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Im getting a new PC (finally mine is only about 7 years old or so) and Im wanting something with a little spunk, but also not being so pricey. Id also like to shy away from Dell. Mine is a dell, and they work just fine mostly, but they are a real BITCH when it comes to any sort of upgrades.

Basically I dont care about it having neat little programs on it, but I would like it to be able to play DOW2 with no problems. Im not talking on max settings but playing it without waiting 15mins for it to get there. Any suggestions? Id prefer a moddest priced PC as well, so dont say things like Alien ware, or Ill E-slap you.

http://www.gateway.com/systems/category/529598148.php

I suggest the Gateway FX line.

Brother and a friend both bought one around 6-7 months ago and they worked great.

I got one about 3 months ago and havent had any issues at all.

Seems to be priced alot better then some.

custom PCs are one option too

also
Alien ware
Alien ware
Alien ware
Alien ware

*takes cover*

whats your price range?
Desktop or laptop?
If you have the know how custom build all the way
youl probly be willing to spen over £400 for a decent gaming pc

Are you into custom building it? You will get a better product if you build it custom. Then, I could recommend some hardware etc. If not, it is really hit or miss with any manufacturer as they use odd suppliers and miss-match their hardware LIKE A BOSS.

What state are you in? Maybe I could build one for you.

Custom build are the way to go, just be prepared for a nice price tag along with it, £500-600 is what spent on my rig last year at roughly this time

I too would suggest custom build. It seems daunting but its really a lot like lego (albeit a bit fragile)

But theres plenty of places that sell decent pc's for 20-50% more than what the parts are worth. Not bad if its not too much of a ripoff (stares at alienware and blackbird)

I got an asus desktop that would of been cheaper than a custom build. If your not gonna custom build then go for Asus

Like others have said it is way cheaper to get the parts and put it together yourself. Or if you don't have the knowledge to get a friend that does to put it together for you, they'd probably give you hardware suggestions as well I guess.

While it is probably best to get the most up to date stuff at the time you can get away with some slightly cheaper slightly older stuff most of the time.

I custom design and build PCs for a living. The best deals are always on the items that have recently been replaced with the new technology. These items have their price chopped substantially because stores (both retail and online) are trying to sell their stock of the old items to make room for the new stuff that is coming out. This means that you can get that CPU you really wanted for hundreds less even though it's clock speed may only be slightly lower than the new version. This is pretty much the rule, and it is how I design all of my computers. Yes, you will never have the MOST powerful PC out there, but you could save thousands of $ over the people that buy the newest stuff. I just upgraded my CPU to an AMD 965BE. It is clocked at 3.8GHz ATM on air. In the same combo order from Newegg.com, I doubled up my DDR1600 to 8 gigs. This cost me 180$. Why? Because they just came out with 6 cores about a month before I purchased the upgrades.

If you want, I would be more than happy to design a system for you. It would need to be assembled of course, not sure if you are into that sort of thing.

When you build a custom PC, sometimes you spend more than you would on an HP or a compaq, sometimes. A rig comparable to mine but made by HP would cost over 2000$, I spent 800$. You also get better hardware than those companies give you. Have you ever seen an HP that states what brand it's RAM is? It's HDD? PSU? Mobo? They dont because the hardware they use tends to be junk, which is why they can charge so little for it.

Well Im not much of a PC builder. My father in law works on computers but hes a bit annoying when it comes to any problems that he cant figure out. He quickly does the whole "I dunno" and thats about it. So if anything were to pop up, I would get that response and a non functioning PC


I dont have a ton of spare cash for the PC (I want a desktop btw, forgot to mention that) $500 seems about my top dollar there. I know thats a bit limiting, but its what Ive put aside for a new computer. Ive found this looking around and it seems pretty good, and Ive read a bunch of reviews and many people say its a really good PC. So far the only problem Ive found on it is you need to buy a case fan for it (big deal) What do you guys think? Is there anything that jumps out as a OH MY GOD STAY AWAY!

http://www.cheetahdeals.com/Gateway_DX4822_03_Factory_Refurbished_Desktop_p/c-pt.ga002.009.htm

