Can't find the right Desktop

[AeroMonk]

I need help finding the best Desktop Computer to purchase. I've spent 4 days just reading tons of information & deals, now I'm in information overload. I really don't know which computer to buy.

Here's what I'm looking for:

* Has to be a Dell system

* I want to buy it from a well-known store (Best Buy, Circuit City, Costco, Sam's, etc.)

* Price range: $1,000 - $1,300

* Computer needs to be easily Upgradeable for future products & features. I don't want to buy a new computer in 2 years, when instead I could just put in a new video graphics card, more gigs of RAM, and a better CPU.

* This computer is going to be used for serious Gaming, I play the newest and most popular games available. (Unreal Tournament, Flight Simulator X, Call of Duty, etc.)

* I need a computer that can give great Video Graphics to handle all of my Gaming needs

* So, I need the best GPU for my price range, and it has to be Direct X 10

* A Power Unit with at least 650-850 watts

* DVD+/-RW

* I don't need a fancy Hard Drive, so anything with at least 80 gigs is plenty

* I need 3 GB of RAM, but 4 GB would be even better


Thanks in Advance for helping me

 

[emac227]

well most people on this forum are going to tell you to buy your own because its cheaper im no expert thats just what ive seen

 

[AeroMonk]

well most people on this forum are going to tell you to buy your own because its cheaper im no expert thats just what ive seen

That's what I'm asking: Which computer should I buy?

I don't feel comfortable trying to build my own computer, that's why I want to buy one from a store.

 

[Droogie]

and I'll be the first...Build your own. This will allow you to get a much better PC, at a much lower price. There's plenty of people on here that can help, and plenty of guides online, besides its really easy.

For parts use, newegg and/or tigerdirect.

 

[AeroMonk]

and I'll be the first...Build your own. This will allow you to get a much better PC, at a much lower price. There's plenty of people on here that can help, and plenty of guides online, besides its really easy.

For parts use, newegg and/or tigerdirect.

I appreciate your advice, but nonetheless I'm looking to buy not build.

 

[Droogie]

try this site, sometimes you can find good deals running.

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

 

[GamerX]

question one: Why dell?
question two: Why form a retial store you will pay to much for a system that wont do much.

If you buy a dell from a retail store you will end up spending tons of money and you say you want it to be upgradable easily, chances are the one that you buy will end up going out of style and being able to be upgraded faster than it would if you got a pc from an online retailer thats not a dell and lets you customize it.

Your wanting to play the newest games, with your budget you can easily go buy a custom computer (that you dont have to build yourself) that will out perform any dell that you could buy with your budget, and will out last also.

But just like every one else, the best choice would be to build one.

 

[blessthefall]

i would really stay away from dell although they arent bad is you want to expand you should build your own. or if you really dont want to build a system look at websites like www.ibuypower.com or www.alienware.com which will build a gaming system for you

 

[spikebuck77]

Take a look on Dell's online store. You can configure exactly what you want and you can probably beat the major stores prices.

 

[cohen]

1. - Don't go dell.
2. - You can get a really good system for that price
3. - Just to let you know, building is not hard, and you will save yourself a lot of money!
4. - The specs you want for the PC will be hard to find, for that price, pretty pls do a custom build, and you can get those specs!

 

[AeroMonk]

I'm thinking of buying this custom desktop from CyberpowerPC. I need advice, did I choose the right features for my $1,300 spending limit? Here's what I picked:

Intel Core 2 Quad SLI Custom Build Configurator
$1,313
(before all applicable rebates)

CASE: Apevia X-Dreamer Mid-Tower 350W Case w/ Window & Temperature Display (BLACK COLOR)

CPU: (Quad-Core)Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9300 @ 2.5GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit

MOTHERBOARD: MSI P7N SLI-FI 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 Supports LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2/800 Mainboard w/GbLAN, USB2.0, & 7.1 Audio

MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)

VIDEO CARD 1: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)

VIDEO CARD 2: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)

VIDEO CARD 3: NONE

LCD Monitor: 19'' TFT Active Matrix LCD Display (Brand-Named LCD Display)

HARD DRIVE: Single Hard Drive (320GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)

Data Hard Drive: NONE

Optical Drive: LG 20X Double Layer DVD+-RW Super Allwrite + Lightscribe Technology (Black Color)

Optical Drive 2: NONE

SOUND: ESS 3D WAVETABLE SOUND PCI

PSU: 800 Watts Power Supplies (Xion SuperNova Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready) -- ($10 off Mail-in Rebate)

COOLING FAN: Asetek Liquid CPU Cooling System (Extreme Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA)

SPEAKERS: 600Watts PMPO Subwoofer Stereo Speakers

NETWORK: ADDITIONAL PCI 32 BIT 10/100 NETWORK CARD (I already have a linksys 802.11b wireless router at home)

FLASH MEDIA READER/WRITER: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer

CABLE WIRING: Professional Wiring for All WIRINGs Inside The System Chasis with High Performance Thermal Compound on CPU

IEEE 1394 CARD AND DRIVER

Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Basic w/ Service Pack 1 (32 bit)

GAMING GEAR: Logitech Precision PC Gaming Headset



Should I change anything?

