Should I wait to get a new PC?

[ISiddiqui]

Hey y'all. My computer right now is a 3 year old Dell Inspiron 8200. It doesn't, well... play the new games. So I got a good tax return and wanted to get a new PC. I looked up a very nice system on Velocity Micro.

However, on another forum, the people there said to wait a year to get one. Now, you can probably say that for any year, but next year is when Windows Vista is scheduled to come out. However, I also know that you don't want to be the first person to buy a brand new OS (you want to wait a few months after they iron out the initial bugs).

So should I wait until Vista? Or should I just go for it now?

[sterlingice]

I dunno- do you want to wait a good year and a half, until the first set of big problems is worked out? Or more- it's not like Microsoft has a history of holding back a half done product if it would get in the way of money.

I'd do it now- you can buy a system on the cheap since the OS is so cheap right now, if you go premade. If you DIY it, it really doesn't matter. I'm guessing that premade systems will come "default" with XP for quite a while after Vista comes out, much like 98/XP were available for quite a while. And, if you want Vista, you'll have to pay a premium for the new system anyway.

SI

[ISiddiqui]

do you want to wait a good year and a half, until the first set of big problems is worked outThat was my thought as well. Though MS has been delaying Vista a LOT. If they wanted to release a half finished version, they could do so by this summer probably. But they've constantly delayed the release. Maybe this one will be different, but I think I'd still wait a year.

And I really want to play the Huge maps on Civ4 :D.

[timmynausea]

I wouldn't wait over the next Windows coming out. It'd maybe make sense to wait if there was something about to happen hardwarewise, but not as much for an OS.

[PackerFanatic]

The only reason I could see waiting is for hardware reasons, I wouldn't wait on Vista. Like others have said, they have been delaying its release anyways and your luck, if you wait, it will turn out to be another Windows ME *barfs*

I see no reason in waiting, just get a machine that is pretty powerful and will last you a good number of years and you will be set :)

[ISiddiqui]

That's another question... is there something about to happen hardware wise? I've heard of hybrid hard drives, but it doesn't seem ground shaking

[ISiddiqui]

This is what I'm looking at (sorry for the format). I'll be getting a monitor from Buy.com most likely:

