Advice needed on computer from Ebay store

[cannisseur]

Greetings everyone!

Unfortunately my Dell (1st mistake) Inspiron 8500 laptop is nearing its end. I took it to Circuit City for service from FireDog (Geeksquad diagnosis is WAY too expensive). Personally I think its an overheating problem b/c it runs/boots up fine but when I use it it freezes up after a few mins, sooner if I use CPU heavy apps. It won't turn back on unless I wait 10+ mins. I will buy a laptop cooler when I pick it up to see if it will help.

Either way I would like to get a new computer in the near future. My budget is $1,100. I play games but I don't need anything really fancy, I perfer performance over graphics. Also I wanted to buy a custom computer that is pre-built since I don't have much experience building computers. I'm willing to spend a few more bucks to avoid any problems building one myself due to my inexperience.

I found a store on ebay that builds custom computers and it seems reasonably priced and gives a lot of options. It also gives a 3 year warranty on all parts.

Here are the specs:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220066534229&refid=store
=Intel Core Duo2 E6600 2.4Hz, 1066FSB (Dual Core) 4096K
=Spire VertiCool II Socket 775 Intel P4 EXTRA QUIET Vertical HeatPipe copper fan
=Gigabyte 8N-SLI nForce 4,SLI PCI Express, DDR2, 1GB LAN
=1GB PC5300 DDR2 677
<i>(Would you recommend getting 2x512? I will be getting more RAM in the furture)</i>
=GeForce 7300GS 256Mb PCI EXpress 16X dual head, tv out
=250.0GB Samsung 7200rpm SATA2 UDMA 300 8m Cache
=Hard Drive Dual Cooling Fan Internal
<i>(Is it worth getting a fan for the HDD or is it overkill?)</i>
=Sony 18x DVD Recorder Dual Layer +R/RW -R/RW (black)
=Nikao Black Neon ATX Case w/ Temperature control, front USB & iEEE
<i>(Mainly want this for the price and b/c of the temp control, any suggestions?)</i>
=PoWork Extra Quiet 600W ATX Power Supply SLI Ready
<i>(Is this a good PSU? I have read not to cheap out on PSUs)</i>
=Windows XP home

<b>Total Price: $1,082.00</b>

Here's the link to the actual store:

http://stores.ebay.com/MICRO-ONE-COMPUTERS

I chose the highest priced Intel system and customized it from there.

 

[mesarectifier]

That system looks to be a bit of a ripoff to me - only a gigabyte of RAM and a PoS graphics card in a $1000 system?

I'm not familiar enough with US prices to say exactly how much of a ripoff it is, but it looks overpriced.

 

[AMDThunder]

If you're committed to having someone build it for you, try these 2 places as well. Ibuypower.com and CyberpowerPC.com. You'll find they're about the least expensive places on line to order a PC.

Play around with some of the configurations. ie. On Ibuypower, the GamerEx is there cheapest option overall. I configured several of their different offerings all exactly the same, but they all didn't come out to the same price.

 

[a_Jhawk]

yeah sorry man thats a rip off, and i agree www.ibuypower.com is a really good place to buy from.

 

[cannisseur]

Thanks for the help guys.

Checking out these sites right now...

 

[Azzdude]

I've said this a few times before... If you simply CANNOT or DO NOT want to build your own system, do NOT buy a pre-built one. Go somewhere like mwave.com, pick out EXACTLY piece-by-piece what you want and pay them the 79 bucks to assemble and warranty it. If you've never built a system and really feel uncomfortable doing so, please don't listen to the people telling you to do so. Although I agree that it's a good experience to build your own, some people just simply cannot do it and there are so many things that could go wrong. Don't believe me? Just read the forum and look at all of the people who were talked into it that are having problems. A few things to remember when selecting parts:
1. Some people make recommendations based simply on what THEY want and/or/have. Make sure to get many opinions and RESEARCH it yourself.
2. Decide on your budget and what you want the computer to do for you. If you're on a tight budget and will not be planning to upgrade for some time, it's a good idea to pick out technology that is only one or two steps behind the latest or greatest. If you're planning to upgrade sometime in the near future, buy accordingly so that your components will allow for the planned upgrade and do not spend a lot NOW for said components.
3. And finally... As I have seen the great wusy post himself: Remember that if a component has a good reputation for overclocking it will directly result in excellent stability and longevity at stock speed.

 

[ask80]

is ibuypower and cyberpower the same company? i'm sort of inclined to order from cyberpower. how's mwave? better reputation in building and how are the prices there? i've checked resellerratings and mwave doesn't have good reviews. it seems like ibuypower, cyberpower, mwave and more are close to each other.. i know this because i live close by.

 

[Azzdude]

Prices at mwave are competitive with newegg, etc....

 

[Azzdude]

You can do basically the same setup at mwave but with an EVGA 7950GT for $1,071.69 built.

 

[Granite3]

You can do basically the same setup at mwave but with an EVGA 7950GT for $1,071.69 built.

This is by far a better way to go. I had good results in the past with mwave on parts.

OP- the pc5300 you listed should be a pc5400 to be at 667.

2x is the way to go with ram, as the modern boards allow you to take advantage of dual channel, which is faster than runnining a single stick.