Please Recommend a US $600 Computer
By
Call Me Awesome,
Posted on: 2010-06-21 15:48 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs
Are you comfortable building your own machine and installing the OS and all drivers? If so check out Father Xmas' guides for component lists.
If you aren't comfortable with rolling your own then look over Newegg at various desktop machines. Some key points to look for would be a decent video card (check out any of the recent discussions on the subject, the ATI 5770 seems to be a popular choice in price/performance) and a decent CPU... I'd suggest an Intel i5 or i7.
If you're looking at a laptop I've had good luck with Asus and there are several units that can handle non-UM COH in your price range... you could probably find a few that are up to limited UM without breaking the budget too badly. Avoid anything with an Intel GMA video card!
COH has just been murdered by NCSoft. http://www.change.org/petitions/ncso...city-of-heroes
well, I just made this wishlist for a $700 computer:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Aa...naHprZ3g&hl=en
Knock out the Operating system and it's at the $600 mark.
I'm not concerned too much about the video, I think the card I have is decent (although a step up won't be turned down).
I'm not *comfortable* building from scratch but I am confident I could manage it.
I'd rather have a desktop than a laptop (although I need to get a laptop or a notebook at some point).
Thanks for the wishlist. I'll look for that Father Xmas guide.
Story Arcs I created:
Every Rose: (#17702) Villainous vs Legacy Chain. Forget Arachnos, join the CoT!
Cosplay Madness!: (#3643) Neutral vs Custom Foes. Heroes at a pop culture convention!
Kiss Hello Goodbye: (#156389) Heroic vs Custom Foes. Film Noir/Hardboiled detective adventure!
if you're happy with your vid card you can do what I did a few years back, pick up a mid-level Inspirion from Dell and swap in the bits you want to keep from your old machine. They always have sales going so finding a solid machine for 600 or so shouldn't be hard.
that's the lazy person's approach, I'm sure you could hit a better price/performance ratio using a DIY approach.
The Nethergoat Archive: all my memories, all my characters, all my thoughts on CoH...eventually.
My City Was Gone
Quote:
Poke around the 'net a bit too. For instance:|
Originally Posted by Kitsune9tails
Thanks for the wishlist. I'll look for that Father Xmas guide.
|
Tom's Hardware $550 guide. June 2010.
Component
Model
Price (USD)
CPU
AMD Athlon II X3 435
$75
CPU Cooler
Cooler Master Hyper TX3
$20
Motherboard
Asus M4A77TD
$85
RAM
Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR3-1333 (PC3 10600) Model CTKIT12864BA1339
$58
Graphics
PowerColor AX5770 1GBD5-H Radeon HD 5770 1GB
$150
Hard Drive
Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7,200 RPM SATA 3.0 Gb/s
$55
Sound
Integrated
$0
Network
Integrated
$0
Case
Cooler Master Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black
$40
Power
Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus RS-500-PCAR-A3 500W
$40
Optical
Samsung Black 22X DVD Burner SATA Model SH-S223C
$22
Total
$545
Use it as a base and do some tweaking, or a s a base for a "configure your own" at somewhere like ibuypower or cyberpower. I know there are others out there, as well.
I think Je_Saist might be showing Canadian prices, so it might be an even better deal US....
The Sly Bold Renardine - " I am Scraptastic!"
http://www.ascendtech.us/customkitit...TBBINTDE1400KT
Ta-Dah.
I actually used this service to build my boyfriend's computer. Purchased the tower, power supply, motherboard, processor, and RAM from this site and it all came pre-built. just slotted in his old hard drive (with Windows already on it) and his CD/DVD drive and he was good to go.
Cost just under $300 when you add in the Geforce 240 we bought, which runs ultra mode beautifully when combined with the 4 gigs of RAM. Upgrade to Windows 7 for another hundred bucks and you've just saved yourself $200 on your budget.
-Rachel-
*Edit* Heck! Here's a Palit 240 GT 1GB just like the one we bought. http://www.eworldsale.com/palit-neat...504_51489.html Just cheaper!
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... I hope not. All of those links should go the Newegg US site.
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Originally Posted by Renardine
I think Je_Saist might be showing Canadian prices, so it might be an even better deal US....
|
Wow, some nice stuff here! I just might enter the 21st century yet! 
Story Arcs I created:
Every Rose: (#17702) Villainous vs Legacy Chain. Forget Arachnos, join the CoT!
Cosplay Madness!: (#3643) Neutral vs Custom Foes. Heroes at a pop culture convention!
Kiss Hello Goodbye: (#156389) Heroic vs Custom Foes. Film Noir/Hardboiled detective adventure!
question... why go with an OEM OS. that seems dumb to do. With someone that updates fairly often... it seems like you would end up spending more money overall
je_saist has only 2GB and no power supply. Which is how he paid for the higher end motherboard, nearly top end AMD Phenom II quad core and 500GB larger hard drive than mine.
Mine is a mere inexpensive dual core with a more mainstream motherboard, only a 500GB hard drive but 4GB of memory. Similar video cards however.
