Help buying a new computer

[Tony Thomas]

have bought a few bargain computers from places like tigerdirect and been disappointed with the build quality and performance. It is definitely a good price for a quad, but I'd prefer to run XP on it vs. Vista. Looks like it has a cheap case.

If you do not want to build your own, there are still a few outfits that will assemble a PC from your choice of components. Or you can buy a "barebones" system from a place like Newegg and add CPU, RAM, hard drive etc. Their reviews are helpful in finding a good set of components.

Can you direct me to few outfits? I am not familiar with any other than something like Dell. I only want performance, I am not worried about video quality as it has no influence on chess engine game play.

[Terry McCracken]

have bought a few bargain computers from places like tigerdirect and been disappointed with the build quality and performance. It is definitely a good price for a quad, but I'd prefer to run XP on it vs. Vista. Looks like it has a cheap case.

If you do not want to build your own, there are still a few outfits that will assemble a PC from your choice of components. Or you can buy a "barebones" system from a place like Newegg and add CPU, RAM, hard drive etc. Their reviews are helpful in finding a good set of components.

Can you direct me to few outfits? I am not familiar with any other than something like Dell. I only want performance, I am not worried about video quality as it has no influence on chess engine game play.

Dell is a good choice, maybe the best,(HP being second), unless you know a real expert/dealer who will build a computer for you and not rip you off.

In laptops I'd go with Toshiba.

Terry

[Tony Thomas]

have bought a few bargain computers from places like tigerdirect and been disappointed with the build quality and performance. It is definitely a good price for a quad, but I'd prefer to run XP on it vs. Vista. Looks like it has a cheap case.

If you do not want to build your own, there are still a few outfits that will assemble a PC from your choice of components. Or you can buy a "barebones" system from a place like Newegg and add CPU, RAM, hard drive etc. Their reviews are helpful in finding a good set of components.

Can you direct me to few outfits? I am not familiar with any other than something like Dell. I only want performance, I am not worried about video quality as it has no influence on chess engine game play.

Dell is a good choice, maybe the best,(HP being second), unless you know a real expert/dealer who will build a computer for you and not rip you off.

In laptops I'd go with Toshiba.

Terry

I think I can get up to 40 dollar discount since I am a riteaid employee. All the computers inside the office are dell.

[Dr.Wael Deeb]

have bought a few bargain computers from places like tigerdirect and been disappointed with the build quality and performance. It is definitely a good price for a quad, but I'd prefer to run XP on it vs. Vista. Looks like it has a cheap case.

If you do not want to build your own, there are still a few outfits that will assemble a PC from your choice of components. Or you can buy a "barebones" system from a place like Newegg and add CPU, RAM, hard drive etc. Their reviews are helpful in finding a good set of components.

Can you direct me to few outfits? I am not familiar with any other than something like Dell. I only want performance, I am not worried about video quality as it has no influence on chess engine game play.

Dell is a good choice, maybe the best,(HP being second), unless you know a real expert/dealer who will build a computer for you and not rip you off.

In laptops I'd go with Toshiba.

Terry

I agree Terry Regarding your Toshiba offer,except that it's a way more expensive than Dell or HP....

BTW Tony,check out the HP quads desktops,they are not far ahead than Acer regarding the price issue and you have an excellent models oriented for the american users....

[Dr.Wael Deeb]

have bought a few bargain computers from places like tigerdirect and been disappointed with the build quality and performance. It is definitely a good price for a quad, but I'd prefer to run XP on it vs. Vista. Looks like it has a cheap case.

If you do not want to build your own, there are still a few outfits that will assemble a PC from your choice of components. Or you can buy a "barebones" system from a place like Newegg and add CPU, RAM, hard drive etc. Their reviews are helpful in finding a good set of components.

Can you direct me to few outfits? I am not familiar with any other than something like Dell. I only want performance, I am not worried about video quality as it has no influence on chess engine game play.

Dell is a good choice, maybe the best,(HP being second), unless you know a real expert/dealer who will build a computer for you and not rip you off.

In laptops I'd go with Toshiba.

Terry

I think I can get up to 40 dollar discount since I am a riteaid employee. All the computers inside the office are dell.

Now that decides the question,a 40% discount is a fantastic deal to say the least bearing in mind that you are buying Dell after all....

