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2 GB for $15 isn't the best deal at 7.50/GB. I just got a 8GB usb key at under $4/GB. You can pick up an A-DATA 8GB usb key for just over $30 -- just search on A-DATA to get the details.

I actually picked one of these drives up at MicroCenter for $29.99 after rebate.
Pros: big storage for a usb key, waterproof case.
Cons: slow data rates compared to many other usb key devices

DellHome - Inspiron E1405 Laptop with 1.66Ghz Intel Core Duo T2300, 14.1" WXGA TFT, 1GB DDR2 SDRAM, 60GB HD, 8x DVD+/-RW Burner, 802.11b/g for $699 with FREE Shipping!

Well, that's what happens when you visit the dell site directly, instead of visiting the linked site above with all the deals spelled out for you.

There may not be one in the exact price/configuration you want today, but they happen on a regular basis. And it's not $3000, like the system you linked.

First thing that springs to mind is the $100 laptop?. That aside, this isn't too far fetched, given that you can get a dell computer with monitor for about $400. Less, without.

That's not because of AMD's pricing, that's because of Dell's pricing. Dell's standard configuration templates are based on Intel chips, so subbing in another brand takes it out of the regular production line.

Um... no. Dell ONLY ships Intel. So I was comparing Dell with dual core Intel Chips vs others with other brands. You can get DellSB - Dimension 9100 Desktop with 2.8Ghz P4 820 Dual Core, 512MB DDR2 SDRAM, 80GB S-ATA, 48x CD-Rom, 128MB ATI Radeon X300 SE for $679 after Rebate including 19" LCD Monitor. Check out http://www.gotapex.com/ for details.

A quick check on www.mwave.com shows the cheapest AMD X2 to be nearly $350 and that's the recently released 3800+ X2. When I bought my computer, the cheapest one was the 4200+ X2 which is just shy of $500 range. That's for the BARE CPU. With the DELL, you get the whole computer and a 19" LCD.

Dual-Core Capable Dimension 9100 with 3.0Ghz Pentium 4 630 HT, 512MB Dual Channel DDR2, 128MB ATI Radeon X300 SE PCIe x16, 40GB S-ATA, 48x CD-Rom Drive, 7.1 Audio for $649 (after rebate) with FREE 19" LCD Monitor!

For just 50 bucks more than the base Mini you can get a 19" LCD, more than twice the speed, twice the graphics memory, and more of everything else that the Mini offers. The only advantage of the Mini is size. Seriously, do you people ever shop around? No? You'd have to live in an Apple store, to think that the Mini is a deal.

you might not get a pimp graphics card, but you;ll get a 15" LCD monitor for free, plus you save $200. That's a hell of a better deal than the mini, plus performance is approx 5 times better.

look for the deal marked "DellSB - Dimension 3000 with 2.4Ghz, 256MB DDR SDRAM, 40GB HD, CD-ROM for ONLY $299 after Rebate with FREE Shipping plus FREE 15" LCD Monitor!"

For listings of daily deals and coupon codes to use for major sites (Dell, Overstock, Buy.com, etc.) I use gotapex.com
http://www.gotapex.com/

For a daily item that is dirt cheap and is usually tech related on a 1st come 1st served buyout basis goto woot.com
http://www.woot.com/

From a productivity standpoint, I don't get how people can claim that the Mac Mini is a superior machine.

DellSB - Dimension 3000 with 2.8Ghz P4, 256MB DDR SDRAM, 40GB HD, and 48x CD-ROM for $399 after Rebate with FREE Shipping plus FREE 17" LCD Monitor! [actual headling borrowed from gotapex.com]
Well, clearly price, performance and functionality all take a back seat. All that's left is the size and looks of the thing.

• 512MB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
• 160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
• 48x CD-ROM Drive + FREE 48x CD-RW Drive
• 17" LCD
• PCI Express x16 based Radeon X300 SE with 128MB
• XP Home included

WTF?

$500 for a plain, low end box is not cheap. A Dell 2.8 GHz P4 with a 19" LCD, keyboard, and mouse for $529 is cheap.

True, Steve Jobs has not blessed it and you probably won't see it used by some trendy featherbrain on "Sex and the City," but it can crunch a lot of numbers for hundreds less than a similarly configured Mac.

GotApex? has a "headless Dell" on their site for $449.