KingCracker wrote:Well Im not much of a PC builder. My father in law works on computers but hes a bit annoying when it comes to any problems that he cant figure out. He quickly does the whole "I dunno" and thats about it. So if anything were to pop up, I would get that response and a non functioning PC


I dont have a ton of spare cash for the PC (I want a desktop btw, forgot to mention that) $500 seems about my top dollar there. I know thats a bit limiting, but its what Ive put aside for a new computer. Ive found this looking around and it seems pretty good, and Ive read a bunch of reviews and many people say its a really good PC. So far the only problem Ive found on it is you need to buy a case fan for it (big deal) What do you guys think? Is there anything that jumps out as a OH MY GOD STAY AWAY!

http://www.cheetahdeals.com/Gateway_DX4822_03_Factory_Refurbished_Desktop_p/c-pt.ga002.009.htm

That comp looks pretty gd, although the processor could be a tad faster but still nice none the less.

Devastator wrote:custom PCs are one option too

also
Alien ware
Alien ware
Alien ware
Alien ware

*takes cover*

Alienware is owned by Dell these days, FYi KC.


As an ex-Dell employee let me tell you... the service is very good. Upgrades are as simple as getting a mate who knows what he is doing bang a better video card and more ram into it if you get your hands on a good box and chipset.
Dell can't help you much in the upgrade department simply because they focus on selling packages, and won't cover your third-party parts... obviously... but the warranty support on what you get is very, very good, like IBM was back in the old days.

I've always built my own computers but the cheapest options are always from companies that sell packages like the aforementioned.

My current is a Dell. I have to say, other then basically not bing able to upgrade it without dumping mad cash, its a very good computer. Its showing its age pretty poorly now, some flash games are a struggle, but like I said, its like 7 or more years old. But the main reason Im shying away from Dell is they just love the onboard graphics thing and Im not a fan of that. If I didnt want to game or anything like that then yea a Dell is what Id buy.


Johnscott10 - Sweet, I know a little about computers but not enough to know the obvious "oh its got that?" things. It did look pretty good to me, and since someone has told me(you) that it looks good, I think I just found my PC. Thanks everyone!

Just had a quick search on the GPU, and its not really the best for gaming according to some sites. Sadly im unsure how much a decent gaming graphics card would cost.

Everything else is good though.

I got a new PC a year ago, and I was on a tightish budget. My Mac's video card died and I couldn't afford a new mac, and since it was a pre-intel G5 tower, it was tough to find video cards for it.. so I just got a dell. Came out to $900, i7 with 3 gigs of ram which is still more than enough for what I need it for. I also splurged and got a bigger 2nd hard drive to hold all my junk, and then I dropped like $350 on a big video card that was kinda a waste since I don't use my PC for gaming anymore really.. but the games I did play looked great.

But, I haven't had any problems at all with my dell. So far it's been great. All I really use it for is army builder and web surfin.

If your looking for a decent Gaming desktop I can upload my specs and parts
It cost me about £400 exactly a year ago

Vulkan_He'stan wrote:If your looking for a decent Gaming desktop I can upload my specs and parts
It cost me about £400 exactly a year ago

Tad outdated at this point, just run him up some specs on a new one.

I'd strongly recommend looking into Asus.




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I'm not saying you won't have to do some tweaking here but this is a good place to start in your price range.

well lets just sat it runs very fast still heres the results from a will it run on crysis

Vulkan_He'stan wrote:well lets just sat it runs very fast still heres the results from a will it run on crysis

My iPod can run crysis. It's not a good benchmarking tool any more.

I know that Crysis had infamously steep requirements but . . . wasn't that in 2007?

It killed my friends pc was quite funny
"can you smell burning?"
"yhea"
"I think i might close Crysis..."

I'm actually considering upgrading myself. Right now I'm running a second hand HP xw6200 workstation with a nVidia 9800 GE I added in after the fact. I bought it when my last one went out refurbished for $200. It gets the job done, but I feel like the video card is getting a bit flaky, and I don't really think that I'm doing the dual processors justice by idling them except when I'm actually gaming. Ideally I'd love to turn it into my new server and get rid of the ancient dual core Pentium II I'm running at the moment.

