i'm looking to buy a desktop for under 2000.00.  I'm going to use it mainly for graphics, specifically digital photography, DVD burning, video editing.
should i get a Dell?
should i get a Gateway?


thanks! ;)

I got this still need more upgrades

Gateway 310XL

  Processor
Intel Pentium 4, 2800 MHz
100MHz external bus
 
  BIOS
Intel Corp. SR84511A.15A.0020.P03.0406101353 06/10/2004
 
  Memory
Upgrade
768MB physical
90% free resources
2 memory slots, 0 free (512+256)
 
  Video
Upgrade
Graphics Adapter: Intel(R) 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV Graphics Controller
Screen Area/Colors: 1280x1024 pixels, 16 million colors
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
 
  Drives
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C:\ (NTFS) 114463MB total, 106846MB free
D:\ CD-ROM/CD-RW or DVD Drive
E:\ CD-ROM/CD-RW or DVD Drive
F:\ (NTFS) 76316MB total, 66032MB free
 
  Network and Modem
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(net) Linksys Linksys Wireless-G PCI Adapter with SpeedBooster
(net) Intel Intel PRO/100 VE Network Connection
(net) Microsoft Direct Parallel
(net) Microsoft RAS Async Adapter
 
  Operating System
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Windows XP SP2 (Windows XP 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2)
Original setup date: 10/19/2004
DirectX Version: 5.03.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Swap file managed by Windows
File cache managed by Windows
 
  Browser
MSIE 6.0; 5.1; SV1
Proxy: No proxy set
HTTP level: direct 1.1, proxy 1.0
Scripting version: 5.6.0.8820
 
 
  Monitor
Gateway 19" LCD
Model FDP1940

www.ibuypower.com   You can customize it to whatever YOU like and for under $2000 ??  You bet . 

Those look sweet. I love those cases. I have a similar one. None of those prices include the monitor. Bummer. You really need to do your homework.
But if you're so inclined, building one yourself is'nt as scarey as you think. I built mine last year and got every bit of it from newegg, except the OS. It was cheaper too. If I went looking to buy what I built, it would've been another 5-700 bucks easy..

Actually no, but I read alot of boards. I'm sure someone in here may know of a place.The main thing is just do one thing at a time.  The only "out of the norm" issue I had was with my mobo. I had to update the bios on it due to the fact I bought a 120gig (S)erial ATA hd. The board would'nt read it at first, but once the bios was updated it was no problem. It was very good to have an alternate pc hooked up and on line too. If I needed help,(or BIOS updates) I was able to jump on line and get it. Still, I think I saved a bunch of money and gained some valuable experience in doing it myself.

Wow, Stank almost sounds human.

I would definitely recommend building your own PC, well atleast if you want it to be set up for exactly what you are wanting to do with it.  You can get great prices on parts at www.newegg.com  and  www.pricewatch.com

-REH

tigerdirect is pretty expensive compaired to newegg and zipzoomfly.. due to shipping rates and tax..   But other than that they do carry alot of stuff!  that is where I got my z-2200s

If you're into digital photography and video editing you might want to seriously consider a PowerMac G5.  Photoshop, Toast, and Final Cut Pro are the most common, not to mention most powerful tools of the trade, actually.

I've done the comparisons in terms of power you get out of it vs. price and Apple actually comes out cheaper than most of the serious PC workstations.  Mind you, we're talking dual G5's here.  The cheapest way to work your way into a PowerMac is to go to the Apple "Save" store.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/72604/wo/R04qropt26913ArHulzeDumUpF4/0.0.11.1.0.6.61.0.0.0.0.0.0.3.1.1.0?89,44

You can add memory etc. later, and pretty much ALL PowerMac's do include a SuperDrive (DVD burner).  This is all for MUCH less than 2,000$.  Also, keep an eye on www.dealmac.com ,  scroll down a bit and towards the left it says "Systems".  Check that every day, as they post PowerMacs fairly often.

If you want more information on the software I mentioned, I'm sure you're familiar with Photoshop, and...

Toast is here: http://www.roxio.com/en/products/toast/index.jhtml
Final Cut Pro: http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/

The price on Final Cut is pretty steep but there's ways around that (I wont say anything further than that here).  Not to mention how much more stress free it is to do the things you're talking about on a Mac, and the fact you don't have to worry about viruses or spyware etc. etc.

Hope this helps.

P.S. You may also want to consider an iMac if you want a monitor etc. with it, just MAKE SURE to get a G5 based Mac, or you really wont be satisfied with the performance for what you're doing.