Here are the specs:
2.8Ghz P4 w/800Mhz bus
256MB DDR2 SDRAM
40GB S-ATA
2 year on site warranty

Of course, if I don't get modded to hell, there will be a dozen replys from the Apple "amen corner" telling me that the Apple is a better deal, etc.

BTW, this P4 is not even a particularly hot deal. GotApex? had a Dell P4 with a 17" LCD last Sunday for $599 -- the same price as the "high end" Mac mini.

Where have you been shopping?
Pricewatch is your friend!
Along with GotApex
And my cheezy webpage

2GHz C3 Board: $78
15" Monitor: $92
Complete sys - AMD Athlon 3200+ No OS 128MB 20GB CDROM Integrated VGA & Audio KB/MS: $166

I usually do a web search for coupons for any store I'm planning to buy from. Often I'll find something. There used to be more a couple of years ago, but it's still worth the effort.

I also find the information on gotapex very cool. They include codes, rebates, promotions, etc. for various sources and the exact instructions on how to get the best out of it.

I prefer Got|Apex? They have a pretty well balanced listing. They lean more towards the techie stuff, but have active Software, Hardware and Home Theater forums as well as their active Deals forum.

Link to a Yahoo group, and their bandwidth is exceeded even before the story is posted. Niiiice...

The "homebrew" ones are a joke if you want something with a decent picture. And the contraption itself looks riduculous. Forget it.

There is a good deal on a refurbed DLP projector for about $3500 -- check gotapex.com (great site for deals). Read around for more info on what DLP is, but that and LCD are preferable to CRT projectors these days.

Anyway, you're more likely to get better information from someplace that deals directly with home theater equipment. The forum at Home Theater Spot has great information, despite their gestapo posting rules.

actually, no. Someone else posted it first, but Got Apex has some FRESH deals...

Here is a good review for those of you who dislike Tom's Hardware as much as I do.

This review isn't biased and has useful information.

Oh and those of you who think that 4x dvd writing isn't reliable should buy this drive, it's fantastic. If a Plextor product claimes it can do something, you can trust that it will.

GotApex Plextor 708A review

Anybody who buys into your 'conspiracy theory' has had their brain fried by the cheaper is obviously better reality distortion ray gun. Here are a couple reasons why the company I work for has never, and probably will never, consider Dells:
cost
Check gotapex? or techbargains and you'll see Dell P4s for $400-500 bucks. Seriously, what computer worth a shit costs that little?
Remember friend that not everybody cares spending a little bit more for quality.
software
Video Editing? Post-production? (Adobe Premiere doesn't count. Get real.)
Looks like it all depends on what profession you're in doesn't it?.

Those inane commercials with the intern dolts don't help either. I want a box to do its job and not complain about it, not to save me a couple hundred dollars up front.

Anyone who buys into this 'conspiracy theory' has had their brain fried by the Apple reality distortion ray gun. Here are a couple reasons why the company I work for has never, and probably will never, consider Macs:
cost
Check gotapex? or techbargains and you'll see Dell P4's for $400-500 bucks. Seriously, what Mac can compare?
software
AutoCAD? GIS apps? Engineering apps? (Canvas doesn't count. Get real.)

Those hip, trendy commercials don't help either. I want a box to crunch numbers, not to make a fashion statement.

Check out Got Apex. You can get a full featured 14 or 15 inch-screen Dell for less than 800 bucks when you use the numerous discounts and rebates available. Or even better get a refurbed iBook for a little more.

Check out some of the deals sites for new Dell computers. I use GotApex. You can get a nice P4/2.4 for $400 or so if you watch these sites. Make sure to get as much RAM as you can afford, though (256MB is a bare minimum; I have 1.5GB in my system.)

• P4/2.0GHz
• 256MB RAM
• 40x CD burner
• Windows XP Pro
• Network, modem, etc.
• One-year onsite warranty

Find a lot of good and some unbelievable computer-parts deals at http://www.gotapex.com/deals.php.

sigh... but anyways -- the answer you seek is not short, but can be summerized: it depends on what you want.

lets have a few scenarios:

1) you want the fastest, most elaborate PC there is for whatever compensatory reasons. build you self all-the-way. pricewatch, pricegrabber, gotApex Deals, techbargains, and dealwalk are all fine sites to look for deals. flamingo world have some stuff too. pricewatch and pricegrabber gets you the goods, and the rest of them get you the "deals", for example Dell is selling a 20" flat panel (very nice, i have one) for ~1600 -- yesterday you could have gotten it ~1100. just have to check those places everyday. and oh yeah -- go to overclockers.com and find some people to sell you waterblocks, you will need it.

