Looking to replace a 5 year old Dell 1.8 GHz/1GB Ram PC.   Is been OK, but I've never used Dell support and it seems that there is a premium associated with their PCs.  My company offers a Employee purchase program through Dell (its seems to be the same program that Dell offers all companies).  The discount is rather weak, but I can also spread out my payments over 12 months as a payroll deduction (which is nice cash flow wise)

So, I see 3 options:

1) Go with the Dell Employee Purchase Program.  Some discount, Decent hardware and choices, but not anything you want.  Good financing option.  Spec's at end of post for general example of what I am looking for.

2) Look for another major brand and specials/deals.  Any suggestions?  

3) Build one.  The only downside I see if financing, cash out of pocket.  Any good places to review the basic process just to make sure I haven't foggotten any of the steps to building one successfully today?

Here's the spec's for what I configured on the Dell site:

XPS 410:
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6600 (4MB L2 Cache,2.4GHz,1066 FSB)   SVBE66H   [222-7273]   1

 
Operating System:
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium   VHP3E   [313-4911][420-5769][420-5924][420-6436][420-6481][420-6541][463-2282]   11

 
Memory:
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs   2GB62   [311-5121]   3

 
Hard Drive:
250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™   250S   [341-3257]   8

 
CD or DVD Drive:
Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability   16DVDRW   [313-4422][420-6464]   16

 
Monitor:
19 inch Ultrasharp™ 1907FP Digital Flat Panel   1907FP   [320-4639]   5

 
Video Cards:
256MB ATI Radeon X1300 Pro   X13PRO   [320-4945]   6

 
Sound Cards:
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio   IS   [313-2758]   17

 
Adobe Software:
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.0   AAREAD   [412-0914]   15

 
Labels:
Windows Vista™ Premium   VPD   [310-8626]   750

 
Hardware Warranty:
3Yr Ltd Warranty and At-Home Service   SQ3OS   [412-0359][950-3339][960-3642][960-8700][970-5382][980-7940][985-3658][985-3669]   29

 
Internet Access Service:
6 Months of America Online Membership Included   AOLEPP   [412-0933][412-0934][412-0935]   37

 
Speakers:
Dell AS501 10W Flat Panel Attached Spkrs for UltraSharp™ Flat Panels   AS501   [313-4062]   18

 
Keyboard:
Dell USB Keyboard   EK   [310-7963]   4

 
Mouse:
Dell Optical USB Mouse   OM   [310-7966]   12

 
Floppy Drive and Media Reader:
13 in 1 Media Card Reader   MCR13   [341-3867]   10

 
Modem:
No Modem   N   [313-3607]   14

 
Optional Ports:
IEEE 1394 Adapter   1394   [310-8165]   85

 
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed):
No productivity suite- Includes Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD   DWRK   [412-0912]   22

 
Security Software:
PC-cillin Internet Security with AntiVirus and Spyware removal 15-months   TM15M   [420-6487]   25

 
Dell Digital Entertainment:
No preinstalled software   NODE   [464-9572]   399

build it yourself @ newegg.com & tigerdirect.com

oh, and dont spend money you dont have..etc etc

i roll my own


if you don't know how find a local computer repair shop they can build one for ya.   thats what i do everyday  

Quoted: build it yourself @ newegg.com & tigerdirect.com oh, and dont spend money you dont have..etc etc

What kind of savings do you imagine I would realize if I built my own, everything else being pretty equal?

Quoted: build it yourself @ newegg.com & tigerdirect.com

I got six months 0% interest through Newegg last time I built a pc.  Newegg is definately the way to go.  Physically putting a pc together is simple.  There are instructionals and other info out there on the net.  It's getting all your software/firmware to work together that can sometimes be a challenge.  If you haven't gone this route yet, but spend alot of time on a pc, you should learn the hardware side of things.  

Quoted: Quoted: build it yourself @ newegg.com & tigerdirect.com oh, and dont spend money you dont have..etc etc What kind of savings do you imagine I would realize if I built my own, everything else being pretty equal?

if you build a budget PC, you wont save any money. If you build a Gamer/performance rig you save anywhere from $100 - $2000, depending on what you build.

Eta: dont buy a DX9 graphics card, they are obsolete. Get a DX10 card.

I appreciate the advice, keep it coming.  I'm pretty comfortable around most PC hardward/software and networking, but I'm curious about what some helpful sites would be for a DIY approach.

ETA: I'm looking for the ARFCOM of DIY PC building.

Quoted: Quoted: build it yourself @ newegg.com & tigerdirect.com I got six months 0% interest through Newegg last time I built a pc.  Newegg is definately the way to go.  Physically putting a pc together is simple.  There are instructionals and other info out there on the net.  It's getting all your software/firmware to work together that can sometimes be a challenge.  If you haven't gone this route yet, but spend alot of time on a pc, you should learn the hardware side of things.

Yea, they have a program Bill Me Later and you have the options of paying in 3 months or 6 months.  If you dont know what your money situation is then dont do it this way.  Dell gives pretty good service along with Acer etc.  If you go with a "Gaming PC" you will save money in the long run.  Gaming PC's can do anything, plus you can upgrade and stay with the times, where a regular Dell or HP you are limited.  Just what I have noticed.

Quoted: Quoted: build it yourself @ newegg.com & tigerdirect.com oh, and dont spend money you dont have..etc etc What kind of savings do you imagine I would realize if I built my own, everything else being pretty equal?

Not much, may actually be more expensive to build your own if you are not building a high end system… which you are not.

Don't forget to install Linux on it  h
and +1 for newegg

also buying a motherboard with built-in sound and LAN can save some money unless of course you want a really fancy sound card, but to me even the built-ins are pretty good these days.