Re: Build vs Buy...but can anybody beat DELL's prices?

Tom_O wrote:
> I was really wanting to build a system, partly for fun and partly to
> be able to customize certain things. However I'm very surprised to
> see how competitive DELL is with pricing and discounts these days.
> They practicly give 1/3 of the machine away with various online
> rebates and promotions each week.
>
> I did a little comparison shopping at some independant computer stores
> in my area for a base system.
>
> Bare bones System:
>
> Pentium 4 2.4GHz
> Med Tower Case
> 300W power supply
> Intel D845EBG2L 533MHz BUS
> Intel Fast Ethernet 10/100 / AC97 Sound
> 256MB DDR RAM
> COST: $700


At Newegg.com


> Pentium 4 2.4GHz $163 US
> Med Tower Case
> 300W power supply $65 US
> Intel D845EBG2L 533MHz BUS $105
> 256MB DDR RAM $42
> COST: $ 375 US & taxes and shipping






--
If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite
you. This is the principle difference between a dog and a man. -Samuel
L. Clemens

The obvious deal is once again the Compaq, the more reliable branch of
the world's largest PC maker. They are also doing free shipping this
week, and there hardware isn't as skimpy on the upgrade path as some
of Dell's can be. If you are comparing building your own to a
mainstream windows machine, it is almost always cheaper (if you shop
around) to buy off the shelf unless you are going really high-end,
like $2000+. The following Compaq Presario S4000V, rings in at a cool
$878 after rebate(s) with flat-screen monitor and can be configured at
the following adress:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/cgi-bin/h...owse_link=true

P4, 2.4 ghz
56K modem
2 DIMMs
AGP Slot
Integrated Ethernet/USB 2.0/FireWire
256MB DDR SDRAM (PC2700)
40 GB HARD DRIVE (5400RPM)
16x DVD-ROM
48x CD-RW
ATI Radeon 9200 Graphics, 128MB DDR (like a former post said, you
could have gotten a lot better value with the graphics, the radeon
line is an excellent choice and superior to the nVidia)
17" Flat-Screen CRT
Optical Mouse
Floppy Drive
Stereo Speakers
Windows XP Home
$878! FREE SHIPPING

There you have it, less money with the monitor, a superior video card
and a mouse that dell would want $30 for! Can't beat that. Also, you
have to watch for windows on the build-your-own systems.