I'm gonna call BS on some of you guys prices.. unless your shopping at a pawn shop or had some "freebies" I seriously doubt you could build a comp with those specs for under $625.. or even $1000 with monitor, tower, and etc..

Anywho, bashing aside.. I bought/built my current setup last November for right under $1000. Obviously, the prices have dropped since then, but I just wanted a solid budget build. I shopped at newegg and buy.com

OS - $115 Windows XP
CPU - $95 Intel e2160 1.8 OC to 3.0
GPU - $160 Evga 8800gt
Mobo - $80 Gigabyte GA-P35
PSU - $75 Corsair 450w VX
Mem - $60 2gb OCZ platinum DDR2 800
HD - $50 160GB WD sata
Tower - $70 Cooler Master RC-690
Monitor - $150 22" Westinghouse LCD
DVD drive - $30 Samsung 20x
Keyboard/mouse - $30 Microsoft Business pack
Speakers -$35 Logitech x230
Mouse pad - $5 lol..
total - ~$955

Did I forget something?

Now that was just about as good as you really needed about a year ago, unless you wanted to run dual gpu for overkill, but even then there were very few if any supported DX10 and quad supported games on the market. The most graphic intensive game I've played is CoD4, and my comp can easily run everything on high.

Personally, I could care less about Mac vs PC, so I can't speak from experience as to which is "better". But from it looks like, PC is obviously much cheaper. Geez.. seriously tho, as long as your not downloading **** 24/7, do any of you ever actually have problems with viruses? Heck, I'm running on AVG Anti-Virus Free and haven't had an issue on any of my comps that the reset button couldn't fix.. lol

For those of ya who want to learn a little bit more bout PCs and the current computer tech try visiting http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/
I learned everything I needed to know on how to build a computer from there in one evening, they have great feedback.

 

Since you are talking to me I will address how I got them.
Quad core, intel ran a promotional offer, same goes for the board. My ddr2 was bought from amax.com so was my tower and monitor and most of everything else.
Windows vista 64..........FREE, went to Microsoft conference Vista was door prize.
Processor 2.83GHZ quad....238$
DG45ID.........200$
2gb DDR2 800....26$ 8gb total.......104
Asus lightscribe DVD burner.......38$
card reader..........20$
All that equals 600$ Sorry I guessed over by 25$

2-1tb Seagate 7200rpm 32mb cache HD.......300$ At buy.com
Total of upgrades.......900$ Sorry I was 100$ over this time

Case is several years old, but it is a Thermaltake......cost new 185$
Didn't count it because I didn't upgrade that part. (Nice thing about having a PC)
Monitor Dell 20" widescreen year or so old.......cost new around 200$
Total cost of computer if all bought at same time.......1285$

So call BS all you want, but I am not a liar and don't appreciate being called one.

 

Haven't had a single problem out of it, thats why I build my own and don't by a piece of trash Dell.
Again find a Mac with close to the same performance as my computer for even double the cost. Seriously try it and see how you feel about your mac then.
BTW mac is no where close to pc in performance, I will give it to you that they are innovative (not 2 years ahead) but the little guy has to be innovative if he wants to survive.

 

Not likely- My wife and I run Mac's and have had a total of 6 including laptops in the 8 years since we've been running Mac's. Not 1 single problem, no crashes, no viruses, no turning red in the face and cussing at the dang thing. My brothers run PC's and all they do is complain about the cantacerous things and the viruses in spite of running anti-virus software. i like the low blood pressure and intend to keep it that way. I had to use PC at work and wanted to throw the dang thing out the window at least once a day. PC's sure kept the tech guys busy. No thanks! Mac may cost more but they're worth every penny for the tranquil lifestyle they bring with them.

 

How many viruses have you had compared to my zero viruses? If none, that's good. But I NEVER spend any money on virus protection.
By the way, you get what you pay for. - Og

 

I have not had a virus in the 10 years I have been using a PC, if you don't click on suspicious things you will normally be ok.
I know you get what you pay for, I got an extremely fast and stable pc for less than 1/3 what a mac would cost.

 

lol.. maybe you misunderstood.. but you can't even begin to compare apples to oranges without fairly comparing equal prices.. like I said, you obviously had freebies and some previous parts. $1285 is a far shot from the $625 you were trying to compare to OG's $3500. Retail vs retail, your price was actually much higher than you stated, that's all I was trying to prove.

 

Hey, dude. I'm not trying to bash you. I hope you don't see it that way. If you got a powerful system for what you paid for it, congratulations. I am weary of PC's because they are too prone to hacks and viral attacks. My system was up and running out of the box. Many friends that have equally powerful PC setups have to build them by buying boards, changing out drives, etc. I'm more of a graphics guy myself and guys like me lean more toward Macs. If you're happy with your PC, more power to you. - Og

 

If you look the 2 things that I got cheap and the 1 that I got free were available to anyone that wanted to take advantage of them. If you take the depreciated value of my tower and monitor they probably equal around 125$. The 625$ that I was comparing was taking an old computer and upgrading it to like new(nice thing about having a PC) So in effect I got a brand new computer for 625$ If you add up everthing that is on my computer at the original cost it comes to 1285$, but those parts are several years old. Also he didn't give many specs so I compared what I could to his, later he gave the rest of it and I said well with everything it was around 1000$. So with all my storage and any new parts it cost me actually 900$ to his 3500$. So being able to upgrade the parts I want and keep the parts that are fine, I have a new computer for 625$ When I add my 8 month old HD to it, it equals 900$.

 

No man I didn't think you were trying to bash me, I was legitimately trying to compare our computers. I didn't mean for it to come off that way, if you are happy with your mac that is great. I was just stating that I have never had a virus, and could build virtually the same comp for cheaper.

 

I definitely agree that Macs are more expensive. There's no argument there. Historically, they always have been. But I tell you, the Mac is well worth it. I see your advantage, as well. You can upgrade a PC easier. One reason I see is that parts for a Mac are not easy to come by. But on the other hand, I never needed any parts. There are true advantages and disadvantages of each. That, we can agree on. - Og

 

Correct, I think macs are built more to use until you want to upgrade then buy a whole new system. I think the virus thing, and, that usually mac usually comes out with some cool stuff (that pc can copy in a year ) are the 2 biggest advantages of a mac.

 

- Og

 

like buying tools from sears/snap on vers habor freight tools you get what you pay for

 

Intel DG45ID board http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/articl...50aHVzaWFzdA==
Intel core 2 quad Q9550 2.83GHZ
L2 cache 12mb
FSB 1333 MHZ
8GB DDR2
2- 1TB sata
1- 500GB sata

Find me a Mac anywhere close to that that performance under 1500$ and I will agree with you.