so... new PC

[cletus8269]

well after 4 faithful years of service my systemax is getting ready to bite it. it has the computer version of being senile and difficult to wake in the mornings. after 30 min of tinkering i finally got it to pass the boot screen (i think the faulty usb port card had somethin to do with it). the power supply acts funny as well when you turn it off. anyhoo i got this last one from tiger direct which i had heard great things about... my experience with them was less than stellar. ordered a tower and a monitor only to get just a monitor in 2 weeks. waited a week and nothing ever came. called them and the tower i had ordered was discontinued 2 days after the order. actually just the case was discontiued. i told the guy on the phone you have all the specs for the other one which he said yes, told him just put it all in a case you have and send it i dont really care (ended up being $100 cheaper anyway). next the video card in it went bust, replaced it under warranty and the new one didnt work. they decided it was the mother board so i had to send it back. 2 weeks later it came back and has worked fine since. so i want to avoid that little fiasco again. i am thinking about either going retail (best buy, staples, office depot, circu... whoops) or trying new egg or ibuypower.com what say you computer turbo nerds? i dont want to settle for a big box special but i feel a little burned from the custom guys on the web too.

[loki]

this thread might help some... http://www.cheersandgears.com/index.php?sh...7822&st=100

but maybe you should give us an idea about the budget you'd like to not go over, and what you plan to do with the new one, as in games... new monitor? such and such....

[cletus8269]

ooo excellent point loki. i have a 17" lcd monitor so all i really am after is a tower. my gaming these days mainly rests upon the back of my ps3 but i do want a fairly capable machine. mostly i am on the net surfing and whatnot. prolly hang in the sub $800 market. its not so much what should i get as its where should i get it. where have ya'll had good luck at.

[G. David Felt]

:rotflmao: Too funny that we covered this not long ago.

But Times change and for that I will say that I still Feel DELL OUTLET Store is the best place to get a screaming deal on a solid desktop or laptop.

Dell Outlet Store Link to Refurbished cheap systems!

DELL has great deals on new computers too, but since like all retail and web based stores if they ship a product out and it is the wrong one and returned, even if the box is never opened they have to sell it as Refurbished. The outlet store has some amazing deals on computers and monitors, especially the 19 to 30" 16x9 HD type monitors. There is NO REASON for anyone not to be working on a 19, 21 or 24 inch flat panel monitor now.

If you are a HOT DOG and like to build systems, then that is a fun experiance to do, If you are really looking for speed, then consider SSD drives. Expensive but worth every dollar.

Check out this SamSung sponsered build up that used 24 SSD drives (SSD = Solid State Drive, NO MOVING PARTS, FAST AS LIGHT)

6TB SSD Raid SuperComputer Desktop system

This bad boy was built with Dual Quad Core CPU's, Dual Video Cards, High Speed 800MHz Ram and of course the Raid set 6 terabytes of storage.

Amazing Fast, I love the stress test of 53 heavy duty applications loaded in 18 sec and O'h by the way did I mention that it runs 2GB of data per second throughput?

Watch the Video, very informative, you can pause at the end to get the details of the exact parts they used to build this system. This computer would last you easily 5 years and realisticly get you up to 10 years of use.

Under stand that it would be an expensive computer but due to the longer life you get out of it, would pay for itself.

Keep in mind that no matter which way you go, build your own or buy from a retailer or webtailer, Memory is a cheap way to have the machine performe best. You can get a slower CPU and have 4 GB of ram and still perform equal to and in some cases better than a person who bought the fastest CPU and only got 1 or 2GB of ram. Same goes for storage, best to get a bigger drive than you think you will need as everyone always ends up using up the space.

Good Luck! Always fun getting a new Computer!

[FAPTurbo]

For $799 Dell has the base 'Studio XPS' with Intel's new Core i7 processor. The graphics card is an ATI 3450 which is kinda basic, but a 4830 should slot in there no problem if your gaming demands increase.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/produ...;l=en&s=dhs

I'd say that's probably the best bet at 800 bucks!

And the best place to order hardware, and separate components online is www.newegg.com. The service is great, and so are the prices.

