Buying A New Computer?

Question

I want to get a computer that will run games, so it would be a gaming computer I am looking at. I have a price limit of 600 dollars. I saw some deals at Bestbuy and circuit city for branded packaged comps for like 500 dollars. looking for expert advice here. I heard that buying each part and assembling it yourself in not always the best answer. Help me out?

Answer 1

Assembling it is the best way to build a computer built specificly for gaming. 600$ might get you the case, processor, mobo and ram. but you still need optical drives, hdd, power(if not included in your case), fans, and the oh-so-important graphics card.

If you buy a PC that is manufactured you don't have the hassle of having to assemble it all together and deal with varous issues(mainly with the mobo because they can be VERY problematic). However, be prepaired to be disapointed on the gaming end, they use cheap RAM, Most video cards, and I would even guess all video graphics that come on any manufactured PC is sub-quality at best (but you always have the option of adding a new card later down the road). The processor may have a high speed like 3.0 ghz, but don't let that fool you, thats not all there is to a processor. Otherthings to consider are it's FSB (800 is standard) L1 and L2 caches (should be around 1MB~ I think its been a while since I have looked at these standards ) are also important. does it support 64-bit processing? if you are looking for the future, it better, because thats what the new MS OS vista supports. Wont' be standard for a bit, but it not to long.

I have built 2 computers in the last 2 years one for myself and one for my wife, and mine that I built two years ago is still to this day above anything that is offered by dell, hp, sony, or anyone else that I have seen so far.

I am not saying that you have to build a PC, but make sure you are getting what you need to enough the games you want to play.

things to look for:
RAM - 1 GIG at least. Min specs on most games require 512 and recommend 1 gig for the latest games. Make roughly = DDR2 3200 - 240 pin or 184 pin are curently the standard slots for the expansion (important for upgrades)
VIDEO - 256MBx256MB with at LEAST 12 pixal pipelines(The more pixel pipelines, the faster the video card can process pixels.
).
EXPANSION - Make sure it has ample usb ports, and that it has expansion bays on the mobo, PCI-E is the latest type of expansion bay, make sure you have 1 PCI-Ex1 and 1 PCI-Ex16(videocards). Important when you want to upgrade down the road, PCI and AGP will not be that realivent in two-three years if at all.
Processor - 3.0ghz (intel) 800FSB at least 512k L2 Cache. (AMD IS awesome, but not used in many manufactured pc's)

*Phew!* sorry for the overload, have any more questions, email me :)

Answer 2

It depends on what kind of gamer you are. If you're a casual gamer then a pc around $600 should suffice(depending on what you play). If you're an extreme gamer, then you're probably going to have to spend well over $1000. Just keep these things in mind.
-Get a computer with at least 128MB video memory shared or dedicated (preferably dedicated)
-Minimum of 512MB of ram. I recommend 1 gig.
-Don't buy anything with a celeron or any of the low end processors. Get one with an Athlon XP (although the new core 2 duos are currently the best, but the systems I've seen them on cost more than 600)

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Not sure where you heard about putting your own system together. But I feel that is the way to go. You get everything you want and it cost less.

It is up to you. I did get one of my computers from Best Buy and it work fine. I only did that, because I was low on money. I went with that "do not pay for a year plan" that Best Buy has every now and then. Then I paid it off, with my income tax return.

When I had $600.00 cash or more, I went to tigerdirect.com. to get my computer for my son. You will save a lot of money going to tigerdirect.com.

If you decide to shop online for your computer, I have a tigerdirect and a Best Buy link on my web site. All I ask is for you to JUST click that link on my web site first and do what ever you want on their web site.

If you do this, you will see me put in some of my profit towards buying gifts for people.

Hope this helps

MrMichigan
http://www.joiningtogether.net

Answer 4

It relies upon on your financial state at this 2d. it is lots extra decrease priced to purchase a sparkling battery than an entire new computing device, so in case you do not prefer to spend somewhat some money, circulate forward and get the battery. That mentioned, your computing device is kinda previous. There are issues you ought to do to postpone the existence of the computing device, in spite of the fact that it is on its way out. i might in all possibility circulate forward and get a sparkling computing device if it is on your funds.

Answer 5

You can't get a "gaming" computer for $600. You can get a computer and it will run most stuff pretty well, but you cannot get one for games at that price. If you still want help picking out a specific computer, email me and I can help.

Answer 6

I have two Dells and am very happy with them. You can "build it to order" on their website, or call and talk to a human. They will install everything for you. When it arrives, you just have to turn it on and register software as you open it. If you hit it right, you might also get free shipping. It probably won't cost you $600 either. Both my Dell2400 and Dell3000 were $299, with WindowsXP installed. With the Dell3000, I got a holiday special for free shipping.

Answer 7

Well..I think ...Assembling your Own Computer is the Best way...of Getting a PC....of your Own Choice......Just Search
"BUILD YOUR OWN PC" on Yahoo Search....you will Find your Answer.......Hav Fun

Answer 8

you can't get a really really good gaming computer for only 600$.

Mine is pretty good for games, and it was 1165$.

And its not the best.. but its pretty good.

it has 1 GB of DDR2 Ram
3.20 GHz
and Radeon X300 series PCI express graphics card.

Answer 9

When you're buying a computer look at the specs. You want a good RAM, video card, and GHz.

Answer 10

DO NOT PUT TOGETHER YOURSELF IF U ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THIS KIND OF WORK