Where to buy a good computer

[Sanman99]

I don't really know if this is the right category to post in, but, anyways.

I have been looking around and have found one place on eBay to buy custom computers (seller: Greatdeals1001) but they might not have a good Intel processor in stock any time soon. My question is, where can I buy a good custom computer for less probably less than $500 (USD)? I have looked, but most of the places I have found, other than that eBay seller have huge prices.

By the way, I'm just a teenager so I don't know much about this other than what I hear about on forums

My preferences are:

Not to put the hardware pieces together myself
Windows XP Service Pack 2 (I hear it is better than Vista, and I like it)
Wireless G Internet (802.11G)
A decent graphics card with DVI or HDMI output (probably a Nvidia GeForce)
Dual or Quad Core Processor (from Intel)
A price under $500 USD
About 2GBs of RAM
200GB Hard Drive

I want to use this for encoding and ripping DVDs and general computing. I want it also to last, so I don't have any desire for overclocking, as I am not very good at specifications of hardware.

If anybody knows of a good, cheap place that might have this stuff other than that eBay seller, that would help me with my options for buying.


Thanks!

 

[ehanger]

There isn't any way you can buy a custom built computer for less than $500 unless you get it used or buy it yourself lol. Its not very hard to build a computer as there are plenty of tutorials and people on this forum that will help but if you really want a new prebuilt computer then buy a Dell. The whole thing about Vista sucking is a myth it's really not that bad its just that a lot of idiots complain that it won't run on their $200 emachine with 512mb of ram lol.

 

[jaibot18]

a) build it yourself and you will learn a great deal. I am about the same age as you and i put together my comp and a homemade wc system, and honestly its super easy
b) go to tigerdirect and look at the barebone kits, they are great for the price
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4365571&CatId=31 jsut an example
then add an os and get a nice gpu with the rest of the money, ex ati 4670, or a 4830

 

[shortstuff_mt]

What's included in the $500 budget? Do you already have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. If the $500 is just for a tower then you could get a decent computer. If that $500 needs to include a monitor also, you better head over to www.dell.com.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Here's a decent build in your price range:

Gateway DX4720-03 Pentium dual-core E5200(2.50GHz) 4GB DDR2 640GB NVIDIA GeForce 7100 Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113078 $469.99

 

[Sanman99]

I'm short on time right now, as I'm at school so this will be a quick reply.

I hate Dells for many reasons. I already have a mouse and keyboard available. I want to use HDMI or DVI cables to hook it up to my 32 inch LCD TV.

Edit: I kinda want an Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 or better because I just want a good difference in speed from my old Pentium 4 2.66GHz, because I want to be able to convert my movies fast.

That does look like a very good computer on Newegg, but I already bought some 32bit Windows XP software ahead of time on sale for it, and I really don't want to pay extra money just to downgrade it. It also has too many things such as 4GBs of RAM and 640GB hard drive. I'd rather pay for other things and not overkill on RAM and hard drive. It also didn't say anything about wifi capabilities.

Is there anywhere else to get a fast computer with XP and DVI or HDMI output for under $500?

Edit: I have more time to look over this now. I checked most of the Intel Barebones and all of them were either overkill or didn't have the kind of graphics card I'm looking for.

A lot of those websites you guys have given me have really helped me learn a lot about this kinda stuff. Thanks!

I'll keep looking for some more deals, but if someone finds a good deal, please post it!