computers

Sites like that always make me a bit nervous. The price is good, that's about what it would cost to build one from parts, but this whole "from a major brand" thing a number of the parts have makes me afraid that they're just going to pick the cheapest item that still fulfills your criteria. Dell does it, I had a computer with 512 MB of ram (back when that was a good amount), but they put in PC2100 ram, about the worst ram available at the time, and I would have been better off with 128 MB of higher speed. These guys have enough specified that they'll have a harder time doing that, but it still makes me nervous.

If you're not going to build your own, it looks like it's a better place to go than Dell or any of them, but I personally will always recommend that people build their own. It helps with your understanding of computers, it allows you to pick EXACTLY what you want, and it's a lot of fun (so long as you take the proper safety precautions).

The one thing I would ask is what are you looking to play on this system? I run a 9800 GT and it can handle World of Warcraft on a dual monitor 2560x1024 display at maximum graphics in a ten man raid without flinching. If that's what you're going for, I'd say put a little bit more money into the video card and get a 9800 GT. If you're not looking for quite that much power, you can probably stay where you are. Either way, I'd probably recommend putting in the $5 extra to get an EVGA card. They're a very good company and getting a card from them over some other, random brand is worth $5 in my opinion.

Hope this helps. If you have any other questions, I'd be glad to help. Computer building is a hobby of mine, so I like to think I know something about it. :p
 
that comp will cost me $800 to get to my door.. let me know what you can do...

I want the light up case, I like the look of the one selected in that link.

I want a powerful machine, but keeping in budget.
 
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lights? for the $$ you spend on lights you can get more power. Let me see what i can do..:)

BTW do you have a non-oem os lying around?
 
no, i will need a copy of windows vista home premium.....

the package i had up there came with it, halo 2 and stormrise

i would assume that a quad core processor would be better for gaming than a dual. I will be playing games and doing some video editing work. The 1 tb drive is needed, in fact I may add another at a later date.

here are the specs..

# CAS: New! CoolerMaster Elite 310 Mid-Tower 420W Case with See-Thur Side Panel [-20]
# CASUPGRADE: 12in COLD CATHODE NEON LIGHT [+10] (BLUE COLOR)
# CS_FAN: Extra 3-Color Neon Light LED Case Fan [+5] (2 x Fans [+5])
# POWERSUPPLY: STANDARD CASE POWER SUPPLY
# CPU: AMD Phenom™ X4 9850 Black Edition Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology [+44]
# FREEBIE_CU: FREE! Cyberpower Unleash The Power T-Shirt with AMD Logo on the back ($19.99 Value)
# FAN: AMD ATHLON64 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK
# MOTHERBOARD: Asus M3A76-CM AMD 760G Chipset DDR2/1066 SATA RAID PCIe Mainboard w/ATI 3000 Graphic,GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio
# MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
# FREEBIE_RM: None
# VIDEO: ATI Radeon HD 4850 PCI-E 16X 1GB Video Card [+65] (Major Brand Powered by ATI)
# FREEGAME_VC: FREE! (Storm Rise) Game
# VIDEO2: None
# VIDEO3: None
# MULTIVIEW: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
# MONITOR: NONE
# MONITOR2: NONE
# HDD: Single Hard Drive (1TB (1TBx1) SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+26])
# HDD2: NONE
# FA_HDD: None
# USBHD: NONE
# CD: (Special Price) LG 20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR)
# CD2: Sony 20X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive [+32] (BLACK COLOR)
# SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
# SPEAKERS: 600Watts PMPO Subwoofer Stereo Speakers
# NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
# MODEM: NONE
# KEYBOARD: PS2 MULTIMEDIA INTERNET CONTROL KEYBOARD (BLACK COLOR)
# MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
# TEMP: NONE
# WNC: PCI Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps Network Interface Card [+19]
# FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer [+10] (BLACK COLOR)
# VIDEOCAMERA: NONE
# PRINTER: None
# PRINTER_CABLE: None
# IEEE_CARD: NONE
# USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
# FLOPPY: NONE
# OS: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium w/ Service Pack 1 (64-bit Edition)
# FREEBIE_OS: FREE! (Halo 2) Game
# TVRC: None
# SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
# RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
# _PRICE: (+731)
 
I am not a fan of terabyte drives..they are waaaay to dense to be reliable. 500 gigs is my limit. I went with 320 gig drives due to less areal density. I ahve a slightly different quad but this system is all AMD from the mobo to the vid to the cpu..:)

why are you bothering with wireless in a tower? Also i did not realize you wanted a keyboard and mouse as well as a second optical drive. I can rectify those if you wish..:) Also the lighted case at least here is costing you a cool 100 bucks. You can get some better system bits for that $100 bucks if you forgo the light eyecandy.
 