Your System Price (excludes shipping): $1719
Velocity Micro

Competition Gaming Systems : Gamer's Edge™ 1500 - Quick Shipping!
Base Price: 1500.00 Your Price: 1719 Weight: 70 lbs
Case
GX Blue - Velocity Micro Classic Case - Pure Aluminum for maximum cooling, matching aluminum drive covers, 2 x 120mm fans
Power Supply
500 Watt Velocity Micro™ Power Supply with Dual Blue Lighted Fans
Power Cable
Standard Power Cable
Motherboard
Asus® A8N SLI - NVIDIA® nForce™ 4 SLI MCP, PCI Express Motherboard with DDR
AMD® Processor
AMD® Athlon™ 64 3800+ Processor, Socket 939
CPU Cooling
Arctic Cooling® Freezer 64 Heatsink with Ultra Quiet Fan and Copper Heat Pipes, plus Arctic Silver™ 5 Thermal Compound
DDR Memory
1024MB Mushkin™ PC3200 DDR400 Blue Series CL2 Low Latency Enhanced Memory with Heat Spreader(2x512) (+$35.00)
PCX Video
256MB eVGA™ NVIDIA® GeForce™ 7800 GT, PCI-Express, 2 x DVI (+$115.00)
Video Cooling
VideoCool™ Positive Pressure Airflow System - Speed adjustable, with light
Video Tuning
Basic 3D Video Performance Tuning & Optimization
Monitor
None
Audio
On-Board Integrated Realtek Audio, 7.1 Channel Support
Speakers
Creative Labs SBS350 2.1 Channel Stereo Speaker System with Compact Subwoofer - Black (+$49.00)
5.00 lbs
Hard Drive 1
200GB Western Digital WD2000JD 7200rpm SATA/150, 8MB Cache (-$20.00)
Hard Drive 2
None
Optical Drive 1
16x Lite On® DVD+/-RW/CD-RW Dual Layer, Black Bezel
Optical Drive 2
16x DVD/48x CD-RW Lite On® Combo Drive, Black Bezel
Floppy Drive & Media
Reader
1.44MB Floppy Drive, Black Bezel
Network Adapter
Integrated 10/100/1000MBps Gigabit Ethernet Network Adapter
Network Adapter 2 or WiFi
Adapter
None
WiFi Router
None
Modem
None
FireWire
2 Integrated IEEE 1394 FireWire Ports, 1 front & 1 rear
USB 2.0 Ports
8 USB 2.0 Ports, 2 front & 6 rear (2 rear ports may be unavailable in some configurations due to available resources)
Operating System
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home w/Service Pack 2 on original CD, Installed & Performance Tuned
Productivity Software
Corel® WordPerfect® Office 11 - includes WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, Presentations ($99 retail value)
Software Bundle
FREE - Nero Digital Creation Suite - Capture, Edit, and Author Video with immersive Dolby 5.1 Surround, plus Photo Editing Suite
Page 3
Pricing good for 24 hours from time of creation unless approved by a sales associate. Component options may change due to availability.
*Systems containing items, selections, or specifications marked with " * " or asterisk are non-refundable after 3 days from order date due to their fully custom-built nature.
**8-hour warranty response time may not be available in all areas. Please read our warranty details for more complete information.
Benchmark Software
NEW - FutureMark® 3DMark06® Velocity Micro Basic Edition - gaming performance benchmark software
Security Software
McAfee® VirusScan® 2006 Antivirus - Pre-installed with 12 month subscription (+$40.00)
Recovery Disk
Custom DVD Restore Disk, returns your system hard drive to the original factory installation
Internal Cables
Standard Premium Ribbon IDE and Floppy Cables
Keyboard
Velocity Micro™ Deluxe Multimedia & Internet Keyboard with volume control, custom made by Creative Labs - Black
Mouse
Genuine Microsoft® USB Optical Wheel Mouse - Black
Network Cable
None
MP3 Player
None
Printers
None
Printer Cable
None
Digital Camera
None
Game Control 1
None
Game Control 2
None
Power Protection
None
T-Shirt
FREE Velocity Micro™ Limited Edition T-shirt in Blue, size XL
Assembly
Careful custom hand wiring and neatly folded drive cables for maximum air flow, assembled in Richmond, Virginia, USA
Quality Assurance
Individual custom testing for complete component and software functionality, signed by the system builder and QA inspector
Documentation
Owner's Manual and Accessory Pack
Installation
None
Warranty**
1 Year Standard Parts & Labor Limited Warranty, 1 Year Regular Business Hours Support, and Depot Repair Service
Upgrade Plan
Lifetime Upgrade Plan - For a $99 fee, you may return your system for cleaning, maintenance, discounted upgrades, and tuning

[PackerFanatic]

Looks nice!

Check out buydirectpc.com Might be able to save you a little bit of money...

[jbmagic]

always best to build your own cpu.

[st.cronin]

I think pcs are like cars. Unless the one you've got is just useless, there's better ways to use your money. ymmv

[ISiddiqui]

Looks nice!

Check out buydirectpc.com Might be able to save you a little bit of money...Thanks... checked it out and put in equivalent stuff from the VelMicro and it was more money :(. Though a good idea. I want to shop around.

Oh, and I would build my own, but its been sooooo long since I did that that I don't really know about the new stuff. Hell, I just found out what SLI was a few days ago!

[Daimyo]

Don't wait. If you do get one now make sure to get a dual core processor... it is easily one of the biggest leaps in consumer computer technology that I can remember.

[Eaglesfan27]

Don't wait. If you do get one now make sure to get a dual core processor... it is easily one of the biggest leaps in consumer computer technology that I can remember.
I agree. However, be aware that several older programs don't play nice with the dual core processors both turned on. I have to turn one off for them to play without crashing. However, that is only a few older programs. Otherwise, it is great.

