IMO, if you don't want to build your own computer and still want to get value, I'd suggest you check out your local computer shops. Some of them if you buy all the parts from them will help build your PC for you, often for a fee, sometimes (if you're lucky) for free.
They may even offer warranty on top of the individual manufacturer warranties for your parts. Even if they don't you basically have a place to go to when you can't fix something by yourself.
Serious compatibility issues should not be a problem unless you make really stupid mistakes like buying an Intel CPU with an AMD board, but that's very unlikely and the guy at the shop would probably tell you about it right away. If you have time and inclination you can always research online for reviews of each of your parts. At the very least you should look up the prices so you know you aren't being ripped off.
P.S. Very recently I was able to get a Win 7 Professional Upgrade for $35 on an .edu address. It *is* an upgrade and you need a Windows XP or Vista CD around (or do a bit of a registry trick...google for it online), but hey, Windows for cheap. Kind of annoying I had to revive my old hotmail account for it though.
P.P.S. As for what to prioritize, one, get a quadcore CPU, Intel i5 if you can afford it, if not that's fine, a decent Phenom II does handle 10p encodes with ease (unless an encoder is criminally insane). Two, get 4GB of RAM, which you *will* get to use. RAM is really cheap, however, and 8GB can be considered future-proofing, albeit not necessary. Three, buy yourself a good, 80+ bronze rating PSU. A good PSU is a healthy PC, but no need to get overboard with the wattage numbers. The nutjobs who're arguing for a 700w up PSU's are running dual GPUs and think everybody else does too. The efficiency ratings are more important. Four, get a big HD. You watch animu. You need it.
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Originally Posted by ArrowSmith
Just get a Macbook Air, starting at $999 + Apple Care!
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He wants a desktop PC, not a Macbook...
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Originally Posted by Dist
Speaking of OS'es, if you are absolutely sure you will NOT play any kind of games, don't buy Windows. This will save you money because there's really no reason to use Windows. Don't buy MAC either. Just get a computer, whether self-built or pre-built without an OS, and use Linux. While you may think you don't know how to use Linux or such, if you get one of those easy to use versions it's almost identical to that of a Windows. You don't need any knowledge of using a Linux. Everything will be pretty much self-explanatory.
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Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's not
that self-explanatory. Especially now during a transition period for Linux when everyone's updating their GUI and it's all a mess. Ubuntu, Fedora, all the big distros have kinks all over they've yet to get over.
Sure very basic needs are fine -- so are very advanced needs accompanied by advanced skills to handle it, since you can basically write your own code or look up someone's to do what you want the OS to do -- but somewhere in-between is where all the headache-inducing googling starts.
He doesn't even really want to build his own computer and you're suggesting he migrates to Linux.
