Where is the best site to order a custom PC?

[Elidor]

I'm looking at fairly low-end systems, around 2.5 GHz, but I need lots of RAM and a large hard-drive, and the sites I've been to that are affordable don't let me customize those features.

I absolutely will not purchase an HP or a Dell. I'd prefer to avoid XP Home with SP2, but might let that part slide. Must have Pentium 4. No celery processors. TIA.

[shraby]

1. Look in the phone book where you live.

That's what I did. There are probably local shops that will put one together for you. A side plus is if something goes wrong with your machine you can get upfront and personal with them. None of being put on hold forever.

[BlueJazz]

2. Look through this site.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/

I'm a tech and I buy stuff from them all the time.
They've always been wonderful to me...

[Elidor]

9. Wow.

I think I just found me a pooter! Thanks.

[ET Awful]

3. I build my own, so I can't recommend a site, BUT . . .

I would suggest opening yourself up to the possiblity of an Athlon 64 processor as well. You get a lot more bang for your buck than you do with the P4 processors.

Most of the sites I could refer you to deal primarily with high-end systems, so they probably would not have what you're looking for.

If you do go with an Athlon 64, it would enable you to spend more on the RAM and Hard drives.

As an example, I just built a PC for a friend using a 2.4 Ghz Athlon 64 (which will perform approximately as well as a 3.0 or higher P4). He got the A64 process, 2 120GB hard drives, 2 GB of RAM, and all the other basics (used a low-end graphics card since he doesn't use it for gaming at all). All told, he only spent about $750. This machine FLIES as far as speed goes.

[Elidor]

8. That does sound very nice!

Must have a good graphics card, however. Adobe Creative Suite demands it. Surfing, too.

[ET Awful]

10. Not really, if you aren't playing games or rendering 3D graphics

a top line video card isn't needed. As long as you can display 2D at high resolutions, the rest of the system counts for more in those types of applications.

[Guy Fawkes]

4. build it yourself, if you can...

go to www.newegg.com and www.pricewatch.com for parts. Otherwise, www.amazon.com has some nice computers, as does pricewatch.com.

[democracyindanger]

5. micron pc

http://www.mpccorp.com/

I used to order from them until I started building my own. Absolutely great customer service, which is really what it comes down to.

But really, it's not hard to DIY at all.

[BigMcLargehuge]

6. try here

www.ibuypower.com

[Elidor]

7. So much input-THANKS EVERYONE!

Too many choices.