Seeking help with purchasing a desktop

Ok well a lot depends on your budget. But to clear up a few points.

CPU's these days are measure in GHZ and number of cores. As long as you stick to either a Core 2 Duo or a Phenom II you should be fine.

RAM is very important too... for a reasonable spec machine running Windows XP then 2gb or RAM is fine - if however you buy a PC with Vista then go for as much RAM as you can afford as Vista loves plenty of RAM.

Storage minimum these days is 500gb - Hard drives are very cheap compared to five years ago.

Video / Graphics... ermm Nvidia is nice... but so is ATI - you can spend as little as $100 for reasonable performance ..... and a heck of a lot more if you want the best.

we could use a budget from you also do you plan to use the same monitor or buy a new one? Does your current computer have a graphics card? If so which one? What upgrades did you have done to your gateway? You may be able to carry some over tot he new system.

You can buy a dell or hp system with dual core cpu and 3-4 gigs of memory for less then $500. I use slickdeals.net and fatwallet to check for deals each week; Sunday is the best day for new deals. Many systems will accept a mid range video card for gaming without a bigger power supply. I suggest a 4830 or 4850; both under $100 if you buy online at newegg or other websites. All you have to do is remove the side panel and any hold down mechanism for the internal cards to install the video card. Some require a 6 pin connector from the power supply; make sure yours has it, or buy a video card that doesn't require any ps leads. Newegg.com has lots of pictures even if you buy elsewhere.

Building your own custom PC is the way to go rather than buying a name brand PC.
I see some people on this message board who recently purchased a name brand PC and are in a quandary about upgrading their CPU after realizing that their CPU won't give the performance that they desire.
Most name brand PC's (not all though) use the cheapest parts to maximize their profit.If you build your own you can have better support for upgrades especially with newer CPU upgrades on motherboards as well as other features.In addition it's you who have the choice of components and features.

nividia geforce 7600 gs is my graphic thing. my processor is a intel pentium 4 cpu 3.00 ghz, with 2.50 ghz of RAM. Supposedly the guy cleaned everything up too. I would like to run vista, but get the windows 7 upgrade when available. Also I have microsoft student for the kids. i would like to use my monitor, but i don't have to. trying to save some money. i would like to spend between 500-700 or so for a tower. Thanks everyone, great response. Thanks

Yea true that, stay away from Dell, Hp, Gateway, etc..... unless you don't mind throwing the entire pc away on a yearly basis.....

that's one of the dumbest things you have said on these boards and you have said a lot. Troll is right about, all you do is spam replies. You never answer the OP questions but rather state your opinion which is totally worthless. Like troll said, if you are not going to be of any help then leave and get a life.

Obviously you can build a better PC then HP, Dell, or Gateway but they all come with warranties and the OP has yet to state she wants to go into that directions. Those PC will last more then a year if you took the time to actually read the first post the original PC lasted 5 years. Even a self built PC will become outdated if it's not updated.

ct615 you are full of it... you know dam well you end-up with a headache when you buy a pre-built PC... There are many threads that have to do with this... many peeps that seek advice on buying a new pre-built, then when they buy it they end-up here on Tom's telling us that they should have built a PC from scratch before-hand.....

She already had the correct reply before I posted so why do you have to flame my post?

BTW if I was spamming I would have less points than posts so next time you feel like flaming think twice before you hit that "submit" button......

I have never said anything negative towards any of your posts, regardless if it made sense or not.... I am just trying to make sure peeps don't spend good coin on something that they will regret in the future.....

I can't believe you take Trolls side when you know he replies to peeps saying " Your a NOOB" .... Do you actually think that calling someone a " NooB" is ok? IMO you are out of line, I never thought you would say such a thing....

well you have two choices

1) build the PC yourself. If you trust your sons to do it, it could be a great family project. You could pay someone to do it but most local computer shops are complete rip-offs.

2) buy a PC from an online retailer like newegg or tigerdirect or buy direct from a manufacturer like Dell, HP, etc.,. These computers come with warranties, customer support (often worthless), and are reliable but use older parts.

Your 7600GS card needs to replaced, its long in the tooth for today's graphics. You can carry over your RAM, MS student Office, and monitor (assuming its a LCD screen).


If you decide to go with the first choice visit the home built section in Tom's forum, plenty of helpful people there can pick out parts and link you to web sites and video guides

If you prefer the second choice
a simple PC under $600 like one of these two
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

plus this card that will work with their power supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

will give you a very fast system capable of running world of warcraft with ease.

Janice, what I meant ( in GENERAL ) is if you have the will to build your own PC then you should go ahead w/o hesitation...

I normally tell peeps to stay away from pre-built PC's due to the fact that they normally come with generic parts and when it time to upgrade you have very little headroom.... I have a Dell XPS410 that was given to me as a gift back in 06 with a 4 year warranty... The warranty did no good cause Dell builds their PC's to last more than 4 years so you will most likely never have to use the warranty in the first place. Same scenario with HP, gateway and all the other comapnies that sell pre-builts....

So in all what I am trying to explain here is that when you build, you end-up with brand name parts that can be easily upgraded if needed and you save money since buying individual pieces of hardware is by far cheaper than having to buy a hole new pre-built PC......

1. I didn't flame you, i spoke the truth. The fact that it hurts you is all the more telling.
2. troll called you a noob so take your name calling issues up with him
3. the OP is a person not a peep, this is not third grade.
4. how do you know what people will regret? What gives you the right to make that decision for them?
5. your immaturity shows in every post you make. Perhaps when you move out of your parents house, get a job, have kids, pay bills, you may finally understand but frankly I have little desire to wait until 2050 to see if you finally understand....even if I'm still around.

CT im 32 years old, I have been in the IT industry for 15 years.... Part of my job consists of dealing with companies like Dell, HP and IBM.... This is just pathetic, never in a million years I would ever think that you would post such comments....

Anyways, Janice good luck with your new PC......

if you have been in the IT industry for 15 years then you know how inaccurate this statement is. I not going to defend any of those companies, they are what they are. But I would rather have someone purchase a recommended mass produced PC then turn them off by stating "building a PC is the only way to go" and they end up going to best buy, staples, office depot, etc., and are completely rip-offed.

Plenty of people come here looking for help and leave frustrated because people just tell them "build it yourself".

And yes, given the choice I would build my own over buying one of the PC mentioned above but I also respect people's desire not to do it.


It's cheaper and healthier to eat at home, yet I've never driven past a McDonald's that was empty.