Need new computer advice

[Russianwolf]

Hey guys, I'm in the market for a new computer and want to get some advice from people with more knowledge than me (just about everyone).

The primary purpose of the computer with be general home use. Web Surfing, Word docs, etc. But I would also like it to be able to play a game that is using Cryengine 3 (Mechwarrior Online).

Wifey wants to get an all in one, but I'm open to a standard desktop if the specs are appreciably better. Budget is $600 with monitor.

 

[mredburn]

I just built a new one, or more like my son just built me a new one, but it was about double that without a moniter.
I should qualify that by saying it is probably more machine than your looking to use or need.

 

[Durman]

Building a computer is always a safe bet as you can tailor it to your needs and often get a better value. Nowadays building one for yourself is a very simple and safe task, if you are interested in doing so I would be more than happy to provide you with recommendations for parts and information as to how to build it yourself. If you want to go the pre-built route I can also offer some advice there as well.

This dell is currently on sale for 479 and with its purchase you also receive a 200$ gift card, more than enough for a new monitor and peripherals.

The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

Its little brother which is slightly less powerful is on sale for $379 also with a $200 gift card.

The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

Both are great values if you decide to go pre-built, however if you would like to do a custom built just let me know and I can show you some information and give you some helpful links.

 

[Leatherman1998]

My brother (The IT guy of the house) said it might be good to look at Tiger Direct, Hp, Dell, and ibuypower.com. Play around with the custom builds and compare what you like. If you want one that's all set up, we're selling ours to finance a custom build. It has enough power to take Flight Sim X Gold at high graphics settings, and more than enough power for most other games. It has Windows 8 Beta now, but we could install a bigger hard drive and Win7 or even a Linux OS if you want. It wouldn't have a monitor or peripherals, but sites like TigerDirect have a lot of sales, you could probably snag something nice for not much.

Levi Woodard
Woodardwoodworks.com

Sent from my YP-GI1 (Samsung Galaxy player)using Forum Runner

 

[Redstoneal]

Just a quick fyi, my last 4 or 5 have been from the Dell.com outlet store and signing up for discount coupons...all have been very sturdy workhorses..but techbargains.com and tigerdirect.com are very good places for bargain sales.

 

[Russianwolf]

Went back to Best Buy, different location. They were out of the three units I was interested in (i3, 6g ram, 1t hd) for $400-450. So they offered me a better unit (i5, 6g ram, 1t hd) they had on display for $500. Said okay and they said Geeksquad needed to remove the store software and it'd be an hour. okay. Then someone comes over from Geeksquad and says I'll have to pick it up the next day as it will be several hours and they are closing. I said it doesn't take that long to remove software, I can reformat a drive and reload windows in an hour. They blinked. So the section manager I guess walks over and grabs a Dell XPS (i5, 6g ram, 1t hd) new in box and sells that to me for the $500.

Add in a 21.5" Samsung monitor for $150 and I blew my budget of $600 by $50, but got more computer.

I'll add in a decent video card later.

 

[Russianwolf]

oops

 

[Rob73]

You will get much better hardware putting it together yourself than purchasing a pre built. I5 + 6Gig is good though. I just built two new rigs I5-3550s/8GB/Gigabyte MB's/Case used my old graphics cards & HD. BF3 @ ultra no problem @ 1920x1080. Guild Wars2 I can be in 200+ man keep siege battles with graphics on high and have no problems. $180-250 card should be good for you.