Okay, I haven't bought a desktop before i have only bought a laptop. I'm looking for a decent desktop for around $400-420 i can maybe go up to $450 but that really depends. I'm looking for something that has a good amount of space, 17''+ monitor, fast, and overall decent. I'm going to be programming & doing all my projects on there so it will be more of a professional use type of computer because i want to use it for all my projects etc. I'll be using my current laptop for personal & gaming. Anyways, If anyone has any suggestions then feel free to show them because like i said i don't know what to really look for in that price range.
It's ridiculously easy to do (basically all plug and play). If you're capable of plugging things in, turning a screw driver, shopping online, and updating drivers...you can do it! There's nothing really all that technical about it, especially with what you are looking for. You can build something solid for $400.
At that price point, buying anything branded is going to be absolute crud. Dell would likely try and sell you something with a Celeron processor, lol.
-- 14 Mar 2013, 10:43 --
Just as a quick example using Newegg prices (you'd shop the sales w/ your budget but you can see how cheap this is):
AMD FX-4130 Zambezi 3.8GHz Socket AM3+ Quad-Core Desktop Processor - $99.99
ECS A960M-M3 AM3+ AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $39.99
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 ST250DM001 / HD253GJ 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - $49.99
XFX HD-545X-YQH2 Radeon HD 5450 512MB 32-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card - $24.99
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT - $28.99
LOGISYS Computer PS350MA 350W Micro ATX Power Supply - $21.99
DIYPC MiniQ1-B Black SECC MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case w/ Dual White Fans - $26.99
LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model - $15.99
Acer G5 G215HVBbd Black 21.5" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor - $99.99
That's a ~$400 build, including monitor. Assuming you use Ubuntu/Linux which cuts out the cost of the OS. You could then pickup a nice ~$30 set of speakers (always an enjoyable part of your 'workstation'). 😛
