Help me find a $700 PC that doesn't suck

[Synergy]

Hey guys,
I need to help a friend find a PC for $700. There are a couple of caveats, most notably, he wants it pre-built. I surfed through Dell and HP, and I haven't really found anything juicy. Or maybe I just don't know what to look for. I built my own PC 6 months ago, and would never do anything else, but he doesn't want to build.

If someone can help me find something that will do close to what he wants for $700 or so, I'd appreciate it.

So, here's what he wants, its fairly basic except a couple of things:

- not Alienware (thats a joke, his current comp, an Alienware, is the worst thing ever built by man)

- DVD/RW

- ability to add a second (his current) HDD

- ability to play City of Villains/City of Heroes and Age of Empires at reasonable specs (this means a dedicated video card - probably minimum a 7600GT)

- most RAM possible (I think he would be willing to add a stick or two himself)

I think that's it. I was trying to configure him something, but all of the video cards included in base models were shit, and I couldn't upgrade them beyond like a 7300GS. Maybe Dell coupons would work? A 6150 probably will not work, though he could deal and upgrade later.

 

[soccerstud652]

PM me, I have some ideas for you.

Here are a few I'd recommend that have great prices:

$529.99
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8702111&type=product&id=1201307003352

or the really nice upgrade I own: 759.99
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8661619&type=product&id=1196470439043

The above PC is really a great price and has a really decent graphic card I use for Steam (TF2, HL2, CS Source, etc.) and AOE (2 and 3).
3gb of ram combined with a AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 dual-core processor 6000 is solid.
The media center options are great for recording shows, it basically has a built in TIVO.
The ram is expandable so your buddy can add ram in it.

Can I get the sealed legend of zelda SNES cartridge? I would really appreciate it and can provide some more info if you need it.

 

[InuFaye]

http://www.ibuypower.com/ibp/store/configurator.aspx?mid=182#header

Here you go.

 

[ZForce]

http://www.hot-deals.org/

I would check there, they're always posting deals on various Dell PC's and you should be able to find something for $700 that meets your specs

 

[Synergy]

What do you guys think of this one?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...=product&tab=2&id=1192232280889#productdetail

I am unfamiliar with that video card, always been a geforce kind of girl..

And I don't think a GeForce 6150 is going to be quite enough. Maybe though.

 

[soccerstud652]

I wouldn't go with an Acer, a friend had a bad experience. Stick with HP or Dell.

 

[Synergy]

Edit:

Going with the $529 HP + a $70 (after MIR) 8600GT. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

soccerstuf652 is the winner of a sealed SNES Legend of Zelda.

 

[naes]

I know it's probably too late now, but this doesn't seem bad.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103115

Brand Acer Series Aspire Model AM3100-UD5200A Recommended Usage Business Desktops & Workstations Colors Black Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+(2.6GHz) Processor Main Features 64 bit Dual Core Processor Cache Per Processor 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Memory 3GB DDR2 Hard Drive 500GB SATA 7200RPM Optical Drive 1 DVD-Dual Drive (DVD+/-RW) Graphics ATI Radeon X1250 Ethernet Gigabit LAN Keyboard USB keyboard Mouse USB mouse Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium (English / French) CPU CPU Type Athlon 64 X2 Installed Qty 1 CPU Speed 5200+ L2 Cache Per CPU 2 x 1MB CPU Socket Type AM2 CPU Main Features 64 bit Dual Core Processor Graphics GPU/VPU Type ATI Radeon X1250 IGP Graphics Interface Integrated video Memory Memory Capacity 3GB DDR2 Memory Spec 1GB x 3 Memory Slots (Available/Total) 1/4 Maximum Memory Supported 8GB Hard Drive HD Capacity 500GB HD Interface SATA HD RPM 7200rpm Optical Drive Optical Drive Type DVD±RW Optical Drive Spec DVD-Dual Drive (DVD+/-RW) Audio Audio Chipset Integrated Communications Modem 56K LAN Chipset Integrated LAN Speed 10/100/1000Mbps Front Panel Ports Front USB 4 Front Audio Ports 2 Card Reader 9-in-1 Card reader for MMC, SD, SM, MS, MSPro, CF I/II, MD, xD Back Panel Ports LPT 1 PS/2 2 Video Ports 1 VGA Rear USB 4 Rear IEEE 1394 1 RJ45 1 port Rear Audio Ports 6 ports Expansion PCI Slots (Available/Total) (1/1) PCI Express x1
(1/1) PCI Express x16
(1/2) PCI v2.3 Mouse Mouse Type USB mouse Keyboard Keyboard Type USB keyboard Physical Spec Dimensions 17.9" x 14.6" x 7.2" Manufacturer Warranty Parts 1 year limited Labor 1 year limited

 

[Pootie Thang]

Hey you missed out on a great deal from Dell. I got the Dell Inspiron 530 with a Core 2 Quad 2.4Ghz Processor for $460. Anyways I received it today from DHL, installed 4GB of DDR2 800 Memory that I got from Newegg ($89.xx), as well as a 512MB 8800GT ($18X.XX after rebate). Anyways all together it costed me around $800 total. This is all on the stock power supply as well.

I'd keep your eyes open for deals like this. Currently I have it hooked up to my Sony KDL-46XBR2 @ 1920x1080 and Counter-Strike Source runs at 170 frames per second with maximum x AA and 16x AF. Also I tested out Call of Duty 4 and I get great framerates (80+ average) as well.

Oh yeah to make things better, I sold my old computer (P4 3.0Ghz, 256MB 7800GS, 2GB of DDR 400 Ram) for $350. So that makes total cost for me only $450.

 

[M_A_C]

To bad you didn't ask yesterday!

http://www.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=4109

 

[Serik]

Pootie: what's the rating on that systems power supply?

 

[Pootie Thang]

[quote name='Serik']Pootie: what's the rating on that systems power supply?[/QUOTE]


It's actually ONLY "350 Watts" but people have said that Dell's PSU's were way underrated. I'm going to have to agree, because I was expecting to have to get a new PSU. I actually got the MSI 8800GT from NewEgg too. It says it requires at least 400 Watts and a 12W rating of 26A. But it runs on my Dell perfectly!