Any recommendations for a midrange price PC?

[Tricen]

I'm pretty terrible when it comes to computers. I don't now what shit means or anything, so I was wondering if you guys would be able to recommend a good PC (just the PC, don't need a monitor or anything) for around 600-700$ range. I pretty much just want a PC that would run games smoothly and other programs without much lag? My current PC is like 6 years old, so I'd imagine anything I would get would be amazing for me lol. Would it be easier for me to just build a PC or something, or are there any good deals you guys would know about?

[Norellicus]

You'll almost universally get a better product from building it yourself.

But if you don't want the hassle, dell isn't exactly terrible; I'm not intimately familiar with any other in-production brands at the moment.

Tom's hardware is due to put out another system builder's marathon in the next month or two, if you can wait then you can see what they put together (they frequently build several configurations to match multiple price ranges).

[Tricen]

I can't play WoW with my current PC since I get 1fps during boss encounters. So I kinda wanna get anew PC soon. Would it be better to order online or would compusa or something have good deals you think?

[Omniyoji]

Feeling to lazy to check right now but I do believe Dell has some decent Inspiron/XPS desktops @ about your price range or they might have some kind of sale going on.

If you have a technical buddy you both could go PC shopping and compare to see if you can make something better/cheaper. S/He'll show you computer building is all LEGO w/ electricity.

*beaten by Nore :/

[orinthia]

You can base your purchase around the example systems from this relatively recent /g/uide: http://www.inurdaes.info/img/falcon_budget.png (it's amd+ati biased, mostly because of cost, but I'm sure there's options for intel/nvidia if you look)

Those should be good systems for their price ranges, though some assembly required. If you feel you aren't up to putting it together (it's pretty easy really, like legos with a screwdriver), try to look online or locally for prebuilt systems with similar specs. Do not expect them to be exactly as cheap or to have the exact same combinations, but you may get lucky and it's one less hassle if all you want to do is replace a tower. Just take note of the kinds of hardware that are listed and compare.

Beyond that, I'd recommend doing a little research, like looking up those things listed in the pic, finding out their relative performances, and then making a decision. This way you aren't relying on a sales rep to find what you're looking for if you go to a store and you can hopefully keep it within budget easier.

[Tricen]

I don't really know what anything means to be honest. All I know is that 6-8gb of ram is pretty hot. I don't know what proccessor shit means or whatever else.

[orinthia]

About the only thing I can tell you to do is research what you're going to buy.

//start 3am troll
If plunking down up to $700 is not worth your time to research the parts even just a little (ie, google: ati 5770 benchmark, intel i5 benchmark, nvidia benchmark, etc), then visit dell/alienware's site, tie a blindfold on, and start randomly clicking until the thing arrives at your door within a few weeks and you have an empty bank account.

Or buy a base mac pro. Same thing for how you're gonna use it.
//end 3am troll

Here's three dell setups that might tickle your pickle:
a) http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...en&s=dhs&cs=19
b) http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...en&s=dhs&cs=19
c) http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...desktop-studio
(at least, I hope the links work)

Choice 'a' has a free upgrade right now to a better graphics card or cpu or both for $50 more. I'd go for just the free card upgrade if choosing it. The ati 5670 card will play most new games at medium settings and many older games on high. The hex core amd cpu is brand new and will add six inches to your penis.http://images.bluegartr.com/forum/im...ons/icon14.gif

Choice 'b' is a bit cheaper but uses integrated ati 4200 hardware. It actually has a bit of pep for being integrated, but ultimately you'd want to drop in a new vid card, which you may or may not care to learn how to do, but a fair choice if you do.

Choice 'c' features an intel i5 and nvidia G310. The i5 is great though the g310 is a bit weak. Think a bit weaker than ati's 5670, as it listed an ati 5450 as a $50 upgrade from a g310, and the 5450 is a budget of a budget card. Still, it has other vid card upgrade options (though they can make it go out of your price range).

