Looking to buy a new computer....

[Jon415]

The thing about that computer: i made all of the components as cheap as i had to in order to get that HD 5750 card.  Seeing as how  I also need to have win7 and probably microsoft office also (unless theres something else that lets my type up papers that comes with win7), the computers ive been seeing are out of my price range.  The best choice that ive seen so far is the hp that i posted the link for.

Looking at that build, there are several brands I don't trust. ASRock, Hitachi, and Logisys. Logisys especially as the Power Supply Unit (PSU) is the most prone-to-fail part of your system next to your hard drive (on that topic, hitachi isn't as good as Western Digital), and if your PSU fails, your entire computer will be useless until you can buy another one.

That confirms that i'm not buying that computer.  If i upgrade it to different companies (if the site will even let me) then it will be way above my price range.  I dont want to risk a PSU failure, if my computer ever fails like that.....

[Jedikiller]

You may want to look into OpenOffice.org as a potential free alternative to Microsoft Office. It will let you do most everything that Office does for free. I use it on my computer and have no problems.

What is your price range? You have to consider this- anything you get will probably last you a while. I have, currently, a four-year-old system. It was top of the line back then. It's pretty crappy now comparatively, but it can run anything at high settings (except Crysis, where it only does medium), and looks perfectly fine doing it. Everybody makes such a big deal out of 'obsolescence'- yeah, it's obsolete if you're trying to stay on the absolute latest and greatest. But for a person like you, who is not an enthusiast, I'm pretty sure anything you get will serve you just fine for at least two years or so.

I think you need to tell us exactly what your price range is, what games you want to be able to play, and then just let someone make a recommendation to you based off of that- either prebuilt or DIY. This thread is confusing enough as is- too many chefs ruin the stew and all that.

[Soap Mactavish]

jon if you need software i can hook u up for free. Just talk to me on GR.

[Jon415]

Wait i just found a computer on ibuypower.com. heres the specs and stuff:
Is ibuypower a reliable site?


Processor:
AMD Phenom™ II X2 550 Dual-Core CPU

Processor Cooling:
Free Upgrade] Liquid CPU Cooling System w/ 120mm Radiator [AMD]

Memory:
[2 GB X2] DDR3-1333 Memory Module Corsair or Major Brand

Video Card:
HD 5570 OR dual HD 4350's (The 5570 has dx11 so i think thats better)

Special:
Free mw2 download

Motherboard:
ASUS M4A78LT-M-LE -- AMD 760G/SB710 Chipset w/ Integrated ATI video, 8-channel, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, PCI-E MB

Power Supply:
550 Watt -- Power Supply (corsair)

Hard Drive:
500 GB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s

Optical Drive:
24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive

Sound Card:
3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard

Network Card:
Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)

Operating System:
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) 64-Bit

Additional Software:
Microsoft Works 9.0 (make the most of your home PC)

No speakers, will i still be able to hear sound?

[aeria.]

Buy speakers?

[Jon415]

It doesnt come with speakers.  I left them out so i could have enough money for better graphics.  Whats the lowest priced card that will play CoD mw2 decently?  The HD 5750 would be a stretch for me, what about the 5670? (assuming there both better than the 5570)

[Jedikiller]

5570 will play MW2 at highest settings no problem. my 4-year-old X1900 plays it on high, 30+ fps, just fine. MW2 is not very demanding on the system at all. The 4350 is a bad card, from what I've read. Don't get that one.

The performance of games also depends on the resolution of the monitor you're using. The bigger it is, the lower your settings will have to be. What's the size of the monitor you'll be using?

[aeria.]

The X1900 was an incredibly good card for its time. I believe that was one of the best of the Xxxxx series. That card was made before the Ati Radeon HD series was being made. Now it's not as good as the cards available today, but it has proven itself very future proof, seeing how it's better than my ATI Radeon HD 2600. I'd say stick with the 5750. The directx compatibility doesn't really matter, it's the performance in benchmarks that does.

[vf501]

iBuypower is reliable and good.

That computer looks fine for the $700-$800 rang ut the graphics are weak.  The PSU and motherboard are top brands though which is a good thing.  Although for that price you can build a Phenom x4 system with a ATI5770 or GTX260 and 4GB ram, your case won't be as nice, but it'll be a better system.  Losing liquid cooling is no big deal either as its only need for a high overclock, or for really hot living areas.

Red disagrees but I say if your budget fits it, go with a quad core if you plan on getting newer games.  Open world games especially put a large load on the CPU and you'll notice a difference between a Quad and a Dual in those cases.  Getting a quad is pretty much future proofing your system for the next few years.

For gaming, no need to exceed 6GB RAM either, most games are built with 32bit in mind and barely touch 3.25GB of RAM total.  The extra overhead of 6GB is just for the rest of the system.  Anything more is only good for visual work and editing movies or sound.

If you go pre-built avoid HP, they have bad customer service and one of the higher system failure rates.  Dell stuff is too inflexible and can be a headache going through them for replacement of proprietary parts.  Toshiba and ASUS are two of the highest rated PC makers in terms of reliability.

[Jon415]

What's the size of the monitor you'll be using?

I'm not sure of the size but my current resolution is 1280x1024

Although for that price you can build a Phenom x4 system with a ATI5770 or GTX260 and 4GB ram, your case won't be as nice, but it'll be a better system

I also need a system with win7 and iworks, is their a system with the above graphics and processor for $700?

[Jon415]

The liquid cooling is a free upgrade-would "Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink" be better?  Also the "[== Quad Core ==] AMD Athlon™ II X4 620 Quad-Core CPU" is only $5 more so i think ill get it.  Also for bad company 2 and battlefield 1943 the only requirements it says for processor is quadcore.  Does that mean any quad core?

[Soap Mactavish]

I also need a system with win7 and iworks, is their a system with the above graphics and processor for $700?

iWorks is Mac only

[Jon415]

Its available on this system

Oh my bad its Microsoft Works

[Soap Mactavish]

Once again jon, if u need software, ill can get it to u.

[Jon415]

Its ok its only $9 and i can afford that but thanks for the offer