On a Quest for a Budget Computer

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Hello,

   I'm a first timer at buying a PC from a company that isn't Dell or Apple. So this whole extreme customization and whatnot is pretty different.(I can choose more then 2 types of Video Cards!) Anyways, I'm on a quest to get a decent gaming computer with good upgradibility   for under $900 without a monitor. My Budget is pretty set in stone considering I'm a 15 year old making around $140 a month. I'll need a copy of XP too. Unless, Someone can convince me to do Vista. I've been browsing around and there are a lot of choices but I'm not sure exactly what I need. The games I would be playing would be some simple RTS games like Company of Heroes and some Battlefield Shooters. Although, I do enjoy all types of games so I would like to be able to play them all, high settings or not.

      As I said above I'm looking for something very upgradable so I can come back to these forums and ask what I should do next with my rig.(And probaly some instructions :P) I've been looking around the site for an hour now and just found the forums roughly 30 minutes ago. Based on Reviews and employee activity on the forums I can see this is a very hands on company. Places like IBuypower and CyberPower seriosuly scared me away from buying a "custom" PC.

Just whipped this up. I'm wondering if getting a slightly less expensive Radeon 3870 HD card instead of the pre-configured one is a good idea. I upgraded the RAM speed to 1066 Mhz and had to ditch the pre-configured card to keep it in my budget. How much difference do you tihnk the ram speed would cause?

Ticket Number 225238

Hope to Get some good responses!

Edited by PantsParty - 06 Jan 2009 at 8:42pm

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PantsParty Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 06 Jan 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3	Quote Reply Topic: On a Quest for a Budget Computer Posted: 06 Jan 2009 at 7:37pm
	Hello, I'm a first timer at buying a PC from a company that isn't Dell or Apple. So this whole extreme customization and whatnot is pretty different.(I can choose more then 2 types of Video Cards!) Anyways, I'm on a quest to get a decent gaming computer with good upgradibility for under $900 without a monitor. My Budget is pretty set in stone considering I'm a 15 year old making around $140 a month. I'll need a copy of XP too. Unless, Someone can convince me to do Vista. I've been browsing around and there are a lot of choices but I'm not sure exactly what I need. The games I would be playing would be some simple RTS games like Company of Heroes and some Battlefield Shooters. Although, I do enjoy all types of games so I would like to be able to play them all, high settings or not. As I said above I'm looking for something very upgradable so I can come back to these forums and ask what I should do next with my rig.(And probaly some instructions :P) I've been looking around the site for an hour now and just found the forums roughly 30 minutes ago. Based on Reviews and employee activity on the forums I can see this is a very hands on company. Places like IBuypower and CyberPower seriosuly scared me away from buying a "custom" PC. Just whipped this up. I'm wondering if getting a slightly less expensive Radeon 3870 HD card instead of the pre-configured one is a good idea. I upgraded the RAM speed to 1066 Mhz and had to ditch the pre-configured card to keep it in my budget. How much difference do you tihnk the ram speed would cause? Ticket Number 225238 Hope to Get some good responses! Edited by PantsParty - 06 Jan 2009 at 8:42pm

DST4ME Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758	Quote Reply Posted: 06 Jan 2009 at 9:02pm
	your budget basically not allow you an upgradeable system. your case is gonna end-up too small so you might not be able to fit current new cards. your mobo will not be able to support new parts your CPU will not be upgradeable due to mobo your graphic cards will not be able to upgrade to current cards cause you would need a bigger PSU. here is what your build should look like: here you go Ticket# 225246 --- Price: $925 (To see this build click here) Copy of Specifications: Chassis Model: Antec 900 Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz (1333MHz Front Side Bus) (6MB Cache) Motherboard: CLEARANCE HOT SELLER: NVIDIA 650i Core 2 Quad (Chipset: nForce 650i Ultra) System Memory: 4GB DDR2 667MHz Corsair Power Supply: 550W Corsair HX (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition) Card Reader: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 320GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: CLEARANCE HOT SELLER: 1x ATI Radeon HD 3870 512MB Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: Standard Factory Heat-sink and Fan Liquid Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a H20: Stage 3 Cooling System Selected Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: - No Thanks Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Boost Processor: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my processor Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory Tweak Windows: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home (Includes Service Pack 3) Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Benchmarking: - No Thanks Install/Test Game: - No Thanks LCD Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks Speakers: - No Thanks Keyboard: - No Thanks Mouse: - No Thanks External Storage: - No Thanks Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks Priority Build: - No Thanks Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty this is still a good solid system tho, but I just wanted you to know all the stuff that you may come across when trying to upgrade. Edited by DST4ME - 06 Jan 2009 at 9:04pm
	Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers

PantsParty Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 06 Jan 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3	Quote Reply Posted: 06 Jan 2009 at 9:45pm
	So that config you showed would not solve the problems you listed? What type of config would offer good upgradebility without being super expensive. I can save more if it will help me in the long run. Also, would getting something overclocked be a good idea as long as it was on a component that I would be using for awhile and how important is memory speed? I"m just full of questions! Excuse my typing, it's from my iphone

Dsnewb210 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 01 Oct 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 972	Quote Reply Posted: 06 Jan 2009 at 10:02pm
	You would need to go with an I7 setup to stay with the times and not get left behind as fast. Only down side is the cost is alittle above your budget. If your that desperate and that is your set budget you might consider cyberpowerpc. (Can't believe i just typed this) Although i strongly advise you to avoid this route because the headaches you will encounter will outway the money you saved. Not to mention if your system is a dud gl getting the customer service you need to get it fixed. just my 2cents Edited by Dsnewb210 - 06 Jan 2009 at 10:03pm

DST4ME Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758	Quote Reply Posted: 07 Jan 2009 at 12:26am
	I would recommend against cyberpowerpc. this special is very good but you have to OC it yourself if you can save $2000, you can get s system to upgrade and it will be a kickarse system for a few years to come. the prices of GPUs are going to go down again when the new cards come out so I think you should wait and save and get an i7 system.
	Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers

On a Quest for a Budget Computer

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