I recently found out that the last of the inherited money I’m getting from my great dear old uncle Otto (rest in peace) is going to be about six times more than what I thought it would be. Most of it is going into investments, but I’m paying off my credit card and buying myself a present.
I want a new PC. I have an older mac that I love, but will cost me several thousand dollars to upgrade. I want to play the newest video games (read: World of Warcraft) without having to trade with Ardred every two hours.
Here’s my requirements. Fastest processor possible (I’m looking at 3.0 GB Hewlett Packards right now.) Must have at least 512 MB ram, best video card possible (minimum 128 mb video memory) and largish hard drive space. Less than $1000 (even better if I can get a monitor with that price).
I was looking at this one but I’ve never heard of the brand. The size is right (it will be sharing a desk with my G4) but I’m wary of unnamed brands and the price is at the extreme top of my range.
I want to buy it from a brick and mortar store. I do not want to build it myself.
We tromped to the local Best Buy and found an HP with the right specs (a bit slower processor, 2.4 I think) but it was an open box item. I used to be the one who set up the computers at this Best Buy. Not too keen on open box computers.
Let me put it this way. I want alienware performance at emachines prices.
So, computer-savvy dopers, learn me! I’m comfortable adding RAM and changing video cards.
I’ve posted in a few recent threads about wanting a new machine for Half-Life 2. For the last two weeks I’ve been researching and researching, and I’M FED UP!!!
I still don’t understand Athlon’s numbering system. I’m hearing conflicting things about 32-bit vs. 64-bit processors and what they will do to performance. Sockets, CPU speeds, new freakin’ video cards come out every day…
When did this stuff become rocket science? I used to build computers, and now I don’t understand anything about them.
Enough of this crap. I want a 3.2 to 3.4 ghz computer with a good video card and a gig of RAM. I don’t care if it’s Intel or Athlon (unless someone can explain the differences concisely). Alienware, Monarch, Dell, whatever. Just someone point me to a good shop and let’s get this over with.
That should have said “motherboard speeds” instead of CPU speeds. Today someone cautioned me not to buy anything with a motherboard speed under 800, or something like that…
If you’re prepared to on-line, you can buy a small form factor Alienware PC for $999 (no monitor). It’s only got a 2.5MHz P4, but it should be more than good enough for WoW
Processor: 800MHz or higher CPU.
RAM: 256Mb or more.
Video: GeForce 2 or better
Hard Drive Space: 3Gb or more available.
DirectX 9.0 or above.
Shuttle’s fine - they pretty much invented the shoebox size computer, and have attained perhaps the highest honor - their name has become the generic term for that style case. The PC itself is also just fine as it comes.
As for the Alienware, it’s got some pluses and minuses. The primary pluses are that it’s using the latest technologies as evidenced by the PCI Express video and the processor options. The minuses are that you’d need to kick up the price to almost $1300 to have the same processor speed, RAM and disk space as the Shuttle. That’s just the downside to newer stuff - it costs more.
Between the two, I’d pick the Shuttle if my budget were capped at $1000.
Also, have a look a Dell - they’ve got some sales going right now - I was able to set up a Dimension 4700 desktop with the same stuff as the Shuttle for $875. Offers of free 2-day shipping and a free printer and free 17" LCD monitor certainly sweeten the deal. It’s also a PCI Express system. Think fast - they only describe these deals as “limited time” but don’t specify an actual end date.
Athlon processors are usually around $150 cheaper than Intel. When I bought my computer, a unit with the latest Athlon chip cost as much as a unit with an Intel Celeron (which is the lesser version; the newest chip is the Pentium). AFAIK, they are exactly the same in quality. I’ve never had to call customer service, but I’ve heard Athlon is better at that too–it’s not as big a company as Intel, so it can offer more personalized help over the phone and email.
Far as I can tell, the price makes all the difference in this case. There’s really no noticeable difference in quality for me; I’ve used both Athlon-powered and Intel-powered machines and they are the same.
i will be building a new PC myself. from the little that i’ve gathered, you will want 1 gig of RAM for WoW. the GeForce 6800GT seems to be popular but it’s pricey.
Right now, I would highly reccomend buying an Athlon 64 machine over an Intel one, if the main high-end use of the machine will be gaming. Athlon 64’s at the same price point are much faster in games - for example, in Doom 3 an Athlon 64 2800+ is faster than a 3.2ghz Pentium 4. You will see similar results in other games. Also, the current Prescott core Pentium 4s use lots of power, and throw out lots of heat.
