To build or not to build

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SO I thought I would build my new system as I have done in the past, and I always thought New Egg had the best prices and it was cheaper to build your own. So I choose all the components and was all ready until last night I thought for fun I would check Dell. Not only is it just a tad more with windows and all the components installed, but it seems like it would be a better deal with more power out of the system. What do you folks think?

Dell:
Intel® Core™2 Q6600 Quad-Core (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB)
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium
3GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz –
nVidia GeForce 8800 GT 512MB
Hard Drive 320GB – 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
Total with shipping and tax: 1265

Or

New Egg:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 6MB L2 Cache.Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core $198
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium $222
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 $172
GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI $180
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s $64
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model $34
580W ATX12V Power Supply $60
ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard $150
Tax: $88.60
Shipping: $13.43

Total with shipping and tax: 1175

I don’t overclock etc, so which looks like the best choice?
Any components I shouldn’t bother with?
 
Here are my thoughts:

If you're comfortable with building computers and being your own tech support, build it. Beyond the extra gig of RAM one potential advantage I can see is that the 580W power supply that might be better than whatever Dell has.

Also, do you have CPU-intensive needs such as video encoding? Quad-core CPUs are preferable there. However, the E8400 has been tested as a better CPU for pure gaming performance.
 
I would go back to the drawing board, you should be able to put something better than that together for that amount of money on newegg. A 250gig hard drive?
 
I added the prices in for yah Bretts.

Yeah Im mainly going to be using Photoshop with large files sizes with a little gaming here and there.

Shottie: With Dell I pretty much dont count them as tech support. A guy reading a script around the world is as about as good as asking a random person at the grocery store. Im assuming that the quality of the parts off new egg would be higher than what dell would use. The only reason I would go with dell is that I know the computer would come working with a warranty. I have built three computers now, nothing has gone wrong so far, but if it did it would be all my fault. not that big of a deal but thats my thinking.

N25 Philly: Better as in as faster components for cheap? Or cheaper components for cheap?
whats wrong with a 250 HD? I have an external I keep as a back up and I can never fill it. I dont do the music/movies thing on my computer and have only 1 or 2 games installed, so I dont need an epic HD.

Thanks for the ideas so far folks.
 
I'd go with the a higher clock speed Dual Core over the Quad Core.

I have a Quad Core because I do 3D modeling and the extra cores come in handy, but for games a higher clock speed will yield you better results.

OK: for Photoshop, especially if you're multitasking while using Photoshop, the Quad Core is really nice. I often have Photoshop and another app, like 3ds max, open and having the extra Cores makes even the most demanding files feel nice.

Also, you might want to get Vista x64. The next Photoshop is going to be 64bit native and a lot of other dev and graphic apps already are.
 
I would get OEM version of Vista to save $120.

The thing about building your own computer, and is shown in your selection of parts, is knowing the quality of the components in your computer. You never know what kind of memory Dell is putting into the system until you open the case, and same goes for motherboard, powers supply, and the quality of the case cooling. While building your own, you have control over every component you choose and how you want to setup the entire computer. The price gap between pre-built and self-built is small for low to mid range computers, so dont just look at price to determine your best option, always look at the quality of components first.

Your choices are mostly good, though Newegg DOES NOT normally have the best prices around. If you look at deal sites such as fatwallet.com or slickdeals.net you will find better deals. Such as the XFX 8800GT 512MB for $150 AR at Amazon right now.
 
Make sure you buy a good quality power supply, if you going to build your own. Corsair, Seasonic, PC Power and Cooling are some of the brands recommended to me. I bought a Corsair VX 450 and I'm running about the same components.
 
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