[Aairah]

I just configured this computer today and now im worrying the power supply wont be big enough and also wondering if this computer should work well playing games like Everquest / WoW.
I'm not very familiar but I did research on reviews for parts etc before deciding on this, which will hopefully get me the power / performance i desire on the budget i had to work with.

Does this look like it will get the job done? Keep in mind I play games on dialup so the computer will hopefully get rid of some of the lag i have from 56k modem.

CAS: Hot New! X-Cruiser Mid-Tower 420W Case W/ WINDOW, MultiMeter Display & Control [-74] (Silver Color)
CASUPGRADE: NONE
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Pentium® D 930 Dual-Core CPU @ 3.0GHz 800FSB 2x2MB Cache 64-Bit [-44]
CD: (Special Price) LG GWA-4161 16X DVD+/-R/+/-RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER [+24] (BLACK COLOR)
CD2: NONE [-35]
FLOPPY: 1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE (BLACK COLOR)
FLASHMEDIA: I-Rocks IR-5300 (SILVER) External USB 12in1 Card Reader [+15]
FREEGAME: NEW !!! Free "World of Warcraft" for Any Intel PC/Notebook System
FAN: INTEL LGA775 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK + 3 EXTRA CASE FANS [-50]
HDD: 80GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive [-33]
HDD2: 80GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive [+48]
IEEE_CARD: NONE
KEYBOARD: PS2 MULTIMEDIA INTERNET CONTROL KEYBOARD (BLUE COLOR [+3])
MOUSE: PS2 INTERNET MOUSE W/ WHEEL (BLUE COLOR)
MODEM: PCI 56K V.92 FAX MODEM W/ VOICE [+12]
MONITOR: ViewSonic Q9B 19" COLOR TFT Active Matrix SXGA LCD Display Monitor (Black) [-17]
MONITOR2: NONE
MOTHERBOARD: Asus P5ND2-SLI nForce4 Chipset LGA775 DDR2/667 SATA RAID Dual PCIE w/7.1Audio,GbLAN,&USB2
MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)1GB (2x512MB) PC5300 DDR2/667 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Value Select)
MSGAME: FREE! AGE OF EMPIRE III
NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
OS: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition w/ Service Pack 2
PRO_WIRING: Professional Wiring for All WIRINGs Inside The System Chasis with High Performance Thermal Compound on CPU [+19]
POWERSUPPLY: STANDARD CASE POWER SUPPLY
RAID: RAID 0 Striped Disk Array for Faster Performance - Requires 2 Identical Hard Drives
SOFT: Microsoft® Works v8.0 [+9]
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY PLUS ONE-YEAR ONSITE SERVICE
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
SPEAKERS: Logitech S100 2.0 Stereo Speaker Set [-44] (BLACK COLOR)
USB: Build-in USB 2.0 Ports
VIDEO: NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GT 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card [-35]
_PRICE: (+1347)

(5% Discount) -$67.35
SUBTOTAL $1,279.65

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For a gaming system you are better and cheaper off with an AMD cpu instead of intel. Also the 7800GT is good but the 7900GT is better and the pricing difference isnt huge last time i looked i cant even find 7800GTs easily anymore they have been replaced.

Also RAID 0 performance difference isnt very large and it comes with a miriad of increased risks of one drive fails the whole array collapses and all data is lost. Its cheaper to get a single large drive, and if you get one with a 16Mb cache it will be faster as well.

Also the game will probably look a lot better your end however on a 56k modem playing any new game wil have alot of lag, any fast action games will be almost unplayable.

[warriorscot]

For a gaming system you are better and cheaper off with an AMD cpu instead of intel. Also the 7800GT is good but the 7900GT is better and the pricing difference isnt huge last time i looked i cant even find 7800GTs easily anymore they have been replaced.

Also RAID 0 performance difference isnt very large and it comes with a miriad of increased risks of one drive fails the whole array collapses and all data is lost. Its cheaper to get a single large drive, and if you get one with a 16Mb cache it will be faster as well.

Also the game will probably look a lot better your end however on a 56k modem playing any new game wil have alot of lag, any fast action games will be almost unplayable.

[Aairah]

thank you for your reply warriorscot. ill look into making the changes you suggested.

[Seven!]

I would replace the PSU, stock PSUs are awful.

[warriorscot]

It dependson the maker, antec cases come with stock PSUs and they are as good as you can get. And cyberpower tests all the systems before shipping so it should be fine i wouldnt worry about that.

[BlackPandemic]

If you are getting an X-series case (such as my Aspire X-Navigator) it is a no doubt thing that you should get a seperate PS. Numerous reviews state that Aspire delivers DOA (dead-on-arrival) PSU's more than half the time. They just aren't that reliable.

As for CyberPower in general, that's where I got my system and I couldn't be happier (well I could be, but then I'd be broke).

Also, if you make the order and want something changed, just call up their tech support and they can change your order in seconds. Even after I changed it I got the computer 2 days early than it was supposed to ship from CA!