Shuttle is a good company, but the machine you linked too has only a Radeon 9550 card, which is on the budget end of video cards. And the video card is the single most important part of a gaming machine. Also note that the amount of video memory is not a very good indicator of the cards performance; to use more than 128mb right now, you really have to crank up the resolution and eye candy. 256mb is only usefull on high end cards; it adds nothing to the performance of any lower end cards, but video card companies throw the extra RAM on there for marketing reasons. Also note that you will pay a price premium for buying a Small Form Factor system like Shuttle.
May I suggest a Monarch Computer system - this company makes pretty good machines. This machine has an Athlon 64 2800+, 512mb RAM, 80gb hard drive, and adding WindowsXP Home brings the price up to $638. You will need add a good video card - like a Radeon 9800 Pro or a Geforce 6600 GT (make sure to get the AGP version) and might want to add another 512mb of RAM, but this machine should stay in your budget.
Don’t buy a computer from Best Buy. Trust me on this. Their service is beyond horrible if something goes wrong. Buy it from Dell or one of the other companies listed in this thread.
Also, don’t think only in terms of GHz. For video games, the video card is more important than the processor. (Within reason, of course; you don’t want a top end video card with a five-year old processor.) Here’s what I would look for if I were you:
GeForce 6800 GT
Athlon 64, 2800+ to 3500+ (socket 939 is better than socket 754)
1 gig ram
hard drive (100-200 gigs)
CD/DVD burner (you can also add this later – they’re pretty cheap)
19" CRT monitor (flat screen don’t look as good for games and cost a lot more)
After much research, in fact, I recently bought exactly those components for my computer, so I could play new games like Half-Life 2. It runs great, and was at a good price point in terms of price vs. performance.
I’d go for the Dell, like gotpasswords says they have the best deal right now. Alienware is IMHO overpriced. I’d steer clear of the HP myself, I’ve had nothing but problems with the ones I’ve worked on.
My 2 cents:
512meg - 1 gig of ram at least. (certainly no less)
either ATI X800 or nVidia 6800 (you’ll be please with either)
Have you considered Dell’s reconditioned computers? I know, I’d be leery of “reconditioned” too, but they come with full warranty. A friend got one for a fractino of what it would normally run, and she’s had no problems with it - I suspect most of them are sent back when companies order too many workstations or whatever. One way to get more computer for your buck.
That’s what I would look for, but you are not going to get it for a grand.
Athlon 64s are better than Pentium 4s for gaming. However, that shouldn’t be a deal-breaker, as the vast majority of users are not going to notice a difference between the two.
I recently configured a HP (Athlon processor) for my brother, with a Dell 17" LCD monitor for $1200. I wasn’t thrilled with the vid card, but it was far better than anything he had before, so he is pleased.
I comparison shopped Dell, HP and Gateway. I could have built a better one for the same price, but then I would have been his tech support. Better he call HP. Alienware PCs are quite nice, but were out of the price range. In the end, HP had the best configuration for the right price. One option, if you are unafraid of putting in a better videocard, is to buy one with integrated graphics and a video card separate. Just make sure the one you buy is upgradable - the cheapest PCs from these vendors aren’t.
If you spend $800 on a PC without a videocard, I would suggest the $200 nVidia 6600GT. It’s price / performance ratio outstrips the 6800GT…you get maybe a 20% performance boost for twice the price.
Here’s what $900 gets:
HP Pavilion a710e customizable Desktop PC
Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
AMD Athlon™ XP 3000+ operating at 2.16GHz
512 MB DDR / PC2700 (1 DIMM)
160 GB 7200rpm Ultra DMA Hard Drive
Double Layer 8X DVD+/-R/RW drive
3 USB 2.0, 1 Firewire, 9-in-1 card reader + WinDVD
3.5 in. 1.44MB Floppy Drive
128MB DDR NVIDIA GeForceFX™ 5200XT, TV-Out
Integrated 5.1 Capable Sound w/ front audio ports
Altec-Lansing VS2121 2.1 Speakers
HP Internet Keyboard, HP Optical Mouse
Microsoft(R) Works Suite 2004 includes Word 2002
hpshopping in-box envelope
$892.99
If my brother wasn’t afraid of opening a PC, I would have opted for no video card and sent him nVidia 6200 or similar ATI offering…something in the $100-$125 range.
FilmGeek, are you like my brother, and don’t ever want to see the insides of your PC, or do you feel you can install the videocard yourself (very easy to do). If you can install a vid card yourself, ditch Dell’s vid card. “SE” versions are usually gimped versions of a videocard. That will drop $60 off the price, so decide how much you want to spend on a vid card. Then visit www.newegg.com. My previous post lists the $200 card that I like and will be installing on my new system (coming soon - waiting for Athlon 64 + PCI Express).
At around $120 I would suggest a nVidia Geforce 6600 [non-GT] or ATI X600.
