Need help choosing the right pc

[whos_next]

Im looking at PCs that are $650 or less. Im going to be mostly using it to play games. Basically, Im looking for the most powerful pc thats under $650.
The games that Im going to be playing arent anything like Halo or Doom 3. They're like RCT 3, Sims 2, Flight Simulator 2004. One comp that caught my eye was the Dell Dimension 3000 with the P4 processor, 512 mb ram, and 80 gb hard drive. Dell has a special 20% off on it for about $526 for the one I customized. One thing I dont know about are the intel integrated extreme graphics 2. Does it have enough power to play my games? Help is appreciated.

 

[apj101]

are you not comfortable building one, you will get a much much better system for you budget if you just build one. Spend a day or so reading about it, then post a few idea of what you are thinking about buying here, we will help you pick all the stuff you need so it is compatible.
http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/

 

[whos_next]

Well the most ive ever done to a pc is put a graphics card in. And the hardest part was taking the cover off, lol. I also dont know where to buy all the parts. Oh, I forgot that my cousin used to build computers. I might be able to get hands-on help from him.

 

[joshj]

Some great sites for parts are newegg.com, tigerdirect.com, zipzoomfly.com

 

[shreypuranik2005]

I was in exactly the same position some time ago actually. The most important thing to bear in mind is that when you think about purchasing PC parts is that you are going to use the PC. And the only person who knows how you like to operate your pc is you. So dont buy things that you dont think you will be able to use. An example is if you dont know the first thing about motherboards, there is no point whatsoever in you going out there and spending way too much on a flashy motherboard.
Another thing I do recommend is that you do a little research in your product before you buy it. Also, if this is a first time thing, try and look for something second hand that is cheaper than the new stuff. For example, I am using a webcam that was originally released in 1999 but I got it for £5.00 from a friend a month ago.
Feel free to email me with any queries.

 

[damasta55r]

emachines t6212.

 

[whos_next]

I think Im just going to buy one thats already put together.

 

[whos_next]

Heres the specs of the dell dimension 3000 that im looking at:

Pentium 4 HT 3GHz, 800FSB
Windows XP Home
512MB dual channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz
80GB Ultra ATA 7200RPM
16x DVD-ROM
17 in conventional CTR (at least it comes with one)
Basic speakers

$598

 

[shreypuranik2005]

It depends where you live but I think Bespoke is the way forward...

 

[mgoldb2]

Heres the specs of the dell dimension 3000 that im looking at:

Pentium 4 HT 3GHz, 800FSB
Windows XP Home
512MB dual channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz
80GB Ultra ATA 7200RPM
16x DVD-ROM
17 in conventional CTR (at least it comes with one)
Basic speakers

$598

I really dont think you should buy a dimension 3000 for a primary gaming computer. The intergrated graphics is very weak. What especially makes it a bad choise is if you want to upgrade the video card you have very limited options with that computer. This is due to the fact that it has NO agp or pci-e slot.

For example anouther option would be HP a1030e



AMD Athlon(TM) 64 3200+
Windows XP Home
512MB pc3200
80GB SATA 7200RPM
cdrw/dvd drive
17 inchl CTR
Basic speakers
geforce fx 5200xt
cost: $629

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...desktops/hp_pavilion&storeName=computer_store

The geforce fx 5200xt not a good graphic card but definally better then intergrated. Also I check and it says the graphic card is agp which means you have a agp slot so you could most likly upgrade to a decent graphic card if you ever wanted to(this depends on the PSU also which I could not find information on for this computer).

From a gamming stand point the HP on paper looks to be better then the dell.

 

[whos_next]

So any comp with a P4 or Athlon64, 512mb ram or more, and 128mb ATI graphics card or one that i can upgrade would be ok?

 

[mgoldb2]

So any comp with a P4 or Athlon64, 512mb ram or more, and 128mb ATI graphics card or one that i can upgrade would be ok?

Yeah that sounds about right. You want something with a P4 or athlon 64, at least 512 ram and a motherboard with a AGP or PCI-E(note this is completly different then a pci slot which is not good enough for any decent video card)
slot.

For the P4 you want something with hyperthreading and 800mhz bus. For the athlon 64 I would look for a 3000+ or greater.

ram anything with 512 or more pc3200 ram is fine.

motherboard something compatable with agp or pci-e video cards.

 

[whos_next]

Ok thanks.