Look around on there for more, or maybe visit your local favorite stores, browse, and compare. Maybe you'll get lucky and not run into a sales rep that'll push you into buying something that's three times over your budget. http://images.bluegartr.com/forum/im...ns/mmithra.png

Also,
>>All I know is that 6-8gb of ram is pretty hot.
makes me think of this short gi joe psa: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eA3XCvrK90

[Tricen]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229193

What do you guys think of this?

[Sieg]

What's your monitor's native resolution?
What games are you looking to be able to play?

[Tricen]

WoW, possibly FFIVX, and stuff. I have an old monitor that I'd use. Like 1280x1024

[Sieg]

A 5670 should be fine at that res. Just probably no AA and you might have to drop the settings for some games.

I think you'd be a lot happier with something like this in the long run, especially if you ever pick up a larger monitor...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883227179
...but its a bit out of your price range.

These are a bit better, price goes up as well though.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883227245
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883227222

Only thing I can add is to try and get something with at least an HD 5770/GTX 260.

[Isiolia]

The video card in that is pretty meh. Would probably be fine for WoW, but I wouldn't get a 5670 aiming to play many current or upcoming games.

Tom's did have a $750 budget PC from a couple months ago that you could start at http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...g-pc,2578.html

Could easily swap around the video hardware for a better single card (or just a single 4850) and bring it under $700. Granted, that doesn't include a Windows license.

Though it's even older, this article http://www.maximumpc.com/article/fea...awesome_pc_647 would still net a decent PC...and at least gives you a basic idea of what building a computer entails (it's not very hard).

With your budget though, you're going to have to make some compromises. If your goal is a gaming machine, at that price point, the best bet will likely be building (or buying something with the intent of popping a midrange GPU into it). The XPS 7100 models linked to above from Dell aren't terrible...have a 460W power supply, so they can at least support some decent cards, which often isn't the case with big OEM systems.

[Tricen]

So, the PC I posted is pretty much just fine and would be even better if I upgraded the gfx card? My current PC is 5 or 6 years old so really anything would be just fine lol

[Sieg]

WoW @ 12x10, yea, it'll work. Not max settings or anything, but it'll be playable. Might tank for Raid bosses and the more crowded areas though.

[Norellicus]

Nah I played just fine on a 8800 GTS for a while. You'll have to turn shadows off and probably some of the specular lighting, but you should be able to play with full textures and spell effects (the latter of which being useful for raid awareness) without any serious issue.

[Tricen]

Well compared to my current PC http://www.digitaltrends.com/desktop...pecifications/ I think it would be just fine. My PC ran WoW alright, it was a bit choppy in 25mans, so I guess this new PC could only be better?

[Norellicus]

Definitely.

[Agito]

Something i just tossed together real fast, very solid and very doable with the 700$ dollar budget.

CPU-AMD Athlon II x4 635 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-702-_-Product

GPU-ATI 5770 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-447-_-Product

PSU-Cooler Master GX 650w http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&Tpk=gx%20650w

Case-Cooler Master Storm Scout http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-196-_-Product

HDD-Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-319-_-Product

Memory-Crucial Ballistix Tracer http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-340-_-Product

Motherboard-GIGABYTE GA-870A-UD3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-443-_-Product

There's most likely a better configuration of hardware that could be used, i just threw out what i thought to be quality and something i would make for myself.

[Isiolia]

Maybe something like this?

Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128419
CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103846 (or use the same CPU as the one you linked to for the same price http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103704)
GPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121376
RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145260
HDD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136161
Optical http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106335
PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817256061
Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129042
OS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116754

Comes to around $740, with things you could possibly shave the price off a bit on, or upgrade some. IE, Win7 OEM is $99, but if you can get for cheaper from school or whatever then there's that. RAM is faster than you need, but overhead can be nice. Could downgrade the GPU to a 4850 or similar nVidia for some savings.

The dual core CPU will be a stronger performer for most games, or other less-threaded apps. Quad for multi-tasking or highly threaded apps (often video encoding or 3D rendering).

Just as an idea of what you could do.

[Tricen]

Thanks for all the input guys I'm just gunna order the one off Newegg, it's pretty solid for me from what it seems. 635$ total is pretty much right at my budget, so I'm pretty happy.