 

[pies]

I would get a single card rather than 2 8600's sli dosen't really give much to be desired the price/performance ratio isn't the best.
And have you ever thought of building a pc it saves money and has benifits.

 

[James^.^]

Let me tell you why NOT to get a dell....

They manufacture alot of their own parts, therefore you can only buy a replacement from them (e.g. psu) and even though it makes it really cheap to build they add like a 1000$ profit on them

 

[ToxicRevolution]

I'm also gonna have to say, building is not hard, I'm 15 years old with almost no previous experience and i put mine together fine. It'll save you money and get you a much better system.

 

[AeroMonk]

I would get a single card rather than 2 8600's sli dosen't really give much to be desired the price/performance ratio isn't the best.
And have you ever thought of building a pc it saves money and has benifits.

So, would this one card "NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express"
be better than two of these "NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express"

 

[compt 134]

Mate, there stores like excaliberpc, bigfootcomputers, thinkgeek. These are some of the good store that you can try out and look.

However cohen is correct, if you could assemble computer, you could save lot of money BUT do it only if you know how to otherwise you could be spending more money because you could be damaging the components.

 

[AeroMonk]

I figured that it might help if I list the options that cyberpowerpc gives me. So, the things that I have already picked will be highlighted in red. But I just don't know if I picked the right ones for me. So, I need you guys to tell me if I should change anything. The important thing to remember though, is that I've already reached my $1300 spending limit. So, for example, if you tell me to get a better Motherboard that costs $80 more than my "red choice", then I would need too offset that by getting an $80 cheaper CPU (or vis-versa, you get the idea). I'll highlight the price difference in green. I wont list everything, just the important stuff (mobo, cpu, psu, gpu, etc.):

Power Supply Unit
* 600 Watts Power Supplies(Nzxt PP600 Watt Power Supply-SLI Supports) [- $15]
* 635 Watts Power Supplies(($30 off Mail-in Rebate) Sigma Shark SP-635W PSU - SLI Ready) [- $10]
* 650 Watts Power Supplies(Corsair CMPSU-650TX - Quad SLI Ready) [+ $29]
* 700 Watts Power Supplies(Thermaltake Toughpower 700W Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready) [+ $67]
* 750 Watts Power Supplies(Ultra Lifetime Series Pro) [+0]
* 800 Watts Power Supplies(NZXT PP800 Performance Power ATX 2.0 Power - Quad SLI Ready) [+ $31]
* 850 Watts Power Supplies(($40 off Mail-in Rebate) Thermaltake W0131RU ToughPower 850 Watts- NVIDIA GTX 8800 Certified) [+ $119]

CPU
* (Quad-Core)Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9450 @ 2.66GHz 1333FSB 12MB L2 Cache 64-bit [+ $124]
* (Quad-Core)Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9300 @ 2.5GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit [+ $70]
* (Quad-Core)Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6700 @ 2.66GHz 1066FSB 8MB L2 Cache 64-bit [+ $70]
*(Quad-Core)Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz 1066FSB 8MB L2 Cache 64-bit [+ $14]
* (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8500 CPU @ 3.16GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit [+ $74]
* (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8400 CPU @ 3.0GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit [+0]
* (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8300 CPU @ 2.83GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit [- $46]
* (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E7200 CPU @ 2.53GHz 1066FSB 3MB L2 Cache 64-bit [- $76]
* (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6850 CPU @ 3.00GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit [- $10]
* (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6750 CPU @ 2.66GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit [- $20]
* (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6550 CPU @ 2.33GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit [- $46]

Motherboard
* MSI G31M-F Intel G31 Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard [- $56]
* Gigabyte GA-EG31M-S2 Intel G31 Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard [- $62]
* MSI P35 Neo-F P35 Chipset LGA775 Supports Core 2 Duo CPU FSB1333 DDR2/800 Mainboard w/GbLAN, USB2.0 & 7.1 Audio [- $36]
* MSI P7N SLI-FI 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 Supports LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2/800 Mainboard w/GbLAN, USB2.0 & 7.1 Audio [- $16]
* ($30 Mail-in Rebate)(3-Way SLI Support) MSI P6N Diamond nForce 680i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard [+ $54]
* Asus P5N-E nForce 650i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard [- $26]
* EVGA NFORCE 680i SLI CHIPSET 1333FSB DDR2/800 SATA RAID W/ USB2.0, 1GbLAN, & 7.1 AUDIO [+ $24]
* (QX9650 Support) Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard [+0]
* (3-Way SLI Support) Asus Striker Extreme nForce 680i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard [+ $84]
* (3-Way SLI & QX9650/9770 Support) EVGA nForce 780i SLI Mainboard FSB1333 DDR2 3 x PCIe x16 SATA RAID w/ USB2.0, IEEE1394 & 7.1 Audio [+ $108]
* (3-Way SLI & QX9650/9770 Support) Asus P5N-T Deluxe nForce 780i SLI Mainboard FSB1333 DDR2 3 x PCIe x16 SATA RAID w/ USB2.0, IEEE1394 & 7.1 Audio [+ $108]

