Buying a new computer for gaming, any advices?

That's not a gaming PC at all since it only has the 9500GT video card: a very very crappy video card for gaming. In addition, it also has a shitty PSU in it as well. Not to mention that Cyberpower has a history of subpar assembly of computer hardware. So in other words: Avoid.

For $600 to $800, you're gonna have a hard time finding a prebuilt gaming PC for that much. Cheapest I've seen is roughly $1000 to $1200.
 
Any reason your going pre built?
I'm sure you could pick up something pre owed with better graphics for less money. The CPU is fine depending on which games you intend to play. But a 9500...it's not exactly bleeding edge. You'll still be able to play most games but not recwent games at highest settings, if thats an issue.
 
Yes, and the "yourself" part isn't really true. Theres 4 million instruction sites/videos and its straightforward. Especially with the inter cooler that comes with the CPU. just Push it into the damned board. All you need is one screwdriver and everything else clips together. If youve made lego kits you are more than qualified.
 
Listen to Danny Bui, he helped me with my build and his advice is ALWAYS on point.
 
* Looks around *

* Triple checks that this isn't the pre-built computers subforum *

My advice would be to build it yourself.

i5-750 - $194.99
Asus P55 LGA1566 Motherboard - $109.99
4 GB G.Skill DDR3 - $81.99
Gigabyte 1 GB GTX 460 - $229.99
Western Digital 320 GB hard disk - $49.99
Antec Sonata III with 500W Power Supply - $124.99
LG DVD Burner - $17.99

Comes to a total of $809.99 with $4.99 shipping - not bad!

Could easily swing that over to $500-600 territory by going with an AMD X4 combo too.
 
Could easily swing that over to $500-600 territory by going with an AMD X4 combo too.
Of course, I was assuming the OP wanted a fast computer. AMD could be his thing too. ( :D Just kidding don't flame - AMD CPUs are a perfectly good alternative for someone looking to save a few bucks. Funny how everything old is new again. )

It's also true that you could save a bunch by trolling the [H]ot|Deals thread for deals. There's a 1 GB GTX 460 over there for $210, that's $10 saved just by looking at the first page of thread titles.

Just don't skimp on the PSU. That Antec bundle is one of the best you're going to find without resorting to some gaudy Raidmax case and some smoke-tastic cheapo PSU. For the record, those are exactly what the Cyberpower PC you linked likely have. The case definitely fits the description, and the PSU has quite the inflated max wattage to be legit.
 
I would like to add if you're uncertain about building it yourself, then you can always hire a tech shop or a techie friend to do it for you for around $50-$75

just don't do the Best Buy Geek Squad thing . . . .
 
Build it your self, it's a good experience, until you have to troubleshot and you want to go upstairs and kick someone in the face...but hopefully everything goes well.
 
Build it yourself. Save some money and get exactly what you want. If you live in the Dallas Ft.worth area , I can build it for you.
 
move to general hardware please

The forum title is "PC gaming and hardware." Since this involves a computer being made specifically to game with, i see no issues for it to remain here. If another mod feels strongly enough about it to move it, that is up to them. :)
 
+1 for building it yourself.

It's a great experience and VERY VERY easy to do (not lying, it's easy... like legos).

You can also build it very cheap. If price is an issue, you can go AMD to save even more!
 
Building isn't always cheaper like everyone makes it out to be. Anyway, just stay away from that one in the OP. The 9500 is not a very fast video card. It was mid line three generations ago. There are many guides out there if you do want to build, just get the compatible parts that people recommend and you should not have a ton of problems if you know how to install Windows (which is another $110 that people are leaving out of their calculations).
 
I would like to add if you're uncertain about building it yourself, then you can always hire a tech shop or a techie friend to do it for you for around $50-$75

just don't do the Best Buy Geek Squad thing . . . .

Word!

Just go to almost any local shop on the corner. Great part is, once you get to personally know 'em (I've known mine for 16 years now), they might even start doing your barebone builds for free... (mobo/CPU/HSF/RAM/vid/PSU/POSTs, good to go!)

Funny part is, they may actually start to get too comfortable with you... My local one actually once kept the screws/etc that came with the case for themselves, as they liked 'em so much... I had to go back and explain to them that the stuff they liked so much that they were using for purposes not designed for were actually quite necessary to build the rest of my system properly... (HDs mount in an odd way... Even the tech there who kept my parts didn't understand that the parts were doing more than he assumed...)
 
Building isn't always cheaper like everyone makes it out to be. Anyway, just stay away from that one in the OP. The 9500 is not a very fast video card. It was mid line three generations ago. There are many guides out there if you do want to build, just get the compatible parts that people recommend and you should not have a ton of problems if you know how to install Windows (which is another $110 that people are leaving out of their calculations).

