BP-TheGuy88

i would recommend either the E6320 (it's out of your range at $178) or the E6400 (at $145):
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E6320 Conroe 1.86GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
or
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 Allendale 2.4GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

i'm assuming your motherboard has a lga775 socket.

hebrewhammer

I wound up getting the E6550 Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

PhatAlbert

If this thread were from 2000 or so, I would agree with the rest of you and say that self building is the best way to go, but now I think you can actually save money by getting a pre-built computer if you buy at the right time. Wait for some special promotion or deal where you can get steep discounts, up to hundreds of dollars. When I bought my Dell, I paid $1000 for it, but it had a $500 discount taken off the original price of $1500.

They can get the parts much cheaper than you, and they get paid by software makers to load up the computer with crapware, so really your best option is to buy a pre-built computer, and then give it a clean format right out of the box.

rocketman08

PhatAlbert is right for lower end PCs... in that range the price difference between building your own and buying a pre-built is very small. However, once you get into mid-range PCs or high-end systems you can still save a lot of money building it yourself. A friend of mine recently built a top of the line system for just over half of what pre-built systems were selling for elsewhere.

If in doubt, find a system you like and the price up the parts on a site like newegg.com to see if there is much difference.

Spr33

I only suggest building/getting a desktop if you're looking for gaming performance... otherwise I'd just suggest getting a nice laptop. See from your CPU question... if you're not looking for a lot of power (something a desktop can offer while a not-hugely overpriced laptop can't) just go with a nice laptop.

UnleashedFury

I haven't read all the posts, but unless you're willing, you might want a package deal or something. Picking the parts out individually can be very tedious, especially when you have to consider compatibility stuff.

Here's a hint: the motherboard is key. pick that out first. then pick out processor, g-card, RAM, drives, etc. and don't go cheap on the case. less money = poor quality. in fact, I think the case is so important that you shouldn't buy it online. shipping is way too much, and you can really get a look at it. before you decide, take apart some computers, take a look at how everything is organized, and how some cases are better/worse than others. if you have a good case, you will be grateful when doing the wiring.


^haha, long hint.


EDIT:

i forgot, DON'T use the cheap thermal paste that comes with the processor or the motherboard. Something like this is worth the money.

jmw123

If you don't need the computer immediately, slickdeals.net often features very cheap prices for RAM, HDDs, and monitors. I'd imagine it'd take a month or so watching the site, but you'd eventually be able to find enough great deals to build a really cheap, powerful PC.

hillel1

For god's sake build your own system. So much less pain when it comes to fixing stuff and dealing with software. No trials preloaded or anything. Plus you can save a couple hundred bucks.

skze

As someone else has mentioned, building a low-mid end PC is more expensive than buying a pre built one.