What computer should I buy?

I do web stuff and graphics. Like to run multiple applications, and don't play games that require amazing processing. I want a fast machine, but not one that is overclocked. I want a hard disk of 250Gb or so but not RAID. I want a reliable quiet machine that costs less than $1800. I have a brand new 20 inch LCD monitor and want DVI and a separate (not integrated) graphics card that can do 1600x1200x32. I want 2Gb of RAM. I want to be able to use Windows Vista if it turns out to be any good. I need a media reader for my digital camera. I want a brand that is reliable. I'd like a DVD writer, although I imagine that will be obsolete soon with Blu-ray. I want Windows XP Media. I don't need any bundled software.

I've looked at Dell, but hear their support is horrible. I've looked at Gateway, but have always hated their web site. I've looked at Alienware, but heard their machines are unreliable. I looked at a Sony, but it had RAID and they only had the store model left

Build your own. Here, I'll slap some components together to get you started.

600W Power Supply ($42.50), http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...
AMD Athlon FX/64/x2 Motherboard ($54), http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...
Athlon 64x2 3800+ ($297), http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...
Geforce 7900GT 256MB GDDR3 Graphics card ($320), http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...
Optical Drives (dual DVDRW drives $80), http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...
Western Digital 320GB SATA drive ($130), http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...
2GB PC3200 Memory ($134), http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...
Windows XP Media Center ($114), http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...
Case, Cooler Master Centurion 5 ($50), http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...
Creative X-Fi Sound Card ($107), http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...

A few notes, I went with a plain case and I cannot gaurantee that the holes with the power supply will line up with the case (it's always best to buy a power supply and case made by the same company but NEVER buy a case with a power supply).

And all of this comes to about $1330, you saved $470 and you could use that money to pick yourself up a laser printer, scanner, nice digital camera or something. Feel free to substitute any of the components I listed for something similar. I picked the least expensive ones possible (but by no means cheaply made), these are top quality components that you WILL NOT get in any off the shelf system, custom or not.

Oh, those prices don't include shipping but I don't want to add $1300 of merchandise to my cart to find out. But you can, you're under no obligation to actually buy it.

Okay. I guess I'm just a hardware customizing nut. Report It

DELL.. their the "in" thing now and r on sale

buy the parts and built it ureself or find a friend can built it for u so u dont have to pay for the parts u dont want and save money

order a custom made from nasa

You Know What you want so build it yourself. If you are unsure about how to build a PC then this site with its step by step guide should help you

http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/

In your case it will make the most financial sense

Dude a few days ago i bought a new Dell Demention 310 Pen. 4 and it has to be the best invesment I made with a dell printer with a fax ,scanner & copier and 3 yrs. in house service for $699.00 .You can't beat the price they start at $399.00 loaded with a 17in flat screen and a key board & speakers,.Buy it direct do not go 2 a store u will end up paying a lot more $$$ .

Build it yourself! I suggest you use these components:
Amd Opteron 170 or 180 (Original server based cpu for mission-critical servers. also dual-core)
Asus A8N5X motherboard
Nvidia Geforce 7600GT
4x Ultra 512MB DDR 400 ram
TT Taichi Watercooling case (VERY QUITE)

For the rest, you can decide by yourself. All of these components above can be purchased from www.tigerdirect.com.
For information and know-how about building computers, go to http://www.mysuperpc.com/
Good luck

i went to wal mart and bought a e machine for the wife for $475.00 runs great she loves it and u know my computers i built them also but for the money i couldn't build one as good this cheap

Go with the Dell but go ahead with the "Gold" support option, it will be worth the money spent...it provides a direct line to support and they will come to your place to fix the machine (typically four hour service travel).

try the Inspiron E1705 from dell

why not build your own? you already know what you want. look into a motherboard in socket 939 and an AMD 64x2 cpu. building a computer is easy, cheaper with the specs you want and it's fun. the only downside is that you will have to be your own help desk. got to tigerdirect.com and look at motherboards. scroll down to the bottom of the page for a tutorial on how to build one.