First time build $900 vs. buy

[joelindell]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: October – January BUDGET RANGE: 750-950 After Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Web surfing, MS Office, including very large spreadsheets (40000x100 in multi-tabs), Video editing and transcoding, Media playing, (mostly) retro-gaming

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Speakers, mouse, printer, keyboard

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, microcenter.com (Micro Center store two miles from my home) COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: I would like the option to install OS X at some point, so that limits me to Intel CPUs and NVidia graphics cards.

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-SKN2-GP Black / Silver Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $54.99-$15 IR = $39.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119104

SILVERSTONE ST50F 500W ATX12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $74.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256037

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM Includes free Windows 7 upgrade coupon $109.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116677

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $139.99 (newegg) , $99.99 (MicroCenter, in-store only)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358

EVGA 01G-P3-N958-LR GeForce 9500 GT 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail $57.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130501
or

PNY VCG98GTXPXPB GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card – Retail $129.99 - $30 IR = $99.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133246

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor – Retail $209.99 (newegg) $169.99 (MicroCenter, in-store only)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041

OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2RPR10664GK – Retail $76.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227289

Acer X233Hbid Black 23" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor – Retail $179.99 (newegg) $159.99 (MicroCenter)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009163

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner LightScribe Support – OEM $32.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: My current PC is an ancient P4 2Ghz with 1GB of RAM, so anything I build is going to be a huge leap forward. I would probably like to keep the new rig for 5-6 years as well, and while I might upgrade in the meantime, I wouldn’t bet on it. While I can see that going with a Core i5 and DDR3 will future-proof me, it does add a bit to the cost. To my knowledge it also hasn’t been documented to work as a Hackintosh, which is a pretty low priority to me, but I like the option.
While I think it would be fun and satisfying to put a system together, I found a pre-built system on newegg that has pretty much what I am interested in for $719. Is there a good reason to spend extra to build versus buying this system?

CyberpowerPC Gamer Infinity 9800 Core 2 Quad Q9550(2.83GHz) 4GB DDR2 500GB NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit (With Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon) – Retail $719.99 + monitor $179 = $900

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229118

Specs:
Brand CyberpowerPC
Model Gamer Infinity 9800
Recommended Usage Gaming
Processor Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550(2.83GHz)
Processor Main Features 64 bit Quad-Core Processor
Cache Per Processor 12MB L2 Cache
Memory 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800
Hard Drive 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 7200RPM HDD
Optical Drive 1 22X DVD±R/±RW Dual Layer Drive
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT 512MB PCI Express Video Card
Audio Sound card - Integrated
Ethernet 10/100 LAN
Power Supply 700W
Keyboard Logitech PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse Logitech Optical Wheel PS/2 Mouse
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
(With Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon)
Special Features Vulcan Gaming Case

Thanks in advance,

Joe

 

[Outlander_04]

If you buy a prebuilt pc we are coming to your house with flaming torches .

So dont do it .

You can do a fair bit better that using a a C2Q

The new i5 750 is a fair bit more powerful processor and is a similar price . Worth considering

 

[joelindell]

Outlander_04,

Got it, LOL. I won't speak of it again.

"What's the first rule about buying a prebuilt PC?" "Don't talk about buying a prebuilt PC."

Joe

 

[joelindell]

Another thought I had today is that I could, in the short term, consider a motherboard with onboard video and wait on the monitor to allow greater budget flexibility in the short term for the cpu, mobo, and ram. With only a 17" CRT, I wouldn't need a graphics card right away, and I could save up for those items in the new year.

Thoughts on a motherboard with onboard video? What premium would I have to pay for a Gigabyte board with onboard video rather than the GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 I had previously suggested.

Any reason not to do it this way if it makes for a little better budget in the longer run?

Thanks,

Joe

 

[skora]

If you live on top of a microcenter and buy a prebuilt, Outlanders torches will be the least of your problems.

You monitor of choice (take some model numbers to mc and see what looks best to your eyes. $160

Get the i5 750 from mc $160

Get the 9800GTX+ above, that's a really great price. $100 Will be good enough for older games even at 1920x1080 and do okay on newer games. If you want to spend more, the GTX 260 was $140 at mc, which will fill out the rest of your budget.

Ram/Mobo combo newegg $185 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.264221
Gigabyte p55m-ud2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128405
Gskill 1600 cas 7 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231279

OCZ 600 stealthxstream at mc $45

Coolermaster storm scout case $80 (you can pick anyone you want really, there's budget to spend upto $125 or so if you wanted depending on the GPU you pick)

DVD burner at mc $25

HDD/OS combo $150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.259577.22-152-181
Spinpoint F3 500gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181
Win Vista w/ free win7 upgrade http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116677

Totals after mir (taxes not included, not sure what you're looking at there)
$905