I say build it yourself and not ONLY because of price... it's better on the component aspect. If you build it yourself, *YOU* get to choose what's important and pick out the parts based on that, not what some corporation thinks the average Joe wants.
 
dell.com/outet
use coupon code LH31NFN55C6WTT for 15% off
if you didnt want to build a pc and wanted something with a full 1 year warranty and support.
nothing fancy but they will play most games


•XPS 630 Desktop: Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q8300 (4MB,2.5GHz, 1333FSB)
•Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
•500 GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
•4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
•16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
•1024MB ATI Radeon HD 4870
769-15%=$654

•XPS 630 Desktop: Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q9550 (12MB,2.83GHz, 1333 FSB)
•Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
•320 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
•4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
•16X DVD ROM Drive
•512MB Dual ATI Radeon HD 4850
889-15%=756+ free ship

]
•XPS 630 Desktop: Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q6600 (8MB L2 cache,2.40GHz,1066FSB)
•Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate
•320 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
•2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
•16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
•16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
•1024MB nVidia GeForce GTX280


809-15%=$688 and free ship
 
Last edited:
i went to a local hardware shop and built mine (one in the signature) with all the parts i really wanted. They built it for me and Tada!
 
dell.com/outet
use coupon code LH31NFN55C6WTT for 15% off
if you didnt want to build a pc and wanted something with a full 1 year warranty and support.
nothing fancy but they will play most games


•XPS 630 Desktop: Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q8300 (4MB,2.5GHz, 1333FSB)
•Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
•500 GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
•4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
•16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
•1024MB ATI Radeon HD 4870
769-15%=$654

•XPS 630 Desktop: Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q9550 (12MB,2.83GHz, 1333 FSB)
•Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
•320 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
•4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
•16X DVD ROM Drive
•512MB Dual ATI Radeon HD 4850
889-15%=756+ free ship

]
•XPS 630 Desktop: Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q6600 (8MB L2 cache,2.40GHz,1066FSB)
•Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate
•320 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
•2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
•16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
•16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
•1024MB nVidia GeForce GTX280


809-15%=$688 and free ship



the first 2 are way overpriced. The 3rd one is ok but the core components are a little old.

you should go with a Core i5 or Phenom II X4 processor and at least a Radeon 5850 and 4gigs of RAM. If money is not an issue, go with a Core I7 but for the price the Phenom II X4 is a really good processor.
 
Last edited:
dell.com/outet
use coupon code LH31NFN55C6WTT for 15% off
if you didnt want to build a pc and wanted something with a full 1 year warranty and support.
nothing fancy but they will play most games


•XPS 630 Desktop: Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q8300 (4MB,2.5GHz, 1333FSB)
•Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
•500 GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
•4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
•16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
•1024MB ATI Radeon HD 4870
769-15%=$654

•XPS 630 Desktop: Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q9550 (12MB,2.83GHz, 1333 FSB)
•Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
•320 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
•4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
•16X DVD ROM Drive
•512MB Dual ATI Radeon HD 4850
889-15%=756+ free ship

]
•XPS 630 Desktop: Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q6600 (8MB L2 cache,2.40GHz,1066FSB)
•Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate
•320 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
•2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
•16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
•16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
•1024MB nVidia GeForce GTX280


809-15%=$688 and free ship

It's a gaming PC ("solid gaming computer")... a build it yourself with a GTX460 would be much better than these.
 
Hey Guys!

With a budget around $600 - $800, I'm trying to get my hands on a solid gaming computer, pre-built. So do you guys have any suggestions?

I've been looking at Newegg's Cyberpower pc's:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229130

That one in particular, what'd u guys think?

Thanks in advance

That newegg computer looks terrible. This is a list I've given to a few people. Prices and parts can be found on newegg.

EDIT: The REASON it looks terrible is they spent all that money on the CPU and then put in a poor GPU which would make it POOR for gaming.

EDIT 2: I should probably mention that building your own is easy and you will get a better built computer for your money this way. The list below reflects this perspective.

$100 - AMD Athlon II X4 635 processor (2.9GHz, socket AM3)
$140 - ATI Radeon 5770 (1GB) video card (whatever is cheapest)
$ 85 - 4GB (2*2) DDR3 memory (whatever is cheapest)
$100 - GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-UD2H motherboard
$ 40 - Cooler Master Elite 341 case
$ 60 - Cooler Master RS650-ACAAE3-US 650W power supply
$ 20 - DVD-ROM drive (whatever is cheapest)
$ 75 - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD10EALS 1TB hard drive

Total: $620 before tax and shipping.
 
Another good piece of advice I can give you is AVOID cyberpowerpc, they do NOT have a good reputation and their reputation is they use refurb'd parts to build their computers, and that their customer service is nonexistent, basically once they get your money, they are gone.

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/CyberPower

life time of 7.73

Honestly, you're better off picking the parts yourself, and getting what YOU want, instead of what some manufacter decides to throw in there and price. Prebuilts, you're gonna pay a premium for a good gaming machine. Plus, there's no guarantee of the quality of it, whereas if you build it yourself, you'll know everything about it, down to the last screw.

Skip the premium, enjoy the self-empowerment you'll gain from taking matters into your own hands.

To be sure, nothing wrong with buying a prebuilt, but chances are, if you're on H, you want to learn about hardware, and practice using that knowledge to enrichen your computing experience.
 
Wow!

You guys are awesome, thanks for all the great suggestions!!
Since this is for a friend I think a prebuilt with certain modifications to it will have to do.
bufodr_t , Great tips dude, thanks a bunch!
 
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