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Hey people,

Looking to buy a new computer, seeing as my old one is from about 2002 and the best game I can play is FarCry 1...

I have no interest in spending $1700 on a bunch of separate parts, and am looking to get a computer as close to off the shelf as possible.
Will I be able to find a computer that supports DOW2, WoW, and other current gen games for about $900? I'm wiling to do a bit of modification, but would rather not. I have a monitor now but would like to buy a new mouse and keyboard, so please take that into consideration with my desired price... Thanks for looking and any opinion you can give!

Definitely so. Newegg.com or tigerdirect.com are your friends. Most idiots go for the top-of-the-line everything without even realizing that cheaper parts are just as good. That's why people who don't know what they are doing spend so damn much on a PC. Give me some time and I'll see what I can find!

I spent $900 on my pc in 2008 and have yet to upgrade it. I can run every game that has come out recently in medium settings with AA x2. Don't believe all that garbage about "haha, you have to spend $500 every year to play new gamez!!!11"

You could trying iBuyPower or CyberPower. They will assembly a PC for you from your specifications and the prices are pretty good.

GOODNESS GRACIOUS!!! I haven't checked on new hardware in a while but now AMD has a 3.4ghz quad core for $139?!?!?!?!! Whaaaaaaaaaaat?! I bought my 2.4 quad CPU for $230 3 years ago!! Damn you computer technology!!!

LordofHats wrote:You could trying iBuyPower or CyberPower. They will assembly a PC for you from your specifications and the prices are pretty good.

+1.

Only do it if you know about the different parts of the computer, 9/10 its cheaper and you know exactly what you are paying for.

Luckily you can call customer service at both companies for help making choices before placing an order. I've had good experiences myself.

An often overlooked option is to buy a premade PC from Dell/HP/etc and then upgrade that rig. All you'd really have to do is buy a better power supply and a graphics card.

We picked up my girlfriends PC, quad core 2.6, 6gb ram, 1g harddrive for about 450 dollars, then I picked up a 500watt powersupply for 30, then a Geforce 250 for about 110, PC total: 590

This PC runs everything out now at fairly good settings with AAx2 and other goodies.

Yes, you cannot overclock it or customize it all too much further, but this is a good option for those scraping by on money.

Dshrike wrote:An often overlooked option is to buy a premade PC from Dell/HP/etc and then upgrade that rig. All you'd really have to do is buy a better power supply and a graphics card.

We picked up my girlfriends PC, quad core 2.6, 6gb ram, 1g harddrive for about 450 dollars, then I picked up a 500watt powersupply for 30, then a Geforce 250 for about 110, PC total: 590

This PC runs everything out now at fairly good settings with AAx2 and other goodies.

Yes, you cannot overclock it or customize it all too much further, but this is a good option for those scraping by on money.

I like the sound of this as well as what DickBandit had to say. I don't wanna bother you guys but if you know of good parts off the top of your head, would you mind suggesting some? I don't wanna ask a Best Buy associate because they have never given me good advice on computers...ever. Thanks for the help so far. I'm hoping to have a computer up and running by the end of June.

johnscott10 wrote:

LordofHats wrote:You could trying iBuyPower or CyberPower. They will assembly a PC for you from your specifications and the prices are pretty good.

+1.

Only do it if you know about the different parts of the computer, 9/10 its cheaper and you know exactly what you are paying for.

That is a good service, but having a company build you a computer is NEVER cheaper. Yes, the actual monetary cost is less, but you dont know about alot of the hardware that goes into those machines. I was fixing a dell "gaming computer" that a guy spent some decent money on with 6gigs of ddr3. Problem is that there were 4 sticks of ram...of varying sizes...of different brands that were in different languages...with different speed clocks -_- and he was wondering why he was having so many problems with his system crashing.

Gman - My rig cost me less than $800 off of newegg (788$ to be exact).

Here are the specs:

Raidmax Smilodon - case
Raidmax Hybrid modular 750W - Power supply
8Gigs of OCZ Reaper DDR1600 - RAM
AMD 965BE 3.6Ghz - CPU
ASUS EAH4870 - GPU
MSI 790FX-GD70 - Mobo
Western Digital Black 1TB - Hard drive
2 LiteOn DVD/CD burners
I also picked up a keyboard/mouse combo and a small subwoofer with surround speakers.

I made this computer over a year ago and I can play any games out on max settings while maintaining high FPS. I dont think it will do some of the games that are coming out (such as Battlefield 3) on max settings while maintaining the same solid FPS, but by the time they come out, I will be able to upgrade the Video card with a 6000 series radeon for 125$.

