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Should I get a complete bmx or build one myself?

What computer should i get? Or should i build one?

  • Hi, i have a Presario V5000 i had it for like 3-4 years. It is really slow probably because it has 500 mb RAM. i want a desktop now and i dont know which one i should buy. Im looking for something fast and wont FREEZE!!!!!!! i watch videos a lot but when i try to watch HD videos on my laptop it is very laggy. i dont play games that much. i like to play around on photoshop and edit videos. Im willing to pay 300-500 on a new computer. Would it be cheaper to build one?

  • Answer:

    First and foremost, the old cliche that 'you get what you pay for' is most certainly true. I'm studying in digital media, and one thing I can definitely vouch for is that for heavy work you wouldn't really differentiate between a work and a game machine too much, apart from things as cooling and such (in a nutshell). All things considered, building one would total out to be quite a bit more expensive, especially if you'd like upper mid-range components, and not using it for gaming is a step in the right direction in order to keep the costs down, but in the end it may indeed add up to a grand at least, for something that you may feel as being too restrictive after some period of time. A pre-built system, however, is very enticing as the costs appear a few times less than what you would pay for similar components yourself, but they often simply tend to be lower end counterparts (reduced clock speeds (MHz)) or lower end products which only appear to be very powerful (the current graphics card I'm running is an nVidia GT220. With 1GB of dedicated video RAM it appears to be quite a beast, but in fact I am very dissatisfied with it, especially it's extreme heat issues and performance that isn't up to par of what you'd expect from 1GB of memory). A good place to be, if you're on a budget, is somewhere down the middle. I would personally recommend,and having done so myself, in buying a pre-assembled machine and making the essential modifications to the cooling and the power supply, as not only be not be up to scrap but often even the bare minimum or less (pre-built machines are typically built to last only their warranty period, I can definitely attest to that myself). This way, you will ensure longevity and stability by making sure the components are cool and supplied with steady, clean power, and fit into your budget (this path may stretch it to 700 perhaps, though, depending on how far you want to go). So in conclusion and to finally address your question, building one yourself will be far more expensive than buying an already built one, but modifying a respectable performer bought in store will cause less frustration in the long run. Mind you, back in the day I ran Photoshop 7 and GTA:Vice City on a 256 RAM, 700-something MHz processor with only an 8MB graphics card, so buying the top shelf stuff is by no means as important as some say it is. Hope this has helped any. You can find an incredible amount of info at http://www.hardwaresecrets.com if you need to look further.

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You can consider buying 1)Acer AM3300-U1332 Desktop PC (Black) *AMD Phenom II X4 Quad-Core 810 Processor *6GB DDR3 System Memory *1TB SATA Hard Drive (Green Product - variable RPM) *Integrated ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics *Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit; Keyboard & Mouse Included http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00336FUUI/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_i3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0PZJSDVC8BPYGHPHXZ13&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846&tag=bdd-linking-001-20 2)Dell Studio XPS sx8100-850NBC Desktop (Piano Black with Chrome Trim) *3.20GHz Intel Core i5-650 with 4MB cache *6GB Dual Channel 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM *1TB, 7200 RPM hard drive; 16x DVD+/-RW Drive *NVIDIA GeForce G310M (512MB); HDMI and DVI outputs *Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit) operating system http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Studio-sx8100-850NBC-Desktop-Chrome/dp/B003LPUYKC/?tag=bdd-linking-001-20 3)HP Pavilion DV6-1350US 15.6-Inch Espresso Laptop - Up to 8 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium) *2.2GHz Intel Core2 Duo T6600 Processor (2MB L2 Cache, 800 MHz FSB) *4GB DDR3 RAM (2 Dimm), Max supported 8GB; Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD (shared) with up to 1.6 GB total available graphics memory *320GB (7200RPM) SATA Hard Drive, LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support *15.6" Diagonal High Definition HP LED BrightView Display(1366x768) *Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, Up to 8 Hours of Battery Life http://www.amazon.com/Pavilion-DV6-1350US-15-6-Inch-Espresso-Laptop/dp/B002ONCD4M/?tag=bdd-linking-001-20 4)Dell Inspiron i1764-6075OBK 1764 17.3-Inch Laptop (Obsidian Black) *2.26GHz Intel Core i5-430M Dual Core Processor (2.53GHz Turbo Mode, 3MB Cache) *4GB System Memory; Media Card Reader; 10/100 Ethernet; Wireless-N Mini-Card *500GB Hard Drive; 8X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Optical Drive *17.3" HD Display; Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD; 1.3MP Webcam *Windows 7 Home Premium Operating System (64-bit); 6-cell Battery http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-i1764-6075OBK-17-3-Inch-Obsidian/dp/B0030T17GO/?tag=bdd-linking-001-20 5)Toshiba Satellite A505-S6030 TruBrite 16.0-Inch Laptop (Black/Silver) *2.8GHz Intel Core i7-720QM Processor *4GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM Memory *500GB Serial ATA Hard Disk Drive (5400RPM); DVD SuperMulti Drive with Labelflash *16" CCFL (16:9) 1366x768 Display; NVIDIA GeForce 310M Graphics *Window 7 Home Premium 64-bit http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Satellite-A505-S6030-TruBrite-16-0-Inch/dp/B00313JXMO/?tag=bdd-linking-001-20 Hey you can visit below link you can find more options here : http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=laptop+i5&x=0&y=0&tag=bdd-linking-001-20

I think you can build something decent in that price range. You want to spend the most money on the CPU and memory if your not going to be playing games. If your going to be running Windows 7 make sure you have at least 4GB of RAM!

Best way to handle this is go into or call up a couple of your local computer stores and ask some of the nerd tech guys for their opinion on a couple of computers that suit your needs. Once you have a couple specific names don't pay retail for it, I recommend you use this free web app, Basically it does a search threw all the top online stores for you and brings up the cheapest price, watch the 1min video when you open it up to know what I'm talking about and how to search with it. I saw a HP 210 Laptop for $399 in stores and found it $269 with free shipping. Helps to check it daily too.

You can always get a "factory" machine for less than it would cost to build one...that said...often the factory machine leaves little in the way of future proofing...Often it JUST makes the criteria...they come with on board graphics. Rarely more than 4GB of low speed RAM...no more than a 350W PSU So if you decide on a good graphics card you need to add the price of a good PSU into the equation. You CAN build a reasonable machine for $647.00 Just look at the February issue of MaximumPC magazine! For the fun of it...I built it! It uses a Gigabyte MA74GB mother board, Athlon II x4 620 CPU, 4GB DDR2 800 Ram, Sapphire HD 5770 video card, 460W coolermaster PSU and Windows 7 64 bit OS...All good stuff and not surprisingly it works great! I use it for my business to do my paper work, bills etc on! It can play games too. and certainly good enough for photoshop. Good professional video editing would take a better machine.

300 to 500 you looking more about 800-1500 hell the mother board and cpu can cost up to 500 bucks and more then hard drive video card memory fans power supply you looking at about 900 bucks at the cheapest 300 to 500 you looking at buying a low power e machine (very low powered)

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