" JimH" jimh_osudadATyahooDOT com wrote in message
...

"Reggie Smithers" wrote in message
...
wrote:
JimH wrote:

I am planning to put together a gaming (and general use) computer for my
son
as a high school graduation gift.

Here are my specs so far:

MSI K8N Neo4/SLI motherboard (w/built in SoundBlaster Live chip)
Althion 64 3000+ CPU, Socket 939 version
2 GB DDR400 Corair Ram
256MB Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX video card
Antec Performance TX640B Series Case
Plextor PX-716A dual layer DVD 16X
Maxtor 300GB DiamondMax hard drive
Viewsonic 17" Thinedge VP171B LCD flat panel monitor
Windows XP Professional OEM

He already has a decent keyboard, speakers and optical mouse. I will
also
add a DVD player so he can record copies of the DVD's he owns.

I can do this for around $2,000.

Any suggestions or comments?


Why? You can buy a computer off the shelf with as good or better
features for less money!!

I am wondering the same thing. I know you can specify your own brand
name on all of the components if you build it yourself, but is there
really a big difference (in both cost and quality) between building your
own and ordering it from Dell?

I spec'd out a gaming Dell machine that ended up at $2,5000. When
comparing hardware, mine was far superior.

Try purchasing a retail computer with comparable hardware for under
$2,500. You cannot.


Oops, check that Dell price.......with the LCD monitor it is more like
$2,800 vs. $1,900 (reduced because of reportedly being able to get the
Windows XP at a student discount) for my rig.

Consider upgradeability also...........limited options with the Dell. The
motherboard and CPU I spec'd offers tremendous opportunities for upgrade.

Lastly the AMD is a faster gaming CPU than the Intel Pentium Dell uses.