I'm more than capable of building a computer as I did consumer retail and service. My problem is that I don't know what modern hardware looks like. What motherboard/cpu/video card would you suggest for someone who favors nVidia/Intel? Price range about 500-600 for those alone.

Arctik_Firangi wrote:

Devastator wrote:custom PCs are one option too

also
Alien ware
Alien ware
Alien ware
Alien ware

*takes cover*

Alienware is owned by Dell these days, FYi KC.


As an ex-Dell employee let me tell you... the service is very good. Upgrades are as simple as getting a mate who knows what he is doing bang a better video card and more ram into it if you get your hands on a good box and chipset.
Dell can't help you much in the upgrade department simply because they focus on selling packages, and won't cover your third-party parts... obviously... but the warranty support on what you get is very, very good, like IBM was back in the old days.

I've always built my own computers but the cheapest options are always from companies that sell packages like the aforementioned.

Unfortunately the cheapest options from those companies are just that, cheap. You do not get quality with that low low low price. Whereas you can custom build a computer for a similar price or slightly more while putting better quality parts in it.

This is roughly similar to my setup, except that my processor is AMD and operates 0.6ghz higher than the stock i7, my RAM is substantially faster as well, and I imagine it has better timings. My system also has a raidmax hybrid 750W modular PSU whereas the dell said that it has a 525W? Honestly I do not even know how it functions on 525w with that i7 and 5870, but oh well.

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dxcwqu1&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&model_id=studio-xps-9100

BAH, the link doesnt work. Oh well. My system came out to about 1k with the monitor/mouse/keyboard etc etc included and it has somewhat better performance. The dell is $2,610.99. Oh, and my system has longer warranties (5yrs on the hdd, 1 yr on GPU, lifetime RAM, 3yrs CPU, 3yrs on MoBo).

I am not bashing Dell or anything, but no large corporation can piece together a gaming computer that can compare to a custom designed system. The reason being that the computer hardware market fluctuates more than the stock market, and a PC designer can fluctuate with it. A corporation cannot. Take that system for example. I have a video card that is equal to the one I had in the list that cost me ~150$ after the rebate. Theirs costs 330$, that is more than double. Their i7 costs $500, my phenom II quad cost about a quarter of that. Without the flexibility, they will always cost more.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought of Starship Trooopers when they saw the title.

With a budget of $500, what other uses do you have in mind besides gaming (if any)?

What resolution do you plan to game on? This is a very significant factor as it can dramatically change the suggested build.

Any brand preferences?

Do you care about 32 or 64 bit OS?

What salvageable pieces of hardware do you have (hard drives, keyboard, mouse, speakers, sound card (if any), monitor, etc)?

Just some more questions that will help us figure out your build.

Goddard wrote:I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought of Starship Trooopers when they saw the title.

That was intensional




Also, I basically want a PC that can play DOW2 with no problems, that is my guide line pretty much. I have a mouse and monitor and all that fun jazz. Right now I have an old Dell Dimension 2400 . I dont want to get the dell route for this. Sure Dells are good and all (as said its older then my kids) but not for a gaming PC.

Im wanting it to play some games(DOW2 again) and some online MMOs (looking at you StarWars) so mainly gaming and checking my emails and talking to you fine folks


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Manchu wrote:I'd strongly recommend looking into Asus.




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I'm not saying you won't have to do some tweaking here but this is a good place to start in your price range.

Hey thats a little cheaper, and it looks like it may be a bit better. What do you guys think of that one?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Essentio+Desktop+/+AMD+Athlon%26%23153;+II+X2+Processor+/+4GB+Memory+/+1TB+Hard+Drive/1700107.p?id=1218282105177&skuId=1700107&st=Essentio%20CG1330&cp=1&lp=1

To tell you the truth, KingC, ever since I linked that I've been thinking of buying it myself . . .

Oh jeez, you changed your avatar, I had no idea that was you


Ya, really the only thing Im seeing better from my first PC I linked was it had more RAM, but thats really about it. Im really thinking of picking that one up, and for under $500 thats pretty damn good. Not to mention a standard 1 year warranty.



As long as it plays DOW2 though, thats what Im shooting for lol


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DOW2 plays on windows 7 right?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
DOW2 plays on windows 7 right?