What Do You Think of This PC for Mainly Home Use?

[mike1]

I hope this is the correct forum for this post.I just bought this PC fort $999.99 less monitor.
What do you think of it?

The PC will be used for mainly browsing, Office 2007, using Google Earth, and eventually for gaming. Also, I need to replace the video adapter w/ one that'll increase the
video performance. Ideally, the video card replacement will not force
me to upgrade the power supply.

(see performance measures after PC specs)

http://tinyurl.com/yaswhlu

Processor & Memory:

* AMD Phenom™ II X4 Processor 965 (3.4GHz)
* AMD 760G / SB710 chipset
* 8GB DDR3 SDRAM memory, 16GB MAX

Drives:

* 2TB SATA Hard Drive
* 8x DVD±RW / Blu-Ray Combo Drive
* Front panel 19-in-1 multimedia card reader

Graphics & Video:

* ATI Radeon HD 5450 Video Card w/1GB VRAM, VGA/DVI/HDMI ports, DX11 Support

Communications:

* 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN

Audio:

* 8-channel capable audio with Jack Sensing

Keyboard & Mouse:

* USB Desktop Keyboard
* USB Optical Mouse

Expandability (total bays):

* 2 x 5.25" external
* 1 x 3.5" external
* 4 x 3.5" internal
* 1 x PCIe x16
* 1 x PCIe x1
* 2 x PCI

Ports and Slots:

* 1x HDMI port
* 1x DVI port
* 1x VGA port (15-pin)
* 8x USB 2.0 (2 front, 6 rear)
* 1x PS/2
* 6x Audio ports
* RJ-45 (LAN)
* 1x eSATA port

Operating System & Software:

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

Additional Information:

* CPU Dimensions: 14.2" H x 7.1" W x 15.4" D
* Power Supply: 300W
* 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
*********************************************************

Windows 7 Performance Test Results

Component Details Subscore Base score: 3.7
Determined by lowest subscore
Processor AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 965 Processor 7.4

Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB 7.5
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 5400 Series 3.7
Gaming graphics 4083 MB Total available graphics memory 5.8
Primary hard disk 1831GB Free (1863GB Total) 5.9
Windows 7 Home Premium
********************************************************

 

[aford10]

They really cut cost on the motherboard, video card, and PSU. Most likely, you'll have to upgrade the PSU, if you get any kind of quality video card.

 

[iggybeans]

Yeah, I don't get the combination of that nice processor, ram, and hard drive with those other components either.
And that power supply is smaller than I'd feel comfortable with, even without upgrading the video card.

 

[captaincharisma]

yea that is a pretty weak PSU to have in a PC but it is fine for what you want to do with it now.

BUT!! for any upgrades you want to do with it a bigger PSU is a must.

 

[Ubrales]

I recommend a Corsair >750 Watts PSU - during gaming, when temps go higher, the PSU output goes down - this must be taken into consideration.

CM HAF 932 - EVGA 141-BL-E760-A1 Classified - Intel i7-920 DO @ 2.66 GHz (OC to 3.35 GHz) - CM V8 - Corsair CMPSU-850HX 850W RT - EVGA 896-P3-1171-AR - GTX 275 R (GeForce) - Corsair Dominator DDR3-1600 – (6x2GB) 12GB Model CMD12GX3M6A1600C8 - Windows 7 – 64-bit - Seagate 1TB x3 (2 of these are in RAID1 for data) - ST31000528AS - Two R/W DVD - Linksys WMP600N Wireless dual band PCI card - Scythe Fans Controller - Logisys Multi card reader - Dell 2208WFP 22” LCD Monitor - Bose Companion II Speakers - External backup: Seagate 1TB
---------------------
Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges! (Treasure of the Sierra Madre)

 

[mike1]

I was reading reviews of this line of PCs on the Costco website before I bought the PC. Other PCs used ASUS m/bs. I thought the PSU was small. I paid $999.00 for it. I don't think I could get anything else for that amount money. What do you think?

 

[duk3]

If you are playing games and don't want to build a system, check out one of these sites:
http://www.ibuypower.com/
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

 

[aford10]

They did what a lot of OEM retailers do. They try to wow customers with their fast CPU and huge hard drives. Most don't know to look beyond that.

Here's a system with the Phenom 965, better chipset, better video card, 700w PSU, and DDR3 1600.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227227

 

[captaincharisma]

I just bought this PC fort $999.99 less monitor.
What do you think of it?

why are you recommending systems when he already bought the PC?

 

[aford10]

I just bought this PC fort $999.99 less monitor.
What do you think of it?

why are you recommending systems when he already bought the PC?

The OP asked what we thought of the one he purchased. I said what I thought of it, then linked a similar priced system. It's not a suggestion to buy it, it's a comparison to back up my 2 cents.

 

[mike1]

Thanks for the PC recommendations.
I'm seriously thinking I might return the PC because it'll cost at lr]east another three hunder to configure it for occasional gaming.

 

[r_manic]

Best answer selected by r_manic.