this any good?

[irishiwasbrian]

hello,

I just learned how to compare PC parts the other day so Im kind of new to this, but for my birthday 16th birthday (which actually was yesterday) Im getting a new computer-- I really wanted to build my own but since im new to comparing parts I figured id wait until I get a job and can constantly get funds for a PC instead of just a 1 time deal or w.e. So with my newly acquired knowledge of PC hardware comparison I took off to newegg and tiger direct and started comparing PC's, I found this one and was pretty pleased: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4459463&CatId=2630

so im considering getting it in combination with this LCD monitor: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4692676&csid=ITD&body=MAIN#detailspecs

here are the specs of the pc:
* Company: Lenovo
* CPU: Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200 (speed: 2.5GHz; cache: 2mb i think)
* Memory/RAM: 6gb DDR2 (3 x 2gig)
* HDD: 640GB, 7200 rpm, SATA2, doesn't say the cache
* Optical Drive: SuperMulti DVD±RW Dual Layer
* Sound Card: SoundMAX Digital Audio (I have the same one on my current PC, it crashed but I think it was cause I was messing around with new drivers that would allow me to record sounds playing on my PC so its a lesson learned)
* Video Card: VGA output, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 31000
* Power: 280 Watt (im kind of skeptical on this. do you think thats enough power?)
* expansion ports: 1 (kind of a downside for me but still)

is this a good deal? pretty much what I use the computer for is video streaming, vb6 and planning on starting c# programming, writing PHP (i do web design and development on the side), music, internet, and some gaming (pretty much halo 1, gta: san andreas, sim city 4, and games of that nature), photoshop, and some other stuff I cant think of off the top of my mind.

our current family pc is absolute crap. its specs are:
-256mb sd (im 90% sure its sd, maby ddr) ram
-pentium 4 CPU (2.4ghz i think)
-80gb primary HDD and a small operating system backup HDD
and
-a broken CD rom
=/

so the two reasons im getting this are cause the current PC we have sucks much, and im going into my junior year at a full time regional tech/vocational high school taking up information/systems technology and it would be a good thing to have at home for shop work.

my question is, is this a good buy or no, with the monitor and PC for my needs? I personally think it is but i just want to double check.

[The Wise Monkey]

Hi, welcome to the forums, and happy birthday. :)

A few things I would recommend:
- You won't be able to do any gaming on the built in graphics, so you would need an external graphics card. In addition, you would then need a beefier power supply.
- I doubt you will use that much RAM, but it is so cheap nowadays it doesn't really matter
- I do some programming as well, and I can strongly recommend that you look at getting two monitors, especially for web design; it is amazing the difference it makes. :)

If you don't mind me asking, how much is your budget? Are you willing to build your own PC, or would you prefer buying one that is pre-built?

[RickyTick]

I agree.

You won't be able to game without a dedicated graphics card, and with only a 280 watt power supply you won't be able to add one to that unit.

For video editing, web design, and photoshop, a better option would be going with a slightly faster processor. At the least, you might need an Intel E7xxx series.