Your thoughts on the prebuilt?

Hi.  First time here.  I was researching a Tiger D barebones and came across this mfr. at the Tom's Hardware website.  I am very impressed.  The machines are comparable in terms of price once you add in the HD, VC, Optical and OS.  The specs seem to include superior parts (CPU and VC) than anything you would get in a barebones.  I'm not a PC junkie so some of this is a challenge for me.  Analysis-paralysis sets in pretty frequently as I get overwhelmed.

I have a 5 yo VP Matrix (Best Buy) and I play Q3 and Qlive.  I feel the low end prebuilt will give me the performance that I need.  I'm a little concerned that DS leaves the exact specs open on the prebuilts (MFR name etc.) , but they seem to have a good reputation in most regards.

Is this config OK for a light gamer?

http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsavedsd.asp?id=298890

Also, I inquired in Live Chat and got no reply.  Instead got "we will respond to you soon".  That's not live chat as I know it.  How does this work with DS?
Also - I can't find any accessories such as keyboard and mouse.  Where do I
look?

Thanks.

I need to get a new monitor.  I currently have a 15" Samsung SyncMaster 151V.  I have no idea what to get.

Thanks for the reply.

what's the total budget we're looking at here, monitor and all, and we can probably help more? Oh ya, you'd have better luck messing around with the configurator during the day if you want help from a rep, generally in their working hours. I got 5 little clicky boxes asking if i needed assistance today just look at other people's configs so they seem eager to help on that end.

Edited by satsunada - 09 Jul 2009 at 2:21am

Thanks Sarah - we spoke earlier today.  MB looks good and I'm not overly converned about the GPU strength based on what I am running today - GeForce 6600 256MB and 1GB ram.  As long as I have the ability to upgrade the cards I'm fine.

No problem, glad I could help you out!

The PSU on my prebuilt is 475W.  My current PC is a 5 or 6yo Wintel (VP Matrix from Best Buy) ) and the current resolution is 1024 x 678 (32 bit).  The card is a Nvidia GeForce 6600GT (128MB).  I lost the ability to upgrad my GPU drivers three years ago so I haven't tweaked my settings in some time. 

Again, the only game I play is Q3 and Qlive.  That could change.  The new card is the Nvidia GTS 250 which is a renamed 9800 with 1MB and it's not a powerful card but....

I'm amazed at what peeps spend on these machines.  My budget was in the $1M range +/-.

Thanks.

The cost to upgrade the PSU is short money if I want to get the 260 GTX at some point.

Your observation (and math) is right on.

You missed the  part above about SWMBO.

I've been married for over 35 years and I know the limits and when to push them.  I can easily afford a much more powerful system but I will pay a higher price.  Does that make sense?

Tonight is the night I crank this up.  It arrived on Tuesday as promised and you know it takes hours not minutes to set it up and then begin to fathom configuration of utilities, passwords, file transfer etc.  I have bought a new mouse and keyboard and will get a 20" LCD on the way home from work.  My PC CPU is set up under an ecutive desk with a return and the wiring is a nightmare underneath.

My Matrix was (or is) a good machine  Fired up the DS last night and all went very well with one exception.  One of the screws for the Monitor DVI-D plug seated in the female bolt and it came out.  Nothing a little bolt adhesive won't fix.

I bought a 20" LG monitor (1600 x 900) and it was DVI-D ready but the freakin thing didn't come with a plug.  It took two trips to Best Buy to get a plug for the monitor.
$45 later and I was all set.

Anyway - the graphics are amazing.  I play quake live, which is not a demanding game graphically, and I was blown away with the graphics/details.

This machine is sweet!

Transferring stuff over is a royal pain.