This is a thread I want to follow as you two sort this out. I am getting to where I have to do something in the next few months. I've been looking at Dell - but I am curious to see what you can put together at what price.
 
I can put just about anything together..it just depends on $$ and what you want the system to do..phase right now dual is better for gaming BUT quad is best for overall operations.
 
I ran AMD machines for years - a Chinese guy in San Francisco put them together for me. He let me come to his shop and watch. He retired and moved to Washington - so I started going with Dell. It has been a very pleasant experience. My point is that I am not concerned about having someone put together a box for me. I am hoping to get two machines - one for me and one for my wife. We are both working off 3-4 year old laptops right now.
 
My wife wants the pretty lights. My wife is saying "honey you need to get you another nice computer" directly followed by "lets get one with pretty lights" If she wants lights, she gets lights :-)

I want a wireless card, because sometimes my internet goes out, and neighbors have unsecured networks.


* *BASE_PRICE: [+535]
* CAS: New! CoolerMaster Elite 310 Mid-Tower 420W Case with See-Thur Side Panel [-20]
* CASUPGRADE: 12in COLD CATHODE NEON LIGHT [+10] (BLUE COLOR)
* CS_FAN: Extra 3-Color Neon Light LED Case Fan [+5] (2 x Fans [+5])
* POWERSUPPLY: 680 Watts Power Supplies [+43] (SLI/CrossFire Ready Power Supply)
* CPU: AMD Phenom™ X4 9850 Black Edition Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology [+44]
* FREEBIE_CU: FREE! Cyberpower Unleash The Power T-Shirt with AMD Logo on the back ($19.99 Value)
* FAN: AMD ATHLON64 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK
* MOTHERBOARD: Asus M3A76-CM AMD 760G Chipset DDR2/1066 SATA RAID PCIe Mainboard w/ATI 3000 Graphic,GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio
* MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
* FREEBIE_RM: None
* VIDEO: ATI Radeon HD 4850 PCI-E 16X 1GB Video Card [+65] (Major Brand Powered by ATI)
* FREEGAME_VC: FREE! (Storm Rise) Game
* VIDEO2: None
* VIDEO3: None
* MULTIVIEW: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
* MONITOR: NONE
* MONITOR2: NONE
* HDD: Single Hard Drive (500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
* HDD2: NONE
* FA_HDD: None
* USBHD: NONE
* CD: (Special Price) LG 20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR)
* CD2: Sony 20X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive [+32] (BLACK COLOR)
* SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
* SPEAKERS: 600Watts PMPO Subwoofer Stereo Speakers
* NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
* MODEM: NONE
* KEYBOARD: PS2 MULTIMEDIA INTERNET CONTROL KEYBOARD (BLACK COLOR)
* MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
* TEMP: NONE
* WNC: PCI Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps Network Interface Card [+19]
* FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer [+10] (BLACK COLOR)
* VIDEOCAMERA: NONE
* PRINTER: None
* PRINTER_CABLE: None
* IEEE_CARD: NONE
* USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
* FLOPPY: NONE
* OS: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium w/ Service Pack 1 (64-bit Edition)
* FREEBIE_OS: FREE! (Halo 2) Game
* TVRC: None
* SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
* RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
* _PRICE: (+748)


Ok, compared to your specs, this video card is stronger, this processor is a little weaker. And all the flash is included, extra fans, thermal monitor etc... extra drives, mouse, keyboard, speakers, halo 2 and stormrise.

My total comes to $813...

Isn't it worth paying someone $50 for the extra goodies and build.
 
that's not going to mater much unless youa re going to be running resolutions above 2048 x whatever with monster aa and af
 
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