Buying a computer...your advice???

Mcnulty1977 · 11-21-2005, 03:05 AM

Hello,

I have been shopping around for a desktop computer and thought I would seek the advice of people in the know. It seems that every store I visit has a different piece of advice. One says the desktop I am looking at is fine for everything, the other gives me a list of twenty things I need to buy to add on. I do have a fairly limited budget so I can't just go and buy the top-of-the-line model with the highest price tag. I currently have a Toshiba laptop that meets most needs but it runs like an oven. Most games and even burning a CD will cause it to overheat and shut down on me. I would like a desktop that allows me to do the basics...go online, burn CDs, listen to a radio station that streams online, and play some games. The games I would want to play are not cutting edge or online games, either. Mostly they are new versions of games I used to play...Pirates, Civilization 4, Zoo Tycoon, Roller Coaster Tycoon, SimCity 4, etc.

I have been looking at the HP Pavillion 1230n because it seems to have some nice features and is offered at a good price right now in various places...but I have not jumped at it yet. One salesman, for example, told me the graphics card was not good at all and would not handle most games...another said it was fine and there would only be a few games it would not handle. I believe the card is the ATI Radeon 200...or close to that.

Any opinions on the 1230n for general use and general gaming or any other models at a good price that would meet these needs are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

34erd · 11-21-2005, 03:13 AM

That looks decent, if you upgrade a video card you should be able to game pretty good. Have you ever considered building? You can get alot more bang for your buck.

celsdogg · 11-21-2005, 03:31 AM

i would say go with building your own too, and its fun to boot! (no pun intended)

i took a look at the 1230n and it pretty decent, the only thing is that video card, but for the games you mentioned you will prolly be fine. i bought a similar computer for my wifes family, and it runs great. the only thing i changed was the hard drive because it only had a 2mb cache which really hurt performace.

also be aware that the 1230n may feature a PCI-E x16 slot, so in the future, you could possibly upgrade to a newer video card.

Mcnulty1977 · 11-21-2005, 06:27 AM

I have not looked into building yet, mainly because I am somewhat clueless. While I am pretty strong at finding my way around a computer when it is on, putting one together would be a challenge for me. I will investigate it, though, while I continue to look at the 1230n and other models. I see the "computer building 101" post on here and I will read that and other articles to begin investigating that angle...

I appreciate the replies so far and look forward to any other helpful messages...thanks!

Thechefxxxv · 11-21-2005, 12:47 PM

That looks like an exelent laptop for what you are doing. If you dont want to build one you don't have to, but you can get a LOT more for your money if you build a custom laptop.

34erd · 11-21-2005, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thechefxxxv

That looks like an exelent laptop for what you are doing. If you dont want to build one you don't have to, but you can get a LOT more for your money if you build a custom laptop.

Its desktop

And no one builds laptops

rizzonjig · 11-21-2005, 05:53 PM

Ok I might be able to help, I work at best buy.. the computers at best buy are good but I would not and I repeat Would NOT get the PSP personal service plan... A best buy associate will try there hardest to get you to buy it. The plan is three years coverage on stupid things like if dust gets in there or if your mother board gets fried by a power serge, but you know what you buy an air can and due actually cleaning with it, or you buy a serge protector and you can solve the problems your self... So to sum it up if you buy from best buy I wouldn't get the service plan... PSP... Another thing you could check out is www.newegg.com there prices are very, very reasonable and they are very, very, very, reliable... I would take a look at there site just for fun... Hope I helped ya...

