I just purchased a computer recently for a grand total of $1,526.98 and want to know if I got a good deal. I don’t know much about computers at all. A friend of mine said that it was a good deal, but I would like a few other opinions? Here is a list of what I got:
HP Pavilion Elite m9400t customizable Desktop PC
HP w2207h 22-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor
* Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
* Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Quad processor Q6700 (2.66GHz)
* FREE UPGRADE! To 3GB DDR2-800MHz dual channel SDRAM (2×1024,2×512) from 2GB
* 512MB ATI Radeon HD 3650 [DVI, VGA, HDMI]
* 500GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
* LAN port on system board (10/100/1000Base-T), no wireless LAN
* LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
* 16x max. DVD-ROM
* 15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, 1394, audio
* Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium
* Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
* Norton Internet Security(TM) 2009 – 15 month
* FREE UPGRADE! Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 + Corel MediaOne Plus (SAVE $50)
* SAVE $20! Adobe(R) Premiere(R) Elements 7
* Roxio BackUp MyPC 7
* HP stereo speakers with subwoofer and remote (2.1)
* HP wireless keyboard and HP wireless optical mouse
* HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
Compared to similar parts on Newegg:
HP w2207h 22-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor: $170
* Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit): $100
* Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Quad processor Q6700 (2.66GHz): $275
* FREE UPGRADE! To 3GB DDR2-800MHz dual channel SDRAM (2×1024,2×512) from 2GB: $130
* 512MB ATI Radeon HD 3650 [DVI, VGA, HDMI]: $70
* 500GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive: $50
* LAN port on system board (10/100/1000Base-T), no wireless LAN – free
* LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive: $40
* 16x max. DVD-ROM: $15
* 15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, 1394, audio: $25
* Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium: $95
* Microsoft(R) Works 9.0 – worthless, use Open Office
* Norton Internet Security(TM) 2009 – 15 month – awful program, not worth anything, use AVG
* FREE UPGRADE! Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 + Corel MediaOne Plus (SAVE $50) – worthless, use GIMP / Inkscape
* SAVE $20! Adobe(R) Premiere(R) Elements 7: $60
* Roxio BackUp MyPC 7 – Worthless, use Windows’ built-in backup software
* HP stereo speakers with subwoofer and remote (2.1): $25
* HP wireless keyboard and HP wireless optical mouse: $40
* HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope – Worthless
Similar case: $100
Similar mobo: $80
Other incidentals needed to make your own PC (thermal paste, better fan / heatsink): $60
By my calculation, you could have built something similar to this computer for about $1,335, so you probably paid about $200 more than you needed to pay for a similar product.
However, if you don’t know anything technical about computers, it’s probably worth $200 to have someone else make it for you. Plus, they did give you some software that I wouldn’t use — there are better programs than what they gave you available as freeware / nagware — but which you could easily value at $200.
So no, you were not ripped off. But you didn’t get much for your money, either.
Some of the parts are not exactly top-of-the-line (the memory is a bit slow, the processor on the slow end, the DVD writer a bit slow) and the sound card is way overpowered given the speakers you bought, slow bus speed and processor, which will limit your game-playing options, but overall, you got a fair return on your investment.
It is really nice one
Good deal and great price
Enjoy it!
Good Luck!
The monitor sells for $329 at Best Buy & Future shop….that means you paid $1200 for the PC itself.
It’s a fair price but not any great deal.
Best Buy & Future shop have had similar HP Pavilion Elite units with 750GB hard drives & more ram for the same price or less.
(yes …. it’s surprising but they do sell them for less than HP….that’s part of HP’s agreement with partner resellers. If HP undersold them they would never agree to carry their products).
regards,
Philip T