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The Ultimate Pre-built Custom Desktop for cheap ($1318)

 

05-29-08 12:38 PM
Davideo7 is Online
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Well I've spent weeks doing research on how I could get a computer cheaper than what it could be built for AND one that was a reasonable price with tons of power.

After about 8 hours of research, I found that the best deal online for what I want was to customize an HP desktop here
(and they currently have all kinds of instant rebates; had about $250 in instant rebates and had a free RAM upgrade and free shipping)
(an instant rebate is basically just an instant savings, don't have to fill out anything)


Now here is the desktop I've had cutomized, how much I paid, what it includes, and how much it'd cost to make.



Genuine Vista Ultimate 64-bit
$180 - 280 at Newegg

Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q9450
$350 at Newegg

3GB DDR2-800MHz dual channel SDRAM
$70 (about)

512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT, TV-out, DVI-I, HDMI
$100 (about)

Full ATX Motherboard
$100 (about)

Case and Power Supply
$90 (about)

320GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
$88 at Amazon

LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
$35 (about)

15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, 1394, video, audio
$10 (about)

ATSC-NTSC TV tuner with PVR, FM tuner, remote
$80 (about)

Integrated 7.1 channel sound w/front audio ports
$10

Norton Internet Security 2008 - 15 Month
$60

Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
Priceless

HP keyboard and HP optical mouse
$15

HP w2007 20-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor
$260 (about)

1 Year Warranty
Priceless (but probably $40 value)


Cost to build: $1448 - $1548 (probably $1600+ including taxes and shipping)
My cost: $1318.74 (after taxes and w/free shipping)

I also got free shipping and my prices don't include the fact that they'd probably have taxes and shipping fees.



I could've upgraded the graphic card to an 8800 for an extra $150 but I'm not going to use this computer for a lot of gaming (if hardly any), mostly for web design, graphic design, video editing, audio editing, coding, and TONS of multitasking (and that's where the quad-core comes in handy). Also, I could've downgraded to a Processor Intel Core 2 Duo processor E8400 (3.0GHz) for $150 less but I wanted the Quad-Core but for most people, the Duo processor would be good enough.

And since this is a 64-bit processor, I can get a $40 memory stick and using vista readyboost, that adds 4 GB more RAM to the thing AND it's upgradable to 8 GB RAM so that means with the 4 GB memory stick and an upgrade, that'd be an insane 12 GB of RAM...what a powerhouse.
Well I've spent weeks doing research on how I could get a computer cheaper than what it could be built for AND one that was a reasonable price with tons of power.

After about 8 hours of research, I found that the best deal online for what I want was to customize an HP desktop here
(and they currently have all kinds of instant rebates; had about $250 in instant rebates and had a free RAM upgrade and free shipping)
(an instant rebate is basically just an instant savings, don't have to fill out anything)


Now here is the desktop I've had cutomized, how much I paid, what it includes, and how much it'd cost to make.



Genuine Vista Ultimate 64-bit
$180 - 280 at Newegg

Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q9450
$350 at Newegg

3GB DDR2-800MHz dual channel SDRAM
$70 (about)

512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT, TV-out, DVI-I, HDMI
$100 (about)

Full ATX Motherboard
$100 (about)

Case and Power Supply
$90 (about)

320GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
$88 at Amazon

LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
$35 (about)

15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, 1394, video, audio
$10 (about)

ATSC-NTSC TV tuner with PVR, FM tuner, remote
$80 (about)

Integrated 7.1 channel sound w/front audio ports
$10

Norton Internet Security 2008 - 15 Month
$60

Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
Priceless

HP keyboard and HP optical mouse
$15

HP w2007 20-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor
$260 (about)

1 Year Warranty
Priceless (but probably $40 value)


Cost to build: $1448 - $1548 (probably $1600+ including taxes and shipping)
My cost: $1318.74 (after taxes and w/free shipping)

I also got free shipping and my prices don't include the fact that they'd probably have taxes and shipping fees.



I could've upgraded the graphic card to an 8800 for an extra $150 but I'm not going to use this computer for a lot of gaming (if hardly any), mostly for web design, graphic design, video editing, audio editing, coding, and TONS of multitasking (and that's where the quad-core comes in handy). Also, I could've downgraded to a Processor Intel Core 2 Duo processor E8400 (3.0GHz) for $150 less but I wanted the Quad-Core but for most people, the Duo processor would be good enough.

And since this is a 64-bit processor, I can get a $40 memory stick and using vista readyboost, that adds 4 GB more RAM to the thing AND it's upgradable to 8 GB RAM so that means with the 4 GB memory stick and an upgrade, that'd be an insane 12 GB of RAM...what a powerhouse.
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(edited by Ryo Hazuki on 05-29-08 12:44 PM)    

05-29-08 12:45 PM
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Now that's an powerhouse (Far from ultimate though : P)

But I would advise you to get another chunk of ram as fast as possible, 3 gigs probably won't last for long.

But the rest is awesome though.
Now that's an powerhouse (Far from ultimate though : P)

But I would advise you to get another chunk of ram as fast as possible, 3 gigs probably won't last for long.

