If you're at all technical, consider building a computer from scratch. It won't necessarily come out cheaper than buying a pre-built name brand but you'll have several advantages in the long run.
- You'll know exactly what hardware is in the machine so if something goes wrong, you know what company to go to (or avoid next time) to fix the problem.
- You can design the machine to your exact needs without compromise (within budget, of course) rather than being stuck with what they give you.
- You won't be forced to deal with any software you don't need. More often than not, what causes problems with name brand machines is some kind of in-house custom-hacked software they give you rather than straight retail versions. Those usually hog system resources or otherwise cause conflicts with standard software that's trying to do the same job.
Building a machine isn't that hard. With one or two exceptions (which can be dealt with by simply reading instructions!) every connector is a different size and shape - it's very hard to mess something up. Once you have all your parts in hand, building it shouldn't take more than an hour or so. What will take you a few days is getting up to speed software wise - updating Windows and various drivers, installing your applications, moving over your files.
If you're lucky enough to have a
MicroCenter near you, the majority of the store is dedicated to just parts. You can literally walk those aisles with a cart and come out with everything you need. If they're not close to you, do searches for local computer shows. More often than not, the vendors at those shows are local so if you keep business cards and receipts you can go back to them later on outside the show.
