Getting a new PC
polycounter lvl 11
I'm getting a new PC under 600 bucks because i'm broke right now. I'm thinking this type of PC from Tigerdirect. Any better suggestions i'm up for it.
Here are the specs and it's a Dual Core and it's price is $499.99!
Condition: New
Lifestyle: Home & Student
Operating Systems: Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
Startup Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® Vista Home Premium 64-bit
Platform: PC
Form Factor: micro-ATX
Bays: 2 - 5.25" Drive Bays
2 - 3.5" Drive Bays
Internal Bays: 3 - 3.5" Drive Bays
Available 3.5" Drive Bays: 1
Available 5.25" Drive Bays: 1
Colors: Black
PCI Slots (Total): 2
PCI Slots (Available): 2
PCI Express X1 Slots (Total): 1
PCI Express X1 Slots (Available): 1
PCI Express X16 Slots (Total): 1
PCI Express X16 Slots (Available): 1
Processor Brand: AMD
Processor Class: Athlon 64 X2
Processor Number: 5000+
Processor Speed: 2.60GHz
Processor Interface: AM2
Processors Supported: 1
Processors Onboard: 1
Additional Technologies: Virtualization
Memory Type: DDR2
Memory Size: 2.0GB
Total Memory: 8.0GB
Memory Speed: DDR2 800 (PC2-6400)
Memory Slots (Total): 4
Memory Slots (Available): 0
Maximum Memory Supported: 8.0GB
Interface: SATA 3G
Capacity: 500GB
Optical Drive Type: DVDRW Dual Layer
Optical Drive Class: DVD-RW DL
Type: Media Reader
Capacity: 9-in-1
GPU/VPU: ATI Radeon HD 3200
Video Interface: DVI-D
VGA (15-Pin D-Sub)
HDMI
Maximum Resolution: 2048x1536, 2560x1600
Power: 350 Watt
Here are the specs and it's a Dual Core and it's price is $499.99!
Condition: New
Lifestyle: Home & Student
Operating Systems: Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
Startup Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® Vista Home Premium 64-bit
Platform: PC
Form Factor: micro-ATX
Bays: 2 - 5.25" Drive Bays
2 - 3.5" Drive Bays
Internal Bays: 3 - 3.5" Drive Bays
Available 3.5" Drive Bays: 1
Available 5.25" Drive Bays: 1
Colors: Black
PCI Slots (Total): 2
PCI Slots (Available): 2
PCI Express X1 Slots (Total): 1
PCI Express X1 Slots (Available): 1
PCI Express X16 Slots (Total): 1
PCI Express X16 Slots (Available): 1
Processor Brand: AMD
Processor Class: Athlon 64 X2
Processor Number: 5000+
Processor Speed: 2.60GHz
Processor Interface: AM2
Processors Supported: 1
Processors Onboard: 1
Additional Technologies: Virtualization
Memory Type: DDR2
Memory Size: 2.0GB
Total Memory: 8.0GB
Memory Speed: DDR2 800 (PC2-6400)
Memory Slots (Total): 4
Memory Slots (Available): 0
Maximum Memory Supported: 8.0GB
Interface: SATA 3G
Capacity: 500GB
Optical Drive Type: DVDRW Dual Layer
Optical Drive Class: DVD-RW DL
Type: Media Reader
Capacity: 9-in-1
GPU/VPU: ATI Radeon HD 3200
Video Interface: DVI-D
VGA (15-Pin D-Sub)
HDMI
Maximum Resolution: 2048x1536, 2560x1600
Power: 350 Watt
Replies
What you're looking at seems like a great price for what you're getting...although i am speculating a little bit since im not on top of AMD or ATI specs right now. The only thing I might suggest is to consider expansion options. If you want a full function machine right now, this one would work, but if you are planning on putting more money into the machine in a few months time, you may want to consider something with a larger power supply. None of the current and last gen vid cards will run well or at all on 350watts.
If you are willing to put the machine together yourself, you can pick and choose components at a fairer price that'll leave you options for the future.
Thanks but I just need something that will run 3dmax and Zbrush fast enough if I'm working with a lot of polys. This seems like it should do the trick. It's got 8gb of memory, a decent processor, and a updated graphic card. Also why would 350 watt be a problem? Are you saying that no recent video card will run well on that wattage? Also I don't really know how to build a PC i'd rather focus more on my portfolio rather than spending time on that.
If only there was a way for you to skip buying vista 64 and borrow an unused copy of any OS from someone you know... Perhaps a friend of yours recently upgraded to Vista and you could borrow or buy their copy of XP, I bet you would be happier this way and you would get a bigger return on your money by investing the Vista OS money back into your PC hardware.
The micro-atx form factor worries me in regards to the unmentioned motherboard.. have you searched reviews on whatever that motherboard is? I would find out and do that before you throw down.
Other than that, looks decent on paper...
