# Buying a new PC - I'm overwhelmed



## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

I used to be a big Dell fan, but they're a pain in the butt to upgrade. I recently upgraded my old XPS 400 to Windows 7. After passing all the pre-install tests, I've come to find out it's putting major strain on CPU, a Pentium D 820. To top it off, the XPS 400 CPU is pretty non-upgradeable. :nono2:

Soooooooooooo, after 4 years I need a new PC. I can't "build" my own due to a disability & don't have anyone I could ask. I started by looking on Tiger Direct and Amazon, but couldn't seem to find what I like. Here's what I'd like/need:

~Windows 7 (with discs if possible)
~As little bloatware as possible 
~SPEED!
~Upgradeable <---very important 
~Casual gaming...not WOW or those.
~500 GB HD
~I do a bit of streaming of mkv files over my network.

What do you guys/gals suggest? I'd like to stay under $1,000. Is Dell, Gateway, etc where I'm stuck going?


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Good thing you said Win7, that ought to keep Greg out of the thread.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Sigma, I don't know about where you are but around here there are still a few mom-and-pop type computer stores. They can custom build something for you. Barring that I would check zones.com and other online retailers that sell PCs for the enterprise. You'll pay a little more but the computers designed for business tend to be more upgradeable and more reliable over time.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

sigma1914 said:


> I used to be a big Dell fan, but they're a pain in the butt to upgrade. I recently upgraded my old XPS 400 to Windows 7. After passing all the pre-install tests, I've come to find out it's putting major strain on CPU, a Pentium D 820. To top it off, the XPS 400 CPU is pretty non-upgradeable. :nono2:
> 
> Soooooooooooo, after 4 years I need a new PC. I can't "build" my own due to a disability & don't have anyone I could ask. I started by looking on Tiger Direct and Amazon, but couldn't seem to find what I like. Here's what I'd like/need:
> 
> ...


You have 2 options. You can find the best deal online for a pre built or you can try a local shop. For what you're asking for either will work well as long as you do some research. A local shop will of course charge more than anyone but you also have local help.

Speed is relative. You can speed up your machine the most by simply not installing garbage on it. The more crap you install the slower it will get.

This place has good reviews but I've never used them:

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/landingpages/intel/i7/?gclid=CNfm_LuNpKYCFQlPgwodW3RYnQ

Another thing I highly recommend is getting a 8 or 16gb thumb drive and ghosting your HD to it before you start installing things. Have a second HD for data, not programs, and then every 6 months or so reghost to your original install. Yes you have to reload all your programs but most speed issues will be resolved by this more than spending more money on small upgrades.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

I think it was last spring when I got my new PCs; a notebook and a desktop. Bought Gateways from Tiger. Never had a Gateway, and I hadn't heard the best about them but I couldn't pass up the unit for the price.

This is a Gateway DX4300, Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit. Factory 1Tb HD and I added a second 1Tb Hdd for TV recordings via Media Center and the TV tuner card included with this PC. Factory installed 8Gb Ram with an AMD Phenom II X4 810 CPU (2.6Ghz). Also has a Gigabit network port and about 8 or 10 USB ports. DVD drive/burner.

For a Gateway, it had very little bloatware, so I didn't really have to do any cleanup. Came with MS Office (Trial) which I didn't use as I installed Open Office instead.

It's as fast as I need, plays live TV and recordings without a hitch. Can't tell about streaming web content due to my web ISP.

Upgradeable; spare RAM ports and 5" and 3.5" bays. I'm pretty sure both came with CD, but I also burned some utility CDs Gateway recommended.

Total price was about $600 or so.

Notebook is nearly identical except for the second HDD and the TV tuner card, but I have a Hauppage USB device for it. 17" LCD screen with LED backlight. Also about $600 or so.


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

Buy a Dell from the small business side, Vostro.
No bloatware, easily upgradeable with aftermarket parts, plenty fast for your needs.
If you're doing any gaming or watching Direct2PC, just make sure you get the PCIe graphics card instead of the onboard.

i5 or i7 cpu
6-8 GB RAM
64 bit Windows 7

Even the Home side of Dell has cut way back on the crapware.
Typically, you'll uninstall McAfee and MS Office trial and maybe one or two others and you're off to the races.

