Thinking about new build

[phermit]

hi I'm new to the forums and read a few topics here and figured I'd ask you guys for your expertise on a problem I'm having.

I need a new PC, had this one I built myself for about 5-6 years and it's good for general stuff (browsing, casual gaming, word, etc.) but its time to upgrade.

My main focus is to be able to use Photoshop, 3D Max/Maya and play games on it. I was originally going to go for a Dell XPS 410 which would have:

-Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6400 (2MB L2 Cache,2.13GHz,1066 FSB)
-Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
-2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs
-320GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
-Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
-19 inch Ultrasharp™ 1907FP Digital Flat Panel
-256MB nVidia GeForce 7900 GS
-a bunch of unnecessary crap

all of that came out to $1,289.00 which in my opinion isn't bad.

So is a build similar or better than that for around $1,500- $2,000 (giving room for higher end video card) be better than getting that Dell and just swapping out some stuff?

Any help would be very much appreciated.

 

[akhilles]

About $1400 USD before shipping, taxes & rebates for a very similiar build.

 

[g-paw]

Your always better off building. You know the quality of all the parts. The warranties are better, i.e., each part is warranted usually at least 3 years, I think most RAM is lifetime. You don''t get crap ware. It will be easier to upgrade. You get the satisfaction of doing it your self. You gain confidence so if you want to replace any parts, it's not a problem. You provide the support so if it's crappy, you have only yourself to blame. Plus you can get plenty of help here