About to buy one of these computers... Help me decide.

CrispyDelicious · #1 10-14-2009, 07:00 AM

A while ago I posted a thread about computers and much thanks to those that responded - They steered me clear of purchasing something way more powerful (and expensive) than I needed. I bought a used PC and a used interface in the meantime to get my hands dirty with a little home recording, and now I want to get a new machine that will be able to do two things for me: Home recording and ... gaming. I've narrowed the choices down to two products available at my local Future Shop. I was hoping some folks could A/B them for pros and cons.

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...0128419&catid=

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...0125151&catid=

Which of these would be more multimedia friendly? I don't know enough about graphics cards to know which one is better.

Are the processors comparable? The RAM is the same. HDD could be upgraded later on the 750GB machine later, if needed, so that's not a major concern for me.

In a nutshell - which would be better for home recording and gaming (multimedia)?

santucci218 · #2 10-14-2009, 07:07 AM

personally, for the money, i would buy a Dell XPS 420. Both of those are decent though. If i had to pick one ide pick the second with the quad core AMD. Personal Preference that i personally would rather have an Intel processor, but when it comes to computer stuff, its all personal preference. Anyways, reading this more, DEFINITLY the second computer. 7200 rpm harddrive vs 5400 and such. Still check out the dell XPS stuff though. about the same specs, Intel<3 and you can usually smuggle a free monitor if you wait for a good special.

anyonefortennis · #3 10-14-2009, 08:09 AM

Agree with santucci. A 5400 rpm HD doesn't cut it for me and it's an easy way to speed up a PC (something that is sometimes overlooked). I can't even remember the last desktop I saw with a 5400 rpm drive (found more commonly on laptops). Also the HP mediasmart software is worthless. Came with my laptop and got rid of all of it.

Ever consider building your own? It's a fun, learning, and often frustrating experience.

CrispyDelicious · #4 10-14-2009, 08:09 AM

What aboot the graphics cards?

CrispyDelicious · #5 10-14-2009, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anyonefortennis

Agree with santucci. A 5400 rpm HD doesn't cut it for me and it's an easy way to speed up a PC (something that is sometimes overlooked). I can't even remember the last desktop I saw with a 5400 rpm drive (found more commonly on laptops). Also the HP mediasmart software is worthless. Came with my laptop and got rid of all of it.

Ever consider building your own? It's a fun, learning, and often frustrating experience.

I've considered it. But I really know nothing about computers. Without help I would likely succeed in nothing more than breaking components, botching software, and ending up very very confused.

anyonefortennis · #6 10-14-2009, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrispyDelicious

What aboot the graphics cards?

Sometimes I think some video cards are overrated. Unless you want to run games at high FPS, that 512mb should be sufficient. Both of those systems come with 8gb of RAM so when the 512 dedicated to video are used up, it will start "borrowing" from your RAM which you have plenty of.

McHaven · #7 10-14-2009, 08:13 AM

Check out www.slickdeals.net occasionally and you can find some amazing deals on PCs.

playinpearls · #8 10-14-2009, 08:20 AM

when you buy a name brand pc it comes loaded with a bunch of crap that will slow down your computer. everything from their super duper network connector tool, or 65 ways to connect to AOL, or 200 spam flash games that you would never want to get caught playing. If you really want to get a name brand pc, try to see if you can get it with xp pro. That at least cuts out the advertisment programs and games.

try here:

www.tigerdirect.com

putting it together is really not hard at all. Most of the time each thing will only fit in one slot, one way! They also sell fully assembled pc's without all the crap.

i'd say the hardest part of building is connecting the little wires from the power switch to the motherboard, cause its a small space. If you get an asus motherboard, they make it a lot easier with a little adapter. Everything comes with instructions and tells you exactly the steps you need to take.

its easy, especailly with sata drives...

tiger direct has computers for sale, bare bones pc's which usually lack 1-2 parts or just an operating system, or you can fully customize by picking your own parts. I would suggest a bare-bones pc. That way you know that everything is compatable. Just pick one that has every component. (motherboard, cpu, hard drive, memory, video card) you'll have to pick a cd or dvd burner separate, but they make suggestions for you. they all come with cases and pwer supplies.

you could also take a look at pricewatch.com . they have the same deal with barbones pc's, but the layout is much easier when you click on the link cause they let you upgrade right there on the screen.

if you do decide to build, we are all just a PM away. I would be glad to help you out...

playinpearls · #9 10-14-2009, 08:35 AM

here are some good step by step instructions on building, in case you want to explore that option...

http://cr.yp.to/hardware/assembly.html

CrispyDelicious · #10 10-14-2009, 08:35 AM

I'm checking out the barebones PC's now. Interesting - I had no idea there were, wel, I guess you would call them "starter kits".

Amazing though - even as the Canadian dollar approaches parity, there is a $300 difference depending on whether you buy from the .com or .ca website.

I'm intrigued though. It seems like it could be fun - but really how feasible of an idea is this considering I have no previous experiences delving into the insides of a computer?

mjolnir · #11 10-14-2009, 09:02 AM

Just a thought:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883227161

Newegg is great for computer deals.

CrispyDelicious · #12 10-14-2009, 01:00 PM

b-b-b-bump

any more opinions on those comps, especially their graphics capabilities? Am I about to buy sub-par product? I always like to go in knowing more than the sales rep expects me to.

MJ5150 · #13 10-14-2009, 08:46 PM

I don't have any problems buying prebuilt PC's. I just reload the OS once I get it and put on what I want.

I got a sweet Gateway at Best Buy a couple months ago for $450 out the door. It isn't a hard core gaming PC, so I would not recommend it to you though.

-Mike

NJL · #14 10-14-2009, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ5150

I don't have any problems buying prebuilt PC's. I just reload the OS once I get it and put on what I want.

This

Valerus · #15 10-14-2009, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrispyDelicious

b-b-b-bump

any more opinions on those comps, especially their graphics capabilities? Am I about to buy sub-par product? I always like to go in knowing more than the sales rep expects me to.

that first HP Pavilion only has 512 MB of Graphics processing. Which isn't bad. But I'd suggest at least 1 GB. I have two GeForce 8800GTX's equating at 2GB of graphics RAM. But my computer cost me way too much two years ago

anyonefortennis · #16 10-14-2009, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ5150

I don't have any problems buying prebuilt PC's. I just reload the OS once I get it and put on what I want.

I got a sweet Gateway at Best Buy a couple months ago for $450 out the door. It isn't a hard core gaming PC, so I would not recommend it to you though.

-Mike

Make sure to download all drivers before wiping it out

Done this too many times and then no NIC driver - no internet - no way to get NIC driver with no connection = FAIL.

NJL · #17 10-14-2009, 09:41 PM

MJ5150 · #18 10-14-2009, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anyonefortennis

Make sure to download all drivers before wiping it out

Done this too many times and then no NIC driver - no internet - no way to get NIC driver with no connection = FAIL.

Good point. I do have more than one computer, so if I do miss something, I won't be stranded.

-Mike

NJL · #19 10-14-2009, 09:43 PM

what about comps that are no longer coming with OS/driver/app disks?? just remembered that..

Valerus · #20 10-14-2009, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anyonefortennis

Make sure to download all drivers before wiping it out

Done this too many times and then no NIC driver - no internet - no way to get NIC driver with no connection = FAIL.

haha it's happened to me 3 times? i need to download it from driver genius' database. but to be able to download the driver, I need the driver itself.

then the space-time continuum ceases to exist.