Another thing, try to look inside any computer you get. I once bought a name brand computer only to discover that it had no APG port. The on board graphics were my only option. Check the components you intend to upgrade carefully, make sure they can be upgraded.
That aside, there's no reason to not buy on sale or get components cheaply. I've used NewEgg before and had excellent luck. (Although if you're only 15 I don't recommend a built-it-yourself system unless you have experience or someone to help you.) I do still recommend you stay away from returns or refurbished units; those I've had awful luck with.
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Computer without AGP? Unless this was more than five years ago, I should hope not! AGP was pretty much phased out by about 2005ish in favor of PCIe, which outperforms it in every way. If you have a list of specs, you don't have to look inside the computer unless you're interested in airflow. Which, granted, is important, but a spec sheet will give you everything else that looking inside the computer would give you. And stores are required to carry spec sheets for everything they carry. You may have to have the sales person literally dig it out (the average joe goes "hey! it says XYZ, that's good right?" and the sales person goes "totally yeah!" and average joe goes "sold!")
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Originally Posted by gameboy1234
Another thing, try to look inside any computer you get. I once bought a name brand computer only to discover that it had no APG port. The on board graphics were my only option. Check the components you intend to upgrade carefully, make sure they can be upgraded.
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Originally Posted by Dispari
I don't know why Dink thinks she's not as sexy as Jay was. In 5 posts she's already upstaged his entire career.
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Way more than 5 years ago. But the spec sheet said "AGP 2.0" or whatever but they didn't mention that it was fixed on the board, no port. That's why I say "look inside." Or at least make sure they have a satisfaction guarantee.
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That's the case where you look at the list of slots vs. features.|
Originally Posted by gameboy1234
Way more than 5 years ago. But the spec sheet said "AGP 2.0" or whatever but they didn't mention that it was fixed on the board, no port. That's why I say "look inside." Or at least make sure they have a satisfaction guarantee.
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If it doesn't list an AGP slot, then it would be integrated.
Orc&Pie No.53230 There is an orc, and somehow, he got a pie. And you are hungry.
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Negaduck: I see you found the crumb. I knew you'd never notice the huge flag.
I paid about $850 at least 2 years ago for an off the shelf ASUS from Best Buy and couldn't be happier with the graphics performance. I mean, it can't run the HIGHEST settings but I play with zero choppiness. I can post exact specs if you want, but seriously, check out the ASUS lines and do your homework. I can post links to where I feel you should look for GFX performance and overall notebook performance, but PM for that.. probably cannot post that in this thread.
I've also built my own computer in the past so while my "techie" skills definitely aren't #1 in this forum, I can still hold my own. I just run a laptop now for portability since ones with good graphics have finally become affordable (under 1k).
Spending $500 (or any amount) on integrated graphics in this day and age is just a waste of money, IMO.
Best,
MT
Global: @Master Templar on Freedom.
"This here's my demon face. You see I'm Satan's onion...s-scallion.. 'Minion?' no, not that."
I paid about $500.00 for my machine, which is a very good one, last year. But I bought from my friend who works at a computer recycling place. ^_^ And it's not actually a recycled computer, it was a donation from Microsoft... I think all Microsoft did with it is verify that a legal copy of Windows was installed, then donated it. ^_^
But I do a lot of shopping at Fry's too, they're a very good source for computer parts.
my lil RWZ Challenge vid
well, "good" is kinda ambiguous... but I upgraded mine for about $225. Can I assume you're willing to do open-heart surgery on your computer?
Here's what I did:
kept:
- the SATA hard drive
- USB multi-card pseudo-floppy drive,
- case/ps,
- dvd rw
- 22" lcd wide monitor
bought new:
- motherboard,
- AMD Athlon 64 x2 5200+, cpu fan,
- 4 GB ddr2/800 ram,
- generic GT 430 graphics card (PCI express 2.0 x16)
If you don't have a SATA drive, it's worth another $75-ish. The difference in booting Windows XP is very noticable between the two.
I can run two instances of CoH with no problem, with "Ultra" graphics on the lower-middle setting (on a 22" monitor set to 1680 x 1050)
I have always had good results buying from tigerdirect.com.
Well for cheaps, this should be a GREAT BUY!!!
Check it out here: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...5&Sku=SYX-1086
It has a AMD Quad 4 processor which is GREAT.
It also have 4GB of DDR3 Memory RAM.
A GeForce 1GB GT 520 gfx card which is AWESOME (Prefer ATI imo tho)
For $549.00 its pretty decent.
Another greta deal for $549.00 and it has an ATI 5570 GFX card which is to me a lot better.
Check it out here ----> http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...Sku=I455-56400
If you want to play on absolute top end graphics settings with full performance, expect to pay around $1000 and be able to put the parts together yourself.
@Draeth Darkstar
Virtue [Heroes, Roleplay], Freedom [Villains], Exalted [All Sides, Roleplay]
Code:
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The second number indicates performance. The lower the number, the lower the performance. A 2 is terrible.
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Originally Posted by Helluva_Goon
A GeForce 1GB GT 520 gfx card which is AWESOME
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Paragon Wiki: http://www.paragonwiki.com
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Originally Posted by Dispari
I don't know why Dink thinks she's not as sexy as Jay was. In 5 posts she's already upstaged his entire career.