There are a few other examples online of low cost system.
bit-tech.net May's affordable "all-arounder" (unchanged for June)
Tom's Hardware June 2010 $550 build.
The Tech Report's Spring 2010 Econobox (a little light in the video card department for Ultra Mode).
All three come without OS which sets you back another $100 (aka the Microsoft tax).
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
Quote:
mewit. I knew I was forgetting something in there. For budget builds I normally buy Apevia's X-Qpack cases which come with power-supplies, and I forgot the case I had put in that list lacked one.|
Originally Posted by Father Xmas
je_saist has only 2GB and no power supply. Which is how he paid for the higher end motherboard, nearly top end AMD Phenom II quad core and 500GB larger hard drive than mine.
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Also: why only 2gb? Well. Most (consumer) applications today are still optimized for 32bit addressing. In a 32bit OS the maximum amount of directly addressable memory is around ~3gb. My Phenom II system with 8gb of memory only reports 3039mb in 32bit mode, and my I7 with 4gb of memory only reports 2531mb in 32bit mode.
Basically, you can feed computer games more than 2gb of memory, but if they are getting installed in C:\Program Files(x86) ... it's pretty much doing no extra good. So, when building down to a price, for me the system memory is generally the first thing to go.
Quote:
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Mine is a mere inexpensive dual core with a more mainstream motherboard, only a 500GB hard drive but 4GB of memory. Similar video cards however. There are a few other examples online of low cost system. bit-tech.net May's affordable "all-arounder" (unchanged for June) Tom's Hardware June 2010 $550 build. The Tech Report's Spring 2010 Econobox (a little light in the video card department for Ultra Mode). All three come without OS which sets you back another $100 (aka the Microsoft tax). |
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Do you mean Update or upgrade? Updating generally means software additions and modifications. Upgrade means removing a piece of hardware or software and replacing it with a different, more effective, item.|
Originally Posted by Durakken
question... why go with an OEM OS. that seems dumb to do. With someone that updates fairly often... it seems like you would end up spending more money overall
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If you're talking about updates: They're almost always free. Especially Operating System Updates.
If you're referring to upgrading the OS in a new computer... what the heck? Why not just transfer your hard drive to the new tower, rather than buying an OS? Or you could take your old computer in and the new computer and let the Geek Squad or your local tech-store transfer the data over. Tons of solutions (some more cost effective than others!). Either way you generally upgrade once and you're good for 5-6 years of OS goodness.
So yeah. Really don't understand which you're referring to.
-Rachel-
Quote:
Neither. we're talking mainly about hardware here.|
Originally Posted by Steampunkette
Do you mean Update or upgrade? Updating generally means software additions and modifications. Upgrade means removing a piece of hardware or software and replacing it with a different, more effective, item.
If you're talking about updates: They're almost always free. Especially Operating System Updates. If you're referring to upgrading the OS in a new computer... what the heck? Why not just transfer your hard drive to the new tower, rather than buying an OS? Or you could take your old computer in and the new computer and let the Geek Squad or your local tech-store transfer the data over. Tons of solutions (some more cost effective than others!). Either way you generally upgrade once and you're good for 5-6 years of OS goodness. So yeah. Really don't understand which you're referring to. -Rachel- |
OEMs are linked to the Mobo and other hardware. So If I get get a new mobo(like I'm planning on) I've wasted my money if I get an OEM... unless there is something I don't know.
That's basically right. OEM editions of an OS is tied to a system. Sell the system, OS goes with it. Junk the system, OS goes with it. Retail editions are treated like any other part, you can move it from machine to machine, as long as it's only on one machine at a time. The difference is $100.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
Quote:
I think you are referencing the Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM product I listed in my $700 build. Here's the catch to it:|
Originally Posted by Durakken
Neither. we're talking mainly about hardware here.
OEMs are linked to the Mobo and other hardware. So If I get get a new mobo(like I'm planning on) I've wasted my money if I get an OEM... unless there is something I don't know. |
Quote:
| Use of this OEM System Builder Channel software is subject to the terms of the Microsoft OEM System Builder License. This software is intended for pre-installation on a new personal computer for resale. This OEM System Builder Channel software requires the assembler to provide end user support for the Windows software and cannot be transferred to another computer once it is installed. To acquire Windows software with support provided by Microsoft please see our full package "Retail" product offerings. |
Also, Father Xmas:
Quote:
| Retail editions are treated like any other part, you can move it from machine to machine, as long as it's only on one machine at a time. |
and the question remains... why would you go OEM? it seems stupid if you upgrade parts anywhere near often...
OEM of the version I want is $150, retail is $300... and that would make getting it easier, but the untransferability seems... quite a bit restrictive to me since i don't know really what i can change or not without problems.
Quote:
OEM System builder copies do nothing to prevent you from upgrading parts.|
Originally Posted by Durakken
and the question remains... why would you go OEM? it seems stupid if you upgrade parts anywhere near often...
OEM of the version I want is $150, retail is $300... and that would make getting it easier, but the untransferability seems... quite a bit restrictive to me since i don't know really what i can change or not without problems. |
If you change enough parts you have to sit through the telephone Windows Activation System, but since you have to do that on the Retail versions of NT6 systems to begin with, it's not really a deal breaker.