[jdart]

Dell consumer PCs have cheap plastic cases. Some of the smaller ones are very space constrained and limit expansion. Something like an Antec steel case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129155) is far more durable and has better cooling. As mentioned also built-in graphics are likely to be poor and you will get a lot of junk software installed.

Newegg (http://www.newegg.com) has practically every kind of PC component available on the planet, good prices, excellent customer service, and as I mentioned, a very informative website. But it is oriented towards very knowledgeable roll-your-own PC enthusiasts. Mostly they sell parts, not systems.

If you want custom but don't want to get into PC assembly, one outfit that will build one for you is DirectPC (http://buydirectpc.com/web/online/buy-computer) in Vancouver, but I will add the large caveat that I haven't dealt with them myself.

Another outfit is Polywell (http://www.polywell.com) - they have a long track record, are one of the first PC vendors to have new technology and will customize their systems extensively. But they are a bit expensive.

[Tony Thomas]

Dell consumer PCs have cheap plastic cases. Some of the smaller ones are very space constrained and limit expansion. Something like an Antec steel case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129155) is far more durable and has better cooling. As mentioned also built-in graphics are likely to be poor and you will get a lot of junk software installed.

Newegg (http://www.newegg.com) has practically every kind of PC component available on the planet, good prices, excellent customer service, and as I mentioned, a very informative website. But it is oriented towards very knowledgeable roll-your-own PC enthusiasts. Mostly they sell parts, not systems.

If you want custom but don't want to get into PC assembly, one outfit that will build one for you is DirectPC (http://buydirectpc.com/web/online/buy-computer) in Vancouver, but I will add the large caveat that I haven't dealt with them myself.

Another outfit is Polywell (http://www.polywell.com) - they have a long track record, are one of the first PC vendors to have new technology and will customize their systems extensively. But they are a bit expensive.

John, I am looking for something under a grand. I looked at the prices for similar systems and they cost around 2grands at both polywell and Directpc. I just want a quadcore with 2-4 gigs of Ram. It is purely for computer chess purposes(not for any kind of playchess related stuff). I think Romi would love me more if I had a quad. I can finish testing an engine in 1/4th of the time by running 4 conecutive matches. I am neither knowledgeable, nor a roll my own pc enthusiast. I want something practical and affordable.

[Nid Hogge]

Dell consumer PCs have cheap plastic cases. Some of the smaller ones are very space constrained and limit expansion. Something like an Antec steel case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129155) is far more durable and has better cooling. As mentioned also built-in graphics are likely to be poor and you will get a lot of junk software installed.

Newegg (http://www.newegg.com) has practically every kind of PC component available on the planet, good prices, excellent customer service, and as I mentioned, a very informative website. But it is oriented towards very knowledgeable roll-your-own PC enthusiasts. Mostly they sell parts, not systems.

If you want custom but don't want to get into PC assembly, one outfit that will build one for you is DirectPC (http://buydirectpc.com/web/online/buy-computer) in Vancouver, but I will add the large caveat that I haven't dealt with them myself.

Another outfit is Polywell (http://www.polywell.com) - they have a long track record, are one of the first PC vendors to have new technology and will customize their systems extensively. But they are a bit expensive.

John, I am looking for something under a grand. I looked at the prices for similar systems and they cost around 2grands at both polywell and Directpc. I just want a quadcore with 2-4 gigs of Ram. It is purely for computer chess purposes(not for any kind of playchess related stuff). I think Romi would love me more if I had a quad. I can finish testing an engine in 1/4th of the time by running 4 conecutive matches. I am neither knowledgeable, nor a roll my own pc enthusiast. I want something practical and affordable.

CPU Q6600 $234.00 http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=Q6600& ... 4c49e494e8
MOBO ABIT IP35-E $59.00 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6813127031
RAM pqi 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 $35.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820141099
HD Open Box: WD Caviar SE 160GB $42.99 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 822136075R
Video GECUBE HD3850 $149.99 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6814241066
CASE Antec Sonata III $114.95 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6811129024
PSU Antec Earthwatts 500W (included with case)
total ~$630

There you go.

do yourself a favour and STAY AWAY FROM THE DELL **** and similar pre built OEM stuff. seriously, you could assign a MUCH more quality build for the same money. if you don't wanna build it yourself, you can always pay $25 for a technician to do it for you, or ask from the shop you buy it from. those OEM desktops are junk.

