Looking to buy a new computer soon, need suggestions

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Wolve11

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Hey guys,

I used to be a PC gamer before going into the console world and it has been a while since I played a PC game. With my current computer needing to be replaced, my wife is pushing for me to get a new computer (maybe even today). I'm not complaining, but I would like to get all the specs and stuff right before I go out and buy something that isn't to my needs and is overpriced.

I would like to get a PC that I can use for gaming as well as random every day things like listening to music, playing around with photoshop, etc. My problem is that I don't know what graphic cards are needed for the newer games these days (got tired of upgrading in the past, so I stuck with the console).

Here's what I'm looking for:
A desktop with a monitor as well
A strong graphics card able to handle new games
Minimum of 3GB Ram
At least a 400GB Harddrive

My budget: $1700
Also I am not able to build it myself, it would have to be a retail computer.

Any computer suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as I've been out of the loop on computers for several years now.
 
i don't have the skills.

What about this one:

Gateway® FX7029E
Processor Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor1 Q9300 (2.50GHz,1333MHz FSB, 6MB L2 cache)
Operating System Genuine Microsoft® Windows® Vista™ Home Premium (64-bit) SP1
Memory 4096MB 667MHz PC5300 Dual-Channel DDR2 SDRAM (2-2048MB modules)
Hard Drive 500GB 7200rpm Serial ATA II/300 hard drive w/ 16MB cache
Optical Drive 18X DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti Drive featuring Labelflash™ Technology
Chassis Premium System Design with Carbon Fiber Faceplate
Video NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800GT 512MB Factory Overclocked (Dual DVI, VGA adapter and TV Out)
Media Card Reader Gateway® 15-in-1 media card reader with copy button and IR receiver
Application Software Microsoft® Works 9.0, Microsoft® Money Essentials & Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 (60-day complimentary trial period)
Click to expand...


Is the graphics card any good?
 
I'll ballpark this, someone please correct me if I'm wrong

Intel Core 2 Duo E8xxxx = $200
4GB DDR2 800 Ram = 100 (or cheaper)
1TB HD = $175 (Storage)
WD Velociraptor 300GB 10000rpm HD - $325
2x8800GTs = ~300
Asus P5K mobo = 200
Optical Drives = 30 each
Antec P180/Nine Hundred Case = ~120

Leaves you about $400 to get a monitor - Look at 1920x1200 24" LCD.
I swear I saw something on SD that had 20-25% off Dell LCDs so you could grab one for $360 something but I can't find it at the moment.

Again, some of these prices might be completely off, but it's something, I guess

/edit/ doh, noticed you didn't want to build. I'll keep an eye out for retail deals, but the above kinda stats are what you want to look for still.
 
I appreciate the answers, sorry about not mentioning before that I do not want to build it myself. I wish I had the skills at this point to do it myself, and it is something I'm going to make as my goal for the next computer after this one.
 
Try this configurator:
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/CyberPower_Gamer_Infinity_8800_Pro_SE/

Default build comes with a 22" monitor.
Only 2 gigs of ram, but it's cheaper to buy that separately at Newegg or something and plug it in yourself (RAM installation is seriously just plug and play)
I would probably get a 500GB 2nd HD and a 34GB Raptor as the boot drive.
Make sure it's XP, in my opinion.
Liquid cooling too :)

Other than that, it hovers around your price and don't forget to look for coupons and use a credit card with cash back & extended warranty coverage!
 
[quote name='Chacrana']If you build it, you can get something godlike.[/quote]

Agreed, with $1,700 you could build something quite amazing with a monitor sexi enuff to cream for..or on.



[quote name='Capn Stabby']Try this configurator:
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/CyberPower_Gamer_Infinity_8800_Pro_SE/

Default build comes with a 22" monitor.
Only 2 gigs of ram, but it's cheaper to buy that separately at Newegg or something and plug it in yourself (RAM installation is seriously just plug and play)
I would probably get a 500GB 2nd HD and a 34GB Raptor as the boot drive.
Make sure it's XP, in my opinion.
Liquid cooling too :)

Other than that, it hovers around your price and don't forget to look for coupons and use a credit card with cash back & extended warranty coverage![/quote]

One of my buddies purchased his laptop off of cyberpower or as he calls it "cyberrapeage." to make it short they fucked him out of his warranty and left him with a fried $1,200 paper weight. So be for warned not only my friend but a lot of people have said there customer service is more of a joke then helpful.

I know you have stressed you do not want to build but that really is the way to go when purchasing a computer for medium to heavy game playing. There are hundreds of sites showing how to do it, have faith man it isn't the hadest thing to pull off.

To help with finding a good graphic card. http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/graphics-cards/3dmark06-v1-0-2-hdr-sm3-0-score,538.html can be really helpful as a resource. Find a game you plan on playing and look at the FPS the cards get. I'd say anything close to or above 50 is pleasant and easy on the eyes. Hope this helped and good luck to ya.
 
Do not EVER deal with cyberpower. I know from experience that they are probably the worst company to buy a computer from.
 
Why don't you want to learn to build yourself? It's not as hard as you think. In fact, the first time I built a PC, I had a blast. The only difficult part was matching the front panel pin thingys to the motherboard, but once I figured out it was a lot easier to do it while the motherboard is OUT of the case, it became much easier.

Putting together a PC is very simple. I'm already on my 4th built and it was just as easy as my 2nd.

For 1700, you could build a PC so powerful it eats people and poops out framerates.
Intel Core 2 Quad Processor - $209.99
4gb G.Skill 2x2gb DDR2 800 - $85.00
EVGA 780i SLI Board - $250
Western Digital 500gb 16mb x2 - $170
EVGA 8800GT 512mb Superclocked x2 - $360
Thermaltake Armor Full - $150
Corsair 750TX 750 Watt PSU - $120
Random Cooling Products - $70
Windows Vista Home Prem 64-bit - $110
22" Monitor - $180
Keyboard & Mouse - $50

Puts you at about $1750 and you could honestly replace the two 8800GT's with two 9600GT's or one 9800GTX and use a much cheaper motherboard.
 
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