Video Card
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express [- $94]
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS 512MB 16X PCI Express [- $51]
* NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express [- $18]
* NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express [+ $14]
* NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express [- $38]
* NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express [+0]
* NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX 512MB 16X PCI Express [+ $84]
* NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 16X PCI Express [+ $104]
* NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB 16X PCI Express [+ $370]

Sound
* HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO [- $30]
* ESS 3D WAVETABLE SOUND PCI [- $18]
* Creative Labs SB Audigy SE [+0]
* Creative Labs SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio 24-BIT PCI Sound Card [+ $34]
* New! Creative X-Fi XMOD USB External Sound Control [+ $43]
* Creative Labs X-Fi 24-BIT PCI Sound Card [+ $49]

IEEE Card
* NONE [- $19]
* IEEE 1394 CARD AND DRIVER [+0]

OS
* Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Basic w/ Service Pack 1(32-bit Edition) [+0]
* Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Basic w/ Service Pack 1(64-bit Edition) [+ $19]
* Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium w/ Service Pack 1(32-bit Edition) [+ $15]
* Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium w/ Service Pack 1(64-bit Edition) [+ $34]
* Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Business w/ Service Pack 1(32-bit Edition) [+ $46]
* Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Business w/ Service Pack 1(64-bit Edition) [+ $65]
* Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Ultimate w/ Service Pack 1(32-bit Edition) [+ $120]
* Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Ultimate w/ Service Pack 1(64-bit Edition) [+ $139]
* Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition w/ Service Pack 2 [+ $30]
* Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional w/ Service Pack 2 [+ $76]


So, what features should I change, in order to get a better-performing Gaming System? But, keeping in mind that I can't afford to increase the Total Price, we just have to do a little "give & take".

 

[xbadwolfx]

buy your computer from ecollegepc.com . they charge base prices. they basically build it for free. i got my computer from them. this build costs $1,317 with shipping.

2.40Ghz Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 8MB Cache FSB 1066
Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler Extremely Quiet
ASUS P5K-EPU (Intel P35, PCIEx, 8-Channel Audio, LAN, 4xSATA2, 4xDDR2, 1394, 1333FSB)
4GB (2GBx2) PC6400 DDR2 800Mhz Memory Lifetime Warranty
320GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA300
20X Samsung SH-S202G Dual Layer DVD+/-RW/CDRW w/Nero
512MB nVidia GeForce 9800GTX GDDR3 PCI Express DVI/Tvout
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit SP1
Thermaltake Black Armor VA8003BWS 25cm Fan (8 5.25, 5 3.5 bays) 5 Fans, Window, Front Audio/USB/1394
850watt Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-850
Onboard LAN included
Onboard Sound included
Internal 15 in 1 Card Reader
Standard 1 year parts and labor

 

[Seanusaf]

you would get a badass pc if you did it. i know your set on not building it. im on my first build right now to and i am getting sooo much more bang for my buck even with me paying extra for shipping to korea. just think about it

 

[Compequip]

I figured that it might help if I list the options that cyberpowerpc gives me. So, the things that I have already picked will be highlighted in red. But I just don't know if I picked the right ones for me. So, I need you guys to tell me if I should change anything. The important thing to remember though, is that I've already reached my $1300 spending limit. So, for example, if you tell me to get a better Motherboard that costs $80 more than my "red choice", then I would need too offset that by getting an $80 cheaper CPU (or vis-versa, you get the idea). I'll highlight the price difference in green. I wont list everything, just the important stuff (mobo, cpu, psu, gpu, etc.):

Power Supply Unit
* 600 Watts Power Supplies(Nzxt PP600 Watt Power Supply-SLI Supports) [- $15]
* 635 Watts Power Supplies(($30 off Mail-in Rebate) Sigma Shark SP-635W PSU - SLI Ready) [- $10]
* 650 Watts Power Supplies(Corsair CMPSU-650TX - Quad SLI Ready) [+ $29]
* 700 Watts Power Supplies(Thermaltake Toughpower 700W Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready) [+ $67]
* 750 Watts Power Supplies(Ultra Lifetime Series Pro) [+0]
* 800 Watts Power Supplies(NZXT PP800 Performance Power ATX 2.0 Power - Quad SLI Ready) [+ $31]
* 850 Watts Power Supplies(($40 off Mail-in Rebate) Thermaltake W0131RU ToughPower 850 Watts- NVIDIA GTX 8800 Certified) [+ $119]

