Need some online computer purchasing advice
By
Brillig,
Posted on: 2010-07-29 16:19 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs
newegg doesn't sell a whole lot of it's own computers since most computer purchasers buy the parts and build it themselves.
If you want something pre-built, well, I'm probably not the person to ask... unless you want to commission me to build to something.
I used to build my own, until my spare time became more valuable than putting the components together 
I've tried a couple of vendors, if you look for online reviews, you'll see a mixed bag for almost any builder, because satisfied customers are much less likely to put anything up. Personally, I've been going with cyperpowerpc lately, they have pretty exhaustive list of options on their configurator, and their tech folks usually know what they're talking about.
I've bought two laptops and a number of components from Newegg, and have always been completely satisfied with their service. And given that Newegg seems to be the "go-to" site among regular posters in this forum, I don't think I'm alone in my opinion.
If you want to buy components to build it yourself, you'd be hard pressed to find a better place than Newegg. However, if you want a inexpensive gaming computer that you don't want to build yourself, I second the recommendation for cyberpowerpc. Newegg has some fine pre-builts, but you won't get anywhere near the kind of selection, or the ability to customize that you would get at cyberpower.
And although I haven't looked at desktop prices recently, I'm pretty sure that you could get good quality, gaming capable desktop there for under $1000. It might be more than that if you need a monitor, but as I said, I haven't checked prices recently.
It's worth a look, anyway.
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Knight Court--A CoH Story Complete 2/3/2012
In looking at pre-builts I would sort first for video card looking for an ATI 5770 or better or an Nvidia 260 or better... I'm not totally up on the Nvidia line but my understanding is that the 460? seems to be a good price/performance choice.
After the vid card I'd look to CPU, I'm a ways from current but I would tend to look at Intel i5 or i7 looking for a higher clock speed. I really don't know a lot about AMD CPU's... it's been a number of years since I built a machine with one. I imagine some of the other forum regulars could advise you here; I'm too far out of current to offer a worthwhile opinion.
RAM you'll want at least 4GB, but this is very cheap to upgrade if the rest of the hardware is up to snuff. DVD burner drives are a pretty mature technology nowadays, it's hard to get a really bad one so whatever comes with the machine is probably fine.
Hard drive - 500GB should be more than enough space for most people, look for a 7,200RPM model. I've had good luck with Western Digital over the years and bad luck with Seagate. Take that for what it's worth, but lately Seagate's quality control seems to have slipped.
Power supply - make sure you've enough power... at least 500 watts and preferably more. A name brand PSU is a good idea although the spec sheet on a prebuilt may not specify.
Motherboard - I've had good luck with Asus, Gigabyte and MSI; no name Mobos can be problematic. Don't buy anything from PC Chips, they're garbage.
Ibuypower and Cyberpower PC seem to have a good reputation for build quality at reasonable prices so I'd look there. Newegg has some configurations of each manufacturer or you can customize the machine buying direct, but you'd probably have a delay in shipping.
A cursory glance at Newegg found a few promising machines in the $800-$950 range.
COH has just been murdered by NCSoft. http://www.change.org/petitions/ncso...city-of-heroes
Ok, my brain is hurting after looking through various google searches for several online companies, brands, vid cards, etc., so I thought I'd see what the good folks in this game could recommend for the novice computer buyer.
Here's what I'm aiming for (and feel free to recommend that I set my sights higher or lower in different areas):
Cost: Ideally, less than a thousand for the whole thing, but I know that's pushing the bounds of reality. I was looking at towers in the $500-750 range on a couple of sites, which came with keyboard/mouse, and they'd combo in Office for a little more. I plan on buying a monitor on my own, so no need to worry about factoring in that cost. I'd rather not buy something and then have to immediately spend more money upgrading various parts.
Specs: Looking for a desktop PC. My search was mainly under the ubiquitous "Gaming Computer" parameters. I'm an admitted novice when it comes to comparing various Vid cards, processors, etc. I read so many reviews for things where half the people loved it, and half said it wasn't worth the money, so it's hard to know what's real. I don't need "blow my eyeballs out" top of the line, but I don't want something that's crap right out of the box, either. Something solid, plays CoH (in ultra mode, preferably) as well as other PC games (looking into SC2, for example), but I don't really use my PC as the sole means of gaming. My only experience with computer gaming has been on laptops, so a decent PC will be better than anything I've seen up to date.
Where to buy it from: Now here is the tricky part, and the main reason I've come to this forum for advice. I was looking at NewEgg.com, which had a couple of different brands in the price range I mentioned, but reviews for those brands were mixed at best, as well as for NewEgg itself. Some of the reviews I saw were several years old, so I would assume the customer service would improve since then, but I've never bought from them so I have no personal experience to fall back on. I also took a look at TigerDirect, but they have different brands completely than NewEgg. Where do you guys recommend buying a prebuilt desktop? I know that buying parts can be cheaper, but I've had dubious experiences with having a computer built by friends in the past, so I'd rather get it ready to go out of the box.
Basically, what I'm looking for you guys to do is put yourself in my shoes. You've got around a thousand dollars (less if you can) to order a solid gaming desktop. I don't need an awesome case (as long as it cools properly and has room for expansion, I'm good. It can be an ugly block of plastic and metal). I'd like for it to be upgradeable and give minimum problems. I don't care about overclocking, or any other tweaks. An example or two would be most appreciated.
This forum, and the folks that frequent it, gives lots of great advice, and generally has very helpful and honest people in it, and I'd like to thank y'all for doing your best to help others get the most out of their gaming experience.
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