Computer Building

[Dice]

Ahoy all.  I need help.

I need a new desktop.  I have a fabulous Mac Laptop, but, like laptops, it overheats, and like Mac, it can run only about 1/1000th of the programs a Windows computer can.

I'm also a very poor little girl.
What would you all, who I assume are good at this sort of thing, recommend to a budget PC that would work really well with graphic work??

I'll appreciate any answers/recommendations I can get.

[Akanbe-]

How much are you looking to spend?

[Dice]

Well, Like I said, I'm broke as poo...  I'm hoping no more than five hundred, I already got a wicked monitor and all that other jazz.

[Monsoon]

Look for deals on NewEgg.com and at parts stores like CompUSA (although I'm not sure they have them in your region...).  Amazon.com isn't bad either, but newegg really is the king for thrifty computer parts.  My last build, which is about a year old right now, cost me around $1,000, but I was able to splurge on a good monitor and videocard because I saved over $300 on deals for memory, CPU, and motherboard.

[Yoda]

keep an eye out on slickdeals.net

That's another good place that sums up some sales going on. A good chunk of the sales on the front page are PC guts of some sort. You might even find a decent enough stock PC for cheap.

[D-Rider]

I think I spent $700 or so on my computer when I built it, but that included the price of a monitor as big as my fucking desk at the time, so $500 is probably doable.  And I've just now gotten to the point where it's starting to need some minor upgrades, so it can last you a pretty good while.

Like Monsoon said, Newegg is pretty much the place to go.  I get damn near everything for my computer from that place.

I'm no expert on using a computer for graphic design, but I think they share something in common with gaming PCs:  you need a ton of memory.  So a motherboard that supports a good bit of memory is a must.  Something along the lines of this, perhaps.  Then a processor to go with it.  Then the RAM itself.  Then the power supply and case.  Then any hard drives and optical drives you want.  And that's how you build a computer.

...I hope I didn't skip something important.  It's late. :P