Computer Purchasing Question.

Okay, due to a new job with much higher pay than my last one I can now afford a computer within a few weeks. I would really like to get one of my own instead of the person who I live with for my own games, music etc. etc. So I was walking around wal-mart and for ----s and giggles decided to check out the computers. I decided I didn't want a dell right off the bat because all of them have intel integrated graphics chips and etc. So then I came upon this acer, and here are the specs which I have to say is pretty impressive for something from wal-mart

AMD Athlon II X2 255 Dual-Core Processor (2M Cache, 3.1 GHz, 4000 MHz System Bus)

4GB DDR3 Memory

1 TB SATA Hard Drive

DVD+/- RW Super Multi Format Dual Layer

Ports/ Connectors (9 USB, HDMI, and VGA)

Gigabit Ethernet LAN

High Definition Audio

Nvidia Geforce 9200 Graphics Card

and a Multi-in-1 card reader.

Now to me this sounds like one good computer for the games I'd like to run (SH4, 5, BF2, Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, etc etc.) But I'm not sure which is why I have come to ask your opinion. If Acers happen to be just bad computers or whatever else I should be looking out for.

The Model Number is AX3400G-U4802 I believe.

Thanks Guys!!

Casey

[the_tyrant]

the graphic card is quite bad
can you tell me how much your willing to spend? I might be able to find you a better deal

Originally Posted by the_tyrant

the graphic card is quite bad
can you tell me how much your willing to spend? I might be able to find you a better deal

well It said its 390 so lets jsut say 400 for now, I also saw that I could upgrade the graphics card and or ram instead osomething else which i may go as a toute instead??

[Sailor Steve]

My suggestion would be to get as much advice as possible from here, then go to Walmart.com, specifically this page http://www.walmart.com/ip/Build-Your...ng-PC/15374646

You can have them build exactly the one you want, then they'll ship it to your home, or, if you want to save shipping and live near a Wal*Mart, they'll ship it to the nearest store for free.

[Arclight]

Try to find something where you can select every component yourself. Pre-assembled systems (almost) always have hidden flaws, most commonly a power supply that couldn't be trusted to power a flashlight.

(seriously, #1 money-saver for them. The last thing you want to skimp on, the first one they do skimp on)

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

My suggestion would be to get as much advice as possible from here, then go to Walmart.com, specifically this page http://www.walmart.com/ip/Build-Your...ng-PC/15374646

You can have them build exactly the one you want, then they'll ship it to your home, or, if you want to save shipping and live near a Wal*Mart, they'll ship it to the nearest store for free.

wow no way?? I had no clue that this was available, Im going to see how much it will cost me!!

And Thank you arclight, that is good to know. So what happens if say you get a cheap power supply in a computer?? It ends up crapping out quicker than most or what?

But as far as price range, 400-600 would be fine for me thats without a monitor too just the hardware

EDIT: Well it looks like the Walmart build your own is out for me. I like the option and all, but it just costs too much. 800 Dollars with adding 8 gb of ram, and everything else normal, I hadn't gotten into the graphics card yet, and I cant choose EVERY component so my idea is to A get the computer I listed and just upgrade the ram and graphics card (i read someone did that to that computer when they bought it off of reviews) which would be way cheaper, I could probably deal with the crappy power supply for now. Or wait until I get some real money saved up and get a computer where I can choose every single piece that goes inside of the tower.

On that note, what are good processor mother boards? Graphics cards, Disc Drive speeds, and etc to get for gaming computers?? I mean what would be the baseline you reccomend, and what makes the most difference. I know RAM is a big one so I'm planning on getting at least 8 gigs if I can. And what kind of power supply should I be looking for to use for a gaming computer as well?

EDIT # 2: I found on that page a list of gaming computers they build and found one for 399 without monitor that comes with the following

Okay, I noticed they had bundled packages already made for ALOT cheaper than what it would have cost to build on the site, seriously half the price.