11-21-2005, 03:05 AM	#1 (permalink)
Mcnulty1977 New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 2	Buying a computer...your advice??? Hello, I have been shopping around for a desktop computer and thought I would seek the advice of people in the know. It seems that every store I visit has a different piece of advice. One says the desktop I am looking at is fine for everything, the other gives me a list of twenty things I need to buy to add on. I do have a fairly limited budget so I can't just go and buy the top-of-the-line model with the highest price tag. I currently have a Toshiba laptop that meets most needs but it runs like an oven. Most games and even burning a CD will cause it to overheat and shut down on me. I would like a desktop that allows me to do the basics...go online, burn CDs, listen to a radio station that streams online, and play some games. The games I would want to play are not cutting edge or online games, either. Mostly they are new versions of games I used to play...Pirates, Civilization 4, Zoo Tycoon, Roller Coaster Tycoon, SimCity 4, etc. I have been looking at the HP Pavillion 1230n because it seems to have some nice features and is offered at a good price right now in various places...but I have not jumped at it yet. One salesman, for example, told me the graphics card was not good at all and would not handle most games...another said it was fine and there would only be a few games it would not handle. I believe the card is the ATI Radeon 200...or close to that. Any opinions on the 1230n for general use and general gaming or any other models at a good price that would meet these needs are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

11-21-2005, 03:13 AM	#2 (permalink)
34erd Diamond Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Age: 15 Posts: 2,842	That looks decent, if you upgrade a video card you should be able to game pretty good. Have you ever considered building? You can get alot more bang for your buck. __________________ DFI Lanparty UT nF4 SLI DR Athlon 64 3500+ Venice 1 Gig OCZ VX DDR500 DDR BFG GeForce 7800GT 160 Gig SATA HDD CD-RW DVD-ROM Antec NeoPower 480 Thermaltake Tsunami

11-21-2005, 03:31 AM	#3 (permalink)
celsdogg Gold Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Maryland Age: 26 Posts: 306	i would say go with building your own too, and its fun to boot! (no pun intended) i took a look at the 1230n and it pretty decent, the only thing is that video card, but for the games you mentioned you will prolly be fine. i bought a similar computer for my wifes family, and it runs great. the only thing i changed was the hard drive because it only had a 2mb cache which really hurt performace. also be aware that the 1230n may feature a PCI-E x16 slot, so in the future, you could possibly upgrade to a newer video card. __________________ VALERIE - AMD Athlon XP Palomino 1800+, 1GB DDR SDRAM, nVidia GeForceFX 5700 128MB DDR, two 160GB Seagate HDD, two 250GB Seagate HDD, WinXP Pro SARAH (Toshiba Laptop) - Intel Pentium 4 2.8ghz, 512MB DDR SDRAM, Trident Cyberblade XP2 32MB, 60GB Samsung HDD, Ubuntu Linux 7.10 MARGARET - AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 2GB Corsair XMS DDR400 Dual Channel, nVidia GeForce 8600GT 256MB GDDR PCIE, 80GB Seagate SATA, 60GB Maxtor PATA, 60GB WD PATA Ubuntu Linux 7.10 + WinXP Pro

11-21-2005, 06:27 AM	#4 (permalink)
Mcnulty1977 New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 2	I have not looked into building yet, mainly because I am somewhat clueless. While I am pretty strong at finding my way around a computer when it is on, putting one together would be a challenge for me. I will investigate it, though, while I continue to look at the 1230n and other models. I see the "computer building 101" post on here and I will read that and other articles to begin investigating that angle... I appreciate the replies so far and look forward to any other helpful messages...thanks! Last edited by Mcnulty1977; 11-21-2005 at 06:35 AM.

11-21-2005, 05:53 PM	#7 (permalink)
rizzonjig New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 10	Your computer Ok I might be able to help, I work at best buy.. the computers at best buy are good but I would not and I repeat Would NOT get the PSP personal service plan... A best buy associate will try there hardest to get you to buy it. The plan is three years coverage on stupid things like if dust gets in there or if your mother board gets fried by a power serge, but you know what you buy an air can and due actually cleaning with it, or you buy a serge protector and you can solve the problems your self... So to sum it up if you buy from best buy I wouldn't get the service plan... PSP... Another thing you could check out is www.newegg.com there prices are very, very reasonable and they are very, very, very, reliable... I would take a look at there site just for fun... Hope I helped ya...

11-21-2005, 12:47 PM	#5 (permalink)
Thechefxxxv Silver Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: South of Lumbridge Posts: 205	That looks like an exelent laptop for what you are doing. If you dont want to build one you don't have to, but you can get a LOT more for your money if you build a custom laptop.

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