Watch for deals here.
http://www.techbargains.com/

Here's a current great deal.
http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/238089


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

You might want to glance through the HP list of customizable units.

And sometimes Amazon has some great deals.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Pick up a copy of MaximumPC magazine. although largely targeted at power users, there are many vendors like Cyberpower that advertise there.
Since you're not too far from the Dallas area, you could check both MicroCenter (microcenter.com) and Fry's (frys.com). There's a Fry's at 700 Plano Parkway, and a MicroCenter at Keystone Plaza, 13929 N. Central Expressway, Dallas.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

I'm appreciating all the suggestions & help.

I'm really looking closely at http://www.cyberpowerpc.com ...Really cool rigs.


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## houskamp (Sep 14, 2006)

pretty much anything with a dedicated video card is plenty fast today..
only special uses require more..


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

I made a purchase, and I admit that I went overboard. :lol:
Here's the specs:

CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-950 3.06 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1366
HDD: 1TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
MEMORY: 6GB (2GBx3) DDR3/1600MHz Triple Channel Memory Module
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card
MOTHERBOARD: (3-Way SLI Support) MSI X58A-GD65 Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Triple-Channel DDR3 ATX Mainboard 
FAN: XtremeGear Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan
CS_FAN: Maximum 120MM Color Case Cooling Fans
CD: Samsung SH-B123L 12X BLU-RAY Player & DVDRW Combo


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

OMG! Nice setup!
I've worked in IT since 1980, and we used to call that a mainframe!

Please tell me you got Windows 7, 64 bit - right?

When you get it, let us know the Windows Experience Index


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## YtseJammer1977 (Oct 29, 2010)

Commodore recently started building new computers. They seem pretty affordable. I have to admit, I'm tempted, even though I prefer Apple computers...


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

wilbur_the_goose;2676270When you get it said:


> Mine is 4.3, whatever that means.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> OMG! Nice setup!
> I've worked in IT since 1980, and we used to call that a mainframe!
> 
> Please tell me you got Windows 7, 64 bit - right?
> ...


I got XP. :lol: No, just kidding, I got Windows 7 64 bit.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

My current Windows Experience Index numbers:


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

sigma1914 said:


> I made a purchase, and I admit that I went overboard. :lol:


Can't really go overboard on a computer these days. In two years, you'll be glad you got what you did. Nice setup!

I've made out really well with HP desktops and my son has a desktop that a friend of his built for about $400. That works well too. My wife has a Lenovo (IBM made in China) Idea Pad laptop and I've got a Lenovo lap top that is a step down from hers, but both are good performers.

Rich

Here's the specs:

CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-950 3.06 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1366
HDD: 1TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
MEMORY: 6GB (2GBx3) DDR3/1600MHz Triple Channel Memory Module
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card
MOTHERBOARD: (3-Way SLI Support) MSI X58A-GD65 Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Triple-Channel DDR3 ATX Mainboard 
FAN: XtremeGear Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan
CS_FAN: Maximum 120MM Color Case Cooling Fans
CD: Samsung SH-B123L 12X BLU-RAY Player & DVDRW Combo[/QUOTE]


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## dmspen (Dec 1, 2006)

Based on these specs - your Windows Experience numbers don't add up.
e.g. 6GB of RAM but only 4 are reported
3.06 Ghz processor but 2.8 is shown.

Make sure you got what you paid for.

CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-950 3.06 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1366
HDD: 1TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
MEMORY: 6GB (2GBx3) DDR3/1600MHz Triple Channel Memory Module
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card
MOTHERBOARD: (3-Way SLI Support) MSI X58A-GD65 Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Triple-Channel DDR3 ATX Mainboard 
FAN: XtremeGear Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan
CS_FAN: Maximum 120MM Color Case Cooling Fans
CD: Samsung SH-B123L 12X BLU-RAY Player & DVDRW Combo



sigma1914 said:


> My current Windows Experience Index numbers:


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

dmspen said:


> Based on these specs - your Windows Experience numbers don't add up.
> e.g. 6GB of RAM but only 4 are reported
> 3.06 Ghz processor but 2.8 is shown.
> 
> ...


