[uosux]

I am going to be buying a new computer for college this fall, but I am awash in a sea of choices, with little to ground myself on.

My primary interest is in gaming, with compatibility for the new games such as Half-Life 2, and Doom 3. I know I'll mostly need a graphics card that is up to it, but I am more astray concerning the computer itself.

Can anyone recomend a site with good (cheap) options, or any other useful sites? My budget is <$700 not including the graphics card. Thanks.

 

[commando]

Dell is a safe bet, IMHO. I just had a play on the dell website, and I don't think you're going to get much for $700 though.

Key things to look for IMHO are 800MHz bus, 512 RAM MINIMUM (pref 768 or 1GB), 80GB HDD, DVD writer, and recent nVidia or ATI graphics card. You can get that from Dell for $1425, less $175 in rebates, for a total of $1250 - way over your budget. That was a model 4600.

Ok, i'll try again, again with the 4600 model (the 4200 model is cheaper but older technology and doesn't have the option for a decent graphics card). 2.6GHz 800MHz bus, 512 RAM, 80GB disk, DVD reader/CD writer , Radeon 9800 (very fast) comes to $1000 (including mail in rebate). You can save another $100 by downgrading from 2 year warranty to 1 year warranty, but I don't know if that's a good idea. It'd be a great games machine, and if you want it to go a bit faster you could get more RAM.

 

[k.ODOMA]

what commando said.

I hope you aren't wanting to include a monitor in the <$700 price.

 

[commando]

Both the prices I posted including 17 inch CRT.

 

[k.ODOMA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by commando Both the prices I posted including 17 inch CRT.

never mind then.

 

[commando]

You were right though - you can't get a gamers PC (even without video card) and monitor for $700 (from Dell).

 

[k.ODOMA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by commando You were right though - you can't get a gamers PC (even without video card) and monitor for $700 (from Dell).

Unfortunately you'd be hardpressed to find a decent monitor for less than $150, which is a good chunk of change in this price range.

 

[uosux]

Thanks. Yeah... I realize I am pretty much screwed. It looked like I'll be playing Sim City for a while...

 

[k.ODOMA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uosux Thanks. Yeah... I realize I am pretty much screwed. It looked like I'll be playing Sim City for a while...

Are you dead set on playing Half-Life and Doom 3? You could always take that $700 and buy a nice tv (if you don't have one) and a PS2 or X-Box. That'd make for a great gaming set-up.

 

[commando]

A PCs pretty important at collage though. For $700 you can get something that will do your work fine, and probably play most games ok too... but to get a real games PC you're looking at what I said earlier. Console's not a bad idea either.

 

[uosux]

I realized it probably wasn't going to happen, but I wanted to get a second opinion. I checked a lot of the Dell stuff, and what else I could find, but I thought there might be some gem site out there.

I think I'll just get something (more in the range of $800) now, and bide my time, than upgrade later. Looks like head-fi will have to hibernate for a bit.

Does anyone know what sort of mother boards Dell uses? How upgradable are they?

 

[enzoferrari650]

Well if you use your old monitor, you could definitely get a computer that fits your use. But to get the most out of your money, you would have to probly build your own. Dunno if you're too familiar with building computers but its fairly simple. I had no problems on my first custom computer...... done in like 20 mins. with 800 bucks, i would suggest : 3.0ghz P4 HT or AMD Athlon XP 3200+ (both around 200 bucks) A 100 dollar motherboard. 100 dollars for a set of 256 3200 ram. (total of 512, you might need to upgrade and double that pretty soon, but with 800 bucks thats what u got and it'll work) 120gig Hard Drive.(you could probly find one around 80 bucks, maybe less) Video Card......hmmmm probly could get the 9800pro for 200 bucks. As for a cd drive... unless you want cdrw or dvd or dvdrw....you can get those all for under 100. (you could probly use your old cd-drive from your old computer since all you need is to play games. Maybe upgrade drives once u get more money) As for the case, you could get one with a power suppy for probly as little as 50 dollars. So there you go.... thats my suggestion. If you can build it yourself, then this will do. Ask if you have any more questions.

 

[enzoferrari650]

OH yeah, to your question.... I'm pretty sure dell uses either asus motherboards or the intel ones. And upgradability........that depends on what kind you get. Obviously the more expensive models with bigger towers have more upgrade options. And the less expensive ones will have minitowers leaving you with less pci slots mean not as many upgrades.

 

[bootman]

Would you be up to building your own?
$700 is tight, but not impossible if you want a 17" CRT.

 

[bootman]

Here is a quick list I put together at newegg. (and it includes a video card)

Cases (Computer Cases, ATX Form)
Rosewill Gold/Black ATX Mid Tower Case with 400W Power Supply, Model "SL313-2634WU+P27" -RETAIL
Specifications:
Special Features: FRONT NEON LIGHT (INSIDE) more info>
N82E16811147002 $35.00

CD/DVD Burners (RW Drives)
Rosewill 52x32x52x16 CD-RW & DVD Combo Drive, Model C523216, Retail
Packaging: Retail box Bundled with PowerDVD Ahead NeroExpress burn ROM
N82E16827190002 $39.99

Hard Drives
Western Digital Special Edition 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD800JB, OEM Drive Only
Specifications:
Capacity: 80GB
N82E16822144122 $64.00

Memory (System Memory)
A-DATA 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - OEM
N82E16820211119 $78.00

Monitors - CRT
CTX VL951T 19" CRT Monitor -RETAIL
Specifications:
CRT Type: Invar Shadow Mask FST
Dot Pitch: 0.26mm Diagonal(0.22mm Horizontal)
Max / Optimal resolution: 1600 x 1200 @ 75Hz / 1280 x 1024 @ 85Hz
N82E16824103171 $122.00

Motherboards - AMD
ASUS "A7N8X-E Deluxe" nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU -RETAIL
Specifications:
Chipset: NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400 + MCP-T
FSB: 400/333/266/200MHz
RAM: 3x DIMM for Dual-Channel DDR400/333/266 Max 3GB
IDE: 2x ATA 133 up to 4 Devices
Slots: 1x AGP Pro/8X, 5x PCI, 1x Wi-Fi
Ports: 2xPS2,1xLPT,1xCOM,2xLAN,6xUSB2.0(Rear 4),SPDIF Out,Audio Ports
Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC650 6-Channel Codec
Onboard LAN: Realtek 8201BL 10/100Mbps + Marvell 88E8001 GbE
Onboard SATA/RAID: 2x Serial ATA by Silicon Image Sil3112A, RAID 0/1
Form Factor: ATX more info>
N82E16813131478 $92.50

Processors
AMD Athlon XP 2700+, 333MHz FSB, 256K Cache Processor - Retail
Packaging: Retail Box (Heatsink and Fan included) more info>
N82E16819103342 $107.00

Video Cards
MSI ATI RX9800PRO Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/S-Video, 8X AGP, Model "RX9800PRO-TD128" -RETAIL
N82E16814127127 $195.00

Subtotal » $ 733.49

You will need to add stuff like a floppy drive and keyboard and mouse.