Help for a noob core i7 860, Phenom II X4 945 or core 2 quad 9400

[michial]

Any help is appreciated for my situation.

Iam a casual gamer but appreciate good graphics and smooth frame rates: but not hardcore by any means. I will not video edit or anything fancy. I will play games like COD4, WOW, Batman AA,etc while downloading torrents, streaming music and vids to my plasma etc. That is the extent of my multi-tasking. Iam coming from a 3 year old laptop(AMD Turian 64) I want a desktop and have tried to research as much as possible. The more I study the more I get confused. I will not overclock intentionally so that is not an issue to me. I just want a decent system with a lot of power and a few years of future-proofing. I have about 1200 to spend. I also wont build a system. Iam cool with replacing a psu, gpu and ram but thats about it at this stage. Down the line I may get into more building. Thats the background. Ive seen a few systems of interest. I know some come with crappy gpu's and low psu, but maybe a suggestion could be made on what is a good one to suit my casual needs.

Costco has this
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ZT Affinity 7337Ma
Phenom II X4 945 3.0GHz
Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium
19-in-1 Media Card Reader
Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Item # 466520

Rated 5 out of 5
Rating Snapshot (1 review)
5 stars 1 4 stars 0 3 stars 0 2 stars 0 1 star 0 (out of 1 review)
Share this Product:
1 of 1 (100%) customers would recommend this product to a friend.

$599.99
Shipping & Handling included *
The estimated delivery time will be approximately
7 - 10 business days from the time of order.
Qty: Product Details Shipping & Terms Product Reviews (1)
Learn more about Windows 7.




An award-winning American manufacturer, ZT Systems is celebrating 15 years building high quality PCs right here in the USA. All ZT computers feature Lifetime 24x7 Toll Free Technical Support.

Processor & Memory:

AMD Phenom™ II X4 Processor 945 (3.0GHz)
AMD 780V / SB700 chipset
8GB DDR2 SDRAM memory (4 x 2GB, shared)
Drives:

1TB (7,200RPM) SATA Hard Drive
22x max DVD±RW optical drive
Front panel 19-in-1 multimedia card reader
Graphics & Video:

Integrated ATI Radeon™ HD 3100 graphics with DVI
Communications:

10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Audio:

8-channel capable audio with Jack Sensing
Keyboard & Mouse:

ZT 104-Key Desktop Keyboard
ZT Optical Mouse
Expandability (total bays):

2 x 5.25" external (1 occupied)
2 x 3.5" external (1 occupied)
4 x 3.5" internal (1 occupied)
1 x PCIe x16
1 x PCIe x1
2 x PCI
Ports and Slots:

DVI port
VGA port (15-pin)
6 x USB 2.0
2 x PS/2
6 in 1 Audio-out port
RJ-45 (LAN)
Operating System & Software:

Microsoft® Windows 7 Premium - 64 bit
Symantec Norton Internet Security 2009 (90-day trial)
Additional Information:

CPU Dimensions: 14.25" H x 7.2" W x 16.5" D
CPU weight (approximate): 25 lbs.
Power Supply: 300W ATX
Hardware Warranty: 2-year limited hardware parts and labor from date of purchase
Lifetime 24/7 toll-free phone support
Email and fax support from 9am-6pm EST
For information, visit www.ztsystems.com/support
[Model Affinity 7337Ma]

and this:
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ZT Systems
Core i7 920 2.66GHz
Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium
19-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
Gigabit Ethernet LAN
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS
Item # 474371

Rated 5 out of 5
Rating Snapshot (4 reviews)
5 stars 4 4 stars 0 3 stars 0 2 stars 0 1 star 0 (out of 4 reviews)
Share this Product:
4 of 4 (100%) customers would recommend this product to a friend.

$999.99
Shipping & Handling included
The estimated delivery time will be approximately
7 - 10 business days from the time of order.
Qty:
Product Recommendations

Click Here for Hard Drives, Mice, Keyboards, Networking & Speakers


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HannsG 28" Wide Monitor
True 1080P with HDMI
3ms 800:1 500 cd/m2
$299.99
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Learn more about Windows 7.




An award-winning American manufacturer, ZT Systems is celebrating 15 years building high quality PCs right here in the USA. All ZT computers feature Lifetime 24/7 Toll Free Technical Support.