[ISiddiqui]

Hmmm... I don't think the AMD 64 is a dual core. But it is a 64 bit processor. I have heard that AMD is better for gaming, but is the Pentium D supposed to be that much better?

Edit: If I move up the higher end VelMicro, I can get a dual core, but for some reason, since it is a higher model, it'll be like $200 more. Worth it?

[Airhog]

AFAIK, there aren't any ground breaking hardware changes that are going to happen in the next 12-18 months. Hard drives are switching to perpendicular recording, but that really doesnt affect anything significant. Maybe there will be a new processor class soon, but I even doubt that

[ISiddiqui]

Ok, here is the model where I can chose an AMD Dual Core:

Your System Price (excludes shipping): $1954
Velocity Micro
800-303-7866
2/5/2006

Competition Gaming Systems : Gamer's Edge™ DualX™
Base Price: 1795.00 Your Price: 1954 Weight: 75 lbs
Case
GX Blue - Velocity Micro Classic Case - Pure Aluminum for maximum cooling, matching aluminum drive covers, 2 x 120mm fans (-$35.00)
LX Wheel Kit
None
Power Supply
500 Watt Velocity Micro™ Power Supply with Dual Blue Lighted Fans
Power Cable
Standard Power Cable
Case Lights
None
Motherboard
Asus® A8N SLI - NVIDIA® nForce™ 4 SLI MCP, PCI Express Motherboard with DDR
AMD® Processor
AMD® Athlon™ 64 X2 3800+ Processor with Dual Core Technology, 939-pin (+$35.00)
CPU Cooling
Arctic Cooling® Freezer 64 Heatsink with Ultra Quiet Fan and Copper Heat Pipes, plus Arctic Silver™ 5 Thermal Compound
DDR Memory
1024MB Mushkin™ PC3200 DDR400 Blue Series CL2 Low Latency Enhanced Memory with Heat Spreader(2x512)
PCX Video
256MB eVGA™ NVIDIA® GeForce™ 7800 GT, PCI-Express, 2 x DVI
Video Cooling
VideoCool™ Positive Pressure Airflow System - Speed adjustable, with light (+$35.00)
Video Tuning
Basic 3D Video Performance Tuning & Optimization
Monitor
None
Audio
Creative Labs SoundBlaster® Audigy™ 4, high performance 7.1 channel sound - Velocity Micro Exclusive! (+$75.00)
Speakers
Creative Labs SBS350 2.1 Channel Stereo Speaker System with Compact Subwoofer - Black (+$49.00)
5.00 lbs
Hard Drive 1
120GB Western Digital WD1200JD 7200rpm SATA/150, 8MB Cache (-$25.00)
Hard Drive 2
None
Optical Drive 1
16x Lite On® DVD+/-RW/CD-RW Dual Layer, Black Bezel
Optical Drive 2
16x DVD/48x CD-RW Lite On® Combo Drive, Black Bezel
Floppy Drive & Media
Reader
1.44MB Floppy Drive, Black Bezel
Network Adapter
Integrated 10/100/1000MBps Gigabit Ethernet Network Adapter
Network Adapter 2 or WiFi
Adapter
None
WiFi Router
None
Modem
None
FireWire
2 Integrated IEEE 1394 FireWire Ports, 1 front & 1 rear
USB 2.0 Ports
8 USB 2.0 Ports, 2 front & 6 rear (2 rear ports may be unavailable in some configurations due to available resources)
Operating System
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home w/Service Pack 2 on original CD, Installed & Performance Tuned
Page 3
Pricing good for 24 hours from time of creation unless approved by a sales associate. Component options may change due to availability.
*Systems containing items, selections, or specifications marked with " * " or asterisk are non-refundable after 3 days from order date due to their fully custom-built nature.
**8-hour warranty response time may not be available in all areas. Please read our warranty details for more complete information.
Productivity Software
Corel® WordPerfect® Office 11 - includes WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, Presentations ($99 retail value)
Software Bundle
FREE - Nero Digital Creation Suite - Capture, Edit, and Author Video with immersive Dolby 5.1 Surround, plus Photo Editing Suite
Benchmark Software
NEW - FutureMark® 3DMark06® Velocity Micro Basic Edition - gaming performance benchmark software
Security Software
McAfee® VirusScan® 2006 Antivirus - Pre-installed with 12 month subscription (+$40.00)
Recovery Disk
Custom DVD Restore Disk, returns your system hard drive to the original factory installation
Internal Cables
Standard Premium Ribbon IDE and Floppy Cables
Keyboard
Velocity Micro™ Deluxe Multimedia & Internet Keyboard with volume control, custom made by Creative Labs - Black
Mouse
None (Or select a Cordless Keyboard/Mouse Combo) (-$15.00)
Network Cable
None
MP3 Player
None
Printers
None
Printer Cable
None
Digital Camera
None
Game Control 1
None
Game Control 2
None
Power Protection
None
Battery Backup
None
T-Shirt
FREE Velocity Micro™ Limited Edition T-shirt in Blue, size XL
Assembly
Immaculate custom hand wiring and origami-style folded drive cables for ultimate air flow, assembled in Richmond, Virginia, USA
Quality Assurance
Individual custom testing for complete component and software functionality, signed by the system builder and QA inspector
Documentation
Owner's Portfolio with Velocity Micro manual, driver disks, and accessory pack
Installation
None
Warranty**
1 Year Standard Parts & Labor Limited Warranty, 1 Year Regular Business Hours Support, and Depot Repair Service
Upgrade Plan
Lifetime Upgrade Plan - For a $99 fee, you may return your system for cleaning, maintenance, discounted upgrades, and tuning

