Computer Building

CrimsonKing

Now first of all I would like to say that I have no experience actually building computers and frankly don't want to touch that shit with a twenty four and a half foot pole. Instead I waant to try and find the best gaming system I can buy for one thousand dollars. However, it doesn't need a good video card or a huge hard drive. I already ordered a card, and the HD was salvaged from my last system. So with that in mind, I have some choices:

My local service shop suggested this theoretical system they could order from HP, basically I would like your opinion on this:
-dx2000:
Micro tower, so its like small.
Pentium D 2.66 Ghz, One gig of RAM and a DVD RW drive. Video card and HD is shitty but, as I said.

I could also go to Comp USA tommorow and browse around and just buy something and put the video card in. This is what I am leaning towards as of now. Is this a good decision?

I would like to thank you in advance for any help you guys could give me because, I know nothing about the actual art of building and you guys are the only ones I know who do. I am really in a bind here and would appreciate any help I could get.

Malkor

Does it have to be SFF? Im not sure, but I think you might be limited by the size of the case, so you have to make sure whatever video card and such you buy actually fits. I think you can buy a good Core2Duo system for around $1000, the service shop won't do a custom build for you?

http://www.penny-arcade.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1073840130

CrimsonKing

I'm going to find out tommorow. I didn't know about that thread, thanks. I'll print it out and use it when I'm stumbling in front of the service shop guy.

maximumzero

CrimsonKing wrote:

I'm going to find out tommorow. I didn't know about that thread, thanks. I'll print it out and use it when I'm stumbling in front of the service shop guy.

If you have no experience building computers, I say go find a nice Core2 based machine at CompUSA, then drop in the PCI-E card of your choice.

Rook

CrimsonKing wrote:

Now first of all I would like to say that I have no experience actually building computers and frankly don't want to touch that shit with a twenty four and a half foot pole. Instead I waant to try and find the best gaming system I can buy for one thousand dollars. However, it doesn't need a good video card or a huge hard drive. I already ordered a card, and the HD was salvaged from my last system. So with that in mind, I have some choices:

My local service shop suggested this theoretical system they could order from HP, basically I would like your opinion on this:
-dx2000:
Micro tower, so its like small.
Pentium D 2.66 Ghz, One gig of RAM and a DVD RW drive. Video card and HD is shitty but, as I said.

I could also go to Comp USA tommorow and browse around and just buy something and put the video card in. This is what I am leaning towards as of now. Is this a good decision?

I would like to thank you in advance for any help you guys could give me because, I know nothing about the actual art of building and you guys are the only ones I know who do. I am really in a bind here and would appreciate any help I could get.

NO

Seriously, at a $1000 they're ripping the pants off you. The pentium 4s are shit and the microtower isn't even vaguely what I'd describe as small. I think my PC is about 2.5x smaller than it.

If you're not getting at least 2gb of ram and an E6300 for $1000 walk away. I think you could go to dell and have them fit something up for you.

CrimsonKing

Well the price is $739, so I'm pretty sure I'm not being ripped off, should have included the price.

As for Comp USA, I wasn't aware they built computers to spec, so I'll be checking it out. I'm going to be driving all around tommorow for this so, it should be en experience.

Dashui

You really should try to put a system together yourself, as it'll be cheaper and much more powerful compared to getting it pre-made. Y ou could always have a technician put it together for you, too, as that's not too expensive. It's actually not difficult doing it yourself, you just need to make sure you have it on a non-carpeted surface, a table preferred, and wear those anti-static wrist straps when you work with the parts.

maximumzero

Well they don't build computers to spec. (Outside of a CTO terminal) However, something like this is perfectly fine, you may want to bump the ram up to 2 gigs somewhere down the road, and obviously you want to drop a video card into the PCI-E slot at the get go, but in the end after taxes and a decent card you'll be hitting the $1000 mark for something much better than what's being offered to be built for you.

thegloaming

I know you said you didn't want to resort to building it yourself, but have you considered asking a friend for help?

Nowadays, it's almost always going to be cheaper to build your own computer than to buy a pre-made one. The most expensive component is usually the video card, and since you've already purchased one, you're going to be able to build something leagues better than what the companies are giving you for the same price.

Building a computer for the first time can indeed be a daunting task, but the payoffs, I believe, are more than worth it. I urge you to reconsider your options. There are TONS of resources out there to help you pick the right parts, including our very own forums. Again, if you're hesitant about actually putting the computer together, try to find someone who can help you. If they're not a complete douche, then they'll probably do the service Pro-Bono.

CrimsonKing

I know some people that can help me with that. I'm going to call some people now, because my old case was water cooled and had a bunch of built in things, like flash card readers and cool stuff like that, so if anything I would be using that case. As everything in it is still good but the video card and the motherboard. You're right about the cheaper part, but I'm gonna do some research.