The Windows Experience Index I posted is my current older PC, not the one purchased.


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

Your older PC is still pretty darn good.

So - what do the scores for your new PC look like?


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> Your older PC is still pretty darn good.
> 
> So - what do the scores for your new PC look like?


I'm still waiting on them to build it....There was a billing issue. My bank thought a $1000+ purchase might have been fraud, so I had to clear it.


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## PokerJoker (Apr 12, 2008)

sigma1914 said:


> I made a purchase, and I admit that I went overboard. :lol:
> Here's the specs:
> 
> CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-950 3.06 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1366
> ...


Nice system. Yeah, I'd call that overboard! What you have there is actually a nice gaming system, only with a video card that's just a bit slower than the high end. Should be perfect for your uses.

The Windows Experience rating on it will likely be 5.9. That's limited by having a conventional hard drive. Other than the hard drive, the performance ratings should be in the 7.3-7.7 range, maybe a bit lower for the video. That is MORE than enough for what you want to do. In fact, you will be able to play most any game you wish, should a second childhood suddenly erupt. :lol: (Actually, I know a bunch of middle aged guys who love WoW. It ain't just kids doing it.)

You need a good monitor too. 23 inch minimum, 1920 by 1080 minimum, would be my recommendation. They don't cost that much these days. A 1080p TV set will work too.

Should you be so inclined, you should be able to easily overclock that system at least 20 percent. But I doubt you'll see any need for it once you see how fast it is out of the box.

And finally, if you want to add a turbocharger to it, change to a Solid State Drive for the C: drive, and keep the 1TB for storage as a D: drive. That will raise your total rating to about 7.4. Your system will boot up in about 15 seconds. You will never want to go back to a spinning drive.

Good luck, and enjoy your new system.

Keith


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

PokerJoker said:


> ...
> And finally, if you want to add a turbocharger to it, change to a Solid State Drive for the C: drive, and keep the 1TB for storage as a D: drive. That will raise your total rating to about 7.4. Your system will boot up in about 15 seconds. You will never want to go back to a spinning drive.
> 
> Good luck, and enjoy your new system.
> ...


I saw the option for a solid state drive, but was unsure what it meant. :eek2:


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

^^ All electronics (chips sort of), no spinning platters. I've heard both good and bad.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

sigma1914 said:


> I saw the option for a solid state drive, but was unsure what it meant. :eek2:


Think of your flash drives or SD cards, but on a larger, faster scale.

- Merg


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## Ganome_Danome (Dec 10, 2009)

PokerJoker said:


> Nice system. Yeah, I'd call that overboard! What you have there is actually a nice gaming system, only with a video card that's just a bit slower than the high end. Should be perfect for your uses.
> 
> The Windows Experience rating on it will likely be 5.9. That's limited by having a conventional hard drive. Other than the hard drive, the performance ratings should be in the 7.3-7.7 range, maybe a bit lower for the video. That is MORE than enough for what you want to do. In fact, you will be able to play most any game you wish, should a second childhood suddenly erupt. :lol: (Actually, I know a bunch of middle aged guys who love WoW. It ain't just kids doing it.)
> 
> ...


I agree about the SSD. I can't imagine going back to a HDD as a boot drive. The increase in performance for windows, and the speed of booting up (about 15 seconds) and shutting down (literally 2 seconds) alone made the price worth it.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

PokerJoker said:


> And finally, if you want to add a turbocharger to it, change to a Solid State Drive for the C: drive, and keep the 1TB for storage as a D: drive. That will raise your total rating to about 7.4. Your system will boot up in about 15 seconds. You will never want to go back to a spinning drive.


Can you get them in SATA form? How much do they cost? Gotta Google.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

rich584 said:


> Can you get them in SATA form? How much do they cost? Gotta Google.
> 
> Rich


Oh, momma! Are they ever expensive!