Processor & Memory:

Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 920 (2.66GHz)

8MB Intel Smart Cache
Intel X58 + ICH10R chipset
12GB DDR3 SDRAM triple channel memory (2GB x 6)
Drives:

1TB (7,200RPM) SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
DVD±RW optical drive
Front Panel 19-in-1 digital multimedia card reader
Graphics & Video:

512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400 GS graphics
VGA and DVI outputs
Communications:

10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Audio:

Flexible 8-channel capable audio with jack sensing
Keyboard & Mouse:

ZT 104-Key Desktop Keyboard
ZT Optical Mouse
Expandability (total bays):

4 x 5.25" external
2 x 3.5" external
3 x 3.5" internal
2 x PCIe x16
1 x PCIe x4
1 x PCI
Ports and Slots (total):

6 x USB 2.0 ports
1 x IEEE1394 (FireWire)
1 x eSATA
2 x PS/2
1 x RJ45 (LAN)
1x 6-in-1 Audio Jack
Operating System:

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium - 64 bit
Additional Software:

Symantec Norton Internet Security 2009 (90-day trial)
Additional Information:

CPU dimensions: 17.5" D x 8.5" W x 20.75" H
Power supply: 430W
Lifetime, 24/7 toll-free phone support
Email and fax support from 9am-6pm EST
For information, visit www.ztsystems.com/support
[Model Affinity 7425Ti-41]

or this
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Hot Buy
Dell Inspiron 545
Intel Q9400 2.66GHz
19-in-1 Card Reader
16x DVD+/-RW
AX210 Speakers
Windows® Vista Home Premium 64-bit
2-Year Warranty
Item # 480298

Rated 3.3 out of 5
Rating Snapshot (4 reviews)
5 stars 1 4 stars 1 3 stars 1 2 stars 0 1 star 1 (out of 4 reviews)
Share this Product:
3 of 4 (75%) customers would recommend this product to a friend.

$799.97
Shipping & Handling included *
Qty:
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Hot Buy:




While supplies last.






Click on the Windows 7 free upgrade button above for instructions on how to receive your copy of Windows 7 when it becomes available.




Warranty & Returns:

Dell 2-Year Limited Hardware Warranty
Returns accepted within 90 days from date of purchase
Processor & Memory:

Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q9400 (2.66GHz)
6MB L2 Cache
1333MHz Fron Side Bus
8GB DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz (4 x 2GB) (Shared)
Drives:

750GB 7200RPM SATA II Hard Drive
16X DVD+/-RW Drive
Graphics & Video:

Dell S2309W 23" Widescreen LCD

Integrated GMA X4500 Graphics (Shared)

Communications:

56k PCI Data Fax Modem
Integrated NIC Card
Audio:

Integrated 5.1 Channel Audio
Dell AX210 USB Stereo Speakers
Keyboard & Mouse:

Dell Consumer Multimedia Keyboard
Dell USB Optical Mouse
Slots:

PCIe x 1: 1 slot
PCIe x 16: 1 slot
PCI: 2 slots

Front Ports:

2x USB 2.0 Ports
1x Headphone Connector
1x Microphone Connector
Rear Ports:

1x VGA Connector
4x USB 2.0 Ports
1x RJ-45 Port
1x Microphone Connector
1x Line-in/Line-out Connector
Drive Bays:

Two 3.5" Bays
Two 5.25" Bays
Memory DIMMS: 4 slots
Chassis:

CPU Dimensions (H x W x D): 14.8" x 6.93" x 17.44"

Weight: approximately 17.4 lbs.

Operating System:

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit

Additional Software:

Microsoft Works 9.0
McAfee SecurityCenter 30-Day
Roxio Creator
Adobe Acrobat Reader
[Model 490142410]


Best Buy has this



New! Dell - Studio XPS Desktop with Intel® Core™ i7 Processor - Black
Model: SX8000-2361 | SKU: 9532749
Intel® Core™ i7-860 processor; 8GB DDR3 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 1TB hard drive; wireless network mini card; Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Intel® Core™ i7-860 processor
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8GB DDR3 memory
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Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support
Records up to 8.5GB of data or 4 hours of video using compatible media.
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NVIDIA GeForce GTS240 graphics
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Supports Secure Digital, miniSD, microSD, Secure Digital High Capacity, MultiMediaCard, Reduced-Size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC), MultiMediaCard Plus, RD MultiMediaCard Plus and MultiMediaCard Micro formats.
Also supports Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick Micro, CompactFlash I/II, SmartMedia, xD-Picture Card and Microdrive formats.
IEEE 1394 (FireWire) interface and 8 high-speed USB 2.0 ports
Both front and rear accessible for fast digital data transfer and easy peripheral connectivity. eSATA interface for additional connection options.
Dell 1505 WLAN PCI-E card with 11n mini card and external antenna
Lets you connect to the Web wirelessly.
Built-in 10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN
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Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64-bit operating system preinstalled
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Software package included
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Intel, Pentium, Celeron, Centrino, Core, Viiv, Intel Inside and the Intel Inside logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
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Thanks for your help. All suggestions are appreciated.