CPU
* (Quad-Core)Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9450 @ 2.66GHz 1333FSB 12MB L2 Cache 64-bit [+ $124]
* (Quad-Core)Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9300 @ 2.5GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit [+ $70]
* (Quad-Core)Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6700 @ 2.66GHz 1066FSB 8MB L2 Cache 64-bit [+ $70]
*(Quad-Core)Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz 1066FSB 8MB L2 Cache 64-bit [+ $14]
* (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8500 CPU @ 3.16GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit [+ $74]
* (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8400 CPU @ 3.0GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit [+0]
* (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8300 CPU @ 2.83GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit [- $46]
* (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E7200 CPU @ 2.53GHz 1066FSB 3MB L2 Cache 64-bit [- $76]
* (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6850 CPU @ 3.00GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit [- $10]
* (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6750 CPU @ 2.66GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit [- $20]
* (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6550 CPU @ 2.33GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit [- $46]

Motherboard
* MSI G31M-F Intel G31 Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard [- $56]
* Gigabyte GA-EG31M-S2 Intel G31 Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard [- $62]
* MSI P35 Neo-F P35 Chipset LGA775 Supports Core 2 Duo CPU FSB1333 DDR2/800 Mainboard w/GbLAN, USB2.0 & 7.1 Audio [- $36]
* MSI P7N SLI-FI 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 Supports LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2/800 Mainboard w/GbLAN, USB2.0 & 7.1 Audio [- $16]
* ($30 Mail-in Rebate)(3-Way SLI Support) MSI P6N Diamond nForce 680i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard [+ $54]
* Asus P5N-E nForce 650i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard [- $26]
* EVGA NFORCE 680i SLI CHIPSET 1333FSB DDR2/800 SATA RAID W/ USB2.0, 1GbLAN, & 7.1 AUDIO [+ $24]
* (QX9650 Support) Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard [+0]
* (3-Way SLI Support) Asus Striker Extreme nForce 680i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard [+ $84]
* (3-Way SLI & QX9650/9770 Support) EVGA nForce 780i SLI Mainboard FSB1333 DDR2 3 x PCIe x16 SATA RAID w/ USB2.0, IEEE1394 & 7.1 Audio [+ $108]
* (3-Way SLI & QX9650/9770 Support) Asus P5N-T Deluxe nForce 780i SLI Mainboard FSB1333 DDR2 3 x PCIe x16 SATA RAID w/ USB2.0, IEEE1394 & 7.1 Audio [+ $108]

Video Card
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express [- $94]
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS 512MB 16X PCI Express [- $51]
* NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express [- $18]
* NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express [+ $14]
* NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express [- $38]
* NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express [+0]
* NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX 512MB 16X PCI Express [+ $84]
* NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 16X PCI Express [+ $104]
* NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB 16X PCI Express [+ $370]

Sound
* HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO [- $30]
* ESS 3D WAVETABLE SOUND PCI [- $18]
* Creative Labs SB Audigy SE [+0]
* Creative Labs SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio 24-BIT PCI Sound Card [+ $34]
* New! Creative X-Fi XMOD USB External Sound Control [+ $43]
* Creative Labs X-Fi 24-BIT PCI Sound Card [+ $49]

IEEE Card
* NONE [- $19]
* IEEE 1394 CARD AND DRIVER [+0]

OS
* Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Basic w/ Service Pack 1(32-bit Edition) [+0]
* Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Basic w/ Service Pack 1(64-bit Edition) [+ $19]
* Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium w/ Service Pack 1(32-bit Edition) [+ $15]
* Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium w/ Service Pack 1(64-bit Edition) [+ $34]
* Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Business w/ Service Pack 1(32-bit Edition) [+ $46]
* Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Business w/ Service Pack 1(64-bit Edition) [+ $65]
* Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Ultimate w/ Service Pack 1(32-bit Edition) [+ $120]
* Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Ultimate w/ Service Pack 1(64-bit Edition) [+ $139]
* Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition w/ Service Pack 2 [+ $30]
* Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional w/ Service Pack 2 [+ $76]


So, what features should I change, in order to get a better-performing Gaming System? But, keeping in mind that I can't afford to increase the Total Price, we just have to do a little "give & take".

If your set on buying rather than building, I'd get the 8800 GT for $14.00 more and opt. for the Vista 64 bit O.S.. Just my .02.....