I say visit you local computer show. You'll get better prices then you'd find on Pricewatch, and the ease of being able to return parts that need to be returned. But before you go, what you need to do it get an idea in your head what you want the computer for and how much you're willing to spend. And then make sure to be ready to pay cash. All the venders will knock some off for cash.
Here is a basic shopping list:
MOTHERBOARD (It can be anything from ASUS to PC-Chips, it all depends on what you want to spend.)
A lot of boards have the following on board, which you can choose to look for or expect to buy seperatly.
Video
Sound
Modem
Ethernet (10/100)
CPU <- Whether you want INTEL or AMD, you'll find that the latest and greatest have nice prices tags and if you want to save a littl eyou can get a LOT of power cheap.
CPU fan <- You would be surprised about haw many people forget to get this cheap part.
MEMORY <- You should get what you can aford but if you're planning on running a M$ Win9x OS then limit yourself to 512 MB to be safe.
HARD DRIVE <- This is a great time to get a hard drive and while you're at it go ahead an dget as much as you can afford. With gigs less than a dollar each, I'm sure you can find something to fill up your drive with. Especially with M$ Bloatware(TM).
CD-ROM <- Do you want just the basics or how about a CD-RW or DVD both are about the same price.
FLOPPY <- Don't forget to get one, I did once and was kicking myself. Choose either a cheap 3½ or even better get yourself a zip drive.
CASE <- This is more of a personal choice. Get one you'll like; unless you want a micro ATX case that requires a extremly small form factor, most ATX cases will accept any motherboard. The only thing to really look for is at least a 300 WATT power supply.
KEYBOARD & MOUSE <- I have to say that this is were I like shows the best. You can litterally go around and test each keyboard before you decide to buy. Don't buy a keyboard because of name or looks alone. Try it out and make sure that it's comfortable for you. (And the Logotech Wireless Freedom Pro with it's Wireless keyboard and optical mouse is a nice extravegance.)
MONITOR <- Here is a case of what you plan to do with the computer. If you are using the computer to run office and surf the web, you'd like a small form factor, then by all means get a LCD Monitor. If you plan to do any gaming (LCD monitors don't refresh fast enoug) or cost is an object then you can get a 17" monitor for about $99. Also you might find it cheaper to actually to buy your monitor at your local Office Depot or similar, that way if a couple of months down the road you have a lovely shade of green going on you can take it in that day.
OS <- If you;ve got a nice size drive, I'd suggest dual booting. It's easy and it allows you to see the best of both worlds. But if you want to run the dark side, then XP is the way to go. I have to say (as one who wanted to hate it) that it has been an easily the most stable, troublefree OS to come from Redmond. For the other choices, look at Mandrake 8 (8.1 & 8.2 haven't impressed me too much) and Redhat 7.3, and be prepared to be impressed with SuSE 8. But you probably won't find too many problems with the hardware.
You will find that shows are a great place to save money, but realize that you'll need to know ahead of time roughly what you need. Make suree to get reciepts and find out what the exchage policy is.
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I say visit you local computer show. You'll get better prices then you'd find on Pricewatch, and the ease of being able to return parts that need to be returned. But before you go, what you need to do it get an idea in your head what you want the computer for and how much you're willing to spend. And then make sure to be ready to pay cash. All the venders will knock some off for cash.
Here is a basic shopping list:
MOTHERBOARD (It can be anything from ASUS to PC-Chips, it all depends on what you want to spend.)
A lot of boards have the following on board, which you can choose to look for or expect to buy seperatly.
CPU <- Whether you want INTEL or AMD, you'll find that the latest and greatest have nice prices tags and if you want to save a littl eyou can get a LOT of power cheap.
MEMORY <- You should get what you can aford but if you're planning on running a M$ Win9x OS then limit yourself to 512 MB to be safe.
HARD DRIVE <- This is a great time to get a hard drive and while you're at it go ahead an dget as much as you can afford. With gigs less than a dollar each, I'm sure you can find something to fill up your drive with. Especially with M$ Bloatware(TM).
CD-ROM <- Do you want just the basics or how about a CD-RW or DVD both are about the same price.
FLOPPY <- Don't forget to get one, I did once and was kicking myself. Choose either a cheap 3½ or even better get yourself a zip drive.
CASE <- This is more of a personal choice. Get one you'll like; unless you want a micro ATX case that requires a extremly small form factor, most ATX cases will accept any motherboard. The only thing to really look for is at least a 300 WATT power supply.
KEYBOARD & MOUSE <- I have to say that this is were I like shows the best. You can litterally go around and test each keyboard before you decide to buy. Don't buy a keyboard because of name or looks alone. Try it out and make sure that it's comfortable for you. (And the Logotech Wireless Freedom Pro with it's Wireless keyboard and optical mouse is a nice extravegance.)
MONITOR <- Here is a case of what you plan to do with the computer. If you are using the computer to run office and surf the web, you'd like a small form factor, then by all means get a LCD Monitor. If you plan to do any gaming (LCD monitors don't refresh fast enoug) or cost is an object then you can get a 17" monitor for about $99. Also you might find it cheaper to actually to buy your monitor at your local Office Depot or similar, that way if a couple of months down the road you have a lovely shade of green going on you can take it in that day.
OS <- If you;ve got a nice size drive, I'd suggest dual booting. It's easy and it allows you to see the best of both worlds. But if you want to run the dark side, then XP is the way to go. I have to say (as one who wanted to hate it) that it has been an easily the most stable, troublefree OS to come from Redmond. For the other choices, look at Mandrake 8 (8.1 & 8.2 haven't impressed me too much) and Redhat 7.3, and be prepared to be impressed with SuSE 8. But you probably won't find too many problems with the hardware.
You will find that shows are a great place to save money, but realize that you'll need to know ahead of time roughly what you need. Make suree to get reciepts and find out what the exchage policy is.