[SardonicWhisper]

I'm extremely sorry if this is in the wrong forum. I had no clue where else to post this.

After realizing that my current desktop computer will soon be turning 8 years old (and still works amazingly), I decided to invest in a new desktop, but I have no clue what is considered "good" in terms of processors, graphics cards, etc. I need something that will be able to support computer games, will last long, but costs under $800, and... unfortunately that's a hard thing to find I'm sure xD.

I know that building a computer would probably be my best option but... I have no clue how .

Anyway, I found this computer, and I was wondering if anyone could tell me if it has good hardware or not.

Thank you to all who help !

[Advertisements]

Hello,
The PC in the link looks ok, but not as a current 3D gaming machine. If you play 2D games or much older 3D games on a smaller monitor, then you could probably get by with that PC.

The graphics card is minimal, and if it has a 300watt power supply (as the customer reviewer said), then that is minimal also for current graphic cards. Also it looks like it has a slower 5400rpm hard drive. That's good for quiet and energy efficient, but most drives for gaming are 7200rpm or faster. For 3D gaming you would want to at least replace the graphics card and maybe a Power Supply (PSU) that can power it.


The graphics card is one of the main components for 3D gaming. You can pretty much go by "you get what you pay for". Top end graphics cards are $300-$500, but you could probably do OK with a card $100-$200. The ATI HD 4350 in that PC sells for less than $50.

There are review sites that have game benchmarks tests so you can compare how the graphics GPU and or CPU can perform in games.
Anandtech.com ,xbitlabs.com, tomshardware.com and more.

review of the 4350 at http://www.anandtech.com/show/2630/5

I build my own PC's so I am not sure who sells the best deals on prebuilt PC's.
I have heard of good deals on game PC's at ibuypower.com, but I don't know how they rate.

[Lu7]

Hello,
The PC in the link looks ok, but not as a current 3D gaming machine. If you play 2D games or much older 3D games on a smaller monitor, then you could probably get by with that PC.

The graphics card is minimal, and if it has a 300watt power supply (as the customer reviewer said), then that is minimal also for current graphic cards. Also it looks like it has a slower 5400rpm hard drive. That's good for quiet and energy efficient, but most drives for gaming are 7200rpm or faster. For 3D gaming you would want to at least replace the graphics card and maybe a Power Supply (PSU) that can power it.


The graphics card is one of the main components for 3D gaming. You can pretty much go by "you get what you pay for". Top end graphics cards are $300-$500, but you could probably do OK with a card $100-$200. The ATI HD 4350 in that PC sells for less than $50.

There are review sites that have game benchmarks tests so you can compare how the graphics GPU and or CPU can perform in games.
Anandtech.com ,xbitlabs.com, tomshardware.com and more.

review of the 4350 at http://www.anandtech.com/show/2630/5

I build my own PC's so I am not sure who sells the best deals on prebuilt PC's.
I have heard of good deals on game PC's at ibuypower.com, but I don't know how they rate.

[phillpower2]

Have a look at this excellent tutorial courtesy of Troy & Artellos
you might be surprised at how easy it can be to build your own plus
there is always someone on the forum to assist should you require;
http://www.geekstogo...er-t208831.html
Good luck & let us know what you decide or if you require further guidance

Edit: I agree with the comments made by Lu7;

The graphics card is minimal, and if it has a 300watt power supply (as the customer reviewer said), then that is minimal also for current graphic cards. Also it looks like it has a slower 5400rpm hard drive. That's good for quiet and energy efficient, but most drives for gaming are 7200rpm or faster. For 3D gaming you would want to at least replace the graphics card and maybe a Power Supply (PSU) that can power it.

Edited by phillpower2, 15 May 2010 - 03:24 PM.

[SardonicWhisper]

My main concern with building a computer is that I'd buy incompatible parts .

Also, I decided to put more money towards a computer, so now I'm trying to stay under $1000.

And, I heard of iBUYPOWER too, but I was skeptical since I've heard bad things about their customer service. Has anyone else heard of them?

[phillpower2]

Do you have any reputable computer shops locally that you could
ask to custom build you a system, they would be able to help you
choosing the correct parts for your budget & if you decided to go
ahead with the purchase should you ever have any problems in the
future they are on your doorstep & not on the end of a phoneline.
We dont have this company here in the UK that I know of so I
googled them & had a look at their website, they look like they do
some nice systems for a reasonable price, http://www.ibuypower...Store/Special-A
As for their customer feedback you may like to read this to help
you make your mind up http://www.resellerr...store/iBUYPOWER

[dcloud]

Hi Sardonic,

I built my first computer myself a couple summers ago and while I'm no computer expert I can share what I learned with you. The first thing I did was visit some computer forums to ask questions from those who know computers, and the best one I found was http://www.overclock.net/

These guys went above and beyond to answer all my questions and provide info, suggestions, and links for me to check out. In short they basically helped me choose my mobo, CPU, and just about everything else. They cover just about every computer component out there so if you decide on a certain mobo just do a search for it on this board and then just sign up for an account and start a thread asking your questions.

The first thing I had to do was decide on a motherboard. I went through a lot of them on Newegg and also read the reviews. Reviews are a good source of info because you are getting some insight into a particular component based on those who already own it. Once I decided on my Gigabyte P35-DS4 (rev 2.1) board then I went back to the Overclock forums and started asking questions, like which CPU do you recommend? what type of memory? power supply? Stuff like that.

You can also ask those same questions in this forum, for it seems there are a lot of very knowledgeable and helpful folks here, too.

I researched my new build for six weeks before I finally decided on:

Motherboard: Gigabyte P35-DS4 (Rev2.1)
CPU: Intel Q6600 SLACR (GO Stepping)
CPU Cooling: ThermalRight Ultra 120E
Memory: 4 x 1GB G.SKILL PC6400
Graphics Card: ASUS EN9600GSO GeForce 9600 GSO 512MB
Hard Drive: 2 x SeaGate Barracuda SATA (250GB, 320GB)
Power Supply: PCP&C Silencer 610
Case: Ultra m998

Keep in mind that I built this system about three and half years ago. I learned about the different CPU "steppings" from the guys at Overclock, so you can end up learning quite a bit of info by asking questions in these forums and doing some research. Also, when you decide on a certain component you can do a Google search for reviews on it and learn more about it that way, too. This is how I learned about the Ultra m998 case, based on a reviews I found at Benchmark Reviews and Legit Reviews.

I hope this post helps you in some way.

Edited by dcloud, 18 May 2010 - 09:25 AM.