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Recommend a sub $2k gaming system for my brother-in-law

Triumph

Triumph

Lifer
My brother-in-law's Celeron 550 that I built for him years ago is running a little long in the tooth, in addition to the stability problems that it is having. He's asked me for recommendations on a new PC, but I really haven't been following the hardware trends since I built that PC for him many moons ago. I will not build a PC for him! I'm not playing the tech support role anymore.

So far he has been going onto Dell's website and customizing to what he wants (256 mb video, 1 gb ram, 19" LCD), and it's coming out to ~$2500, more than he wants to spend. He has said that he absolutely wants the 19" LCD, but unsure about the other options. So it seems like basically the requirements are, a 19" LCD and as much computing as he can get for no more than $2,000.

What do you all recommend? I don't even know what alternatives there are to Dell as far as pre-built computers go. (I will not let him buy a Compaq or some other proprietary, non-upgradeable form factor PC!)
 
Dell computers ARE proprietary, and for the most part un-upgradeable. Compaq and HQ computers from Circuit City are a good alternative. Also Intel processors are not as good as AMD (a generalization). And which games ? For the most part he will 1 gig of memory for most of the latest games, and at least a Radeon 9800pro for the video card. cpu should be in th 3000+ or better range. They have a 3200+ system that would only need 512 meg more ram, a better video card and a 19inch LCD for $849. Thats a good start. I am best at recommending home-built computers.
 
What is a good chipset to look for, for either brand?

I'm not sure exactly what games he plays, but traditionally he likes RPG's and other things like Medieval Total War and strategy games like that.
 
Won't build it for him? Talk about family love....I mean he'll get screwed pricewise going with either Dell or Monarch. Just put together an Athlon 64 system at stock for him. I don't see how it should have problems besides spyware. Just make sure you have Mozilla and virus software installed. Asus mobos come with Pc-Cillin. And he does not need a lcd monitor. Get a CRT, you save a lot of cash.
 
Originally posted by: Adn4n
Won't build it for him? Talk about family love....I mean he'll get screwed pricewise going with either Dell or Monarch. Just put together an Athlon 64 system at stock for him. I don't see how it should have problems besides spyware. Just make sure you have Mozilla and virus software installed. Asus mobos come with Pc-Cillin. And he does not need a lcd monitor. Get a CRT, you save a lot of cash.
Click to expand...

EDIT: I quoted Adn4n because he makes a vaild point.

Triumph, I have personal experience with not wanting to be tech support. My friend would always call me whenever there was a problem with this comp I sold him. Recently he wanted to buy a new comp so I told him Dell (because I didn't want to play techie). Unfortunately he still only calls me when he has comp problems. I don't think you are going to get away from your good samaritan job of being comp support.

If you still don't want to build one for him, go with a Dell. Their onsite technicians make the high price worth while. I don't know of any other companies that are willing to send out techies when the problem can't be solved over the phone.
 
screw being a good samaritan, i have other things to do and i hate how people get pissed off at me because they messed up their computer. i've learned that you can't run anyone elses computer; people just don't listen. and I don't want to build for him because I'm not up on today's hardware.

after some doing some reading of the AT buyer's guides, the main reason I don't want him to get a Dell is because they don't have AMD chips. and it seems that the AMD chips are significantly better in gaming and office apps than the Pentiums.
 
Kick Arse sub $2k Alienware system:

P4 3Ghz w/ HT
AlienWare 480W PSU
Intel® Desktop Board 865PE (hey, at least its not proprietary!) 😀
512Mb PC-3200 in Dual-Channel
GeForce 6800GT
80Gb Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 8mb cache
Lite-On 52xCD-RW/DVD-Rom
Logitech Z-5300 5.1 Surround Sound THX Speakers 😀
Microsoft KB and optical mouse

$1,735.00 with free shipping

17" Flat CRT at NewEgg for less than $200 shipped with tax - cheapest/smallest CRT at AlienWare is 19" for $260... IMO better to get it at NewEgg :thumbsup:
 
Ok some more specific questions:

1. PCI Express versus AGP 8x?
2. AMD 939 versus 735 (I think) chipsets?
3. Radeon 9600/9800 versus Geforce 6800, and what bus do they each use, PCI express or AGP?
4. Benefits of dual channel ram?
5. Is SATA synonymous with RAID0?
 
Originally posted by: masshass81
Kick Arse sub $2k Alienware system:

P4 3Ghz w/ HT
AlienWare 480W PSU
Intel® Desktop Board 865PE (hey, at least its not proprietary!) 😀
512Mb PC-3200 in Dual-Channel
GeForce 6800GT
80Gb Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 8mb cache
Lite-On 52xCD-RW/DVD-Rom
Logitech Z-5300 5.1 Surround Sound THX Speakers 😀
Microsoft KB and optical mouse

$1,735.00 with free shipping

17" Flat CRT at NewEgg for less than $200 shipped with tax - cheapest/smallest CRT at AlienWare is 19" for $260... IMO better to get it at NewEgg :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

I'm just getting to an empty shopping cart. Which system did you start with? Area 51, Bot, etc?
 
Sorry, I think you have to configure yourself. Go to alienware.com homepage and click on the "free shipping" banner near the bottom of the page then select "Home and Home Office", and pick the LightSpeed system. Configure all that stuff above (I also opted for the onboard sound). Let me know if it doesnt come out to the same price. Also, you need to pick either free shipping or rebate, opt for the free shipping..

Found a nice flat CRT at Newegg

17" Samsung 793DF DynaFlat CRT $148 shipped
 
Originally posted by: Triumph
Ok some more specific questions:

1. PCI Express versus AGP 8x?
2. AMD 939 versus 735 (I think) chipsets?
3. Radeon 9600/9800 versus Geforce 6800, and what bus do they each use, PCI express or AGP?
4. Benefits of dual channel ram?
5. Is SATA synonymous with RAID0?
Click to expand...
1. From what little I've read on these forums, there isn't much of an advantage going pci-e compared to agp.
2. It's s754. Again, from what I've read not a big enough difference to warrant spending the extra cash. Go with 754?
3. 6800 blows 9600/9800 out of water. x800 on other hand is comparable if not better.
5. SATA is just another connection type that enables speeds up to 10,000rpm without having to go SCSI. Raid0 is a type of setup. I think raid0 is where data is broken up and split between two hdd's. Therefore writing and reading are much faster. You can set up raid thingies with SATA or PATA drives.
 
I definately agree with the op as to not wanting to be responsible for being their tech support. I had my shares and experience with it and boy did I ever regret it so bad. All because I wanted to be nice and save my friends and families some money.

I will never ever do it again.

Sometimes being nice will come back and bite you in the back. It's kinda like "Nice people finish last." Which they really do.
 
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