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Originally Posted by HotFlash
Start saving your money. $500 is not nearly enough to run this game as you want. I built my own pc two years ago and spent $900 on it and the game runs great. I don't max the settings, I get 60 FPS unless its a major battle and it drops into the 20's, I hardly ever get rubberbanding and I have uber fast load times. Check out the guide by Father X-Mas on how to build a PC as it was what I followed and it was the best choice I have ever made when it comes to a computer.
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I dont understand this... Your 2 year old comp would cost less than 500 dollars to make today. (only issue is finding some of the parts as some just arnt easily available.)
this is the computer im using, I built it 2 winters ago, The board i have i wouldnt recomend though, as it has bad slot layout.. Cant use one of the PCI express slots, and my other slot is so close my physics card touches the main vid card so again not usable.. (ill be buying a new board as an upgrade i think)
Anyway parts list..
Board P5N-D asus.. (again get a different board, just saying this one as a reference to something that has atleast the lvl or qaulity needed for this set up)
Chip, 8400 Duo-core, (bump this up if possible depending on price, but dont go overboard, CPU has little to do with the power on todays modern vid cards, swaping chips many times only gives you only the slightest gain, only bench mark tests show any real difference
vid card, 9800GTX, I always buy Asus,, when ive used same MB+vid card by them ive never had a problem and my systems are always very stable. This card doesnt run the latest DX, But its still pretty nice, if you can find um they are really cheap.. but for the money your probably better off going with something a little newer thats running the latest DX, they should be cheap enough now., this card is pretty much 3 year old tech
Ram, 4 gigs DDR, Get something thats compatible with your mother board, running in a range that fits, I like corsair but there are a few that are solid. these days though you might wanna just spend a little extra cash though and buy a single 4 gig stick, this would let you expand to 8 gigs down the road. (but that might push you over your 100 dollar price tag.
HD, Pay for the amount of storage you feel ok paying for. I just like to make sure i use a good drive. Seagate makes some really nice drives. I like to get something a little faster/better with slightly less storage. 500 gig drives are pretty cheap these days. Unless you do vid editting, or have a balliion MP3's you should be good. (can always upgrade later)
Case, I bought my case for around 50-60 bucks, It came witha power supply, (only 500 watts), But according to my power chart i used at asus site, my real use is only 450 for all my componets, So double check that first. To me big power supplies for single vid card/HD systems are a total waste of money. If a cheaper case comes with a power supply, around 500 watts, try it. If your getting bad performance you can always upgrade later.
I pretty much can run everything at its highest, With AA set to 4x? or is it 6x? But its high enough for everything to look really great and get high FPS, and no noticable lag. (ive yet to do any leauge teaming, so not sure how that will go.. Might have to adjust something. But anyways, what i have you if you can find the parts, you could get for around 500 bucks.
If you wanna upgrade with say a better vid card, and bump up chip slightly, if you need to save another month i would.. But honestly this isnt a bad time to build a computer, if yours is dead, collage just got out and a lotta places are clearing inventory for their fall sales with new tech.
www.newegg.com is where i buy all my parts these days.. great return policy, and pretty good prices..
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And newegg doesn't even bother with them, apparently.|
Originally Posted by Aggelakis
The second number indicates performance. The lower the number, the lower the performance. A 2 is terrible.
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I second the newegg.com reference - especially if you take a little time you can find awesome deals there.
Orc&Pie No.53230 There is an orc, and somehow, he got a pie. And you are hungry.
www.repeat-offenders.net
Negaduck: I see you found the crumb. I knew you'd never notice the huge flag.
Well the GT 520 isn't all that great but it is in the ballpark with the the DDR2 version of the 8600GT. The HD 5570 is significantly faster.
I also suspect that the power supply in the one with the GT 520 to be on the puny side.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
BestBuy does sometimes have good deals but take them with a grain of salt as there's usually a reason machine X is priced where it is. More often than not it has loads of RAM (which is cheap) and a big hard drive (also cheap) but an integrated or very low end video card (good vid cards are pricey) and a power supply barely adequate to the purpose. But they love to talk about 8, 16, etc, GB of RAM and a 1 TB Hard Drive and soft pedal the 3 year old video card and never mention the cheap 300 watt power supply.
Fry's (if you have one near you) is a much better option as they cater more to the enthusiast market and they're used to customers who know what to look for. Newegg (www.newegg.com) is a highly reputable online merchant with good prices and a vast selection; you can get a really good machine there as cheap as anywhere.
While building your own computer isn't that hard to do it can be intimidating the first time. Are you comfortable with a screwdriver and opening up your computer case? If so you can get more bang for the buck that way and upgrades down the line will be cheaper. Keep in mind that you will need to pay the "Windows tax" for a copy of Win7. If you take your time and are careful there's no reason you can't build a machine. The OS an area where OEM's have an advantage as they can get windows much cheaper than you can.
Let me say that I'm glad to see a teenager who's willing to work for what you want, that attitude will serve you very well all your life. Set your goals and work for them, what you end up with will mean far more to you if you earn it than if it's just handed to you.
COH has just been murdered by NCSoft. http://www.change.org/petitions/ncso...city-of-heroes