Computer Help and Advice Wanted

[Evo Tengoku]

Sorry if this is the wrong area:

im looking at these two computers and i am seeking your guys input on which is better. I am not very computer savvy so any advice would be appreciated.

Im looking mainly to run Aion and other computer gaming, no video editing or intensive stuff.
My budget is around 800 so if you know of better computers around this price please fill me in.

$800 (might be $700)
4GB DDR2 RAM (Can be upgraded up to 8GB)
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5600+ 2.8 GHz
1.2 TB Hard Drive Storage (2x500GB 1x200GB)
Evga Nvidia 9600GT 512mb DDR2
Asus M2A VM-HDMI Motherboard
22.1" Acre Widescreen HD Monitor with VGA,DVI, and HDMI Connections
2x DVD-+RW DL 48xcd-r 16xdvd-r 8xdvd-r DL
8in1Memory Card Reader
8 USB Ports
2 FireWire Ports


$800
WindowsVista 64bit, 2.8GHz dual core processor, 4GB ram, 512MB 256bit PCI graphics card. Also includes DVD reader/writer, wireless card, TV tuner, and Alesis monitor.
Operating System: Windows Vista 64bit
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066
Hard Drive: SAMSUNG HD642JJ 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
Graphics Card: ASUS EN9800GT HB/HTDI/512M GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
Extra: 20X DVD reader/writer, Wireless Card, TV Tuner
Monitor: beautiful Alesis flat panel (not sure what size the monitor is)

Also if possible, let me know if these are even worth $800 or if its over-priced. Or if you guys know of a better computer around $800 that i can possibly buy that would be great.

Thanks

[DeathDwellsHere]

If you would like i can get parts for you but the CPU you listed is outdated so come to my computer build topic and ill help you out.

BTW i dont think 2 DVD drives are necessary.

[Howling]

They're both heavily overpriced steaming turds.... $800 should get you a basic i5 build if I'm not mistaken. One of the other guys can help you out more though, I'm too busy to spec out a PC at the minute.

[July]

As Howling said these two suck.
I would go for Phenom II x2 550 and MB like GB MA790xt-ud4p.
Better give more money for better video card with 1gb memory, it will drastically improve your Aion performance - hd4870 1gb seems like fine choice for less money.
Try to stick to the new sockets it will be cheaper for upgrading. Stay away from 775 and AM2.
4gb of ddr3 corsair/ocz/gskill or other famous brand at 1333mhz, no point to go for faster one and no point of lower.
Cheap case and 600w PSU from the same famous brands and you will end up at 800$.
The monitor will be separate. Take 22" and don't go for 21" or so. Not worthy and not cheaper.
Windows Vista is to be avoided now when we have windows7 that is more polished. Always go for 64bit, they are on the same price.
About the HDD WD Caviar Black are the most common choice, but you will do with simple Hitachi or other cheaper HDD, just don't buy Seagate.

Take a look and think about it, this is the better route. i5 is also an option but for these money I think that the AMD is the better choice here.

ps: I am yet to see descent prebuild pc, there is always something that suck.

[Maverick494]

Newegg.com - CyberpowerPC Gamer Infinity 6200 Core 2 Quad Q8200(2.33GHz) 4GB DDR2 500GB ATI Radeon HD 4850 Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit - Desktop PCs - 699.99
Newegg.com - Acer Aspire AM5800-U5802A Core 2 Quad Q9400(2.66GHz) 8GB DDR3 750GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 230 Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit - Desktop PCs - 749.99
Newegg.com - CyberpowerPC Gamer Infinity 7523 Core 2 Quad Q8400(2.66GHz) 4GB DDR2 500GB NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - Desktop PCs - 759.99
Newegg.com - iBUYPOWER Gamer Extreme 925 Core 2 Quad Q8200(2.33GHz) 4GB DDR2 1TB ATI Radeon HD 4870 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - Desktop PCs - 789.99
Newegg.com - HP Firebird 802(GM339AA) Core 2 Quad Q9400(2.66GHz) 4GB DDR2 500GB Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit - Desktop PCs - 879.99 (sli setup)

Or you can build it yourself.

Case+Hard Drive - 95.00
CPU - 199.00
Memory - 86.00
Motherboard - 135.00 (-15.00 MIR)
Power Supply - 80.00
Video Card - 165.00
DVDRW - 31.00

Total before ship: 791.00
MIR (-15.00) : 776.00

[Evo Tengoku]

thanks for the replies guys, i dont know how to build a computer. i hear its simple and there are videos online as guides but i just dont think id attempt it myself x.x

so going over some of those parts, should i try a mix match at ecollegepc.com? they let me customize parts. max budget around $800 (thats including monitor ) not looking for high resolutions to run aion, medium is fine. and about windows 7 does it run good with aion?

thanks alot for the replies.

[Maverick494]

Originally Posted by Evo Tengoku

thanks for the replies guys, i dont know how to build a computer. i hear its simple and there are videos online as guides but i just dont think id attempt it myself x.x

so going over some of those parts, should i try a mix match at ecollegepc.com? they let me customize parts. max budget around $800 (thats including monitor ) not looking for high resolutions to run aion, medium is fine. and about windows 7 does it run good with aion?

thanks alot for the replies.