I found this one for 399 without monitor
iBUYPOWER Gamer Power Desktop PC, WA500D3:

Key Features and Benefits:

AMD Athlon II X2 250 processor
3.00GHz, 2MB L2 Cache

4GB DDR3 system memory
Gives you the power to handle the most power-hungry applications and tons of multimedia work

500GB SATA II hard drive
Store 333,000 photos, 142,000 songs or 268 hours of HD video and more

24x multi-format dual-layer DVD burner
Watch DVD movies on your computer; read and write CDs and DVDs in multiple formats

10/100/1000 Ethernet
Connect to a broadband modem or a wired broadband router with wired Ethernet

ATI Radeon HD 5450 graphics
With 512MB dedicated graphics memory
iBUYPOWER Gamer Power Desktop PC, WA500D3 Additional Features:
6 x USB 2.0 ports, 2 x PS/2 ports, 5 x audio jacks, 1 x D-Sub, 1 x RJ-45 Ethernet port, 1 x COM port, 1 x LPT port
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, 1 x PCI Express x1 slot, 2 x PCI slots; 4 x external 5.25" drive bays, 6 x internal 3.5" drive bays
8-channel high-quality audio
Gamma Gaming Tower chassis
Software:
Genuine Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Edition (To learn more about the features of Windows 7, click here)
Support and Warranty:
1-year parts and labor warranty with lifetime technical support
Restore discs are no longer included with PCs. We recommend you use the installed software to create your own restore and backup DVD the first week you use the computer.

Out of the reviews I read, they said that to play todays games on high settings, an upgrade of the Graphics Card is needed, one guy said he picked up 4670 for 70 bucks (He said his windows 7 graphics score went from 3.5 to 6.7

And that same guy also said the PSU was 480 Watts, I dont know if this is good or not for a computer.

The ram is also expandable to 8gb memory too which I think I would like to get, I have 4 in this system now and it runs pretty well but Im sure 8 would turn it into a beast.
---------------

I also found this one for 468 without a monitor

iBUYPOWER Gamer LAN Warrior WA524D3 Desktop PC:
AMD Athlon II x3 440 (3.0GHz)

4GB DDR3 SDRAM system memory (expandable to 8GB)

Gives you the power to handle most power-hungry applications and tons of multimedia work
1TB SATA hard drive

Store 666,000 photos, 285,000 songs or 526 hours of HD video and more
24x DL DVD /-RW Drive

Watch movies, and read and write CDs and DVDs in multiple formats
10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN

Connect to a broadband modem with wired broadband router with wired Ethernet
ATI Radeon HD 5450 Graphics

With 1GB of memory

Additional Features:
6 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x D-Sub port, 1 x COM port, 5 x audio jacks, 1 x PS/2 keyboard, 1 x PS/2 mouse, 1 x RJ-45 Ethernet port, 1 x eSATA port, 1 x LPT port
1 x PCI Express (x16) slot, 1 x PCI Express (x1) slot, 2 x PCI slots, 2 x external 5.25" bays, 2 x external 3.5" bays, 2 x internal 3.5" bays
Software:
Genuine Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Edition (To learn more about the features of Windows 7, click here)
Backup and Restore options built into Windows allows you to create safety copies of your most important personal files, so you're always prepared for the worst
Support and Warranty:
1-year parts and labor warranty with lifetime technical support
Restore discs are no longer included with PCs. We recommend you use the installed software to create your own restore and backup DVD the first week you use the computer.

Not sure on what the PSU wattage is but the one review I read said that out of the box he plays and runs Black Ops on max settings without any FPS drops without problems (He turns shadows off though)

Another guy bought it and plays a game called iRacing.com and says he plays it on all medium settings with 60fps constant and 140fps on all low settings no problem.
Can I get some more opinions guys?? Im actually really excited about this lol

[CCIP]

Your biggest problem here, aside from potentially iffy PSU wattage (which might make upgrading difficult), is the video card. Be warned that it's extremely weak and almost non-gaming-worthy. So yes, that will be bottleneck #1 - if you can get a stronger video card with it, things will be looking up. It's still not really a powerhouse and, personally, I would suggest budgeting more like $800-900 for this kind of purchase if you want to do games. It'll last you much longer as a result. So I'm not sure whether $468 + the cost of another used video card will be really worth the effort here when for even a couple of hundred bucks more you could have a much more solid system built...

[FIREWALL]

I noticed No Warrenty info. Have you looked at TigerDirect and NewEgg ?

They are haveing sales and a good selection of starter rigs.

[Arclight]

Wattage isn't even that important for a PSU. You need enough of it, obviously (~500W is good for mainstream setup), but a 'bad' one won't deliver it where it is needed. It's more likely to damage the rest of the system when it goes as well (and might go sooner), since protection circuitry is the first thing they save cost on.

You'll want to know how many Amps it delivers on 12V rail(s), and preferably the brand+model number. PSUs get reviewed all the time: if you know what's in there, you can figure out if it's any good.


When it comes to pre-build systems that aren't specifically targeted at gaming, there are 2 things pretty much gauranteed: The PSU is crap, even by non-gaming standards, and the graphics card is a joke.


