I picked out this at Newegg. What'd be a reasonable price to pay for assembly? Would it be very hard to just try and put it together myself?

I'll be using 5+ programs (according to task manager 750,000K of memory--I'm sorry, I'm not sure what, if any, other info I need to provide). I'll also be looking to use a web browser with, at least, 4-5 tabs (google chrome), media software(usually wmp), IM software (pidgin) and HEM.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Only buy a video card if you plan on running multiple monitors. And if you are planning on running multiple monitors, don't but that video card. Get something with two DVI ports and maybe a DisplayPort.

Decent PSU is missing urgently.

Are you on a tight budget? That is a pretty poor processor by today's standards and will be a noticeable bottleneck in a system that has an SSD and a decent graphics processor.

I suggest purchasing this DIY kit from Newegg...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.606690

I just built this system for a coworker and it runs like a champ. It has onboard graphics for a single monitor, you can purchase a video card if you will be running multiple. Your cost would be around $650 if you add an SSD and graphics card. This assumes you already have an operating system, monitor etc. It will run everything you need for the next 3-4 years.

Building a computer is easy. There is an illustrated step by step guide on Tom's hardware. I did my first a year ago and have built 3 more since. No problems with any of them to this point.

Thanks for the quick feedback.

I am on a budget and don't want to spend more then $800 total and I want to get HEM, too.

Would adding this PSU and switching to this video card(I will be running 2 monitors) do the trick?

APEVIA ATX-CW500WP4 500W ATX Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817148027
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
-$10.00 Instant
$49.99
$39.99


EVGA 01G-P3-1441-KR GeForce GT 440 1024MB (Fermi) DUAL DVI PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card
Item #: N82E16814130612
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
$89.99
$79.99

Thanks again.

The power supply looks ok. The first graphics card you had selected will work just fine btw. You really need to upgrade the processor though, to a decent core i3 at least. Putting an SSD on a machine with that processor is like putting a turbo on a civic. You're spending too much money to make it slightly less slow. If you insist on keeping that CPU just save an extra $100 by dropping in an HDD

So, instead of upgrading my processor I'm going to drop the SSD.

How does the above compare to my first combination?

Is there something special about that Memory? It was ridiculously overpriced.

Well it was a 4GB kit, and the one you've replaced it with is 2GB. That should account for most of the cost difference. Other cost factors would be the speed, timings etc but these look to be similar in both areas. If you are going to run Vista or Windows 7 I think 4GB is pretty much mandatory these days.

Sorry, my bad. There'll be 2 X 2gb of that memory I bolded. They want to charge ~$62.50 each but my understanding is 4gb of RAM should be ~$40. I don't mind spending as much as $50 or even $60 but $125 seems absurd.

edit. So what do I expect to pay for a 64-bit os vs a 32-bit os? I assume I'm better off putting the money into 64-bit rather then into a better processor?

Sorry, one last thing.

About how much should I pay for the above, assembled?

Thanks again.

I don't live in the area so I could either get it tomorrow or in 2.5 weeks. I just went ahead and told them to build the above. They quoted me $550.

Unfortunetly, they only have 1x4gb RAM available. I read that I'd be better off with 2x2gb but I'm hoping it won't be too much worse. They took $65 off the price.