Rich


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## Ganome_Danome (Dec 10, 2009)

rich584 said:


> Oh, momma! Are they ever expensive!
> 
> Rich


Don't buy one to replace your harddrive for mass storage (pictures, movies, music etc), buy a smaller drive (32 gig or 60/64 gig) and use it for a boot drive, for windows and applications, and keep harddrive as a secondary drive for storing large data files.

If you do that, you can get a SSD boot drive for under 100 bucks. I bought the 60 gig OCZ SSD drive for 115 during Black Friday, and couldn't be happier. (32 gigs is probably plenty for average windows user, I'd have went with a 32 or 40 gig if I wasn't building a gaming PC).

It has Windows, a few applications, Sims 3 and Fallout New Vegas on it. Everything else is on a harddrive.

(Also added a 32 gig one to my aunts custom PC I built for her, and she has had nothing but praise for it).


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Ganome_Danome said:


> Don't buy one to replace your harddrive for mass storage (pictures, movies, music etc), buy a smaller drive (32 gig or 60/64 gig) and use it for a boot drive, for windows and applications, and keep harddrive as a secondary drive for storing large data files.
> 
> If you do that, you can get a SSD boot drive for under 100 bucks. I bought the 60 gig OCZ SSD drive for 115 during Black Friday, and couldn't be happier. (32 gigs is probably plenty for average windows user, I'd have went with a 32 or 40 gig if I wasn't building a gaming PC).
> 
> ...


I want one that will work on my D* DVRs!

Rich


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## Ganome_Danome (Dec 10, 2009)

Yeah, I wouldn't expect one of that size to be reasonably cheap anytime soon. 

I considered getting one for my PS3, but it seems that the slow BD rom drive will bottleneck it to much to make it worth the investment.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Ganome_Danome said:


> Yeah, I wouldn't expect one of that size to be reasonably cheap anytime soon.
> 
> I considered getting one for my PS3, but it seems that the slow BD rom drive will bottleneck it to much to make it worth the investment.


At least I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. I would expect this technology to really take off. HDDs have been one of the really big problems from the beginning. From what I have read, the solid state HDDs would go a long way towards resolving those problems.

Rich


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Well, this purchase was a bad decision. I've never had buyers remorse on major purchases in my life. The rig was loud...I mean LLLLOOOOUUUUDDDD!!!! It wasn't a defect, either. Apparently, it's sometimes a common thing for gaming rigs. The 3 fans were all silent, but the airflow made it like a small vacuum. It ran cool, though. :lol: 

I'm going to return it & go with Dell's new XPS 8300 which have the new Sandy Bridge second-generation Intel Core processors.


PROCESSORS	Intel® Core™ i7-2600 processor(8MB Cache, 3.4GHz)
OPERATING SYSTEM	Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English	
MONITOR	ST2220L 21.5-inch Full HD Widescreen Monitor	
VIDEO CARD	ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5
MEMORY	8GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs
HARD DRIVE	1.5TB - SATA-II, 3Gb/s, 7,200 RPM, 32MB Cache HDD
OPTICAL DRIVE	Blu-ray Combo Drive (8X BD-R, DVD+/-RW) with DVD+R double layer write capability


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

My son had a computer built for him specifically for games and it has the same issues. And it generates so much heat in his room he has to keep the windows open. Loud whooshing noise.

Rich



sigma1914 said:


> Well, this purchase was a bad decision. I've never had buyers remorse on major purchases in my life. The rig was loud...I mean LLLLOOOOUUUUDDDD!!!! It wasn't a defect, either. Apparently, it's sometimes a common thing for gaming rigs. The 3 fans were all silent, but the airflow made it like a small vacuum. It ran cool, though. :lol:
> 
> I'm going to return it & go with Dell's new XPS 8300 which have the new Sandy Bridge second-generation Intel Core processors.
> 
> ...


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Finally got my new PC and I'm in heaven. :lol: 
My new Windows Experience Index numbers:










My old Windows Experience Index numbers:


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