Decisions for a new computer >_<

Hey, after MANY months of trolling the forums... I've decided to make an account to ask for some advice...

It's my 21st B-Day this July 24th coming up and I wanted to give myself a nice Bday gift, only problem is... I have absolutely no money. I desperately need to upgrade from this $250 HP premade that has 512MB Memory, and yet on the flip side I need to save money (the cheapest one currently offered is roughly $1,000.) (Graphic Design student who loves gaming can't really stand this old machine anymore)

Although.. if I recall, DS, back when they had a more primitive website offered lower-end computers (800-900?)

Anyways, my question is... is it worth it to shell over the 1k for this? I understand that it has amazing reviews.. but that's coming from people who can afford it. I'd need to make an investment into this, OR, am I better off finding a smaller company such has MaxForce? =$ I really don't want to go that way if the Bang per Buck is really all the hype is made to be.

Help? Please...

Gaming PCs are at least over 1k, but judging from your standpoint, you're more leaning not that much toward the bleeding edge tech, enthusiast, zone, eh?

This is the best value I can suggest for you at the moment

Price - $1300. Yeah yeah, it's high, but this is as close to modern performance to value as you're gonna get, hehe. Mostly higher-end mainstream gear here.
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - HAF 922
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA P55 SLI (Intel P55 Chipset)
System Memory: 4GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 500W Digital Storm Certified
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 768MB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1:Coolermaster V6 Single 120mm Fan Performance Cooler (Compatible With AMD, i5, i7)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Blue)
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended)
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: FREE: Hot-selling game with a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 or above graphics card
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

- Mainstream buyer, so I added in a GTX 460. It's specifically designed for that market, $199.
- i5 CPU, save some $$$. Can already tell you don't really really need an X58 i7 build.

Ender's right through, looking on newegg, I CAN find all those parts for $1165...


Edited by ablahblah - 14 Jul 2010 at 11:47am

If you're comfy with mucking around inside your computer, then you should have no problem putting a system together. It's really surprisingly easy (I walked my very non-techie wife through building her current computer). Your first time is intimidating but if you take your time and maybe look at a guide or two online, you shouldn't have any problem.