[Eaglesfan27]

Looks like a very nice system for that price range.

[ISiddiqui]

So now, what are the main advantages for Dual Core technology? I get what it is (two processors), but what else is it supposed to do?

[ISiddiqui]

Looks like a very nice system for that price range.And I just got a 10% off coupon from Buy.com that I can use for a monitor! :D

[sterlingice]

$1700 for a box just seems insane to me.

SI

[Eaglesfan27]

So now, what are the main advantages for Dual Core technology? I get what it is (two processors), but what else is it supposed to do?
They allow you to multitask more without bogging down your system. Programs that support hyperthreading (also called multithreading) will run faster on your computer. Also, they provide this significant boost in processing power without a huge leap in power consumption.

[ISiddiqui]

Well... that sounds great. Damn... the price keeps going up ;).

Oh well, I'm planning on having this rig last me for 4-5 years.

[Eaglesfan27]

Well... that sounds great. Damn... the price keeps going up ;).

Oh well, I'm planning on having this rig last me for 4-5 years.

Same thing for me. I splurged on my most recent computer, but I plan on having it last at least 5 years.

[cartman]

I wouldn't wait on software. Software upgrades are always possible. Hardware, on the other hand, is a rip and replace event. Since Dual Core CPUs, Serial ATA and PCI Express are now out there, there really aren't any more fundamental shifts in hardware coming out in the next couple of years, like we've had the past couple. The big changes in hardware are going to be ramp ups in clock cycles, or the additions of "helper" cards, like a seperate physics engine on a card, and those sorts of things.

[cartman]

Dola, I just realized that's what Airhog has already said :)

[ISiddiqui]

S'alright. Any more support I can get for buying a computer now will only help me make the plunge ;).

[Craptacular]

always best to build your own cpu.If you're an electrical engineer.

[sterlingice]

Not really- just ask Doug or any number of people who have made build computer threads how tough it is. However, you will have to be able to do your own tech support on software as opposed to being able to call Dell or whatever so they can route you through the question database before ultimately telling you "send it to us" or "use your reinstall disk".

SI

[Eaglesfan27]

Not really- just ask Doug or any number of people who have made build computer threads how tough it is. However, you will have to be able to do your own tech support on software as opposed to being able to call Dell or whatever so they can route you through the question database before ultimately telling you "send it to us" or "use your reinstall disk".

SI

I think building your own CPU is a bit tougher than building your own computer ;)

[Craptacular]

He said CPU ... as in the microprocessor chip.