But the rest is awesome though.
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THAT sounds like my cue! :3


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05-29-08 12:48 PM
Davideo7 is Online
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I sorta put the Ultimate in there due to it being Windows Ultimate

But yeah, I do plan to slowly upgrade the RAM and eventually hope to have it up at 8 GB. The hard drive is fine for me because I've got an external 500 GB. And again, can easily add another internal hard drive. Nice thing about desktops is how upgradeable and customizable they are, I've never owned one, have always had a laptop.
I sorta put the Ultimate in there due to it being Windows Ultimate

But yeah, I do plan to slowly upgrade the RAM and eventually hope to have it up at 8 GB. The hard drive is fine for me because I've got an external 500 GB. And again, can easily add another internal hard drive. Nice thing about desktops is how upgradeable and customizable they are, I've never owned one, have always had a laptop.
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05-29-08 05:57 PM
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1 Year Warranty
Priceless (but probably $40 value)

lol. Looks like an awesome PC.
1 Year Warranty
Priceless (but probably $40 value)

lol. Looks like an awesome PC.
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05-30-08 11:04 PM
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So I guess you're not going to get that other one with the cool blue Oh well this looks good got awesome reviews
So I guess you're not going to get that other one with the cool blue Oh well this looks good got awesome reviews
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05-31-08 01:53 AM
Davideo7 is Online
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It's not about the looks for me, I want something that is impossible (or dang near) to slow down and will offer insane speeds. Looks might make it look like it's more expensive or more powerful but the looks definitely don't determine how powerful it is.

If I want, I can go buy a new PC case for $100+ if I want it to look cool but that's unnecessary for right now.
It's not about the looks for me, I want something that is impossible (or dang near) to slow down and will offer insane speeds. Looks might make it look like it's more expensive or more powerful but the looks definitely don't determine how powerful it is.

If I want, I can go buy a new PC case for $100+ if I want it to look cool but that's unnecessary for right now.
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06-09-08 09:16 AM
Davideo7 is Online
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I got the computer this weekend and I found out that it's dang near impossible to slow it down! I can install many things at once and their installations are extremely fast. A normal computer, having Norton run in the background would slow down the computer a ton but with this computer, I had norton going and it had no effect at all on performance. I can do so many things with the computer at a time, multi-tasking is such a dream with it

And since photoshop supports multi-threading (which is what quad-core does), working in Photoshop will be a breeze. Many other programs are starting to take advantage of this sort of stuff also. But even with ones that don't, I can work in those programs and do other stuff at the same time without the computer slowing down and that in my opinion is worth it right there.

I also read that the Quad-Core processor that I have can overclock (stably) at 3.5 GHz and some people have even got it to 3.8 GHz.

Once I get my RAM to 8 GB, it'll take years before I need a new computer or an upgrade of any sort (except maybe graphic card).
I got the computer this weekend and I found out that it's dang near impossible to slow it down! I can install many things at once and their installations are extremely fast. A normal computer, having Norton run in the background would slow down the computer a ton but with this computer, I had norton going and it had no effect at all on performance. I can do so many things with the computer at a time, multi-tasking is such a dream with it

And since photoshop supports multi-threading (which is what quad-core does), working in Photoshop will be a breeze. Many other programs are starting to take advantage of this sort of stuff also. But even with ones that don't, I can work in those programs and do other stuff at the same time without the computer slowing down and that in my opinion is worth it right there.

I also read that the Quad-Core processor that I have can overclock (stably) at 3.5 GHz and some people have even got it to 3.8 GHz.

Once I get my RAM to 8 GB, it'll take years before I need a new computer or an upgrade of any sort (except maybe graphic card).
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06-12-08 10:22 AM
Davideo7 is Online
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Anyone who's interested in getting a "Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q9450", Micro Center Online (http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0287628) is having a deal right now, you can get it for $300. Normally you wouldn't even be able to touch it for less than $350 so $300 is a real good deal, and they are hard to come by because a lot of places they are sold out because they are so hot.
Anyone who's interested in getting a "Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q9450", Micro Center Online (http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0287628) is having a deal right now, you can get it for $300. Normally you wouldn't even be able to touch it for less than $350 so $300 is a real good deal, and they are hard to come by because a lot of places they are sold out because they are so hot.
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06-12-08 11:46 PM
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I found out recently that my motherboard supports some quad core processors, but I plan on upgrading graphics first.
I found out recently that my motherboard supports some quad core processors, but I plan on upgrading graphics first.
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06-13-08 08:57 AM
Davideo7 is Online
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I'm waiting for a good deal for a high end NVIDIA graphic card to come around such as the GeForce 8800GT, however, I think my GeForce 8600GT should be good for atleast a year. The only games I ever play on my computer are roms

But yeah, I had the choice of choosing either an awesome processor or an awesome graphic card and I decided based on what I use the computer for and the processor was much more logical in my situation.
I'm waiting for a good deal for a high end NVIDIA graphic card to come around such as the GeForce 8800GT, however, I think my GeForce 8600GT should be good for atleast a year. The only games I ever play on my computer are roms

But yeah, I had the choice of choosing either an awesome processor or an awesome graphic card and I decided based on what I use the computer for and the processor was much more logical in my situation.
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06-24-08 01:21 AM
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This is exactly what I am needing. How the heck do I install a Intel Core 2 Quad processer????
This is exactly what I am needing. How the heck do I install a Intel Core 2 Quad processer????
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06-24-08 05:41 AM
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Gota have a compatible motherboard.. then take it to a computer shop . I dont even know how to install a processor, but I know peoples that would do it for me.. so...
Gota have a compatible motherboard.. then take it to a computer shop . I dont even know how to install a processor, but I know peoples that would do it for me.. so...
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06-24-08 09:16 AM
Davideo7 is Online
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Jigsaw, with the Mac that you have, I don't think your able to upgrade it
Jigsaw, with the Mac that you have, I don't think your able to upgrade it
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