4GB RAM is plenty. There's a difference between 32-bit and 64-bit systems in that 64-bit can use more memory for applications (32-bit is limited to 2GB). However, the application (a game, for example) needs to be 64-bit as well. The number of games that have a 64-bit executable is extremely low, only ones I can think of off the top of my head are DCS A-10C and Crysis. So; the vast majority of games can never use more then 2GB. Anyone telling you you need more than 4GB total for gaming doesn't know what they are on about.


Asus and Gigabyte make excellent boards. Think MSI generally does very well for overclocking. Asrock is decent, but it is/was a budget brand; not ideal for gaming.


$800 for a decent gaming rig sounds about right, little on the cheap side actually.

Of course, it all depends on what you're planning on playing on it. If you plan on just running SH4 for the next few years you don't need an expensive PC.

Originally Posted by Arclight

Wattage isn't even that important for a PSU. You need enough of it, obviously (~500W is good for mainstream setup), but a 'bad' one won't deliver it where it is needed. It's more likely to damage the rest of the system when it goes as well (and might go sooner), since protection circuitry is the first thing they save cost on.

You'll want to know how many Amps it delivers on 12V rail(s), and preferably the brand+model number. PSUs get reviewed all the time: if you know what's in there, you can figure out if it's any good.


When it comes to pre-build systems that aren't specifically targeted at gaming, there are 2 things pretty much gauranteed: The PSU is crap, even by non-gaming standards, and the graphics card is a joke.


4GB RAM is plenty. There's a difference between 32-bit and 64-bit systems in that 64-bit can use more memory for applications (32-bit is limited to 2GB). However, the application (a game, for example) needs to be 64-bit as well. The number of games that have a 64-bit executable is extremely low, only ones I can think of off the top of my head are DCS A-10C and Crysis. So; the vast majority of games can never use more then 2GB. Anyone telling you you need more than 4GB total for gaming doesn't know what they are on about.


Asus and Gigabyte make excellent boards. Think MSI generally does very well for overclocking. Asrock is decent, but it is/was a budget brand; not ideal for gaming.


$800 for a decent gaming rig sounds about right, little on the cheap side actually.

Of course, it all depends on what you're planning on playing on it. If you plan on just running SH4 for the next few years you don't need an expensive PC.

Well the reason I was considering this is that I was wanting to run the games I have now better until I at least leave and then maybe upgrade it or do whatever I need to it to make it better after I ship. But I might just hold off then and go to NewEgg or something of the sort after I get done with bootcamp and purchase myself a nice gaming computer, I was looking at being able to play what i have now perfectly smooth (Sh4, 3,FSX, BF2, TS3, etc etc.) And hopefully being able to run Sh5, Amnesia and other games later on that were very graphics intensive. But like I said, I might just hold off any ways, I only have 2 months before I leave any whoo so hey might as well.

But on that note, I have one final question when I do decide to buy a gaming PC what specs should I be looking for in the different components to make it the best that I can?? By this I mean what to look for PSU specs, and other things that way I dont have to come back and ask the same question all over

[Sailor Steve]

And the money you saved going that way will be spent on a decent graphics card, likely $200 minimum. I'd say you want at least a 5770 if ATI is the way you want to go. You also said you wanted 8 gigs of RAM, but the system you described only has 4. How much is that other 4 going to cost? Also you'll have to make sure that the new 4 is a proper match for the old. On the other hand, people who know more than I do said 4 is plenty, so you're probably fine there.

I pointed out the IBuyPower because that's the way I'm planning to go, once I finally get tired of buying guitars and amplifiers.

[FIREWALL]

Good luck USNSRCaseySmith

btw most fairly good vid cards require on an average 500 wats alone.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...997&CatId=7005 500 watts.

This is a good lifetime warrenty vid card.@ $159.99 It kicks arse for the price.

Heres some review :

April 08, 2011The XFX AMD Radeon---8482; HD 6790 Dual Fan is no ordinary Graphics Card
Make ---8216;Em Beg The XFX AMD Radeon---8482; HD 6790 Dual Fan is no ordinary Graphics Card. UK, April, 2011 ---8211; Playtime is over. Step up your gaming to a serious level with the most advanced graphics card in its class, the XFX AMD Radeon---8482; HD 6790. Immerse yourself in multiple screens of stunningly realistic HD gaming with AMD---8217;s lat...

