My mom wants (NEEDS) a new computer, because her current one is pushing 10 years old. She looked to me to build it for her, and I've been telling her I'll get on it since summer started.

Well, now she really means it. She's looking to spend between $500 and $600, no particular preference in anything. Doesn't need dual core, doesn't need to be DX10 compatible, but if things fit, I think either would be nice, especially the first one. She's gonna be running Windows XP, but will eventually upgrade to Vista. Monitor is going to be the same, but nothing else from the computer will be salvaged. That means new CD/DVD drives, and new HDD. She also needs a DVD burner. And there needs to be an ethernet port, but I think that should be a-given.

So there you have it. I can't think of anything else she'd want/need. I haven't kept up on hardware since I sort of drifted out of Massassi, so I found trying to pick out parts myself very intimidating.

Wha? You're back?

Try Frys.
Dell is pretty cheap too.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103058

You can buy more ram for it on the same site too.

She can buy my Dimension 4700 for 200 bucks..

She's not looking at buying a Dell, or any other pre-built. If she was, I'd have put that title as "Hi Massassi, tell me which Dell to buy."

Well the acer for 439.99 seems pretty cheap to me. With ram it might come out to $500.

HAHA, GET HER A MAC AND THEN A COMMODORE 64! MAN I AM GOOD AT ADDRESSING THE ORIGINAL POST!

I've always been a fan of the Ars System Guide. I realize that a few people here may disagree with their choices, but I've always used them as a frame of reference and have never had any issues. A decent source for people that don't have the time to keep up on everything and just need to build something in a timely manner without having to research too much.

Thank you sir, that's very helpful. And exactly what I'm looking for because it told me what to buy, and leaves a little room for expansion. Much appreciated. I'll probably put together their "budget box" with a video card in there to replace the cost of a monitor, and maybe a different case.

Well if you are looking part for part, I'd recommend these:
Motherboard $124.99
Video Card 53.00 but 38.99 after rebate
CPU 117
Power Supply28.99
Hard Drive94.99
Memory22.99 each
Burner 28.99

There are other things you may need, but here are some stuff I can recommend.
Total price is around 457.

I'd recommend Newegg to get parts, cheap and reliable.
If you can't shop online, I'd say Fry's would be the best place to get your parts.

---
Edit: I didn't see the Ars System guide. Well hope this helps some what.

I want to let you know, that you rock. I think this is, or is at least VERY similar, to what I used a few years back to get an idea of what to buy for my computer. I've been looking for it off and on for a very long time.

http://www.mysuperpc.com/

This site was helpful for putting the parts together. [Just posting for reference.]

Honestly, I would try to get her to buy a dell, if I were you. For 500-600 for her needs, it'd be better, and if it breaks Dell fixes it, not you. Keep that in mind.

Go put together a Dell laptop.

My uncle and his family always said Dell customer Service was a real *****, but I will keep that in mind. Would save me some headaches since if I got through to a person they'd be able to walk me through problems.

I don't know why people keep saying this.


OH HEY, they're the people that didn't read their warranty information.


Every time I've HAD to call Dell they've been more than willing to help me work out my problems.

Hay Zloc is back!

I'd still warn against Dell's. My dad and I see a lot of Dells - especially laptops - go through all the time, and in the past few years more and more and more have been having problems.

Sure, Dell might (might) fix the problem, but it's still a hassle, and no problem is still better.

As far as a new computer goes, I really like the Ars website. Go for it.

Also, my sister wants me to use this smilie:

Dud is right. Rob is wrong. That is all.

Not really...at all. Rob's owned like 4 dell's, if not more, and has a lot more experience with them.

Dell has great customer service for the serious issues. If you're calling them because you can't get your printer to work, that's a different story.

I've always had good experience with Dell's customer service. Most of the time when I have a problem with my computer, I take the time to research it online and in most cases, I find a solution. In the rare instances in which I must call Dell for help, they always get the problem solved quickly. The support techs almost always have Indian accents, but I find that they speak clearly and are easy to understand.

My previous employer had 15 Dell notebooks and 30 Dell desktops. I was constantly on the phone with Dell support because my boss insisted upon having their repair folks come out due to everything being under warranty. We had a Dell business account and each and every time I called them they put me through living hell. They would do anything from hang up on me when the issues were beyond their understanding (this seemed to be most of the time) to keeping me on the phone for 3 hours demanding that I go through their stupid little troubleshooting procedures despite the fact that I had of course done all of the troubleshooting on my own. I don't have a lot of experience dealing with technical support anywhere else, but I can definitely say that my experience with Dell has been irritating to say the least. I realize that they're rated well in customer service...I just haven't had a single good experience with them personally. I'm also amazed at how unknowledgeable their "Dell certified" technicians (in our area) were when they actually came out. However, I do believe that Dell makes some decent computers (most manufacturers do these days). I guess I'm just a bit more picky about a companies customer support, having worked in the industry myself and witnessing the same type of people.

You also gotta realize that you're probably calling customer support for one machine, geared more towards single users instead of a small business. I'm sure it'd be a bit different if you weren't calling so much, and didn't have so much to take care of.

I've called them once or twice and both times it was easy enough to go through the motions.

For those of you saying Dells offer bad customer service, if you put together your own, you have no customer service. (Or a hodgepodge of warranties from various manufacturers)

Hmm. A company worth of Dell's > 4.

Just FYI.

And now, just like last time, I'm not going to participate in this doomed thread any longer, because the people who have had good experiences with Dell CS will say that Dell CS is good, and the people who have had bad experiences will say it's bad.

Yeah except subcontracted dells lined out for a company are usually stripped down, bareass and older versions of the same line of systems.

One thing you neglect to mention--how old are the laptops? A few years back was when dell's laptops really started getting good. Before that there were numerous errors and problems with them.

The PCs are usually better, but not always--it depends on the build, the line it comes from, etc etc. If you pay 400 bucks for a full system (monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse etc) then don't expect it to last long, and don't expect customer service to help much. Generally companies pay less than that per system. I've seen some companies flat out replace a broken system because it was cheaper than having someone work on it for 12 hours.