Follow up question: Buying a CPU.

[nothumb]

Okay, so I went down to look at some computers at Best Buy after reading some of the recommendations on the board that I assemble my own, just to see how everything stacks up.

I found a deal on a new Compaq that, after rebates, comes to $550. It has:
---Athlon 3200 processor
---512 MB of RAM
---17" monitor (monitor not too important to me)
---160 gig HD
---very basic graphics card (also not important to me)
---DVD+/-RW and CDRW burner

and comes with a printer.

Now, I am not a computer guy. Getting the thing assembled (though I initially indicated I could do it) will be something of a pain, and, more importantly, I won't have any service or tech support should I need it. Is it really worth it for me to try to build a computer? This desktop would have everything I want and I could finance the whole thing pretty easily (something else I can't do buying and assembling.)

I appreciate all the advice I got in the other thread and wonder if some posters would comment on the risks/rewards here.

NT

[wacki]

That computer should be fine for you. 3200+ is more than enough power.

I highly recommend learning how to build though. The lower end computers tend to use very cheap parts. But if it works, it doesn't matter.

The rewards for building your own is really come into play when you either buy a medium/high end computer or when you want to upgrade. A lot of those compaqs are set up so it's nearly impossible to pull out the motherboard and put in a new one when you want to upgrade in a few years. Also, the power supplies on anything but the best computers tend to be of very poor quality. This causes reliability problems after a while.

When it comes to tech support, you can get all the tech support you need by joining www.anandtech.com (http://www.anandtech.com) and posting at their forums. The people there will be much more knowledgable than the 18 year old girl that is looking at a checklist sheet and reading of answers at compaq.

The biggest downside for building your own is if a part goes bad, you have to know how to find the bad part. This really isn't that hard. Basically all you do is swap in and out parts (using some logic) until it starts working. For instance if the screen looks screwy use a different monitor or try a different videocard until it works. It really is easy. The only problem is that you need spare parts. Your tech buddy can help you if you run into trouble. Building your own is still IMO the best route, but it's not for those who aren't interested in knowing how their computer works.

[holeplug]

If your only gonna use it to browse the web and play poker its not that big a deal what you get. That Compaq at Best Buy most likely has cheap RAM and a lower end motherboard on it. The advantage of building your own is you know exactly what your getting with each part and can select the best option for your price range. But if your not gonna do any CPU or graphics intensive things on it you probably won't even notice a difference between the Compaq and a custom build one. I don't know what monitor you currently have but if you have an LCD or are thinking about getting one make sure the video card supports DVI ouput which gives you a better picture than just analog.