Computer or PSP?

[Swiftstrike]

If you get ~$50/week, you can get another $400 by May 8th (netting you $500).

You can get a great Acer desktop complete with monitor, keyboard, mouse, ect for $460from Fred Meyer. It is a great desktop to use for gaming and basic functions.

Buying a new PSP would cost $170 for a stand-alone or $200 for a bundle (comes with PSP, 1GB mem stick, 1 game UMD, 1 game download voucher, 1 movie UMD ... I recommend this).

I also recommend getting the 2001 model PSP, it can be used for modding, which is fairly easy and opens up so much more things the PSP can do. However, the 3001 model has a nice screen and some other small features, so if your not interested in modding at all, go with this one. (contact me if you want to know more about the PSP)

The Phantasy Star Portable game costs $40 new, about $37 or less used. Used is a good way to buy games, just check the disc before you buy to see if it is scratched or not.

Your bank: ~$500 by May 8th

ACEN: $300
Acer: $460
PSP: $200 (new) $160 (used)
PSPo: $40 (new) $37 (used)

You can only afford getting the ACEN stuff plus a new PSP bundle (I do not recommend the PSP stand alone or the PSP used), but not a game (unless you get extra hours). The computer would be a great addition to your stuff becuase of being able to finish school work and such.

[Genoa]

If you are gonna buy a computer, don't buy cheap. Buy it and build it to last. Also, build your own computer. It is really easy, trust me. But yeah, decent computers will run you at least a grand, no lie. Buying anything then your own built computer (expect having someone else build it for you with parts you ordered is fine, if you ask me) is just throwing money away. Companies use cheap parts and make you pay big for absolute crap that will slowly crap out on you. ;E Trust the troll~

This, seriously... Don't buy a computer unless you plan on making it good.

[Blitzkommando]

It really depends on how you would be using the computer. If you use it to organize photos, download and listen to music and videos, and browse online with no intent in the future for in depth photo editing, graphics creation, video editing, games, or any sort of other intensive work then a sub-$500 will easily hold you for a long while. There is a lot to consider with a computer, even monitors can have a wide variance of prices and huge benefits for opting for more expensive models if you plan on doing any sort of digital content creation. Without knowing what you plan to use the machine for both today and in the future it would be irresponsible of me to make a suggestion as you could wind up wasting money today on a system that you don't need, or on a system that simply doesn't meet your needs.

That said, a laptop is something you could likely get now over a desktop as that can be used for a while and generally doesn't need to be very powerful unless you plan to never have a proper desktop. A netbook can be great, if it matches your wants, needs, and what you expect out of it. A netbook will be slower than any other desktop or laptop. It will have gimped features, a small screen, a smaller keyboard, smaller storage, and more limited networking capability, and most importantly no internal optical (CD/DVD/BD) drive. It will also have longer battery life, much easier portability, and if you have a 3G capable model it will have internet just about everywhere (saying you can plonk down the high costs associated with that capability such as a minimum of a 2 year contract).

I have a netbook myself, one of the more expensive MSI Wind models. I chose it because it matched my criteria better than any of the other models when it came to upgrading. It's great for taking to class for notes, doing some minor browsing anywhere in the house (after I got a D-Link 802.11n USB adapter my range just about tripled over the built in card) and it's great for tinkering with Linux. However, I would never dream of using it as a primary computer. It's slow, even with 2GB of RAM, and hooking up an external monitor works, but is definitely not all that pleasant to work with the very noticeable input and display lag even on a 1024x768 monitor due to it frankly being at the limits of the internal Intel graphics chipset and the Atom processor. The hard drive is decent enough for a laptop at 160GB, but it is also very slow compared to other laptop drives which can make file transfers and the like an absolute pain at times. There's also the fact the monitor has a resolution of 1024x640 which is fine for short stints but any longer and it is just far too limiting even compared to the 1440x900 of my other laptop, much less than the desktop at 1920x1200. Pictures and videos? Forget about them. The screen's color quality is mediocre at best, has horrible backlight bleeding (as in, on a black screen there are areas that are very much light gray rather than black), the sound is tinny and even at highest volume is quiet, and the keyboard, even at 92% that of a standard keyboard, is still noticeably smaller even for my own small hands. With the Intel graphics and miserly Atom, don't even bother with HD videos as they simply won't play well at all (not like it would make much sense on such a tiny screen anyway). I get noticeable stuttering on high quality, but especially the HD, videos on Youtube. Normal videos are just fine though they all eat through battery fairly quickly. Simply put, netbooks are not good primary computers. They are excellent for what they are, highly portable, low-power, internet machines. If you want a computer you can take literally anywhere in addition to a proper desktop, or even a more powerful, larger, but ultimately much less portable laptop, they are a great solution. Just be sure to opt for a model with a larger battery if you plan on using it a lot. My Wind has a 6-cell battery (which has become increasingly more common among other brands like ASUS, Samsung, Dell, and HP) which, when used with simple browsing, will get me between 6 and 7 hours, something my other laptop can't ever dream of doing (it gets roughly half that).