[Craptacular]

I like E's response better than mine. :D

[sterlingice]

D'oh. Yeah, yeah, I get it now. :p

SI

[ISiddiqui]

Well I think I'll get the $1900 one, but I gotta wait for my check to come through. May get the monitor soon though... so I can use my coupon :D.

[ISiddiqui]

Btw, I'm also thinking of a monitor. I got two in mind:
Samsung 740B

http://www.buy.com/prod/Samsung_740.../201934665.html (http://www.buy.com/prod/Samsung_740B_17_LCD_Display_600_1_8ms_740B_BLACK/q/loc/14971/201934665.html)

Viewsonic VX724

http://www.buy.com/prod/ViewSonic_V.../201642348.html (http://www.buy.com/prod/ViewSonic_VX724_17_LCD_Display_500_1_4ms/q/loc/14971/201642348.html)

Both are 17'' and have a DVI-D connection (for the 7800). Which would you recommend? I've heard decent things about Viewsonic, but how is their rep these days?

Oh, and according to Tom's Hardware, the 4 ms response time isn't accurate... at least it wasn't on the VX924, so I don't think it'd be here.

[ISiddiqui]

Well, I got the computer (my refund came in). I spent a bit more than I thought I was going to. Similar to the one I posted above, but I got some speakers (Bose Companion 2), so I decided to put that money into an Creative X-Fi Sound Card and a 200 GB Hard Drive:

