How familiar are you with hardware, and perhaps "rolling your own" PC?
That could help steer the discussion. 
█ Players Guide to the Cities
I've reached that magic age where "rolling my own" isn't worth the effort when balanced against the limited time I have available (traveling on a new job, taking care of two 16-year olds, keeping hubby happy, and chasing the AARP away from my door with a shotgun). :-)
For $1k you can really build a beast of a machine. You say you are limiteing it to local stores.. does online fit into that. cause you will almost certainly find your best deal online
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Dell Studio XPS 8000/9000 machines could be a good starting point.
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Originally Posted by Dr. Overdose
For $1k you can really build a beast of a machine. You say you are limiteing it to local stores.. does online fit into that. cause you will almost certainly find your best deal online
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█ Players Guide to the Cities
I second Stalemates XPS suggestion. I broke down and bought a pre-assembled computer last year after many years of building my own and my Dell XPS has been a solid machine. It can handle pretty much anything that I play with ease.
Tech Support Rule #1 - They will lie to you. Usually intentionally.
I used to be a huge fan of Dell but ever since they bought out alienware i have had issues. (But thats not the point here). I actually earlier this year got a pc from IBUYPOWER.com and if you know what you want and have the skills to know whats compatable with what you can get a fairly good deal with them. but you do have to be careful their online builder doesnt list whats compatable with what.
for the same price you are looking at i got a quad core and a gtx 285 with 4 gig of ram from ibuypower. but that was also sans-OS since i could get that free from work.
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That's almost exactly my story!|
Originally Posted by Ura Hero
I second Stalemates XPS suggestion. I broke down and bought a pre-assembled computer last year after many years of building my own and my Dell XPS has been a solid machine. It can handle pretty much anything that I play with ease.
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Got me a XPS720 (silver and red) and love it. If I'm not miskaken this was the rig they used last year at HeroCon.
█ Players Guide to the Cities
I was walking through Best Buy and my wife motioned me to come over to where she was at. She pointed out this XPS sitting on the floor that was marked down. At first I started to walk off, but then decided that I would read the specs. After reading the specs I figured out that if I spent the same amount of money on a new graphics card and extra memory for the computer I had I only would spend $50 more for the XPS. Geek Squad had used it as a test bed and it had a ton of junk installed on it. After reformatting and reinstalling Windows, it has been solid. For the money spent I have been very happy with it.
Tech Support Rule #1 - They will lie to you. Usually intentionally.
going back to the "rolling your own" part of the discussion, would buying a premade PC from wherever you would buy your parts, if you were to build your own from, be an option?
Thats what I did when i bought my new PC.
Some places like that even let you customize what you want for parts and will build it for you.
The only problem I've ever had with premade systems from the likes of Dell or Hp is that if something goes wrong with it after the warranty expires, it's not always easy to repair.
My MA Arcs: [29581 - A Knight to Remember] [107587 - Upgrade] [41834 - Construction Blues]
Playing on: Protector - Guardian - Victory
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Originally Posted by JJ_Knight
...The only problem I've ever had with premade systems from the likes of Dell or Hp is that if something goes wrong with it after the warranty expires, it's not always easy to repair.
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Good point, one that is easily overlooked.
In the case of my (older model) XPS the parts are all pretty much serviceable / upgradeable. Even the motherboard. I added another couple of HDs right away to get a stripeset going for the OS and progs, with the default drive now serving as backup OS and storage for the multimedia streamed through TVersity to the XBox360 in the living room.
...I got carried away off topic again.
On some other models (HP for example), you can't even replace the power supply with a third party option. I've even seen models where you had to get graphic cards from the manufacturer directly since hey had to be built to fit the innards of the smaller case perfectly.
█ Players Guide to the Cities
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i think in the terms of rolling your own would be concerned it would be buy all the parts independently (thru new egg or tiger direct and various other sites) you can really drop the price quickly like that. however you have to know what works with what
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Originally Posted by JJ_Knight
going back to the "rolling your own" part of the discussion, would buying a premade PC from wherever you would buy your parts, if you were to build your own from, be an option?
Thats what I did when i bought my new PC. Some places like that even let you customize what you want for parts and will build it for you. The only problem I've ever had with premade systems from the likes of Dell or Hp is that if something goes wrong with it after the warranty expires, it's not always easy to repair. |
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My parents PC had the CPU fan die on a Dell PC they had and the motherboard would not accept anything but an OEM fan as a replacement. |
Originally Posted by Stalemate
On some other models (HP for example), you can't even replace the power supply with a third party option. I've even seen models where you had to get graphic cards from the manufacturer directly since hey had to be built to fit the innards of the smaller case perfectly. |
The part was discontinued so we had to replace the whole PC. As it turned out about a month later i found the same model PC in a computer shop being used for parts so I bought the fan and got the PC working again.
(and then did exactly what Stalemate did except I was streaming to a PS3
)Does your Best Buy have pre-made computers from anyone else other than the major manufacturers? I think the ones up here in Canada do, but when I'm there I don't often go into the computer section becasue my local seller always beats the pants off their pricing and they won't match it.
Don't get me wrong, I do think Dell and HP make some awesome computers but the issues with replacing parts is whats always kept me away from them.
My MA Arcs: [29581 - A Knight to Remember] [107587 - Upgrade] [41834 - Construction Blues]
Playing on: Protector - Guardian - Victory
I don't know about all Dell XPS models, but mine is full sized and has standard equipment in it. I can replace any part with off the shelf stuff.
Tech Support Rule #1 - They will lie to you. Usually intentionally.
Mine looks like a vintage Corvette - silver aluminum case and red front/back faceplates. The one with the programmable LEDs.
I had ordered the black one...
█ Players Guide to the Cities
Go with the Dell.
Have had an XPS for a while now. only had one problem, tech support sent me the replacement part in a day.
Get the Dell for the tech support too.
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Help! My PC crashed hard yesterday and, when the dust settled, I found I had a smoked motherboard. :-( Since my current PC is 5 years old, I figure it's more cost effective to replace it with a new one than try to find the older correct parts.
Question for my fellow Protectorites: I want to purchase a desktop gaming computer I can use for CoX as well as watch DVDs, check email, surf, etc. I'm limited to local suppliers such as Best Buy and Sam's Club. I'm purchasing just the computer i.e. not a monitor/printer package. I'm also limiting my available budget to $1k.
What should I look for (and look out for) in today's PCs used to run CoX? What computer, if any, would you recommend within those parameters?
I know Protectorites area shy retiring bunch who never speak their opinions, but I thought I'd ask anyway. ;-)
Thanks! Belle