Also, if you are looking to save a little cash, buy the monitor seperately. The shipping if a monitor is included jumps up a good deal. Otherwise, looks like you're good to go.

[Aairah]

the monitor was included in the package. i just upgraded it from 17 350:1 to a 19inch 500:1. No shipping costs at all and part of the deal so went with it.

I am concerned about the Power supply. guess ill just wait and see when i get it going, can always replace that later, cant i? or is that something really hard to do?

BTW Thank you for all the input guys, really appreciate. ive never bought anything that ive configured like this. my ex boyfriend used to do all that stuff for me, so ive had to do tons of research and its always hard knowing which sites have no affiliation and giving unbiased reviews.

Might change that up to a 7900GT and leave the rest as is for now. Though the tests i saw of it on a few reviews i read, showed it not being that much difference between the 7800 nad 7900.

[warriorscot]

no there is a fair difference between the two, and considering there isnt a price difference these days then its the obvious choice because it is the better card.

Swappping out the PSU is a fairly easy operation can be tricky with the motherboard in though, but it doesnt matter if they ship alot od DOAs alot of companies have them they just test more, since cyberpower test the system it should be ok, with PSUs if they dont break the first time you turn them on they are generally allright unless you add new hardware that draws alot more power.

[Aairah]

OK, updated the case to black version. updated the 7800GT to 7900GT.
hopefully they made the changes, so far when i check the reciept page its not updating the new changes. but i did ask to have an updated reciept sent to me, so ill hopefully get that sometime today.

thanks again for the input. im still a bit concerned about the power source, but if they do testing and if what warriorscot says is true, it should be ok it seems.

[warriorscot]

Yeah they test systems before they send them out, if you suspect its going bad just replace it but it should be fine.

[Aairah]

one other question i have, from anyone who has bought from Cyberpower. Will my computer be usable the day i pull it out of the box? IE: will it have drivers and all the parts it needs to run and get on internet etc?

Should I plan to download drivers now and have them on CD to put them on my new computer?

I feel so green in regards to buying a computer, i appreciate the help.

thank you!

[warriorscot]

It should be from what i know of them have windows preinstalled and at least enough drivers to get it working, but the day before you get it you might want to go round and get the latest drivers for it to make sure they are up to date.

[Aaira]

An update: I called Cyberpowerpc the day after ordering to request a change in my order. Salesman_H replied it was no problem to change items and updated my invoice....or so he said. (i changed the case color from silver to black and went with a 7900GT instead of the 7800GT).
After making the changes, i asked for an updated invoice to be sent to me, so i would be aware of the price difference (and to make sure the changes were made correctly). he responded he would do so.
another 24 hours goes by, no updated invoice, i called back... no change was made to my order would i like to request the changes again... so i did, same changes...asked for updated invoice to be emailed to me, was told it would be in my inbox before the days end....
next day, still no invoice, called again... no changes made to my order, had to request the order over again. spoke to the same salesman all 3 times, though i requested to get someone different this time, the person who answered the phones put me on hold before i could complete a sentence...okaaay, getting frustrated here... same guy on phone, requested the changes again, asked what the problem was, why wasnt he updating my computer... he said "i dont know, let me find out"... put me on hold, did not come back for such a long time, when he finally did come back he said the changes were made, i should expect a new invoice with the price change on it.....
the next day, i get an invoice, showing NO CHANGES..............
also recieved a pre-delivery order from FedEx... sigh
so i called Cyberpowerpc AGAIN. at this point im pretty much pissed off and disappointed that my changes were not made and the computer had already been shipped out =(
This time i refused to speak to the same salesman, i was told by another salesman that the guy who i had been dealing with was new and made errors.... figures, bout my luck!
They offered to send me a 7900 GT and i could remove the 7800 myself, send it back and it would be at no charge. I am happy about that, though its only a 36$ difference and it was quite a frustrating situation to go through.
I recieved my computer a day early. its beautiful, runs fast, does all i hope and will be even better when i get the new graphics card. which im going to be checking up on very soon. The only complaint was no speakers sent with it, so hopefully i will recieve those soon as well. I had a tech issue with my modem not working and one of the tech guys walked me through a fix, he was very patient and spent a long time on the phone with me to fix it.

To make a long story, even longer! it was a fairly exhausting purchase but in the end if they come through with the upgrade at no charge and send my speakers, i would consider buying from them again, just never from the same salesman i dealt with this time!!

and wow, my computer sounds like a helicopter, wonder if there is a way to make it quieter? hehe (starting to feel like i cant be pleased!)

Thanks for all the guidance here, i appreciate the time and advice

[warriorscot]

Aftermarket coolers and good fans can get the noise down a bit.

[BlackPandemic]

Aspire cases are loud as all get out because they have a lot of fans, which keep it really cool, but it's noisy.

I didn't have to do the changes that much. I called once and it was done. Maybe I was reading it wrong but it sounded like you just got too impatient.

The case is loud due to the amount of fans in it, just find some low DB fans that push a lot of air at slower speeds and you'll be good to go.