<table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="2" width="100%"><tbody><tr><th align="left">Competition Gaming Systems : Gamer's Edge� DualX�<!--
/images/upload/sli2.gif --></th> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Base Price: 1795.00 Your Price: 1950.00 Weight: 75 lbs</td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table width="100%"><tbody><tr><td>file:///images/layout/tabcorecomponents.gif</td></tr></tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Case</td> <td>file:///images/upload/GX_blue.jpg
GX Blue - Velocity Micro Classic Case - Pure Aluminum for maximum cooling, matching aluminum drive covers, 2 x 120mm fans (-$35.00)</td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">LX Wheel Kit</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Power Supply</td> <td>500 Watt Velocity Micro� Power Supply with Dual Blue Lighted Fans </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Power Cable</td> <td>Standard Power Cable </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Case Lights</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Motherboard</td> <td>Asus� A8N SLI - NVIDIA� nForce� 4 SLI MCP, PCI Express Motherboard with DDR </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">AMD� Processor</td> <td>AMD� Athlon� 64 X2 3800+ Processor with Dual Core Technology, 939-pin </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">CPU Cooling</td> <td>Arctic Cooling� Freezer 64 Heatsink with Ultra Quiet Fan and Copper Heat Pipes, plus Arctic Silver� 5 Thermal Compound </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">DDR Memory</td> <td>1024MB Mushkin� PC3200 DDR400 Blue Series CL2 Low Latency Enhanced Memory with Heat Spreader(2x512) </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table width="100%"><tbody><tr><td>file:///images/layout/tabaudiovideo.gif</td></tr></tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">PCX Video</td> <td>256MB eVGA� NVIDIA� GeForce� 7800 GT, PCI-Express, 2 x DVI </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Video Cooling</td> <td>VideoCool� Positive Pressure Airflow System - Speed adjustable, with light (+$35.00)</td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Video Tuning</td> <td>Basic 3D Video Performance Tuning & Optimization </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Monitor</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Audio</td> <td>Creative Labs SoundBlaster� X-Fi� XtremeMusic, Enhanced MP3 playback, realistic surround, and faster gaming performance (+$130.00)</td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Speakers</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table width="100%"><tbody><tr><td>file:///images/layout/tabstorage.gif</td></tr></tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Hard Drive 1</td> <td>200GB Western Digital WD2000JD 7200rpm SATA/150, 8MB Cache </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Hard Drive 2</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Optical Drive 1</td> <td>16x Lite On� DVD+/-RW/CD-RW Dual Layer, Black Bezel </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Optical Drive 2</td> <td>16x DVD/48x CD-RW Lite On� Combo Drive, Black Bezel </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Floppy Drive & Media Reader</td> <td>1.44MB Floppy Drive, Black Bezel </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table width="100%"><tbody><tr><td>file:///images/layout/tabcommunications.gif</td></tr></tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Network Adapter</td> <td>Integrated 10/100/1000MBps Gigabit Ethernet Network Adapter </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Network Adapter 2 or WiFi Adapter</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">WiFi Router</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Modem</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">FireWire</td> <td>2 Integrated IEEE 1394 FireWire Ports, 1 front & 1 rear </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">USB 2.0 Ports</td> <td>8 USB 2.0 Ports, 2 front & 6 rear (2 rear ports may be unavailable in some configurations due to available resources) </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table width="100%"><tbody><tr><td>file:///images/layout/tabsoftware.gif</td></tr></tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Operating System</td> <td>Microsoft� Windows� XP Home w/Service Pack 2 on original CD, Installed & Performance Tuned </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Productivity Software</td> <td>Corel� WordPerfect� Office 11 - includes WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, Presentations ($99 retail value) </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Software Bundle</td> <td>FREE - Nero Digital Creation Suite - Capture, Edit, and Author Video with immersive Dolby 5.1 Surround, plus Photo Editing Suite </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Benchmark Software</td> <td>NEW - FutureMark� 3DMark06� Velocity Micro Basic Edition - gaming performance benchmark software </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Security Software</td> <td>McAfee� VirusScan� 2006 Antivirus - Pre-installed with 12 month subscription (+$40.00)</td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Recovery Disk</td> <td>Custom DVD Restore Disk, returns your system hard drive to the original factory installation </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table width="100%"><tbody><tr><td>file:///images/layout/tabaccessories.gif</td></tr></tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Internal Cables</td> <td>Standard Premium Ribbon IDE and Floppy Cables </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Keyboard</td> <td>Velocity Micro� Deluxe Multimedia & Internet Keyboard with volume control, custom made by Creative Labs - Black </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Mouse</td> <td>None (Or select a Cordless Keyboard/Mouse Combo) (-$15.00)</td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Network Cable</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">MP3 Player</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Printers</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Printer Cable</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Digital Camera</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Game Control 1</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Game Control 2</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Power Protection</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Battery Backup</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">T-Shirt</td> <td>FREE Velocity Micro� Limited Edition T-shirt in Blue, size XL </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table width="100%"><tbody><tr><td>file:///images/layout/tabsupport.gif</td></tr></tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Assembly</td> <td>Immaculate custom hand wiring and origami-style folded drive cables for ultimate air flow, assembled in Richmond, Virginia, USA </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Quality Assurance</td> <td>Individual custom testing for complete component and software functionality, signed by the system builder and QA inspector </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Documentation</td> <td>Owner's Portfolio with Velocity Micro manual, driver disks, and accessory pack </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Installation</td> <td>None </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Warranty**</td> <td>1 Year Standard Parts & Labor Limited Warranty, 1 Year Regular Business Hours Support, and Depot Repair Service </td> <td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="150">Upgrade Plan</td> <td>The Velocity Micro Lifetime Upgrade Plan allows you to return your system for maintenance, discounted upgrades, and tuning </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>

[Buccaneer]

Imran, that would be very similar to a system that I would build myself so I think you did good on the specs. I haven't priced out any components recently but in looking at the price, I wonder how much I would save. For what it's worth, I've built my current PC 3 1/2 years for under $600 and I can still play the few new games I've gotten.

[Crapshoot]

Imran,
That's some serious overpricing - Buy the basic computer from one of these shops (processor, HD, PS) - but add all your components from a Newegg or what not - your money will go a lot further. I just picked up a Dell XPS 400 for 489 - Dual Core, P 2.8 - leaving me dough to add stuff, as it were. My guess is that you are paying a significant premium for the video cards - NEwegg those.

[Crapshoot]

dola,
Nvidia is releasing the 7900 in a couple of weeks - I'd hold of purchasing a setup with dual 7800's until those are out - simply because a price drop is coming.

[Franklinnoble]

Buy Intel. I got kids to feed.

