Gahh Dell Sucks....

There's nothing wrong going to college. You're young and have a lifetime ahead of you. You can still follow your passion, and you just might learn something that will help you along the way.
 
I would have canceled the order. Delaying shipment to October and having to resubmit your order is a horrible solution. I ordered a pocket pc from them last year and it took several weeks to ship. Their customer service was unimpressive. Next time you should look into building your computer with parts from newegg. Their stuff always ships the next day and you'll receive it in the the mail by the end of the week.
 
Build your own- it lets you choose. Ask around for the best parts, and customize. Just make sure it has good ventilation.
 
One more voice to the choir; dump the Dell, dude. Dells were great in the mid 90's but have become blouted and overpriced. Upgrading is ***** and cost more then if you build your own. As stated before, it is really simple to put one together and the hardware and software is stable enough now that you really don't need tech support. If you ever do, there are a million online communities that can help you. They will probably be more helpful and quicker then Dell support anyways.

As for college, enjoy it. You will never have another opportunity like this again. You could probably start your career quicker if you did move straight to LA but what is the rush? Four years of college gives you time to really find your voice. It will also give you a base education for the future if you ever decide to switch or alter your career. Who knows what you will want to do 20 years from now (those 20 years go by quicker then you think and what you want from life changes in ways you can't predict).

Good luck
 
Building your own box can be a daunting task for those who aren't up to speed with the mechanics of computers. I agree with the sentiment having built all my own systems for years but I know people who, though really good with software and getting what they want from the machine, would be way to intimidated by all the parts and esoteric gibberish that are involved with computer building. I guess I just wanted to point out that for those whov'e done it, building your own machine is a good option but for others, it's kinda like buying a car. At the end of the day they just want to order from the dealer, have it ship on time and then be on their way. just my 2c
 
Building your own CPU without any knowledge or training is tough! I am blessed to have been taught by a guy who was Microsoft certified, etc. etc.
 
Parts:

Case (with power supply built in to make it easier)
Motherboard
Case fans
CPU
CPU fan
Memory
Hard drive
Optical Drive
Video Card
Sound Card
Whatever extras you want (wireless networking card, etc)

1. Screw Motherboard down to case (make sure you are grounded during all hardware installation)
2. Put CPU into slot
3. (probably hardest step) attach CPU heatsink/fan
4. Insert memory into slot
5. Attach Hard Drive and Optical drive to case and plug into motherboard and powersupply
6. Attach as many case fans as are possible
7. Attach video and sound card (might need to have direct powersupply)
8. Plug power supply to Motherboard
9. Plug keyboard, mouse, speakers, and monitor into computer
10. Insert Windows XP disc, power up, and follow directions (oh yeah, plug into wall)

Most motherboards come with pretty good instructions on how to attach everything if it is not obvious. An once you have the motherboard picked out, it will tell you what CPU, Memory, etc is compatible with it.

One suggestion when loading XP is to partition your hard drive into at least 2 separate drives. One for your OS and one for everything else. 3 partitions=one for OS, one for programs, and one for data like your media files. The XP install will prompt you when you can partition.

It can be intimidating if you have never done it before but it really is less complicated then assembling IKEA furniture (and if you are going to college you are definately gonna have to learn how to do that :) ).

Cheers
 
Man, that's the shortest builing computers for dummies book I've ever read and it is pretty much that easy...Way easier than assembling an Ikea trash can. I have a friend however who called me the other day and offered me a case of beer if I would put his door knobs back on after he had painted his doors. But I think it's good to get headlong into building your own for savings and especially avoiding that Dell proprietary crap. My same doorknob friend had his car die last weekend so I went to help. "It's a dead battery" says I "Oh really, where would that be?" he replied.
 
There are a lot of things easier than assembling an Ikea trash can.

Like neurosurgery, for example. Or flying a space shuttle.
 
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