Recommendations for purchasing a gaming PC

NoVitalSigns · #1 12-29-2008, 08:14 PM

Hi everyone =),

I was doing some research and checking out different types of PCs for gaming from best buy and circuit city. I'm looking for a good desktop PC to play games like Crysis, Oblivion, Left 4 Dead as well as Fall Out 3. Furthermore, I also understand that I would have to upgrade some more parts but I just need a good starting point, price isn't necessarily a problem, but I don't want a ridiculously high costing PC whereas I could have an even better one or near better for less. So I guess it would be around 600$+ to 1000$+

So which of these PCs will be good enough to start off with and are they good enough for gaming? Will they pose any problems for later upgrades? Depending on the one chosen what would need to be upgraded?:

HP Pavilion Elite m9426f Desktop $929.99

• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
• Built-in wireless 802.11bgn
• LightScribe-enabled
• 640GB hard drive
• 8GB of DDR2 memory
• ATI Radeon HD 3650 graphics

HP Pavilion a6650f Desktop PC (I'd have to buy a graphics card) $699.99

• AMD Phenom 9550 quad-core
• 6GB of DDR2 memory
• LightScribe-enabled
• 500GB hard drive
• Burns DVDs and CDs
• 15-in-1 media card reader

HP Pavilion Elite m9402f Desktop $819.99

• AMD Phenom 9650 Quad-Core
• Built-in 802.11bgn wireless
• Burns DVDs and CDs
• 640GB hard drive
• 7GB of DDR2 memory
• 64-bit Vista Home Premium

Alienware - Aurora Desktop with AMD Phenom™ X4 9550 Quad-Core Processor $1,699.99

dual ATI RADEON HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 graphics cards and 4GB RAM(expandable to 16) with an AMD Phenom™ X4 quad-core processor 500 gig hard drive
(Heard there were heating problems with this system from reviews)

If you have any other recommendations feel free to mention,again thanks the help would be greatly appreciated.

Mumbo · #2 12-30-2008, 12:05 AM

I don't have much to say about the computers you listed or how upgradable they are, but have you thought about ordering the parts yourself and building a custom computer? I would think that would be the most upgradeable and would also save you some money.

NoVitalSigns · #3 12-30-2008, 02:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mumbo

I don't have much to say about the computers you listed or how upgradable they are, but have you thought about ordering the parts yourself and building a custom computer? I would think that would be the most upgradeable and would also save you some money.

Thanks for the reply, the first few arn't necessarily a good start off for a gaming PC, but I decided just to buy a good gaming PC that I've been looking at for some time to just start off with, I think that would be best for me, then later I could start buying my own parts etc., when I have the time.

rabb1t · #4 12-30-2008, 02:54 AM

I'd recommend looking at somewhere like TigerDirect so you know exactly what you are getting with a barebones kit.

Something like this Visionman bare bones kit at $940 lists exactly what you get in the system. So we know what the parts are, and in cases like this, can verify that these are good parts and good manufacturers. Also, we know exactly what there is, so we know what you can upgrade to in the future.

Drop in something like an Evga GTX 260 Core 216 55nm at $265 and a Western Digital SE16 320 gig HD at $55 you are good to go.

(That GPU launched within the last week or so, so this is the newest shineiest.

)

Though you should do the math and see how much you are paying in markup. Glancing at that bare bones kit linked above you are looking at close to 50% markup, so that's about $300+ you are giving them to build it for you.

I don't know how much assembly knowledge you have, but you will get far more for your money building the system yourself.

...

Looking around, this XFX GeForce 8200 X2 5800+ kit at $220 is much more reasonably priced. (Though less powerful and it has less upgradeability due to current AMD offerings.) Again, drop in the GTX 260 above, the WD HD above, and OCZ SLI ready edition 4 gig DDR2-800 kit at $14 post rebate (remove the original ram), and you are looking at a total of $554 for a very solid gaming system. (Though that power supply only has a single PCIe 6-pin.)

Both will also need Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM $100

NoVitalSigns · #5 12-30-2008, 03:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rabb1t

I'd recommend looking at somewhere like TigerDirect so you know exactly what you are getting with a barebones kit.

Something like this Visionman bare bones kit at $940 lists exactly what you get in the system. So we know what the parts are, and in cases like this, can verify that these are good parts and good manufacturers. Also, we know exactly what there is, so we know what you can upgrade to in the future.

Drop in something like an Evga GTX 260 Core 216 55nm at $265 and a Western Digital SE16 320 gig HD at $55 you are good to go.

(That GPU launched within the last week or so, so this is the newest shineiest.

)

Though you should do the math and see how much you are paying in markup. Glancing at that bare bones kit linked above you are looking at close to 50% markup, so that's about $300+ you are giving them to build it for you.

I don't know how much assembly knowledge you have, but you will get far more for your money building the system yourself.

...

Looking around, this XFX GeForce 8200 X2 5800+ kit at $220 is much more reasonably priced. (Though less powerful and it has less upgradeability due to current AMD offerings.) Again, drop in the GTX 260 above, the WD HD above, and OCZ SLI ready edition 4 gig DDR2-800 kit at $14 post rebate (remove the original ram), and you are looking at a total of $554 for a very solid gaming system. (Though that power supply only has a single PCIe 6-pin.)

Both will also need Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM $100

Thanks, that information was helpful. =)

rabb1t · #6 12-30-2008, 06:30 AM

Lots more at my site if you know how to build.

(Though infoz will be updated probably during the first or second week in January.)

NoVitalSigns · #7 12-31-2008, 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rabb1t

Lots more at my site if you know how to build.

(Though infoz will be updated probably during the first or second week in January.)

Hey, if you don't mind I have one more question, should I go with AMD chips or Intel's?

rabb1t · #8 01-03-2009, 01:11 AM

Right now I'd say Intel. They have more power, far more chips to choose from, and are putting out even more CPUs to choose from as we speak.

The Phenom II is on the way, but we don't know what that will have to offer until it launches. Right now you basically have to get one of the higher end dual cores from AMD to match the mid-range (E8xxx type) Intel's.