[Crapshoot]

Trola,
I'm an idiot who needs to read the entire thread before responding. :D

[Buccaneer]

It's been a while since I've been to CyberPower (where I've gotten some of my components in the past). Here's a similar configuration (unless I am missing something):

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=summary_body id=summary_price name="summary_price">$1158.00</TD><TD class=summary_right></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE id=summary_content cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 name="summary_content"><TBODY><TR><TD class=summary_left></TD><TD class=summary_body>
CASE : <SCRIPT>n_('CAS_CASE_5','SILVER')</SCRIPT>Hot New! X-Cruiser Mid-Tower 420W Case W/ WINDOW, MultiMeter Display & Control (Silver Color)
CPU : (939-pin) AMD Athlon™64 X2 3800+ Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
MOTHERBOARD : (Sckt939)ASUS A8N-SLI nForce4 SLI Chipset SATA RAID Dual PCIE MB w/Gb-LAN,USB2.0,IEEE-1394,&7.1Audio
MEMORY : 1024 MB (512MBx2) PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR MEMORY (Corsair Value Select)
VIDEO CARD : NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GT 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card
VIDEO CARD 2 : <SCRIPT>n_('VIDEO2_VC_NONE','')</SCRIPT>NONE
MONITOR & LCD : <SCRIPT>n_('MONITOR_MONITOR_NONE','')</SCRIPT>NONE
HARD DRIVE : 200GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive -- Recommended
Hard Drive 2 : <SCRIPT>n_('HDD2_HDD_NONE2','')</SCRIPT>NONE
Optical Drive : <SCRIPT>n_('CD_CD040','BEIGE')</SCRIPT>COMBO DRIVE (16X DVD-ROM & 52x32x52 CD-RW) (BEIGE COLOR)
Optical Drive 2 : <SCRIPT>n_('CD2_CDRW_NONE','')</SCRIPT>NONE
SOUND : <SCRIPT>n_('SOUND_SC_ONBOARD71','')</SCRIPT>HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
</TD><TD class=summary_right></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=summary_left></TD><TD class="summary_body summary_hc">http://hc2.humanclick.com/hc/49044919/?cmd=repstate&site=49044919&category=en;corporate;1&ver=1 (http://hc2.humanclick.com/hc/49044919/?cmd=file&file=visitorWantsToChat&site=49044919&byhref=1)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Buccaneer]

Just stepping back slightly to a GeForce 7300 (still 256mb 16x PCI), the total would be $922.

[Easy Mac]

Don't forget he has the dual 7800's, and the x-fi would add about $200 as well and a dvd-rw

of course, i spent about $800 on my computer i'm using now and 2 years later its horribly out of date. My media pc beats it in every facet, and I built it for a little over $350, so combined my pcs still aren't even worth you guys's cheapest ones.

[Buccaneer]

Don't forget he has the dual 7800's, and the x-fi would add about $200 as well and a dvd-rw

of course, i spent about $800 on my computer i'm using now and 2 years later its horribly out of date. My media pc beats it in every facet, and I built it for a little over $350, so combined my pcs still aren't even worth you guys's cheapest ones.
The $922 is a dual-core 7800 and adding a X-Fi would boost the price to only $1008. A DVD-RW would only make a $20 difference.

When I build PCs in the past, I usually do even better on price but still maintaining high specs by getting a MB/CPU/RAM combo from a vendor and then shop around for the best components for the add-ons. Buying all the parts from a configurater (like CyberPower) limits you to what choices they have. But even that is far better option than buying an assembly-line PC. The MB/CPU/RAM combo is, to me, all you need (to have tested). The rest you can beg, borrow or steal (as a figure of speech).

[Daimyo]

Bucc:

The machine you specced out only contains a single video card. Granted I can't imagine you'll find much need for dual 7800's, but that is a significant price that your's is missing that Imran's has.

[Daimyo]

DOLA, I have a machine at home very similar to Imran's (X2 3800, 1GB RAM) except I have a single x800 Pro video card and dual, striped 10k Raptor hard drives... I love the X2s! I have a Pentium D 840 dual core at work and the AMD X2 blows it away as far as I can tell so far.