Vista's that bad eh? Most of the PC's Ive seen with 400 to 500 watts are around 700 to 800 bucks I simply just don't have the money for those. How bad could it be just to stick with the 350 watt PC? I could still run Unreal 3 or any other next gen game with the proper video card couldn't I?
The biggest thing to me is the video card, i really think the 3200 is a pretty crappy card. Again easily fixed when you have more money. You'll probabbly end up putting $200 more into it for a new PSU and video card, so just keep that in mind.
The biggest problem i see with your configu
I mention vista because I dont see you benifiting from teh 64 bits more than if that money was repurposed somewhere else on your PC hardware. certainly XP can "run unreal"
BUT, you are starting to make it clear that looking stuff up like PC hardware and reading about it, then building your own PC piece by piece isnt very interesting to you. taking the fact that you just want to keep the price under 600 and also buy with virtually no research at all .... then this PC might give you want you want.
The problem is, when you want to do things on the cheap - it means you should really do more personal work in order to cover for the cheaper cost - this will augment your small wallet and you can get the best rig for your money.
More work means this > you should research this subject for about a week, and then find a place where you can buy the PC in a "piece by piece" or mix and match type of format, and really look up reviews on each piece of the PC you are going to buy, I'll bet you will find a better place to chuck your 600 bones. Dont feel worried about knowing everything about computers. Just look up the reviews for each part and read them, you will get the idea even if you dont understsand all the stats ect. Then write down the results for each piece and decide if you can live with the bad parts of the hardware.
If you just want to look at the price and then purchase right away - you might miss something and possibly have regrets. its much harder to get your money back once you have the PC, right now, you still have the money - so do your research. If you have oodles of cash you can throw it around and it doesnt really matter if you end up with a lemon. but you dont have that.
This also may not be true, did you see the microATX? what motherboard is going in here? is this a SFF PC? the PSU might be nailed right in there onto the MB?
Whats a better card out there from your standpoint just curious?
I've yet to see a PSU attached directly to the Mobo, mini-atx mobos are very common, and mini-atx cases should still be using a standard PSU. You can swap out PSU's even on those tiny shuttle cases(generally have to be a special kind of psu, but still).
Either way its worth looking into tho.
If you do need to replace it with some special PSU i would not consider buying it, because it will A. cost more than it should and B. if its one of those smaller ones, you'll have a hard time finding one over 400w.
Processor- AMD Phenom™ X4 9100e 64-bit Quad-Core Processor (1.80GHz, 2MB L2 Cache) with AMD64 Technology
Operating System- Genuine Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium (64-bit) with SP11
Memory- 4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM (2-2048MB modules)
Hard Drive - 640GB 7200rpm Serial ATA II/300 hard drive with 16MB Cache4
Chassis- Modern System Design with Red Chrome Branding Strip
Application Software- Microsoft® Works 9.0, Microsoft® Money Essentials & Microsoft® Office Home and
Student 2007 (60-day complimentary trial period)3
Audio - 8-Channel (7.1) High Definition Audio
Available Expansion Slots - Available: 1 - PCI-E x16, 1 - PCI-E x1 & 1 - PCI
Backup Media - Cyberlink® Power 2 Go
Dimensions - (Box) 22.05" (L) x 17.72" (W) x 11.22" (D) or 560mm (L) x 450mm (W) x 285mm (D)
Dimensions - (System) 16.34" (H) x 7.09" (W) x 17.32" (D) or 415mm (H) x 180mm (W) x 440mm (D)
External Ports- (6) USB 2.0 ports (2 Front, 4 Rear), (2) IEEE 1394a Ports (1 Front, 1Rear), VGA, (2) PS/2
Ports, HDMI
Integrated Video- ATI® Radeon™ HD 3200 Integrated Hybrid Graphics with up to 256MB of Shared Video
Memory-
Keyboard- Premium Multimedia Keyboard
Media Card Reader - Gateway® 15-in-1 media card reader with copy button5
Memory Capacity- Expandable to 8GB
Modem- 56k ITU v.92 ready Fax/Modem (RJ-11 port)
Motherboard- Systemboard with AMD® 780G Chipset
Mouse- USB Optical 2-button Wheel Mouse
Network - 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 port)
Optical Drive - 18X DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti Drive featuring Labelflash™ Technology7
Power Supply- 300W Power Supply
Security Software- Norton 360 All-in-One Security™ 2008 (60-day trial)6
Speakers- Amplified Stereo Speakers (USB Powered)
Warranty- 1 Year Parts and Labor Limited Warranty8
Weights - 24.25 lbs. (11 kg) system unit only / Approximately 35 lbs. (16.0 kg.) box
I'm not sure, check some benchmarks etc.
This latest one has an even worse PSU, 300w EEEEK
I know I know but that PSU can replaced like you said right? Plus this Gateway is not a MicroATX.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153052
I'll let you know if it blows up when i put it together =D
If you can save a little by getting something with a crappy PSU, then go for it!