Quote:
Yea, support it myself, big whoop for a DIYer.| Use of this OEM System Builder Channel software is subject to the terms of the Microsoft OEM System Builder License. This software is intended for pre-installation on a new personal computer for resale. This OEM System Builder Channel software requires the assembler to provide end user support for the Windows software and cannot be transferred to another computer once it is installed. To acquire Windows software with support provided by Microsoft please see our full package "Retail" product offerings. |
Quote:
| This isn't exactly... true. Microsoft has used product activation to lock out Retail copies of WinXp, Vista, and 7 that were only active on one computer at a time. Yes, I know Microsoft says you can move a retail copy around, but most of the time when somebody wants that done, I wind up having to plow through the telephone version of the Product Activation system. |
For me, every box I own has it's own OS, never moved one in my life because the lifespan of my rigs are long enough that I want the latest OS. I'm not a habitual system upgrader. Every 18-24 months I reconsider CPU speed, video card, data drive and amount of memory (if I'm not already maxed out). After another cycle I build a new system.
Future proofing ain't what it use to be. The era of Socket 775 (since June 2004) and Windows XP (Oct 2001 - Jul 2009[Apr 2014]) is a rarity in desktops. Intel already announced replacement sockets for the 1156 and 1366 series and I doubt Windows 7 will last 8 or so years without a replacement. AMD is no better going from Socket 754 -> 939 -> AM2 -> AM2+ -> AM3 over a 6 year span.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
One of the reasons Intel's socket's lasted for so long is that they used an external memory controller, so they could change memory types and other bus infrastructure without changing the processor pin-out, or change the processor but not the infrastructure. Now that Intel has moved to the Integrated memory controller... well... they run into the same problems a "lot" of analysts saw with AMD's Socket 754 / 939 / 940 strategy back in 2003...
The rapid socket change is why AMD's Socket AM3 processors carry both a DDR2 and DDR3 memory controller, and why they'll "work" across Socket AM2+ and AM3 boards. Some will also work back with original AM2 sockets... providing the vendor pushed out a BIOS update.
As of right now, I think AMD is promising that the "next" range of consumer processors will be backwards compatible with Socket AM3. They'll work in Socket AM3 motherboards, but you'll need a new motherboard to take full advantage of the system infrastructure. Ergo, right now, if I was buying something I was thinking about upgrading in 2 or 3 years, it would be an AM3 platform.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Father Xmas
AMD is no better going from Socket 754 -> 939 -> AM2 -> AM2+ -> AM3 over a 6 year span.
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... difference, of course, being that I can take my old system (M2n32-SLI Deluxe, AM2-based socket,) drop in the newest BIOS, and run an AM3-based Phenom II. (Some, at least. No six-cores there.) That's now a four year old system. Same holds true for my AM2+ based work system, though it has wattage restrictions (due to being a cheaper mainboard.) I've got a good stretch of AMD's product line to choose from.
Intel's? They don't physically fit, for starters. Picking 1156 restricts me (in max RAM - which given heavy multitasking and VMs will potentially bite me - and in which CPUs I can use - Intel's said, for instance, no six-core CPUs will be 1156 based.)
AMD's been better at future-proofing for me, and generally at price. Performance, heat, and energy use were the big reasons I went with Intel this time around - same reasons for the ATI video card instead of nVidia. I really can't criticize AMD for socket evolution given how nicely backward compatible they've been.
for $600 you could get a gaming capable laptop. im currently using a sony i got last fall for 585 at bestbuy. it handles ultra mode a little choppy but its playable.
im not normally a fan of bestbuy but sometimes they have decent prices on higher end stuff. ive been looking for a laptop for my lil cousin who just finished high school and heard they are clearancing alot of models to make room for the back to school lineups for this fall. if youre not in a rush and have cash in hand i recommend following sites like fatwallet or slickdeals, the latter was how i found mine. good luck.
I am currently on a Compaq Presario SR1350NX. It has a Pentium 4 Processor and 1 GB of DDR 3200 RAM. I am using a 300W Power Supply, and an ASUSTEK Goldfish2 Motherboard (normal PCI slots). I have an NVidia 9400GT video card, and a 200 GB HDD. I am running Windows XP SP3.
My computer doesn't really have any problems, but I might have a little extra cash on hand to better my situation, like running CoH at better than 15 or so FPS. My DVD drive/burner is currently on the fritz, but my CD drive is fine.
So I turn to you guys for help. Should I just buy some RAM and call it a day? Grab a refurbish from Microcenter? Buy a bunch of parts and assemble something?
I primarily use my computer for City of and watching movies. It is on a home network with a couple other computers.
I am in your hands.
Story Arcs I created:
Every Rose: (#17702) Villainous vs Legacy Chain. Forget Arachnos, join the CoT!
Cosplay Madness!: (#3643) Neutral vs Custom Foes. Heroes at a pop culture convention!
Kiss Hello Goodbye: (#156389) Heroic vs Custom Foes. Film Noir/Hardboiled detective adventure!