[Buccaneer]

256MB eVGA� NVIDIA� GeForce� 7800 GT, PCI-Express, 2 x DVI
I guess I didn't know what 2 x DVI meant. I bought a GeForce4 4200 in 2002 and it is still a good card today.

[Crapshoot]

Actually,
he doesn't have a Dual Card setup - I thought he did as well, but I went over to Velocity Micro, and that " x 2" refers to the dual dvi inputs - if he wanted 2 video cards in a SLI setup, he would have had to pay more.

[ISiddiqui]

Yeah, I got a single video card. 2XDVI means it has 2 DVI connectors. I looked at Cyberpower as well, but then I read some user feedback and apparently their service is HORRID. Some people complained about computers not working out the box and the service just blowing them off.

I looked at a Dell, but a similar computer cost me the same (and XPS 600 with the same components, but a Dual Core Pentium cost me $1969). And I'd rather trust a smaller outfit, respected for its high quality products and overclocking than a Dell.

FWIW, CNet had a thing on the best gaming PCs under $2000 last year, and Velocity Micro's computer won out by a good margin.

May be some overpricing, but I'd rather not deal with putting it together and I'd like to have some decent support, just in case (my experiences with Dell laptops have soured me). Oh, and FWIW, the price jumps by a bit because I wanted the dual core AMD. I want to keep this system for a while and don't want to mess around replacing the processor and/or motherboard. I can do graphic cards and sound cards myself, but with the two I've put in there, I probably won't have to for a long, long time.

[Buccaneer]

I agree about the support which was why I switched over to buying the parts I wanted from various places, included ProVantage which has great support. But it took a long time to get to that point where I felt comfortable going do-it-yourself, even though next time I still would buy a MB combo because that's where things can really screw up. But there is something to be said for not having to get mess with all of that, even if it costs more.

[Daimyo]

I think you'll be very happy with it... I can't say enough about the X2. Dell is nice, but the fact that they are intel exclusive is a major negagtive for home users IMO. The X2 really is noticably better then the Pentium D.

There is no way I'd buy a pre-built PC, but at the same time I would never reccomend someone who didn't feel comfortable to build their own.... there really is a ton that can go wrong.

[ISiddiqui]

I built a similar system with Cyberpower and got a system that cost $1369.00 (I had to upgrade the power supply and motherboard to equalize things).

Much cheaper, but don't want to deal with horrid (even if it is a minority opinion) support.

Edit: Make that $1513.00. I forgot about the software page :D.

[ISiddiqui]

There is no way I'd buy a pre-built PC, but at the same time I would never reccomend someone who didn't feel comfortable to build their own.... there really is a ton that can go wrong.Exactly!! I hadn't built a PC since like 2000! A lot of new stuff since then. I was entertaining the notion until a few months ago when I really started looking and realized I had no clue what "SLI" was. It was a quick lookup, but it was then I realized that I'd be way over my head if I tried to build a PC myself.

[Crapshoot]

I think you'll be very happy with it... I can't say enough about the X2. Dell is nice, but the fact that they are intel exclusive is a major negagtive for home users IMO. The X2 really is noticably better then the Pentium D.

There is no way I'd buy a pre-built PC, but at the same time I would never reccomend someone who didn't feel comfortable to build their own.... there really is a ton that can go wrong.

Truthfully, I did want to go with a X2 based desktop (And I dont have the time to put my system together), but at 480 bucks (and with a retail X2 going to at 290 on Newegg), there's no way building one personally could beat the Dell. I get the bare minimum from Dell- the case, the processor, their horrid propeitary motherboard, the hd - and add the rest myself. I figure at that price, Dell was worth it.

[ISiddiqui]

Hmmm... my system was supposed to ship on March 7th, but it shipped today apparently. A full week earlier. I called to find out if this was normal (I didn't want them to skimp on testing the system) and they said yeah, depending on how much business we have at the time.

So... interesting. I guess I'll have to wait until Friday or Saturday when I get it.