Dell $499 (DVD-Burner & 17CRT included)

[vee_ess]

WOW.

What else can I say? The DVD burner itself makes half of the cost. It also even has a Pentium 4 2.20GHz (which can be upgraded for $30 to a 2.40GHz on a 533MHz bus) instead of a Celeron processor, the typical choice for sub $800 prebuilt systems. The DVD burner isn't even the sole optical drive, it accompanies a 48X CD-ROM which will mean that it can be very useful for cloning CD's. My only complaints about this system would be that it only includes 128MB of RAM, which can be upgraded, but also it has integrated video and audio. How much can you expect though out of a system which you could only put the motherboard, processor and DVD drive together for the same cost? The system even comes with a 60GB 7200RPM hard drive and their legendary keyboards (this one has multimedia buttons on it). I almost forgot to mention it comes with a 17 inch monitor. With the integrated audio and video, this is not a gaming machine, but it is still a stellar deal for almost any other purpose. This system even includes something that many prebuilts don't; both ethernet adapter and modem. I am against prebuilt systems for the most part, however, this system has definately taken me aback.

A quick summary:

• 4X DVD+RW
• Pentium 4 2.20GHz
• 60GB 7200 RPM HD
• Dell Quietkey Keyboard
• 17 in. CRT
• $499 (After MIR)
  
  You can buy/customize it here!