 

[loneninja]

Well if you want to game, you'll be putting a new video card into any of those as they all have integrated/very weak video cards not meant for good 3d performance.

 

[michial]

Well if you want to game, you'll be putting a new video card into any of those as they all have integrated/very weak video cards not meant for good 3d performance.

The Dell has the following video card
NVIDIA GeForce GTS240 graphics

would that suit my needs?

Should I get the AMD for 600 bucks and buy a nice gpu and psu?

 

[mindless728]

The Dell has the following video card
NVIDIA GeForce GTS240 graphics

would that suit my needs?

Should I get the AMD for 600 bucks and buy a nice gpu and psu?

why not build the system from scratch instead

 

[ordos96]

Building from scratch will probably be the best way to get the most for your buck. Or you can pick up a bare bones core i7 kit for 700-1000. I highly recommend the core i7 processor, i have been using one for a while now and am very pleased with the performance.

 

[jennyh]

If a person doesn't have the first clue about building pc's then suggesting they do that will appear outrageous suggestion even though it's a very easy thing.

Most people see pc's as being more complex than tv's and dvd players. I could build you a pc no problem but I couldn't build you a tv.

 

[someguy7]

I did not read all the specs for the machines you listed. Just the cpus.

I would leave out the q9400 cpu. Its not bad but its just not worth it to build a new system with it.

I would get which ever system is cheaper. Which will be the AMD 945 most of the time. Make sure your system has a nice graphics card for your gaming needs. Either cpu will do just fine. So get whats cheaper and spend more on the graphics side.

 

[michial]

I did not read all the specs for the machines you listed. Just the cpus.

I would leave out the q9400 cpu. Its not bad but its just not worth it to build a new system with it.

I would get which ever system is cheaper. Which will be the AMD 945 most of the time. Make sure your system has a nice graphics card for your gaming needs. Either cpu will do just fine. So get whats cheaper and spend more on the graphics side.

The AMD I listed only had DDR2. How much of a factor will that make? Remember I am coming from a Turian laptop that is 3 years old. Costco has that Phenom II 945 with 12 GB DDR2 1 TB HDD for $599.99. They sell the GTX260 card for 179.99 and I can get a power supply from compusa. Will I need to get another PSU if I upgrade to a gtx260 card. I really cannot afford more than $200 for a gpu at this time but maybe you all have suggestions on a better card and the power supply I would need. But would the ddr2 be a deal breaker on this? Thanks again for your help and forgive me for my noobness to this all.

 

[ordos96]

DDR2 still runs great and with a 64-bit OS you can bring it up to 8 GB and have all the RAM that you should need for a few years. The GTX 260 is not a bad card by any means, but you may also want to check out either the ATI 5750 or 5770. These are also great cards that run a bit cheaper. Also these cards are designed with full support for DirectX 11 which is bundled with Windows 7. The 5750 can be purchased from tigerdirect.com or new egg.com for about 140. Both of these sites have great reputations and good customer service. But if you are uncomfortable with buying online compusa may also carry these cards.

 

[michial]

DDR2 still runs great and with a 64-bit OS you can bring it up to 8 GB and have all the RAM that you should need for a few years. The GTX 260 is not a bad card by any means, but you may also want to check out either the ATI 5750 or 5770. These are also great cards that run a bit cheaper. Also these cards are designed with full support for DirectX 11 which is bundled with Windows 7. The 5750 can be purchased from tigerdirect.com or new egg.com for about 140. Both of these sites have great reputations and good customer service. But if you are uncomfortable with buying online compusa may also carry these cards.

what size psu would I need for the 5750 or 5770? thank you

 

[ordos96]

These are pretty efficient and have a lot of future potential, but you should be fine on a 450 Watt or a 500 Watt. If you later decide to run these in Xfire then you may want to go with a 600Watt to be on the safe side but you can still probably run 2 in Xfire with a 500 Watt with no problems.