From my experience in building rigs - do not cheap out on the motherboard. Cheap out on something else like a HDD or RAM if you have to, but not the mobo. The 790FX MSI board could handle DDR2133 when I purchased it, which newegg did not even carry yet. It also has true 16X crossfire, CPU overclocking on the fly, and a built in RAID controller. it was the most expensive part of the system at 180$


Automatically Appended Next Post:
The real key to making a good system with limited funds is to take your time, especially with newegg. just check it every day and wait until you can get almost everything you want in a combo deal and with rebates. Newegg has tons of sales that are changing all the time and you can save literally hundreds of dollars by waiting until the things you want go on sale.

Cyberpower and iBuyPower aren't like Dell. You choose all the parts and they get installed (and there are a lot of parts). Really it's the same as buying the parts separately and building it yourself, except you skip the building it yourself part and pay the company with the parts to do it for you. Dell gives you Option A and Option B (assuming there are options) and very little information on what the parts actually are which wasn't always the case but seems to be the game plan now.

Dell is a horrible service for any performance other than low and barely passable (and that includes Alienware these days seeing as Dell owns them).

Yeah i have a dell vostro and its as slow as dirt.

Those are definite options for someone who cannot build their own system, but you arent going to save any $ by paying someone else to build it for you. In fact - I pieced together a system pretty similar to mine and it came out around 1300$ Also - it still does not tell you which hard drive manufacturer you are getting for most of the drives. They also choose the brand of the RAM and the video card (corsair or other major brand?)

I would certainly go with them before going with any large companies like dell or HP, but if you can build it yourself then you are probably better off.

It's really a matter of can you put it together and do you want too. I probably could, but I'd rather not as I am an unapologetic lazy bum. I got no issues forking out extra money for someone else to put it together I probably make up that money by not doing all the work

KingKodo wrote:

johnscott10 wrote:

LordofHats wrote:You could trying iBuyPower or CyberPower. They will assembly a PC for you from your specifications and the prices are pretty good.

+1.

Only do it if you know about the different parts of the computer, 9/10 its cheaper and you know exactly what you are paying for.

That is a good service, but having a company build you a computer is NEVER cheaper. Yes, the actual monetary cost is less, but you dont know about alot of the hardware that goes into those machines. I was fixing a dell "gaming computer" that a guy spent some decent money on with 6gigs of ddr3. Problem is that there were 4 sticks of ram...of varying sizes...of different brands that were in different languages...with different speed clocks -_- and he was wondering why he was having so many problems with his system crashing.

Gman - My rig cost me less than $800 off of newegg (788$ to be exact).

Here are the specs:

Raidmax Smilodon - case
Raidmax Hybrid modular 750W - Power supply
8Gigs of OCZ Reaper DDR1600 - RAM
AMD 965BE 3.6Ghz - CPU
ASUS EAH4870 - GPU
MSI 790FX-GD70 - Mobo
Western Digital Black 1TB - Hard drive
2 LiteOn DVD/CD burners
I also picked up a keyboard/mouse combo and a small subwoofer with surround speakers.

I made this computer over a year ago and I can play any games out on max settings while maintaining high FPS. I dont think it will do some of the games that are coming out (such as Battlefield 3) on max settings while maintaining the same solid FPS, but by the time they come out, I will be able to upgrade the Video card with a 6000 series radeon for 125$.

From my experience in building rigs - do not cheap out on the motherboard. Cheap out on something else like a HDD or RAM if you have to, but not the mobo. The 790FX MSI board could handle DDR2133 when I purchased it, which newegg did not even carry yet. It also has true 16X crossfire, CPU overclocking on the fly, and a built in RAID controller. it was the most expensive part of the system at 180$


Automatically Appended Next Post:
The real key to making a good system with limited funds is to take your time, especially with newegg. just check it every day and wait until you can get almost everything you want in a combo deal and with rebates. Newegg has tons of sales that are changing all the time and you can save literally hundreds of dollars by waiting until the things you want go on sale.

You know 965 be is just 3.4 not 3.6 ghz although ocing it is really easy and I doupt you need 8gbs of ram.

You correct about not being cheap when getting mobo. If I paid 10 euros more on my mobo I could have a lot better mobe now.

If you want pre Built.

Go with Gateway FX series gaming PC's

They are priced rather well with no effort.

I build 3 PC's then picked up a gateway and its been great for the price.

Tiger direct sells them i think.

here are the current models - specs - prices.

http://www.gateway.com/systems/category/529598148.php?cmpid=sectnav_fxseries

Then again im a Intel fan and i wont touch the AMD series. I-7 has been great so far.

If your going to get anything with an intel CPU in it, make sure that you get something with the new series of core processor....