For ~800 including monitor you could do:

Newegg.com - CyberpowerPC Gamer Infinity 6200 Core 2 Quad Q8200(2.33GHz) 4GB DDR2 500GB ATI Radeon HD 4850 Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit - Desktop PCs - 699.99
Newegg.com - Hanns·G HW-191APB Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1 Built in Speakers - LCD Monitors - 114.99

Total before shipping: 814.99

I tried ecollegepc and they are pretty expensive considering what you get. Even trying to customize a PC I can't do a decent system there for less than 750 or so not including monitor. If you get one from them you will have to get a 9400 or 9500GT at best and it will be a waste of money since the system will run you the same as the newegg one I linked, but with worse specs.


Edit:

BTW I run windows 7 on my laptop here and Aion is flawless, a little bit of a hit on my system when I am in a town
due to the slow 5400 RPM low cache hard drive, but that is hardware and not windows 7 related.

Edit2: Looking at your second PC through again, that one is a decent deal at 800 dollars due to the wireless card. That one is worth considering, do you have a link to the second PC so we can go look at it?

[Rett]

edit: this is evo tengoku im posting off my brothers account

hey thanks for the reply. its actually off craigslist :3 but heres the link.
Custom High Performance PC

i was searching through newegg and i saw that one but, whats up with ATI? im always told they have a higher failure rate? and so should i be sticking with nvidia? or is there a way i can ask them to switch video cards and pay the extra fee or save cash if its cheaper?

thanks!

[July]

AMD Phenom II X2 550 $102
GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P $125
SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 4870 1GB $165
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 $145
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W $80
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB $110
SAMSUNG ToC T220 Rose-Black 22" $259

This is the cheapest thing you can make for Aion, a little bit under $800 + $200~ for monitor, I tried to make something for exactly $800 but it's not worthy, it suck, it's not worthy, and as I know Aion it will take half the pleasure of the game away, especially with 19"... My advice is if you can, wait and get $200 more to buy a descent PC that can be upgraded further for less without having to throw it away and make a new one.

ATI are great as much as the NVIDIA, forget about the ******** you hear from fans. Windows 7 is practically much better and polished edition of Vista. Nothing to worry about. Welcome to 2009

[Dukes]

Is there anybody running a Phenim x4 955 B.E. out there ?

I have one inbound next week with a GTX 260 216 core 4 gb ddr 3RAM

Curious to know what kind of game play I can expect ?

As I am currently running on p4 2.8 ghz 1gb ddr2 ram geforce 6600go.

Thanks,

Ciao

[DeathDwellsHere]

Originally Posted by Dukes

Is there anybody running a Phenim x4 955 B.E. out there ?

I have one inbound next week with a GTX 260 216 core 4 gb ddr 3RAM

Curious to know what kind of game play I can expect ?

As I am currently running on p4 2.8 ghz 1gb ddr2 ram geforce 6600go.

Thanks,

Ciao

You will receive a higher boost in settings capabilities but not to much of a FPS difference because of the errors people are having on their systems momentarily so you would have to wait for NC soft to fix their errors.

[Evo Tengoku]

Hey July is that all the parts for a working computer? what website is that from? and also would that include windows 7? or is that another $110?

thanks

[Maverick494]

Originally Posted by Evo Tengoku

Hey July is that all the parts for a working computer? what website is that from? and also would that include windows 7? or is that another $110?

thanks

A) No it's not all the parts needed, you would be missing at least a case, DVDRW, and the Operating System. Edit: Oh and his "build" comes in at almost 1000 dollars with a monitor.

B) The Phenom II is just not up to snuff when compared with an equal intel CPU atm. I could get an E6500 2.93GHZ chip that would do a better job than the one he listed for less money.

[Evo Tengoku]

so i went ahead and just decided ill go with newegg and pick a computer from there. here are the options i think might be ok. Please let me know what you think!

Newegg.com - CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra 2026 Phenom II X4 945(3.0GHz) 4GB DDR2 500GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - Desktop PCs $699
Newegg.com - CyberpowerPC Gamer Xtreme 1030 Intel Core i5 750(2.66GHz) 4GB DDR3 500GB NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - Desktop PCs $769
Newegg.com - CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra 7214 Athlon II X2 245(2.9GHz) 4GB DDR2 500GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - Desktop PCs $549
Newegg.com - CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra 2011 Phenom II X2 550(3.1GHz) 4GB DDR3 500GB NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
(With Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon) - Desktop PCs $749
Newegg.com - CyberpowerPC Gamer Infinity 6313 Core 2 Duo E8400(3.00GHz) 4GB DDR2 500GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit - Desktop PCs $799
Newegg.com - CyberpowerPC Gamer Infinity 6315 Core 2 Duo E8400(3.00GHz) 4GB DDR2 500GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - Desktop PCs $769 (this one is the same as above but it comes with windows 7 instead? and not out yet til the 10th i think)
Newegg.com - CyberpowerPC Gamer Infinity 7523 Core 2 Quad Q8400(2.66GHz) 4GB DDR2 500GB NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - Desktop PCs $759

sorry for posting so much links, please let me know what you guys think is best
earlier i said with monitor $800 total price range, but i may have to increase my budget as it stands now.

thanks

[Naqaj]

Originally Posted by Evo Tengoku

Newegg.com - CyberpowerPC Gamer Infinity 6315 Core 2 Duo E8400(3.00GHz) 4GB DDR2 500GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - Desktop PCs $769

This would be my pick out of the given choices. Better graphics card then the others, a fast dual-core that is usually better suited for games then slower quad-cores, and Win7.

Price seems okish, only way to get cheaper is to build it yourself.