# Advice on el cheapo gaming system **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 17, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986 "2011-03-17T00:59:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/21 "2011-03-19T02:05:32Z")
Propriatary cases from Dell are a pain. I wouldn’t even bother. You can get a new case for like $30 at your local Microcenter, or from new egg/tiger direct. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/22 "2011-03-19T07:59:36Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I thought this was gonna be a thread about[Chintendo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vii). And I immediately thought of the [PolyStation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polystation)! Good old SQNY and their wonderful gaming systems. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/23 "2011-03-30T14:53:46Z")
Bump–given the issue about the case, I’ve put off ordering, but today I saw [this sale](http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=165351). It looks pretty good to me: $300 for a system that has no OS, but has a case and the following components: > [@](#): > > MSI 785GTM-E45 Motherboard - Qty: 1 $69.99 > > AMD Phenom X4 9750 Quad Core Processor - Qty: 1 $69.99 > > Zalman Hydraulic Bearing CPU Cooler - Qty: 1 $29.99 > > Lite-On Internal 24X DVD Writer - Qty: 1 $19.99 > > Patriot 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 Memory - Qty: 2 $63.98 > > Seagate Barracuda 1TB Low Power Hard Drive - Qty: 1 $54.99 > > XFX Radeon HD 5550 1GB GDDR2 PCIe, DVI/HDMI/VGA - Qty: 1 $64.99 > > Power Up LT 400-Watt ATX Power Supply - Qty: 1 $24.99 > > PowerUp G54-8019 Executive ATX Mid-Tower Case - Qty: 1 $29.99 Is that a decent deal, or would I still be better off purchasing pieces individually? If it looks good to y’all, I’ll put in the order tonight. ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/24 "2011-03-30T15:29:17Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > One question: how do I go about transferring the Windows license? I’ve got Vista and would love to get Windows 7, but I’m not sure if there are upgrade licenses available (my Google-fu appears to be weak and contradictory), and if there are, whether I’d face serious difficulties doing both an upgrade and a transfer. No transfer is necessary. You can install a clean copy of Windows 7 onto a new hard drive with just an upgrade disc…and with a clean conscience, to boot. I was in the same boat as you. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/25 "2011-03-30T15:36:43Z")
That bundle sucks. The video card is useless to you and you’d be paying a huge premium for old DDR2 instead of getting plentiful and cheap DDR3. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/26 "2011-03-30T16:05:15Z")
Ah, good to know. Deciphering the acronyms is near-impossible for me. I’m leaning pretty heavily toward **Kinthalis’s** recommendation from earlier, with the addition of a standard case, unless anyone sees anything in there that looks questionable, or sees a better option; I’ll put in the order tonight. Thanks for the feedback, folks! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/27 "2011-03-31T00:39:25Z")
All right, just clicked “submit.” Including [Case](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227) and shipping, it was $604 – more than I planned to spend, but including everything I need. Woot! Will report back once it’s either built or once I’ve built up helpless fury at some piece of it not working. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/28 "2011-03-31T01:03:19Z")
Since I spent an hour doing it, I’m gonna post it anyway. Maybe someone is following the thread. I had [this](http://i.imgur.com/O02Hg.png) for just over your budget before shipping and taxes. While I’m not a fan of the PSU or MB in **Kinthalis** ’s build, his is certainly going to be a faster system than what I had. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/29 "2011-03-31T06:00:16Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > All right, just clicked “submit.” Including [Case](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227) and shipping, it was $604 – more than I planned to spend, but including everything I need. Woot! Will report back once it’s either built or once I’ve built up helpless fury at some piece of it not working. Happens to the best of us. When I got done tweaking my DIY bundle and adding Windows 7 Pro, it ended up being just over $700 shipped, about $200 more than I’d initially planned. But, I like my case and PSU, and who doesn’t love 8 gigs of RAM? ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/30 "2011-03-31T10:58:40Z")
Or you could get an Xbox. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/31 "2011-03-31T11:18:32Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > Or you could get an Xbox. Didn’t you yell at me in another thread for allegedly doing what you just did? Except that I actually DIDN’T threadshit, while you just did? Besides with this machine he’ll be playing most modern games at 1080p a solid 40+ FPS and all the great graphics enhancements that most PC games get like many more dynamic lights, better more numerous shadows, higher resolution textures, etc, etc, etc. vs the blurry, ugly, aliased, low rez mess that is a console game? And of course it’s a PC. I’m guessing he’ll be doing other general computing stuff that he couldn’t do on a console. He was going to buy a new PC anyway. The cost of turning his PC to a gaming machine was the cost of the GPU or $124 That’s CHEAPER than any crapbox 360. And the money he will save on games and free online multi-player puts him way ahead of any console in the cost department. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/32 "2011-03-31T12:16:36Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > Or you could get an Xbox. Haha, well played, hypocrite. You go apeshit over this sort of stuff. Anyway, the guy said he needs a new computer to replace his old, buggy, slow one. This includes using the computer for non-gaming purposes too, so he doesn’t have to wait forever for windows to boot or programs to load. You know, all of those useful things that computers do. So do you suggest he buy a $500 new computer with no video card for general computing purposes and buy a $300 xbox on top of that, instead of just getting a $600 computer that will serve all his needs and also massively outperform the xbox while also having more and cheaper games available to it? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/33 "2011-03-31T12:25:11Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Cubsfan, don’t you dare turn this into a console vs. PC war! Perhaps I should’ve been clearer. ALL you mofos, don’t you dare turn this into a console vs. PC war! ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/34 "2011-03-31T12:33:16Z")
