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Does this sem like a good deal?

Intel D945GPMLKR Socket 775 Barebone Kit / Intel Pentium D 840 OEM / 320GB HDD / 16x DL DVD±RW / 1GB DDR2 PC4200 / CPU Fan / ATX Mid Tower Case / 500 Watt Power Supply for $499.99

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/se...RCCODE=WEM1159C

What would I have to do to actually get this PC up and running?

All i can see that you'd need would be a video card and if you want sound a sound card. I haven't kept to current on prices but if i had to guess i'd say it sounds like a good deal. Check newegg.com first though to see if they have anything cheaper. I and most others swear by them. As long as you can assemble it yourself it should be fine.

There in lies the mystery, I've never built a PC, just added drives, usb cards, basic stuff.

Thats a good deal. The motherboard has on board video and sound so you dont need a graphics card or sound card unless you really fussy. Obiously gonna need a monitor, keyboard and mouse but if I had that cash, I would order one. Am so desperate for a new one.

Go for it.

That's not a bad price but......I have heard tiger direct isn't the best at giving the mail in rebates back.You might want to wait until the athlon 64 processors get a price cut at the end of the month. They use the 939 socket and are being discontinued hence the price cut.

damn good price, but if you want to go into nitty gritty, what brand of drive, ram etc etc but at that price you are in front still. if you want to game i suggest a video card, that is what makes the difference.
you will go nuts looking at what is out there in computer land and finding out what is ok or not. most pc's we deal with at work are dying with blown capacitors on the motherboards after 2 years if they are worked hard so for $500 it is ok. also had good success with replacing them too!!

YOU WILL NEED AN OPERATING SYSTEM (XP PRESUMABLY) UNLESS YOU ALREADY HAVE IT ON A DISC

user name wrote:

QUOTE(user name @ Jul 22 2006, 04:33 AM)

There in lies the mystery, I've never built a PC, just added drives, usb cards, basic stuff.

Though it isn't hard to do,if you're in doubt i'd say buy one thats assembled. Dosen't have to be a big box brand like dell,alot of times sites will sell custom built systems. Like i said newegg.com is really good.

maybe best for you to buy one already made but try to stay away from the proprietry brands eg; hp etc because you pay a lot for a little and in my experience not always easy to upgrade, limited slots, custom written bios etc etc.
lots of pc stores will have them custom built ready to go.

Check out pricewatch.com also. They'll have lots of systems listed. Just pick something in your price range and it will list the stores that sell it.