Need New Computer... Dell or No?

Ok, I am needing a new computer. It will be used mostly for surfing the web, email, World of Warcraft, and a few other games that I may choose to play (like Bioshock).

I am not sure if I should buy a Dell or buy custom parts and build my own. If the price/performance is about the same I would probably rather just buy the Dell so if a part goes out they can just mail it to me and replace myself.

I configured a Dell Inspiron system as follows:

SYSTEM COMPONENTS
Dell Inspiron 530
Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Service Pack 1
Memory 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz- 4DIMMs
Monitor No Monitor
Video Cards ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO 128MB
Hard Drives 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Media Reader Dell 19 in 1 Media Card Reader
Network Interface Integrated 10/100 Ethernet
Optical Drive 16X DVD+/-RW Drive
Sound Cards Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

Sub total:$819.00 - $200 off from coupon code = $619.

Or what custom comp? Thanks for the input.

Build your own.. Definitely...

CPU GPU wise you may get the same stuff for about the same price, but your motherboard and all your other components including your power supply will be of much better quality.

If you plan on doing any gaming the 2400 pro isn't a good choice anyway. It's not a video card meant to be game'd on its more just there to be able to put up a display.

Take my word for it.. Build your own, the quality will be 10x's that of a dell and its a great way to learn more about a computer.

The hasle of finding all the parts and then if one goes out finding out where I bought it and mailing it off and all that is something I don't really want to have to mess with. Thats the most reason I am considering the Dell. I was going to just leave the configuration at the intergrated video option to save money and buy a seperate good video card to save money and to get a nice card, but its cheaper to get the 2400 one to raise the price over the required $599 so I can get the $200 off from the coupon code.

is there a good recommended web site I could buy all the computer parts from to make it easier and still get a good deal? I have the knowledge of building a computer.... I just don't keep up to date on hardware performance that much.

newegg.com

You can get everything you need from there and their customer service is great.. and so are their prices.

So should I pretty much get the same configuration as the Dell system, but try and get faster/better memory and video card?

Also, was debating Core 2 Duo vs. Quad core. I think I read Core 2 Duo is better for games.

Oh and I don't need a sound card do I? I mean an intergrated one should be fine?

Integrated will be fine what you are using it for.

Especially when playing higher end games a sound card is recommended for the fact that it does not rely on cpu cycles to process the sound, so it just unloads your system a bit more.

And yes core 2 duo is faster for games, for the simple fact that the chips run faster and programs just aren't coded yet for 2+ cores, especially not 4 cores.

Looking at CPUs on newegg... Intel vs. AMD seems to be like $50 difference. Before I have always bought Intel... but if AMD is just as good then might as well go AMD. Would you say the "AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX" would be a good choice? I am not very familiar with AMD. If that is a good choice what motherboard would go well with it?

AMD makes great chips. They aren't quite as fast right now as intel's latest chips, but they are much much cheaper. So right now AMD is the perfect chip for a lower budget build.

As for what motherboard, really depends on what chip you go with (whethers its an x2, x3 or x4) and what your budget is.

My budget is about $600-$700 range. I looked at the motherboards and got totally confused lol. I don't know all the gargin. Any suggestions? Was trying to look for a combo deal.

i think you would be happy w/ either of these motherboards:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16813131022
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16813128014

these motherboards would use the same processor you mentioned above. one supports sli in case you want to run sli. both use pci express x16 for video. they both have plenty of sata and usb ports and both are sub $100.

EDIT: now you want to see what type of memory you need to buy. both these boards use ddr2800, so you need to search for this type of memory, preferably in 2 or 4 gb kits.

now i will say this: don't buy a component just b/c it has a mail-in-rebate. buy the component b/c it's what you want and it is of good quality. i never trust mail-in-rebates and i have been burned several times in the past. so, ignore rebates while browsing for your components.