Also, i would buy something with the worst possible GPU as well, if it saves you some money. Just make sure it has a pci-e slot etc, then get a $100 card(gforce 8800 GT will run you around $100) and throw that in!
[edit] actually if you're willing to build your own i can list what i'm putting into her pc, it ran about $550 shipped from newegg.
Hit me wit dat info!
Yes PSU's are always removable, by nailed down i meant is it standard modular or built with that chasis and Mobo in mind...
basically, can you swap out parts and upgrade easily towards the graphic at a later date. Im not trying to harp on the PSU, its just symptomatic of other problems. As EQ says build a PC that you can upgrade later in the areas that are lacking now, and you will be fine.
Ram 4gigs, DDR2 800 $44
HD WD 320 gig $50
DVD $21
CPU Core 2 Duo E8400 $165
PSU 500w $60
MOBO Asus $55 (May have a limit of 4 gb? I didnt care, but something to think about)
GPU GeForce 9400 GT 512mb $55
Comes out to around $505, say $45 for shipping and you've got $550 for the total system.
Nothing generic, this was quickly put together in about an hour, so some more research might help. The main thing was that she had it ASAP, and it was better than her old system. She wont be doing much graphics stuff with it, so i went with the cheap video card. You could easily spend a little more on the graphics card(again around $100) and have a very nice system.
No OS tho so that is something to consider if you need to "buy" one.
Should have the parts tomorrow or friday, i can let you know how the build goes, and if i recommend any of this stuff after its all put together.
If that system EQ is working on boots up, and you like the look of it, is say def just copy the stats and pop it together yourself. It looks solid, and very upgradeable, and you'll know everything's compatible.
Also remember that if you have an old system you might be able to salvage pieces. No need to buy a DVD drive if you can just rip it outta the old one. Even the case might be reusable.
What are your goals for this system? for 600 bucks i'm sure you can put together a pretty decent current system... probably not 8800 or 9800 gtx type video, but not terrible either.
I would also consider shopping around for the parts yourself to build it. A lot of these prebuilt systems don't offer flexibilty in upgrade, standard pci is a pretty dead format, Though parts are still readily available, new development has pretty much gone to pci-e.
Also you can consider what you can cannibalize out of your current system to save money. If your current rig has sata harddrives and working CD/dvd drives, there's no reason why you shouldn't keep them if you're on a budget.
I used the same case for 3 systems, now I have a new one, but even on my quad core rig, the CD drives are old ide drives I pulled out of the dying system.
This means, proper PCI express slot for graphics, memory slots for at least 8 gigs, and a 500+ watt power supply with at least two SATA cables for powering harddrives.
Something like this should be a start: http://www.ibuypower.com/ibp/store/configurator.aspx?mid=311
As part of my warranty(Which I payed a little extra for) Dell will send someone out to fix your PC or they will send you the parts and you can fix it your self. Well the tech they sent out messed my PC up more than it was so I called Dell back and asked for a new machine and Boy did I get a new machine...First of all I got my new PC overnighted to me for free so I had it the very next day which I was really happy about till I opened the box got my new PC out and almost crapped my pants when I found out what they put in it.
Basically they gave me a Brand new top of the line XPS 730x which was like my old computer but on steroids and to make matters even sweeter they where out of 1 gig ram sticks so they gave me 2 gig sticks but instead of only putting on 1 they gave me 2 2gig sticks giving me 4 gigs of RAM total or 2 more gigs than I bought. They also gave me the choice to pick what graphic card combination I wanted either ATi or NVIDIA which was cool as I had dual ATi cards to start with and now I have dual NVIDA's 9800 GTX which are pretty sweet.
All in all I am really really happy with Dell and the quickness of their service. Oh and one last thing, I financed my PC through them which I have been slowly paying off which I thought sucked till I say what that did to my credit score and almost crapped my pants again. So by financing my computer through them I am now 25 points away from having a perfect credit score of 800 and most of that is thanks to all the items I have bought and paid off through my Dell account. Just some food for thought.
Dell warranty is probably the only great thing about the brand.
Manufacturer warranty also does this with RMA, if your part's warranty outlasts the shelf expectancy of the part (and it's stock in the manufacturer's warehouse) you will get an upgrade. Only thing is, you pay for shipping most of the time to return the part. Dell marks up their gear so much they can afford to eat the shipping every once in a while for a warranty claim.
If you buy the components yourself, generally they are only marked up 5-10% at most. Why else is a video card upgrade or ram upgrade from dell so ridiculously expensive?
Interesting site. Does all of this come already assembled?
Again the only thing differently i would recommend, would be maybe spend a little more on the mobo(maybe $75?), and get something that supports 8 gigs instead of 4, and spend ~100 on a video card.(8800 gt?).