[Solved] Which comp should I get?

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/sys/2164334731.html

or

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/sys/2162416012.html

Both same price which is about my budget but I don't know much about comps. I'm looking to run Shogun 2 and Starcraft 2 both on 1920x1080 smoothly at least on medium settings or higher. I'd like if it could handle big fights without a lot of choppy frame rates. If it could run some newer shooters like Black Ops or Battlefield 3 even though the specs aren't out if you guys know around what the specs should be that would be nice aswell

Thanks

The one with 1000W Modular PSU looks a lot more promising than the one with 500W from a no-name brand.

Not to mention the burden of crossfired 4850s on a 500W PSU. And the seller said that it's new. Which leads to the suspicion: "What happened to the previous one?"

But 2GB of RAM may not be enough to run current games at high settings.

Both aren't an ideal gaming PC IMO. But if I were you, I'd prefer the one with HD4890 and 1000W PSU. The other one doesn't seem so stable, looking at how the seller handle and abuse the PSU. 500W for crossfire and OC? I won't even wanna imagine what happened to the old PSU (read: fried).

The HD4890 (equal to HD5770, maybe better due to the OC feature) and quad core Phenom should handle the games well at your preferred screen resolution. But you might wanna get a dual channel 4GB kit for a smooth gameplay.

Keep in mind just because its 1000 watts doesnt mean its any good. I'd go with the second one and maybe throw a better psu at it .

Being a DIY builder, I never have any faith in used PCs. I'd build myself a new one if I were you. But that's just a suggestion.

Among the 3 PCs, I still think that the one with 1000W modular PSU is the better option. Reason is, because PSU is a vital component in a PC. The seller obviously knows about this and decided to get an overkill 1000W PSU for a 600W rig. I call that precautious (or paranoid) Either way, it's a good thing.

Although you might wanna check the PSU brand. I believe it's from a reliable brand due to the high wattage and modular feature. But it never hurts to check.

The third one on the other hand, is quite compelling. BUT, the 9800GTX specs are lower than the HD4890. See if you can get him to install an HD5770 or equivalent.

Between throwing a new $60 600W PSU and a new $40 4GB kit, I think a $20 margin is something.

Besides, it's not about the PSU. It's about the other PC's reliabilty. By the time the old PSU smokes out, who can guarantee that the other components aren't affected? Mind you, that both PCs are used items.

Yep fully aware. Thats why it is good practice to fully test things before you buy them. Both are QC's. I'd go with the one with double the ram double the graphics/CF setup and a better boad (IMO foxconn is garbage) If it tests out spring the 60 for a new psu and go with the second one. You will have a better machine in the end of it. Maybe you can even sell the old psu for 20 or 30 bucks on CL : )

SC2 is a graphic intensive game. Meaning you'll need a powerful graphic card to run it at high resolution.

I've seen games with an i7 CPU as standard requirement. But the truth is, graphic card is the key factor.

With that being said, it comes down to 2 choices: DIY with a good GPU (preferably an HD5770 or the better GTX460) or buy a used PC.

$400 is indeed short for a gaming PC budget. But, you're forgetting one thing: you live in the USA Where the computer parts prices are cheap. Newegg, Tigerdirect and Microcenter are at your disposal. Make the most of it. Only if you find that they don't meet your expectations, go for the used PCs.

I'd say, you got a very good chance of getting good parts at low prices.

Thanks for your help again guys. There's a very low chance I will be able to pick up another $200 to spend on a new computer soon but If I do I'll use your $600 build. That build is capable of running SC2 on medium settings at 1920x1080 right? I also have some other questions. Is there any builds for $400's? Let's say I couldn't build a computer what would you recommend me getting from the CL links I posted above that could handle SC2 at 1920x1080. Thanks!

Dude im tellin ya. If you want the best out of box gaming experience look into the 2nd one. get your buddy to come with you and help you test it out.If it checks out buy it and get a new PSU.You get a Quad core Black edition 4850's in CF 4GB RAM and a gigabyte board. Plus CL is all about haggling and making offers. Tell him you are a little sketched out on the PSU and you'll give him 350, take the 50 saved and buy a PSU. Problem solved

A new PC is nice from the stand point its brand new & its always fun to build a new rig.But if your main priority is raw power to price you will not reach the performance/quality/value level of the prebuilt rig going new build. I'd test the hell out of it and if it passes id buy it in a heart beat.

This is the closest to spec i could build a new rig, they are actually pretty close with the practical swich to DDR3 If building a new rig

CPU & MOBO COMBO-$186.98 Phenom II 565/Gigabyte GA770T USB3.0
Possibility of unlock to quad- not guaranteed.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.581280

RAM-$64.99-OCZ Platinum 4GB DDR3 1600 (2x2)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227572

Graphics Cards-$229.98-2X XFX Radeon 4850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

PSU-$69.99-Raidmax 700W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817152042

OS-Win7 HP-$99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116754

HDD-$49.99-WD Caviar Blue 500GB

CD DRIVE-$16.99-LG CD/DVD Burner

Case-$49.99-Coolermaster HAF
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119233

TOTAL $768.91, The choice is yours

Well here's the thing, I'll break down pros and cons to building your PC.

Pros
It's fun, you get the fun to building your own PC!
You get to pick your parts.
All parts are new.
All parts are under warranty, or are assured.
It can be cheaper to build it by yourself depending on the other builds price.
Future proofed
Cons
Software isn't pre-installed.
You'll have to buy Win7 so that'll increase price to more like 700$.
May be hard for you but I found it pretty easy to do it myself.
Performance may or may not be better.
Raw performance

So that's my list, I actually think that unless you have 700$ don't go for building your own because it isn't exactly worth it unless your willing to put the money in. I will tell you now, that the CF 4850's isn't exactly as good as it was and will continue to decrease in performance as new games get updated and the 4850's tech becomes older.

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts [...] .html?prod[4604]=on&prod[4511]=on&prod[4541]=on

That is an example, the 9800 GTX+ Defiantly will not be able handle 1920x1080 gameplay very well, but so won't the 460. The 4850's get a little better FPS but not buy a lot. You could overclock your 460 and it'll reach the perf of the CF 4850's quite possibly. Also the 460 has DX11, games are slowly going for DX11 development.

But going with the 590$ build, the one that include the 925, it'll defiantly reach the performance of those other builds. BUT again you'll have to buy your own software which is kind of the downside of the building your PC.

EDIT: You can put your disk drive from your old build in, yes.

Thanks man! So just to verify with your $600 build on the squidoo site, that will be able to handle games like SC2 on at least medium settings at full res? Thanks

Best answer selected by spartaKUSH.

Well I would suggest getting the 460 GTX 1gb. But if your aunt works for a part of Nvidia (parts) then wait for the GTX 560, that's going to be 250$ and should give you performance near the 6950's level. So yeah, wait for the 560, the 465 and 470 are based on the older Fermi GF design and is hot and power consuming, not like the 460.