PC buying advice

[spleen1015]

I am looking for a new PC as a combination Anniversary/Christmas present.

I started looking around today when I was in Sam's and this PC caught my eye.

hxxp://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=3&item=449482

I wanted to get some opinions from you guys. A lot of guys know about this shit. It has been a long time since I understand the specs of a PC.

Is HP any good? One of my friends has an HP laptop that he thinks is really good. I remember HP's computers used to be pretty bad performance-wise.

Any ideas, opinions, feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[spleen1015]

Dola,

I forgot to mention that I'll be playing OOTP and Dragon Age on it. As well as StarCraft 2 when it comes around and probably get back to playing WoW when the next expansion comes out.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

I am looking for a new PC as a combination Anniversary/Christmas present.

I started looking around today when I was in Sam's and this PC caught my eye.

hxxp://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=3&item=449482

I wanted to get some opinions from you guys. A lot of guys know about this shit. It has been a long time since I understand the specs of a PC.

Is HP any good? One of my friends has an HP laptop that he thinks is really good. I remember HP's computers used to be pretty bad performance-wise.

Any ideas, opinions, feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

What are you looking for out of a PC? Gaming? All around use?

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

Dola,

I forgot to mention that I'll be playing OOTP and Dragon Age on it. As well as StarCraft 2 when it comes around and probably get back to playing WoW when the next expansion comes out.

If playing games is the primary use for it, you could probably do a bit better honestly. The card in that system is a solid card, but it's a budget card that you can get for under $60 right now (it is considered the best of the budget cards, though). Most of the price in that computer seems to come from the multimedia stuff along with the 8gb of ram and a 27" monitor.

It's not a bad price at all for the stuff that's included, especially when it comes with that monitor and you could easily play the games you mentioned since none of them really have steep system requirements.

Basically I'm just warning that it's a system with a solid, but budget video card and a lot of other stuff that's pretty nice. It really comes down to how much you like the other stuff in the system.

By the time starcraft 2 comes out you'll probably be looking to upgrade the video card anyway.

[spleen1015]

My current system is a 3 year old Dell XPS that I paid a lot of money for, $2500 or so. At the time it was pretty much top of the line. I don't think I need to spend a lot to get a decent PC for the gaming that I like to do and I don't want to drop that much on a PC any more.

That big monitor is a selling point to me. I like high resolution for lots of screen real estate. I don't really need the Blu-ray since I have a PS3.

I was looking at it because it was in my price range, had what I thought was a decent video card with the 1GB of video memory and I think 8GB of RAM is more than enough for Windows 7.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

My current system is a 3 year old Dell XPS that I paid a lot of money for, $2500 or so. At the time it was pretty much top of the line. I don't think I need to spend a lot to get a decent PC for the gaming that I like to do and I don't want to drop that much on a PC any more.

That big monitor is a selling point to me. I like high resolution for lots of screen real estate. I don't really need the Blu-ray since I have a PS3.

I was looking at it because it was in my price range, had what I thought was a decent video card with the 1GB of video memory and I think 8GB of RAM is more than enough for Windows 7.

If that's the case, then I'd say it's not a bad deal. The card is solid, it's actually the most recommended budget card out now and can probably play anything out now and will absolutely be able to run Starcraft 2. On top of that, if you decide a year or so from now that you need a new card you'll be a able to get a good upgrade at a reasonable price and still not have paid a ridiculous amount for your system.

[Atocep]

Keep in mind, video card prices in the mid and budget ranges have gone down drastically since Nvidia and ATI got busted for price fixing. Upgrading to mid-range a year or two from now isn't anywhere near as expensive as it used to be.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by brassmonkey32

Best to build your own computer.

I thought about that, but I like having some kind of customer support. It is something I have never done before, so I am skeptical.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

I am looking for a new PC as a combination Anniversary/Christmas present.

I started looking around today when I was in Sam's and this PC caught my eye.

hxxp://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=3&item=449482

I wanted to get some opinions from you guys. A lot of guys know about this shit. It has been a long time since I understand the specs of a PC.

Is HP any good? One of my friends has an HP laptop that he thinks is really good. I remember HP's computers used to be pretty bad performance-wise.

Any ideas, opinions, feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I had a dell die on me about month. It was PC my wife and I shared for home use. I replaced them with two HPs. Her's was Best Buy special HDX 16. I custom order a HDX16 from the HP site WITH A 720o rpm harddrive, a excellent graphics card, bluray, high res screen, Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T8700 (2.4GHz, 3MB Cache), 4 GB ram, 320 GB Storage, Vista 64 bit Home premium, webcam etc. I paid $950 for it. The graphics card and this system is great I have been able to play Dragon Age on high, high with no problems at all. I would recommend this system to anyone if that price range is in your budget.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

I thought about that, but I like having some kind of customer support. It is something I have never done before, so I am skeptical.

