Good deal? Advice needed. : )

[BVCU]

Hi,


I don't know too much about computers and am looking to buy a new one.

I'm on a pretty tight budget and really can't afford to spend more than 1000cdn total.

I don't know how and can't build one myself, nor will anyone help me. So it def. has to be pre-built. I don't have a credit card and wouldn't be too comfortable ordering one online for that kind of money anyways..... so i have to choose between local "name" retailers and computer shops.

The main issue, is that i want to play games. There are plenty of reasonably priced systems out there, but none come with capable graphics cards in my area.
I'd like to be able to play call of duty2 with reasonable fps on mid-low settings (i have a 21.5 inch LCD monitor, and can't turn the resolution down) ....and it seems that any store like bestbuy etc...systems with medium range graphics cards, are all around 1200 before taxes.


As i said, i have limited computer knowledge. I've gotten a quote from a local computer store.........what do you think about this:


AMD Phenom II X4 955 (4x3.2GHz)
Asus M3N78-VM Motherboard
4GB DDR2 RAM
1TB (1000GB) 7200RPM SATA2 Hard Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 1.0GB PCI-Express Video Card
LG 22x DVD±RW Dual Layer DVD Burner
8 Channel 7.1 Sound Card Onboard
Microsoft Keyboard & Mouse
17" P4-ATX Case w/ USB-Front
Antec 500W EarthWatt ATX Power Supply
10/1000 Mb Ethernet Onboard
Edifier M1350B 2.1 Speakers w/ Subwoofer

For 760.00 CDN before tax. (like 725.00 U.S.)

With windows 7, it comes to 880.00 CDN.....which with the tax, would be pretty much at my limit.


Is this a good deal? Is that a decent system config? What changes would you make?

Any advice/comments would be appreciated, thank you.

 

[alyarb]

for $760 that machine should come with a radeon 5770 or better. tell him to upgrade the video card.

 

[MisterDonut]

You could probably build something cheaper, but that's just my guess (and still perform closely).

AMD A2 620 Propus $95 + UD4P AM3 $95 AR + 4gb DDR3 $100 + 5850 $300 + Antec 300 $55 + Corsair TX650 $90 AR + DVD Burner $24 + WD Black 640gb $75 + plain keyboard and mouse $20 + Speakers $40 + OS comes around just under $1000. But of course this is coming from online quotes and no tax yet. You could drop the GPU to a 5770, if you don't plan on playing more demanding games. Save you about $130 on the spot. If you want that 5850 though, a dual-core wouldn't be a bad idea, plays most of the games fine.

 

[theragu40]

I'm sure you could do it cheaper yourself, but that's not an awful deal for getting someone else to build it for you.

 

[Dasda]

If you are getting it build then I think you should buy from a reputable seller. Costco is great with their 3 month return policy. If you are not satisfied then they will take the system back. Dell is oviously also good for service. They both offer free over the telephone technical assistance. If you don't know much then go to either of those 2 places for great customer service and technical support.

With that said, I agree with the other people. The system can be had for cheaper if you could take the time to learn to build. There are plenty of guides available on the internet and 1 is stickied here also.

Good Luck