Can anyone find me a better desktop deal than this one..

[afliegs]

This seems like a powerful computer for the money...

Amazon.com: HP Pavilion HPE h8-1120 Desktop Computer - Black: Computers & Accessories

Does anyone have a better recommendation for a desktop computer for mainly photo editing (and some video editing) for a similar price? Thanks!

 

[Kolia]

How do you feel about building one ?

I built my first desktop this year. Sourced everything from Newegg.com and asked a few question on their forum.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

I built a screaming windows machine for a home theatre system, much happier than ordering it pre-canned.

Although I just ordered mac too

 

[afliegs]

Yeah, I'm not sure about building one. I may be up for that. I do like the idea of having a warranty, though. Especially since I have no experience building computers.

 

[ConradM]

Building isn't hard and if you for some reason got a bad part you could just RMA it.

 

[Demers18]

Buy a Mac. It's a better deal even you pay more

 

[ConradM]

Buy a Mac. It's a better deal even you pay more

What makes a mac a better deal?

 

[Kolia]

The Mac will handle media files better, has some editing capabilities built in and aren't much more expensive than other pre-built PC.

My wife has a MacBook air and it is very nice ! I still use my big i7 based PC for all my editing tho.

 

[mangtarn]

the mac runs excel macros pretty slow, but that's beyond the point.
i love my imac, you should get one too, saves you a lot of frustration. nice to have something that simply works.

 

[bogeyguy]

You did notice that the monitornis not included?

 

[Dom6663]

I will breifly describe why you should build your own computer, not order a pre built PC, especially not a mac. There are thousands of articles online about why not to buy a mac, this one will just say my words for me

Why does Mac suck?

Now, why should you build yourself a computer? I've personally built 5 computers, and the constant I always find is, you can spend less money for a better computer. Lets take a look at one of tiger directs offers. (Tiger direct is already the cheapest place to buy new computer equipment)

ASUS Essentio CM6830-3AA Desktop PC - Intel Core i7-2600 3.40GHz, 8GB DDR3, 2TB HDD, NVIDIA GeForce GT530, DVDRW, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit at TigerDirect.com List price-$949.00

Now lets calculate the cost if you were to buy exactly whats in this computer, and assemble it yourself!

Intel Core i7-2600 BX80623I72600 Processor - Quad Core, 8MB L3 Cache, 1MB L2 Cache, 3.40 GHz (3.80 GHz Max Turbo), Socket H2 (LGA1155), 95W, Fan, Retail at TigerDirect.com $300
Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 0S02861 Internal Hard Drive - 2TB, 7200RPM, 32MB, SATA 3Gb/s at TigerDirect.com $220
Corsair CMX8GX3M2A2000C9 XMS3 8GB DDR3 RAM Kit - 2x 4GB, PC16000, 2000MHz at TigerDirect.com $110

The Nvidia Geforce 530 is only a graphics processor not a video card. This will be built into the motherboard.

Wait a second, these are the only three specific things listed!? So where does the rest of the money go? I have no idea, a cheap case, shotty motherboard and powersupply?

Heres what I can build for $950

12gb DDR3 Ram - $120 Corsair XMS3 Tri Channel 12GB PC10666 DDR3 Memory - 1333MHz, 12288MB (6 x 2048MB) at TigerDirect.com
2tb Hard drive - $200 Seagate ST2000DL003 Barracuda Green 2TB Hard Drive - 2TB, 5900 RPM, 64MB, SATA-6Gb/s at TigerDirect.com
Amazing motherboard - $240 ASUS Crosshair V Formula AMD 990FX ROG Motherboard - ATX, Socket AM3+, AMD 990FX Chipset, 2133MHz DDR3 (O.C.), SATA 6.0 Gb/s, RAID, 8-CH SupremeFX Audio, Gigabit LAN, USB 3.0, CrossFireX/SLI Ready at TigerDirect.com (also supports up to 32gb ram)
8 core up to 4ghz processor - $210 AMD FD8120FRGUBOX FX-8120 Processor - Eight Core, 8MB L3 Cache, 8MB L2 Cache, 3.10GHz (4.00GHz Max Turbo), Socket AM3+, 125W, Fan, Unlocked, Retail at TigerDirect.com
Standard Aesthetically appealing case - $60 Apevia X-Cruiser2 Metal Mid-Tower Case - Black, Side Window, No PSU at TigerDirect.com
750 wt PSU - $60 Apevia ATX-WA750W Warlock 750-Watt ATX Power Supply - SLI and Crossfire Ready, 135mm Fan, Clear Sides at TigerDirect.com

Did i forget to mention the 8 core processor will process graphics better than the nvidia geforce 530? Ya, well it will. but because I have money left over in my budget, lets get a modest graphics card!

Reasonable PCI Graphics card - $50 Zotac ZT-95TEK2M-FSL GeForce 9500 GT Video Card - 1GB DDR2, PCI Express 2.0, DVI, VGA, HDMI, SLI Ready at TigerDirect.com

 

[anfibil]

I would have to go with the mass here. If you are willing to spend that much money, it would definitely be a better deal to build your own machine. And i'm sure you can get an awesome one with that budget