www.dell.com is your friend. Cheap PC's there all day long. Save the time of piecing it all together and just get a whole new setup.

Based on what you are looking for here ya go.

http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/desktops/de...E73H&mo=3~4GB84

500gb, 4gb ram, HDMI, decent speed, etc.

$549.

 

I did... the other day. I'm sure I still have the PM.

 

Is the "Integrated Intel® GMA X4500HD Graphics" a decent card?

 

Well its not technically a "card" its a chipset. The GMA X4500HD series is an on board setup that comes with the motherboard. For the setup configuration with that particular computer i'd say its pretty "up there". Is it going to give you outstanding quality, clarity, and top notch speed? Probably not. Will it get the job done amicably? Yes.

If you want to splurge the difference on a higher end card the options are all but almost endless. Of course then you will probably run into a bottleneck when it comes to the processor and ram that's equipped with the setup.

No offense skip but when you are working on a $750 budget you can't have your cake and eat it too with regards to top notch speed and performance in every category. You win some you loose some.

Best of luck with whatever you buy. I am sure it will meet your needs. Just being as picky as I am when it comes to technology I always go big on my setups. It's nothing on you, its just a personal taste.

 

It's cool. I appreciate the offered input. What is "big" today is not the case in 9 months from now. I know I'll have to make some compromises.

 

Thoughts?

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1741234

 

Not a bad find. I guess in the end it comes down to whose brand you trust. I'm personally a Dell guy but everyone is different. I don't buy Dell desktops, just their laptops. I build the rest.

It's not a bad setup at all for $450 Skip. Pretty similar to the Dell getup. Again, comes down to the brand you trust.

 

I just bought one:

Gateway SX2800-03 Core 2 Quad Q8200(2.33GHz) 4GB DDR3 640GB Intel GMA X4500 Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit

$419.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...eway-_-83113111




It's very nice, fast and highly rated by CNET.com.

It arrived and I put it together over the weekend. I really like it.

 

Here's the CNET review. The difference between the 2800-01 and the 2800-03 model is a larger Hard Drive in the sx2800-03 model.

http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/gateway-s...7-33699400.html

 

skip, get a laptop, there are some crazy deals going on right now....come out to the Micro Center, or pick one up on Newegg.

I just put my new computer together also....and as much as I wanted to stay under 1k I was not able to. I just could not compromise on some stuff.

I don't think you'll need 1G video card for your needs

My advice is to go with AMD Phenom2, DDR2 memory, and 512mb video card....hard drive of 1tb should be more that enough

If you can reuse your power supply and the case than total should be around 500$