probably have to go ahead and make my order by late Monday nite/Tuesday b/c grad school approaches rapidly.
Some Dell coupons.
DellHome
CouponExpirationPosted$600 off select Inspiron Notebooks $1499+ : Code 28WR3BP9QMLT0F 08/24/05 08/20/05
$750 off select Inspiron Notebooks $1899+ : Code ?M1T$NG7GWRK2D 08/24/05 08/20/05
35% off select Inspiron Notebooks $999+ : Code NKN5W3H8BS?RVB 08/24/05 08/20/05
40% off select Inspiron Notebooks $999+ : Code CXFLV5J8Q4?LBV 08/22/05 08/17/05
Last edited by RBA; 08-21-2005 at 10:18 AM.
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