I am saving up for a new computer. My birthday was August 25th, and my rents gave me $400 towards a new computer. So a couple more bucks and I'll have enough for the one I'm looking at.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 2.6GHz (Dual-Core)
2GB DDR2 (Upgradable to 4gb w/ 4 slots)
320GB Sata II harddrive (3 more sata slots available)
DVD±RW Dual-Layer
Nvidia GeForce 6150 SE
7.1 Sound

I got a 250GB Sata sitting in my desk unused, after I install that It'll bring the Harddrive space up to 570GB.
6USB ports/2Firewall

$499 CAD - Its a refurbished gateway from tigerdirect.ca



The only problem is that agteway loads a bunch of bull software and the OS has been said to have problems. Must be configuration problems or something. I plan or reformatting it and running (most likely) a copy of XP. I might decide to stick with the Vista, and if I do I'll probably upgrade to 4GB ram. Either way, I'll most likely reformat when I get the computer and install the choice of OS. I'll most likely then sell my computer in the classified.

Hmm... if you've already got a keyboard and mouse and a Monitor, then you should opt for just a new tower. You can build one for yourself and buy the parts from newegg. It's sooo much cheaper than getting an already built computer. I got my own computer (good for gaming) and it only cost me $280! Now with 400 dollars to spend on a tower that would be one heck of a gaming pc! or anything you want it to be.

The con about building it yourself is that you gotta be careful as to not break anything because it's a little bit fragile. Make sure you connect everything right before you turn it on. It's gonna be a bit annoying building it and a little time consuming, but for the price I paid for it was worth every penny.

If you have a friend who knows how to build computers then that'd be a great help. I suggest you try it out cuz once you build a computer you'll love it.

Well all computers load junk software to pre build computers, I still kick myself sometimes for the junk software that I got when I bought my Dell XPS. So yeah I would wipe the computer clean but before you do that make an inventory of your hardware because you will have to spend the time updating drivers and the BIOS to your motherboard which I would highly recommend after you do a clean install on the computer.

Now for the price I say is pretty descent since your processor alone is $119 and the RAM and the hard drive you will set you back at least another $2-300 dollars, the graphics card seems a bit old so I would ball park it at $80-$100. S oyeah you got a god price based on the price tags for the hardware that is out there.

newegg prices...

processor: $119
motherboard: $200
HDD: $90
Graphics Card: $70
Memory: $45x2 = $90
case w/ PS & Fans = $55
cables: $20
dvd burner: $30

total: $674... with no media card reader. So im saving $200. Tigerdirect has amazing prices, and I'd choose them over newegg. After you take everything into considerating, it does add up. I have no idea how you built a computer for $280... Processors and motherboards alone would cover that.
*note: you could probably eliminate $70 for graphics card as most motherboards have some type of Graphics card built in.

So almost $700 before taxes with work and 5-10 several orders... compared to one order, no work, and $500. I think I'll stick my my Tigerdirect order that comes with an operating system by the way. I will format and clean install an XP or Vista myself to maximize performance.

Well it could be possible to build a system like that if you do enough searching, this is due to the fact over time the prices for hardware become cheaper and cheaper, the computer that I built cost me $741 and if you look what I have most of the hardware is 1-2 years old and so I could be paying even double if I where to get this hardware brand spanking new, and new as it just came on the market. Of course if you go after refurbish parts they will be even cheaper.

Here's my computer's specs. Note: They only came up to about 280 dollars because they tend to be on the low-end of the line.

Specifications:
----------------------

1. AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ : $60.99
2. Abit Socket AM2 Motherboard with GeForce 6100 : $59.99
3. Winsis w/ 400w Power Supply : $44.99
4. 80gb hard drive seagate : $45.00
5. 512mb RAM : $45.00
6. DVD+/-RW optical drive : $31.00

without the shipping, it rounds up to 242 dollars only

that computer isnt bad at all... save some extra money and upgrade to 2 GB ram for bout $80... and add a 500GB hdd for $80... Iknow those two together cost bout $160... but you'd have all the space youd ever need plus you need more ram. If anything just upgrade to 2GB ram and if your budget, go for 1 GB ram... you definately need it. Your comp will run alot smoother and quicker - im sure you already know this tho.

As for the 500GB, that could be a bit overboard for yourself... possibly go for a 120GB for $40... tigerdirect has 72 hour sales and HDD's can be amazinly cheap. Sign up for their newsletter.

Not bad, just don't expect to play games on that thing.