help me buy a pc
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- 16 Responses
- hollason
hey i have a mac g4 400 but i also want to buy a pc. since i dont know much about pcs and whats good and not i was hoping some of you pc ppl can help me out. im on a tite budget $400max. all i need is the computer i already have a old monitor i can use. im planning on using my pc for online gaming, internet, and heavy 3d applications.
- k0na_an0k0
build your own. find a local computer shop and buy only what you need for your pc.
i did that for a client. i bought 8 computers and put them together for $450 a piece. nice systems too.
- mbr0
I'd look at some refurbished Dells or Gateways. They've got great deals, and great support.
That's not much, most decent graphic cards will cost half that much.
Maybe look at used systems, too. I am totally against building my own system, but that's because I like spending my time learning the nuances of my 3D apps and designing. But that's me.
- unknown0
wow this hasn't turned into a pc vs. mac debate yet?
- 8dot30
look into the nvdia nforce motherboard chipset. that has real good video, network and sound cards built in.
then set yourself up with a nice athlon xp cpu and 256 megs of ram from crucial.
grab a cheap hard drive and your all set. oh, and you would need windows too. shit.
the systems at your price point wont be to great, if your gonna get anything get a dell i would say. but again, at $400 your gonna get the cheapest parts they have around.
- artboy0
$400 won't buy you much, but don't waste your money on a used computer. Save up longer if you have to.
Second the opinion on building your own (the only way to go if you're on a tight budget and want decent stuff). Also second the opinion on the Athlon+Nforce 2 setup.
Think about what you want to use the PC for and build it around that. "Heavy 3d" implies a larger outlay of money than surfing the internet.
- sp0
I just built a friend a system, ATX case w/ powersupply, AMD Athlon 1800 xp processor, Asus mo-board and a 40 gig hard drive for 390.
It's almost as fast as my dual processor sgi. Almost.
he just needs to buy a vid card now. You can get up to 64 RAM graphic cards for under 90 bucks easy, now.
You're looking at around 500 for a great box...especially for just surfing and gaming. If you can squeeze that extra hundred out, it's well worth it.
This was of course no OS. It was loaded with Linux. So that didn't cost me anything.
:)
- unknown0
want to buy a pc?
why would anybody would want that? well, never mind.
my advise?
it doesntmatter what you get, me, xp, 2000, 3.11 its all the same..
:)
- swollini0
i am really happy with my sony vaio, it's so fast, got a dual monitor set up, and i can watch tv with the included gadget also a TIVO. dvd burner, and it was only 1700 buck without monitor.
add some ram for 3d. expandable to 1gig.
good deal.
- figit0
you'll be hard pressed to game and model on a sub 400 box but here is a start.
pricewatch.com...
mobo, p3 1gig cpu, fan = 150geforce3 ti 200 = 80
256mb ddr @ 2400mghz = 45
40 gig HD spinning @ 5200 rpm = 60
sound blaster audigy platinum = 60
this puts you at 395 shipped ... but you need a case/power supply. Go here for killer sheet' www.colorcases.com
good luck! I was trained on a mac and haven't been back on one since. Sitting on a dual zeon based box now, have a mac here for testing but there is no comparison when it comes to versatility and 3rd party support.
-m
- swollini0
my boss went the "build your own" way. we had so much trouble with it. a lot. the funny thing was that he built another one with the same parts and that one worked. the sony factory line made mine perfect! =)
- sp0
Yea, but not only are Intel boards shit but they are at least 30-50 dollars more expensive than AMD.
Plus, shy buy a P3, 1gig when you can get an AMD 1.8 XP?
Doesn't make much sense.
AMD chips run better than Intel chips anyday and are cheaper.
Together, board and processor ran about 125-130 for a 1.8 gig.
Oh, I forgot about the 256 meg of ram we put in the box.
Still under 400 bucks including case.
- andre_k0
i recently bought a pc for 400 and it was as good as it gets (for that price).
athlon 1.4
256mb RAM
40 GIG drive
40x CD-R
ATi 7500its nice. I updated the ram to a gig, and now it flyes. Defenatelly worth the money.
- hollason0
hey thanks for all the informative responses. i think i have a good sense of what i can and cant get wit 400 now. andre k where did you get your computer at that price?
- bjm0
Building is easy. I did mine about 6 months ago (first time). Athalon xp 1900+, samsung ram 512 ddr 2700, 60 gig @ 7200, MSI motherboard, geforce 4. It was like $1000.
VAIO's are really nice, but they are not a good deal. They do look really smooth though.
I bought all my stuff from:
they have windows XP for less then $99.
- ********0
I would say build a frankenstein. Have one put together at places like http://www.compu-terra.com I built my own from their specs and got one for $350. Works fine, all I needed besides what they gave me was a modem, which was like 30 bucks at BestBuy.
- ********0
no really mine works really well, not one single problem for a year. Got a 20GB HD and 256RAM