Edited March 20, 2009 by Captainbooyah

[G. David Felt]

For $799 Dell has the base 'Studio XPS' with Intel's new Core i7 processor. The graphics card is an ATI 3450 which is kinda basic, but a 4830 should slot in there no problem if your gaming demands increase.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/produ...;l=en&s=dhs

I'd say that's probably the best bet at 800 bucks!

And the best place to order hardware, and separate components online is www.newegg.com. The service is great, and so are the prices.

I would agree with Captian on this, great options.

Captain, what did you think of that SSD Computer Demo?

[siegen]

Newegg FTW.

[Intrepidation]

Newegg FTW.

[loki]

as far as graphics go.. i was watching a friend play C&C3 on a ~17" lcd with an old amd 939 socket (pre AM2) PC and just an ATI HD4350. it moved just fine.

I'd just look for an AM2+ system/or a Core 2 duo....some medium graphics card.. 2-4 gigs of ram... maybe a 19-22 inch monitor, if you want a new one... something like that should beable to be had for $500-600 just for the "case" and innards. monitors are breaking the $200 level easily, some even are close to $100.

Newegg is the place i go.

[daves87rs]

Newegg FTW.

+2

I feel like biulding the darn thing myself...cheaper anyways.....

Though I'm happy with my Gateway now...

[Intrepidation]

It's much more rewarding to build it yourself and have complete control over what goes in it. You also don't get stuck will all of the crap a manufacturer would shove on Windows (like Norton).

It's easy too.

[cletus8269]

well here is a bit of an update. i went to newegg and looked around and noticed they sell a good many ibuypower pc's so i went there to build one. this is what i cam up with.

Case ( [New !!!] Thermaltake V9 Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply Red )

Case Lighting ( None )

Power Supply ( 650 Watt -- Corsair CMPSU-650TX Power Supply SLI Ready )

Processor ( [== Quad Core ==] AMD Phenom X4 9850 Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology )

Processor Cooling ( Thermaltake MaxOrb CPU Cooling Fan System Kit Silent & Overclocking Proof = Maximum cooling efficiency for quietness and performance )

Motherboard ( [sLI] MSI K9N2 Diamond Nvidia nForce 780a SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394, 3-Way SLI PCI-E MB 3-Way SLI )

Memory ( 4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Corsair-Value or Major Brand )

Video Card ( 2x NVIDIA GeForce 9400GT 512MB w/DVI + TV Out Video - running SLI mode )

Video Card Brand ( Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA )

Hard Drive ( 500 GB HARD DRIVE [serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache] )

2nd Hard Drive ( None )

External Hard Drives [uSB 2.0/eSATA] ( None )

CD/DVD Drive ( None )

CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( [Lightscribe Technology] LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive Black )

Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )

Speaker System ( iBUYPOWER 2.1 Channel Stereo Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System )

Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )

Floppy Drive ( None )

Monitor ( None )

2nd Monitor ( None )

Keyboard ( iBUYPOWER USB Keyboard with 18 Internet Hot /Multimedia Keys Black )

Mouse ( iBUYPOWER 1600 dpi High Sensitivity Internet Mouse Black )

USB 2.0 Accessories ( Built-in USB 2.0 Ports )

Meter Display ( XION Flip Up Colored LCD Thermal Control Panel )

Flash Media Reader/Writer ( 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer Black )

Operating System ( MS Windows XP Home Edition w/ Service Pack 2 )

total comes out at $1161. (sprang for the SLI stuff)

the other comes in a little closer to the mark

Case ( Nzxt Alpha Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply Black )

Case Lighting ( None )

Power Supply ( 600 Watt -- Power Supply SLI Ready )

Processor ( [== Quad Core ==] AMD Phenom X4 9850 Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology )

Processor Cooling ( Thermaltake MaxOrb CPU Cooling Fan System Kit Silent & Overclocking Proof = Maximum cooling efficiency for quietness and performance )

Motherboard ( [sLI] Asus M3N72-D NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, IEEE 1394, USB 2.0, Dual PCI-E/HDMI MB )

Memory ( 4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Corsair-Value or Major Brand )

Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce 9500GT 1GB w/DVI + TV Out Video )

Video Card Brand ( Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA )

Hard Drive ( 500 GB HARD DRIVE [serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache] )

