How and Where to get a new computer built

[jacattac]

I've been looking into buying a new computer for a while now and feel that for the money, getting a new Dell may not be the most economical route. I hear people saying that they build new computers all the time and I have seen guys on ebay that build computers for pretty cheap, but I have no clue if they are actually a good deal. All that I want is to replace my 1998 machine with something that can run multiple programs (lots of ram) 2 monitors (dual dvi) and last me another 5+ years. If anyone can send me a link or lead me in the right direction, I would greatly appreciate it.

[spy587]

Building your own in pretty easy. You just pop in the parts, and it take a couple of hours.

I don't know of any computer that will last for 5 years, 3 years is pretty generous.

Look at tomshardware.com and anandtech.com. AnandTech just did a midrange computer price guide that will run you about $1500, and would not be signifigantly less powerful than a computer costing twice as much.

[jacattac]

Rather than buying new, if I just want to play poker (8 tables), surf the net, and burn DVDs ect... what would you think of buying a $400-$500 computer and getting a new graphics card installed and probably extra ram. I could probably get a Pentium 4 with a couple of GHz and two monitors for about $1500...this is a total guess by the way.

I know absolutly nothing about computers so I really appreciate your input.

[cracker9521]

If you don't already have all the software or a couple extra parts laying around to make it cheaper (i.e hd or good vid card) and youve never built before you might as well buy an oem machine. Just wait for one of dell's good sales or check out their outrageous deals section. It is really easy to put together but sometimes not worth the headache for a novice to save $50.

[cgwahl]

You can probably also find a good deal on Dell's in their refurbished section. They aren't always used...a lot of times they are just computers that were returned or people couldn't pay for.

[Terry]

I've been buying from Monarch Computer (http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv) for years.

Dells are not designed to be upgraded; when they get old you throw them away and buy a new one. With a "real" computer you just upgrade a part or two and keep on going.