April 08, 2011
The XFX AMD Radeon---8482; HD 6790 Dual Fan is no ordinary Graphics Card
Make ---8216;Em Beg
The XFX AMD Radeon---8482; HD 6790 Dual Fan is no ordinary Graphics Card.
UK, April, 2011 ---8211; Playtime is over. Step up your gaming to a serious level with the most advanced graphics card in its class, the XFX AMD Radeon---8482; HD 6790. Immerse yourself in multiple screens of stunningly realistic HD gaming with AMD---8217;s latest mind blasting technologies. You won---8217;t be a single frame behind as you bring opponents to their knees with zero compromise in productivity for the ultimate user experience. Double up with 2 XFX AMD Radeon HD 6790---8217;s in CrossfireX---8482; configuration and you will have comparable performance to an NVIDIA GeForce 570 for less. With DVI, HDMI and mini-DisplayPort outputs, you will have connection options to cover just about any digital connection challenge.
It all starts with the XFX AMD Radeon HD 6790---8217;s specially designed, superior cooling system that makes it all possible. The XFX Dual Fan system provides better cooling, less noise, and better capability for overclocking performance. To further enhance cooling performance, XFX also utilizes generously sized heat pipes to transfer heat from the source. The final part of this cooling system is the exclusive XFX Air Flow Bracket, designed for increased exhaust airflow. Combined, these features of the XFX Radeon HD 6790 will help keep extreme temperatures at bay for optimal performance.
Play your favorite games in full stereo 3D, and get incredibly rich and interactive gameplay with AMD HD3D technology. Experience Blu-ray 3D as it was intended and take advantage of XFX Radeon HD 6790 graphics---8217; support for Dolby® TrueHD and 3D HDTV to help create that theatre-quality experience.
Gaming doesn---8217;t get more realistic than with AMD---8217;s second-gen DirectX 11-ready graphics. With lightning-fast frame rates and ultra- realistic effects, the XFX Radeon HD 6790 enables an amazing HD gaming experience. And with advanced tessellation performance, it---8217;s designed to give you true realistic detail.
The XFX Radeon HD 6790 uses AMD Eyefinity technology to give you gaming and productivity on up to three simultaneous displays. When we say ---8220;immerse yourself---8221;, we mean it. Throw yourself into your gaming environments by stretching your games across multiple displays. Need to work, chat, surf the web, or watch a movie while you---8217;re gaming? Why not? Don---8217;t compromise an ounce of productivity with true surround sight, all from a single graphics card.
AMD---8217;s EyeSpeed visual acceleration technology pushes your computer to newer limits beyond just gaming. The XFX Radeon HD 6790 gives you enhanced and accelerated application performance. With AMD EyeSpeed---8217;s visual acceleration, you---8217;ll maximize your online and Blu-ray video experiences with a new level of smooth visual quality.
Don---8217;t settle for less than spectacular performance. Crank the settings and experience your favorite games in uncompromising detail with AMD CrossFireX---8482; technology for multi-GPU performance gaming. With world class performance scaling, a system equipped with AMD CrossFireX---8482; technology keeps you fragging while everyone else is reaching for an upgrade.
To learn more, visit www.xfxforce.com

Arclight and CCIP are right on about psu.

[CCIP]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

I'd say you want at least a 5770 if ATI is the way you want to go.

A million times this! I've had a whole range of cards and I learned the hard way that for gaming there's nothing you need in your system more than a solid workhorse video card, usually in the mid-range rather than the budget range. The 5770 that Steve brings up, which is what I've been running for 1.5 years now, is a card that is more than worth the money and is more than capable of running any game you'll throw at it now. I've owned other PCs before and if there's one thing that ever made or broke my purchase, it was the choice of video card. These days, it's really the video card rather than RAM or processor, that is really at the heart of building a gaming PC. Rather than aiming at specific RAM or processor specs, I'd begin my decision process with the video card and match/compromise other specs around it. Otherwise you will often end up with the video card being your main bottleneck in game performance.

[Arclight]

One nice side-effect of getting things right is that every thing else works rather well too. Gaming is demanding, so PCs aimed at that purpose need to be powerfull.

I remember my brother buying a desktop PC because his laptop couldn't really handle gaming. He bought some cheap thing and ended up with a machine that was just as inept as his latop. Think that says about enough.

Could have been better if he had just got a proper videocard... apart from the fact his hard-drive died(!), so I replaced that for him. Then he started reporting constant crashes and freezes: replaced his PSU and it started working again. Think he still uses it, iirc GeForce 7600 in there now(upgrade from the integrated chip... he buys a desktop as an upgrade from his laptop and ends up with another integrated chip... seriously). Not brilliant, but he only plays CoD and that it can handle... kinda.