[AdminX]

Dell consumer PCs have cheap plastic cases. Some of the smaller ones are very space constrained and limit expansion. Something like an Antec steel case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129155) is far more durable and has better cooling. As mentioned also built-in graphics are likely to be poor and you will get a lot of junk software installed.

Newegg (http://www.newegg.com) has practically every kind of PC component available on the planet, good prices, excellent customer service, and as I mentioned, a very informative website. But it is oriented towards very knowledgeable roll-your-own PC enthusiasts. Mostly they sell parts, not systems.

If you want custom but don't want to get into PC assembly, one outfit that will build one for you is DirectPC (http://buydirectpc.com/web/online/buy-computer) in Vancouver, but I will add the large caveat that I haven't dealt with them myself.

Another outfit is Polywell (http://www.polywell.com) - they have a long track record, are one of the first PC vendors to have new technology and will customize their systems extensively. But they are a bit expensive.

John, I am looking for something under a grand. I looked at the prices for similar systems and they cost around 2grands at both polywell and Directpc. I just want a quadcore with 2-4 gigs of Ram. It is purely for computer chess purposes(not for any kind of playchess related stuff). I think Romi would love me more if I had a quad. I can finish testing an engine in 1/4th of the time by running 4 conecutive matches. I am neither knowledgeable, nor a roll my own pc enthusiast. I want something practical and affordable.

CPU Q6600 $234.00 http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=Q6600& ... 4c49e494e8
MOBO ABIT IP35-E $59.00 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6813127031
RAM pqi 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 $35.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820141099
HD Open Box: WD Caviar SE 160GB $42.99 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 822136075R
Video GECUBE HD3850 $149.99 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6814241066
CASE Antec Sonata III $114.95 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6811129024
PSU Antec Earthwatts 500W (included with case)
total ~$630

There you go.

do yourself a favour and STAY AWAY FROM THE DELL **** and similar pre built OEM stuff. seriously, you could assign a MUCH more quality build for the same money. if you don't wanna build it yourself, you can always pay $25 for a technician to do it for you, or ask from the shop you buy it from. those OEM desktops are junk.

Don't forget to add in the OS cost. Unless you are running Linux ...

[Dr.Wael Deeb]

Dell consumer PCs have cheap plastic cases. Some of the smaller ones are very space constrained and limit expansion. Something like an Antec steel case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129155) is far more durable and has better cooling. As mentioned also built-in graphics are likely to be poor and you will get a lot of junk software installed.

Newegg (http://www.newegg.com) has practically every kind of PC component available on the planet, good prices, excellent customer service, and as I mentioned, a very informative website. But it is oriented towards very knowledgeable roll-your-own PC enthusiasts. Mostly they sell parts, not systems.

If you want custom but don't want to get into PC assembly, one outfit that will build one for you is DirectPC (http://buydirectpc.com/web/online/buy-computer) in Vancouver, but I will add the large caveat that I haven't dealt with them myself.

Another outfit is Polywell (http://www.polywell.com) - they have a long track record, are one of the first PC vendors to have new technology and will customize their systems extensively. But they are a bit expensive.

John, I am looking for something under a grand. I looked at the prices for similar systems and they cost around 2grands at both polywell and Directpc. I just want a quadcore with 2-4 gigs of Ram. It is purely for computer chess purposes(not for any kind of playchess related stuff). I think Romi would love me more if I had a quad. I can finish testing an engine in 1/4th of the time by running 4 conecutive matches. I am neither knowledgeable, nor a roll my own pc enthusiast. I want something practical and affordable.

CPU Q6600 $234.00 http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=Q6600& ... 4c49e494e8
MOBO ABIT IP35-E $59.00 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6813127031
RAM pqi 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 $35.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820141099
HD Open Box: WD Caviar SE 160GB $42.99 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 822136075R
Video GECUBE HD3850 $149.99 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6814241066
CASE Antec Sonata III $114.95 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6811129024
PSU Antec Earthwatts 500W (included with case)
total ~$630

There you go.

do yourself a favour and STAY AWAY FROM THE DELL **** and similar pre built OEM stuff. seriously, you could assign a MUCH more quality build for the same money. if you don't wanna build it yourself, you can always pay $25 for a technician to do it for you, or ask from the shop you buy it from. those OEM desktops are junk.

Don't forget to add in the OS cost. Unless you are running Linux ...

Yape,it will hit the 800$ barrier but still a good deal....