2) average man wanting an averagely fast computer. build can get you more customization and you can "grow into it" more... for the longest time dell would lock the MB so you can't swap processors! and then you can't tweek the MB on ram settings, blah blah either. price is similar if you go and find a good deal. a P4 2GHz can be had at dell for ~600 bux -- no way you can beat that, sorry, especially if you are in CA and have to pay tax+shipping for everybody from pricewatch.

3) your mom/dad. buy one -- in fact, buy one used -- or even better, sell them one of your old, "retired" ones.

4) laptop users -- buy -- because there is no options here. but today unless you are really into water cooling and all that, a laptop gives you the same speed / blah blah anyway. i have a UXGA on my laptop -- sure i have to squint when i look at things, but whatever. p.s. get a good vid.card if you buy a laptop: they are not upgradeable -- however if you are REALLY desperate you can get processors for laptops (micro-PGA) from ebay.

in the end -- for what we want to do (fast system, blah blah) building does not save money. but it's like hotrodding. i have gotten out of the gig a while back (o/c, etc etc) and wont turn back. it's just too much trouble. my laptop has 64M vid.mem and can run most of the games i need it to (and if it really runs bad, it's just a productivity killer anyway). i hope the sites listed in (1) helps -- they are the better ones i can come up with. and have fun -- and last thing. save the reciepts! if you build yourself you WILL, by laws of probabbility, have crap happen and you will know good and well what's an RMA *real* fast.

lastly -- to make everything work out by building -- you will be continously upgrading your hardware. which means
1) you need to recompile the kernel a lot / reinstall windows a lot
2) know ebay like the back of your hand. this is probabbly the only way you have a system that mostly works, does not cost you TOO bad, and you won't have tons of spare parts lying around.

so is it worth it?... well? what is "having a customized PC" worth to ya?

I use a Dell 2000fp at work (21.1", native 1600 x 1200 resolution). It's an amazing display and can be had for as little as $1270 (see here for details). Even without the special offers, the list price is $1,599 -- half the price of the NEC.

My 2Ghz P4 Dells are:

• 256MB DDR Ram
• 80GB 7200RPM Maxtor HD
• Builtin Sound, Ethernet
• CD-RW Drive
• Full Tower case (solid)

I usually check gotapex.com for deals.

Today they have a business class Dell P4 1.6GHz GX240 for $357.64 shipped. You can't build a loaded clone machine from scratch for that much, let alone one covered by a 3 year warranty.

For example, $360 for a 1.6 GHz P4 w/ 3 year on-site service.

how bout some dell p4 1.6's for $350 shipped?
http://www.gotapex.com/deals.php

(I'm not associated in any way with the site, blah blah...)

I don't know if anyone else caught this, but one /. post linked to a site called www.gotapex.com who had an "deals page"(Wednesday Category) They linked to Dell's site and a search revealed some 128x72 ECC Kingston 1GB ram sticks for ...$15.96! It's a shame it went off sale yesterady, but I was able to score 3 sticks and a friend of mine got 10! Now we just have to find some MB's that support 1Gb per slot and we'll be in Ramdrive heaven! Deals

AMDZone
Gamer's Depot
Ace's Hardware
GotApex?.

And here is a presentation with benchmarks and a roadmap. Have fun. Don't let biased slashdot postings warp your mind!

On the issue of ATI's driver development for the Radeon:

ATI Radeon Beta Driver Comparison

A recent review on some of the other features Radeon Cards offer:

gotapex reviews-Ati Radeon 64MB

A good site for ATI information, and user feedback:

Rage3D The Place for the Latest ATI News

Even with the GeForce getting higher benchmark scores, the Radeon is considered by many to have
better video quality, and multimedia friendly features.

For some of us, that is also an important consideration.

Fine, it's not a fake, I was wrong.

I can't help being a cynic, especially in a situation in which one site was the sole source of this news.

I still think that press release was faked, though. No sane company would write that.