Yes, I agree. Though alot of people build there own. It always seems like when ever I here someone vomplaining anew game like Dragon Age won't play correctly or well it is on a built by self machine. It is just anecdotal evidence.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Originally Posted by brassmonkey32

Best to build your own computer.

I always have trouble with soldering on the chips.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by M GO BLUE!!!

I always have trouble with soldering on the chips.

lol

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by brassmonkey32

I just hate all those pre-built computers at Dell, Best Buy, Fry's , etc. It comes with a lot of crapware and trials installed on it.

Yes, that is why I bought mine directly from HP. It took a little time but I was able to remove all the installers they load with it quicken , Nortons, etc. I was able to avoid some of the bigger nuisances like office, and a few others since HP let's order a system without some of it. The stuff from Best Buy that I got for my wife was only $500 was a good system for a BB purchase but did have a ton of crapware that I needed to remove.

[Coffee Warlord]

Pretty much a given these days that the first thing you have to do with any manufacturer bought / store bought computer is wipe it and do a clean install on it.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Pretty much a given these days that the first thing you have to do with any manufacturer bought / store bought computer is wipe it and do a clean install on it.

Even that is pretty difficult to do unless ypou buy the OS independent of the machine. If for example you get a cd along with a new laptop these day from a manufacturer the os they give is the the same image as the one you have when you first bought the machine so it still has all the crapware installers as part of the image.

[spleen1015]

I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the HP. Thanks for all of the advice folks. I appreciate it.

[Comey]

Just as an aside, I was trying to decide between the HP HDXt16 and the Dell Studio XPS 16 a few months ago. In the end, while HP's deal was excellent, I went with the Dell because I preferred the build of the machine, and I got a 256GB SSD with it. But I really was impressed with that HP.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Comey

Just as an aside, I was trying to decide between the HP HDXt16 and the Dell Studio XPS 16 a few months ago. In the end, while HP's deal was excellent, I went with the Dell because I preferred the build of the machine, and I got a 256GB SSD with it. But I really was impressed with that HP.

Yeah I was happy to be able to get the 2.4 core2 duo along with the 4 GB RAM and 7200 hard drive which has made all the difference.

[sovereignstar]

Originally Posted by Comey

Just as an aside, I was trying to decide between the HP HDXt16 and the Dell Studio XPS 16 a few months ago. In the end, while HP's deal was excellent, I went with the Dell because I preferred the build of the machine, and I got a 256GB SSD with it. But I really was impressed with that HP.

I ordered a SXPS 1645 about a month ago. Just waiting for that baby to arrive. I take it you're happy with your purchase? Did you get the RGBLED screen. I hear it's glorious.

[Comey]

I am, and it is. I do wish I had the newest processor (i7 or whatever it is), and the 1GB video card (which showed up about a month after I got mine), but for my purposes, I don't need it. I just prefer to have as powerful a machine as possible.

I also enjoy having Blu-Ray (I have a PS3, but I use this more).

[bhlloy]

So I thought I'd resurrect this thread as I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on the following DIY combo from Newegg... got some advice from a guy at work that I trust who said the components were all solid but he wasn't aware whether it was a good price or not. Initially I'll be pulling the ATI Radeon X300 512mb out of my current machine to use with the system, but probably will upgrade sometime in the future.


Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3250318AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Intel Core i3-530 Clarkdale 2.93GHz LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Model BX80616I3530 - Retail

ASUS P7H55-M PRO LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail

LIAN LI Lancool PC-K58W Black 0.8 mm SECC, Plastic + Mesh ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Thermaltake TR2 TRX-650M 650W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91 Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

Including tax and shipping just a shade over $500... any ideas if this is a good price? I like what I'm hearing about the i3 processors and I'm not sure my budget really stretches to anything more expensive at this point. I'd be mostly using it for gaming (probably not high end gaming but would be nice to actually be able to play OOTP10 and Civ IV again) and just day to day surfing the web.

[bhlloy]

DOLA - any advice you guys would have about buying extra cooling components for this kind of system (heatsink fan/cooler) would be greatly appreciated as I'm completely clueless.

[Jughead Spock]

Looks pretty nice. Might see about HD options. Just looking at parts alone, a 500Gb 7200 drive is like $3 more. But that + the ATI sure looks like a solid start, esp. for $500.

[bhlloy]

Thanks for the advice. The reason I was going for a smaller drive was the Barracuda is almost twice as fast in average latency than a comparable WD. Drive space isn't a huge deal for me, I'd rather have the quick access. But not sure if this is a legit concern or just something I've made up in my head and I should just go with the extra space?

[Jughead Spock]

personally, I'm with you. I'd definitely take a faster 250 over a 500.