Trying to buy a pre-built PC. Which is better? or neither?

[navid111]

Hi, I'm looking to buy a pre-built PC as I have no experience (and don't trust myself) to build one.

I'd like to spend at most $700 (Canadian) before taxes, don't need monitor or anything. For all-in-one purposes, play games from time to time but nothing too graphically intensive, games like Torch Light but I have no need to play on high settings.

I'm looking at these two
Lenovo IdeaCentre K430 - 2nd generation Intel Core i5-2320 3.0GHz, 12GB DDR3, 2TB HDD, 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 620, DVDRW, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3468714&CatId=2627

or

HP Pavilion 3rd Gen Intel Core i5-3450 Desktop Computer (P7-1459)

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/hewlett-packard-hp-pavilion-3rd-gen-intel-core-i5-3450-desktop-computer-p7-1459-p7-1459/10225558.aspx?path=a6c0fb7aaca6031b07782ed3acc6a8b1en02


or neither and keep looking?

 

[chugot9218]

Welll, they ain't too bad, but most on here are going to recommend building yourself as it is a much better value and you can get better specs. Have you looked into building at all yourself? It couldn't hurt to watch the Newegg videos and see how it looks to you, it is a lot easier than you would think as long as you prepare.

 

[mousseng]

I think 99% of the responses you'll get from us are pretty much what chugot said - building's not as difficult as you'd think. Here is a link to Newegg's guide that was mentioned above; it's broken up into several parts, so feel free to skip to Part 2 if you're just interested in the assembly (the rest is great info, though).

However, if you're set on buying a prebuilt, you don't want to get something from HP or Lenovo - those computers aren't really conducive to playing games enjoyably (however infrequent it may be, you don't want the experience to be unpleasant). I would personally opt for something such as this Vesta i3 3010 from NCIX - it starts at $600 and is pretty similar to something I'd put together. I'd advise upgrading the RAM (to 8GB) and the PSU (to the S12II 520) if you decide to go that route.

 

[Kamen_BG]

To be completely honest with you both of those systems will perform terribly at gaming.I mean they'll play new games like slideshows even on the lowest details.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227435
This one is much much better than both of them at gaming.The difference is more than 10 fold and still it's nothing compared to a homebuilt PC at this price range.

Im just going to link you to a list of PC parts which you can assemble at home and just get an amazing PC.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2P Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($53.99 @ Computer Valley)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.47 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($224.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($107.98 @ NCIX)
Total: $681.39
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

This PC is just far superior to all the other PC's in terms of both quality and performance.

BUT if you want faster browsing searching and a overall more responsive PC and are willing to cut the gaming power in half then this is the PC for you.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Memory Express)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.47 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V+200 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 6770 1GB Video Card ($79.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($107.98 @ NCIX)
Total: $722.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)