We’re not instigating anything. We’re trying to help you. They’re threadshitting and they know it. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/35 "2011-03-31T12:40:13Z")
Although, since the thread has pretty much served its purpose, what the hey. (side-note: I realized around midnight last night that the components **Kinthalis** listed above, while excellent, don’t include a DVD-RW drive. Since my DVD drive is among the reasons for the upgrade–I need a screwdriver to pry it open every time I want to watch a movie–I really shoulda ordered another. Oh well, this is an easy bit to pick up at a local store). Yeah, I’ve thought about going into consoles, no question. Honestly it’d probably be cheaper for me to get a super-basic computer for email and word-processing and an Xbox. But in gaming, the cost of games on Steam is so excellent that it keeps me in the PC market. I rarely pay more than $10 for a game, often less than $5. Add taht to my comfort-level with PC games, and I’m unlikely to make the switch anytime soon. I have nothing against console-only gamers, nor do I especially identify as a PC gamer; it just happens to be the format I prefer. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/36 "2011-03-31T12:47:53Z")
You made the right choice. The same stuff (fast cpu, lots of memory, etc) that makes it suitable for gaming will make it good at being a general use computer. Your savings wouldn’t have been that significant (If your budget is $600 and you get an xbox instead, you’re looking at a $300 computer - not something I’d want to use even for the basics) - you probably would’ve paid more, if anything. Not only that, but your computer will give you massively better performance for the games, and as you mentioned it only gets more lopsided when you factor in the savings you get on buying games. This is a no brainer. You can either have A) a cheaper system that runs games better, a good quality general purpose computer, and cheaper games or B) a more expensive set of systems, one which runs games worse and a slow, crappy general purpose computer that is more frustrating to use, and more expensive games. He’s just threadshitting and he knows it. He’s trying to say “see, you guys can come into console threads so I can come into your threads!” - he also likes to take gratuitous swipes at random, like if someone says they’re having a bug in a PC game he’ll say “I sure am glad I don’t have to deal with this on console!” The difference is, though, if I ever come into a thread about “what game system should I buy”, I come in trying to give the OP more information, trying to be helpful. A lot of people simply believe the lies about how gaming computers cost $5000 and other such nonsense and don’t consider it as one of their options. So I’ll come in and say “well, if you already have a reasonably decent computer, you may want to consider turning it into a game machine by buying this video card for less than the price of a console” - but I don’t go in trying to thread shit, I’m trying to help the OP by bringing up an option they didn’t even know they had. Contrast that to here. You very clearly said you need a new computer, not only for gaming, but for general computing purposes. He knows, right off the bat, that getting an xbox will not fulfill your needs. In addition, even if that weren’t the case, he’s not informing you an option you didn’t know you had - everyone knows you can buy a console (contrasted with not everyone understands that you can turn a pc into a gaming pc for cheap). So there is no purpose to what he posted, except to threadshit. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/37 "2011-03-31T13:05:45Z")
Let’s stop the hijack here, folks. Keep information relevant to the OP, and if you see a problem post, please report it via Report Post. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/38 "2011-03-31T18:42:42Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Perhaps I should’ve been clearer. > > ALL you mofos, don’t you dare turn this into a console vs. PC war! I read the title of the thread and posted. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s a bit juvenile to just put a perceived thumb in someone’s eye over video games. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/39 "2011-03-31T18:52:47Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > I read the title of the thread and posted. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s a bit juvenile to just put a perceived thumb in someone’s eye over video games. Whatever, man–it’s like you’re getting in a slapfight in someone else’s (my) house. I’m not really offended by your threadshitting, but it appears that’s what you used my thread for, so I hope it was good for you. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/40 "2011-03-31T18:56:28Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Whatever, man–it’s like you’re getting in a slapfight in someone else’s (my) house. I’m not really offended by your threadshitting, but it appears that’s what you used my thread for, so I hope it was good for you. Oh, I see how it looks that way, after looking at the arc of the conversation. My apologies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986.md?page=3)