Mac, PC (bundled), or build a pc?

[quote name='Maklershed']But I lack common sense :lol:

Specifically what I'd like to with it is internet browsing, watching videos, burning dvds, media center for my 360/ps3, and gaming

EDIT: What resources do you guys use to read about pc's and/or pc building?[/quote]



Pricing / Buying:

I use newegg to buy for the most part. Amazing site, sure you've at least heard of them. I ordered stuff today on 3 day shipping, says it'll be here tomorrow, freakin sweet. The prefered account imo is awsome too, used it for years now. I honestly suggest taking 30 minutes and just browse, but that's just me and I know what to look for :D

www.newegg.com

www.tigerdirect.com < Another site I'd recomend, though I've personally never used it. Just have seen friends and such.


Charts / Information:

Here's a site good for charts and such. By charts I mean what runs this better in this and such. Compares hardware. Good for pricing out something then checking out how it competes with other hardware. Also has a very large amount of information on all the products. Hell a couple of them have 20+ pages comparing one item and talking about it.

www.tomshardware.com


But the people I'd ask the most would be people like us :D Since I know how good it feels though to build a computer you spec'ed out I'm personally not going to give out exact parts unless asked or I see a compatibility issue.

I am going to suggest these "brands / speeds" I guess you can say though if you would like to take a look. I'd do a day or so of research and then take a look though so it doesn't skew your thoughts or confuse the hell outa you :D. It's alot simpiler then it sounds honestly. I would also again suggest to link the hardware you choose as you choose it before you buy, just in case something doesn't match.

ATX Mid size case
Intel Core 2 Duo or Quad Core (LGA 775 Socket Processor) Don't remember if they come any other way though.
Sound Blaster sound card
A power supply with a high amount of power
DDR2 800 Memory
 
[quote name='dothog']Nobody's mentioned it, but have you thought of building a hackintosh? That is, a PC running OSX off a different partition or drive? I'm in the process of researching it, but it sounds good so far to me. The only drawback I can find thus far is that running OSX on non-Apple hardware slightly limits your choices in hardware.

I've also never built a PC, so I'm trying to muster up the courage right now. [/QUOTE]

I would think a hackintosh may be intimidating for someone who hasn't built a PC before. You can't use software update since the kernel is unprotected, so you have to rely on the community to hack and release updates for you.

I'd take XP over an unstable "walking on eggshells" version of OS X.
 
Build a PC.

Fun (sort of, except for when things go wrong).

More bang for your buck.

If you're not savvy, might be a better idea to just buy a PC bundle.
 
[quote name='chemical']I would think a hackintosh may be intimidating for someone who hasn't built a PC before. You can't use software update since the kernel is unprotected, so you have to rely on the community to hack and release updates for you.

I'd take XP over an unstable "walking on eggshells" version of OS X.[/QUOTE]
That's true, but it gives him a best of both worlds solution. If he's not comfortable with booting to multiple OSs, though, that may blow everything to hell.

I'm buying an extra internal HD just to play around with a hackintosh. If it doesn't work well, I'll still have the XP side. But from what I've read so far, it sounds like if you get confirmed compatible hardware and if you're able to follow one of many solid guides closely (assuming you're a beginning DIYer like me and need those guides), stability shouldn't be an issue.

All you're risking in the deal is a new copy of OSX that may go unused. The XP side wouldn't be harmed by the fun. Just an idea...
 
I say pick up an iMac in June when they're refreshed. If you're raising the question on what computer you want and if you want to build it yourself I get the impression that you're not a hardcore PC gamer. The Aluminum iMacs are really beautiful computers and well, you can have the best of both worlds.
 
One thing you may want to do is look for a nice computer ... to take parts out of. I mean there is a dell with a quad Q6600 for about 500$ after taxes. I would say get that on the bases that you will not get a better deal on , Quad, HD and OS. Quad alone is about 200$. Not completely sure you can reuse the OS but I believe so. If you wanted to keep most of the parts in there, you could get away with getting a Video card and power supply.

Just saying that you may want to buy a cheap pc and Upgrade on that, which is like custom building your own with newish parts.

Dell specs:
Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB)
Genuine Windows XP Professional - English
3GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 4 DIMMs
Dell USB Keyboard and Dell Optical USB Mouse
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 IV
500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
Integrated 10/100 Ethernet
DVD+/-RW Drive
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
1Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor, 24x7 Phone Support

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=794975
 
[quote name='crystalklear64']If you like money and like to play games, building a PC is your only option.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, the guy wants to play some games so a Mac is a terrible option. I don't know why this thread was revived but you can still build a VERY good pc for $1000 (Q6600 and 8800gt).
 
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