My, incredibly long, point? A computer is a very important, potentially very expensive, investment in a tool. Running in willy-nilly and just picking up one is always, always a bad idea. It requires you to consider what you are going to use it for today, tomorrow, and for however long you intend to use it. Making a bad decision today, even with a netbook, will out you hundreds of dollars on something that you really don't like or are even able to do what you wanted. You can make a computer that was $500 at the store easily bloom out to over $1000 if it means you have to replace the power supply, add in a graphics card, more memory, or any number of other upgrades because it was incapable of delivering performance you wanted or needed. In the case of a netbook for instance, if you want to install something off of a CD you need to plonk down between $75-$150 for an external CD/DVD drive, likely closer to $150 if you want it to be able to write CDs. A mouse and keyboard can also set you back a bit in the event you don't like the reduced keyboard size or (as is the case with so many netbooks) the wonky touchpad mouse.

[Gentlemen]

If you are gonna buy a computer, don't buy cheap. Buy it and build it to last. Also, build your own computer. It is really easy, trust me. But yeah, decent computers will run you at least a grand, no lie. Buying anything then your own built computer (expect having someone else build it for you with parts you ordered is fine, if you ask me) is just throwing money away. Companies use cheap parts and make you pay big for absolute crap that will slowly crap out on you. ;E Trust the troll~

As for the PSP, look at all the games you would want for it besides PSPo. Gotta make sure it is worth most than just one game.

Building a PC is a good idea if you plan on playing games on it. If you just want something to dick around with you stick with a cheap PC. Any local Walmart, Target or what have you will carry some sort of 300 dollar PC or laptop with relatively decent specs. If you truly had a game fetish and little to no cash, those can generally run older games from about '04 and before without much issue. If you REALLY want to save money on a PC, go to some local pawn shops and other places that carry used electronics. Odds are they'll have some sort of used tower or laptop sitting around for a decent price. If there are problems you can always snoop around for a Windows XP disk to clean it up.

[amtalx]

Save up and get a computer. I bought a PSP. Its garbage. A computer is far more useful.

[Leviathan]

Computer.

[DLShAdOw]

Get a Netbook. They are cheap and will do nearly everything a normal user will want.

On a side note. The PSP is absolute crap. It's nearly useless unless you plan on hacking it to death and even then it's still not that great. :/ In my opinion, Portables are falling by the wayside. They could really revive a few of them by doing big compilation games of old ports. And not crappy old ports, but good ones like Goldeneye, and the old FF games.

[KaneKahn]

Computer, the end.

[Kion]

i bought a psp a year or two ago. i haven`t used it at all. internet browser sucks, battery life sucks, joy-circle sucks, to put music on it you need a computer anyway, and god i don`t even want to mention how aweful videos are to get on it. For games DS is better (up for debate). You could hold off for DSi (which comes with music, camera, internet brower, and a decent price) and PS zero.

My advice is to go with a netbook. they really don`t run very high and do everything a psp much better and more. mine plays PSU on 800x600 graphics on minimum settings but really fast load times. (also i bought it for $100 (after rebate))