2nd Hard Drive ( None )

External Hard Drives [uSB 2.0/eSATA] ( None )

CD/DVD Drive ( None )

CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( [Lightscribe Technology] LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive Black )

Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )

Speaker System ( iBUYPOWER 2.1 Channel Stereo Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System )

Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )

Floppy Drive ( None )

Monitor ( None )

2nd Monitor ( None )

Keyboard ( iBUYPOWER USB Keyboard with 18 Internet Hot /Multimedia Keys Black )

Mouse ( iBUYPOWER 1600 dpi High Sensitivity Internet Mouse Black )

USB 2.0 Accessories ( Built-in USB 2.0 Ports )

Meter Display ( XION Flip Up Colored LCD Thermal Control Panel )

Flash Media Reader/Writer ( 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer Black )

Operating System ( MS Windows XP Home Edition w/ Service Pack 2 )

grand total $896

so what say ye?

[loki]

well here is a bit of an update. i went to newegg and looked around and noticed they sell a good many ibuypower pc's so i went there to build one. this is what i cam up with.

so what say ye?

I'd rather try to find something with a phenomII... a 720 X3 is practically a steal... clocked higher than a 9850 and more efficient...

Case ( [$15 OFF Mail-In Rebate] Nzxt Apollo Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply Black )

Case Lighting ( None )

Power Supply ( 650 Watt -- Corsair CMPSU-650TX Power Supply SLI Ready )

Processor ( [== Triple Core ==] AMD Phenom™ II X3 720 Triple-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology AM3 & AM2+ support )

Processor Cooling ( Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink )

Motherboard ( [CrossFire] MSI DKA790GX AMD 790GX CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Dual Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Dual PCI-E MB )

Memory ( 2 GB [1 GB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Corsair-Value or Major Brand )

Video Card ( ATI Radeon HD 4670 512MB PCI-Express x16 )

Video Card Brand ( Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA )

Hard Drive ( 320 GB HARD DRIVE [serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache] )

2nd Hard Drive ( 320 GB HARD DRIVE [serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache] )

External Hard Drives [uSB 2.0/eSATA] ( None )

CD/DVD Drive ( None )

CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( [** Special !!! ***] LG 20X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive Black )

Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )

Speaker System ( iBUYPOWER 2.1 Channel Stereo Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System )

Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )

Floppy Drive ( None )

Monitor ( None )

2nd Monitor ( None )

Keyboard ( iBUYPOWER USB Keyboard with 18 Internet Hot /Multimedia Keys Black )

Mouse ( iBUYPOWER 1600 dpi High Sensitivity Internet Mouse Black )

USB 2.0 Accessories ( Built-in USB 2.0 Ports )

Meter Display ( None )

Flash Media Reader/Writer ( 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer Black )

Operating System ( Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) 64-Bit )

Sub Total: $839.00

if that's where you want to get it....? the video card could be lessened to the 4550 easily, save ~$30?

the ati 4550 beats the 9400, and more so competes with the 9500, just so you know.

with the x3 it might be a good X4.. a free extra core.

[FAPTurbo]

Normally I say building a computer is better, but the Dell XPS Studio with the Intel i7 is hard to beat at $799.

[cletus8269]

thanks loki. to tell the truth i am far out of date on computer stuff. i emptied out that are in the 9th grade or so when i started focusing on cars more. i havent quite committed to buying from there but i'll make a footnote about that info you just gave me.

never really thought about dells or gateways cause of all the horror stories i used to hear working at office depot but i'll give em a shot booyah

[Intrepidation]

As far as Dells go, they're notebooks seem pretty good, but I've heard and experienced so many problems with their desktops that they would be off my list...of course I wouldn't never buy a pre-assembled desktop anyway.

As for Gateways...the last one I used had Windows 98 on it and 68 megs or RAM so I can't really comment about them besides that I didn't know they were still around.

[G. David Felt]

DELL ROCK, I have 4 desktops and a couple laptops. Yes you will hear horror stories but for the most part, DELL has been as solid as a rock.

I would go with a SSD harddrive for at least the boot drive. They make your system fly.

Good luck on the build or buying, I personally would buy from DELL again over building one and dealing with each part vendor independantly if something goes wrong.