Calling all knowledgable computer geeks!

[Fidobeggins]

I'm planning on purchasing a gaming computer sometime in the not so distant future and was wondering if anybody had any suggestions. If you could link to various price ranges (I'd like to keep it under 2k, less is even better). Just looking to see games the way they are designed and once I get back to raiding to be more useful. (no more death by lag) Thanks for all your help, I'm not up on technology, this is why I'm asking y'all.

[Xslia]

I'm looking also!!! but my days of sinking 2K into a machine are over - I've had more issues with the more expensive ones then I care to discuss or want to remember. Not to mention the second I buy one - the next generate of technology is release so my machine is obsolete as soon as I walk out the door with it!

I'm looking for an off the shelf PC (haxot, Jaerlyn, my brother all want me to just build it... I don't do pc building).

Jaerlyn and Kotter both suggested to I go to walmart - get an e-machine, add memory and upgrade video card - and it will run EQ just fine.

Best buy has a couple I'm looking at in the 800-900K range. The one I have now is an HP machine - going on 4 years old now, had some issues with RIFT game (so I figured it time to upgrade). Not to mention I want to get the dkpbot back up and running by next expansion.

Some suggested Cyberpower, or ones at Newegg or TigerDirect. (my preference is being able to take it back to the store I got it, if here are issues right off he bat - hence my looking at wal-mart and Best buy).

[Eagles]

Best buy has a couple I'm looking at in the 800-900K range.

That is some serious money... Skip the gold plating and you can probably get one 1000 times cheaper

Your day job is not purchance a purchasing officer for the government?

[Calebe]

I went to the Walmart site and chose build your own gaming computer. I picked out:

Intel Sandy Bridge 2600K CPU
Nvidia GTX 570 Video Card
DvD Burner
Windows 7 (64 bit)
Black Gaming Case (w/Power supply)
8 gig of ram
1 Terabyte Hard Drive 7200 RPM
12 in 1 digital media card reader

Total price without a monitor is $1269

The specs on CPU and motherboard are:

Intel Sandy Bridge Core i7 2600K (3.4GHz) Processor:

3.4Ghz with 3.8GHz Turbo Boost
Integrated HD Graphics 3000
4 x 256KB L2 Cache
P67 chipset MB: 4 x DIMM, Max 32GB Memory
2 x PCIe x16, 1 x PCIe, 1 x PCI
2 x SATA 6.0 Gbps ports, 2 x PS/2, 1 x eSATA, 1 x IEEE 1394a, 1 x LAN, 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports, 6 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports, 6 x Audio ports

I added the GTX Video card because it is one of the fastest out and well within the price range you listed. If you need a monitor there are a lot of good choices and still be well $2000 and if you go 27 inch monitor as I did be at about $1600.

Link:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Build-Your-Own-Gaming-PC/15374646?findingMethod=Recommendation:wm:RecentlyViewedItems#optionalComponent_a8

You can customize it from there. I listed the parts if I were to buy one what I would get. If you build your own, the 2600K CPU and that Nvidia GTX 570 video card would make a great start to any build.

Calebe

[Luthair]

If you don't need a computer immediately (ie, your current one has died), I would suggest waiting a little while longer. AMD is due to have its next generation GPUs and CPUs out this fall which should at the very least push down prices, particularly on current gen graphics cards.

To my mind I would think 2k is probably more than is particularly useful to spend, top of the line parts aren't needed by any current games (unless you're driving high pixel 30" LCDs) if you shop around I'm sure you can build something for ~1000 which would do everything you'd want and you can bank the other half for a 2-3 years. PCPerspective has some suggested builds which might give an idea: http://pcper.com/hwlb

[Hamilkar]

You can buy a machine easily for 900 that will run multiple instances of EQ without difficulty even in raid situations. If you want suggestions I would be happy to list some specs and machines that will fill the bill. Even my 2004 machine (primary raiding computer) and my 2000 machine which is used for other things more often than not can still run eq in raids....

My newest machine (2011) cost around $750 and it can run 2 chars easily with full effects on in raids... without difficulty.

[Marcellox]

If you want or thinking of building your own, try this website http://www.tigerdirect.com. Its great and you can find deals on PC related stuff, they also offer refurbished PC. However, I would not feel comfortable in using a refurbished machine because after all your using hardware with lots of "mileage" on it. Building your own machine is not that bad (even thou I have yet to do that myself) but it will probably cost you more than buying a ready to use out of the box PC, on the other hand, you will certainly get what you want in your machine. Another great site online and off line is http://www.microcenter.com. One thing, I would not go overboard with the graphics card mainly for the energy requirement. The top models demand between 110 and 270 watts from the power supply; in fact, a powerful graphics card under full load requires as much power as the rest of the components of a PC system combined! Ouch! Here is a nice table which describes power consumption for a few graphics cards http://imageshack.us/f/718/gfxpowerchartbybrandgen.png/.

[FyrmnFyrslayer]

I got a reconditioned computer a few years back from Tigerdirect. It was a computer that was spec'd for a company and they had added windowsXP home theatre and other things ( I think it was a mis key by someone when ordering). They had like 30 of these things and I got it for like 700 bucks. It was unpacked so they could not sell it as new and had to sell it as reconditioned. It worked great for EQ the time I used it.

[Neamiah]

A friend of mine asked me to help him find a gaming PC and although I could have helped him build one I decided instead to suggest a store bought set. After looking at all available choices he finally decided on Dell X8300-3576NBK at best buy, its about 1k but it has more than enough power to run EQ and Rift with full settings without any issues.

[Calebe]

Things to watch out for if you buy a pc and plan to upgrade it down the line. The main thing is the power supply. Just because the power supply in the machine works for the pre-built machine you bought won't mean it will work with a higher end video card. As Marcellox said a upper end video card will suck down a lot of watts, so be sure if you don't buy a machine with the video card you want to end up using you may be replacing both the video card and the power supply. The other thing is the number of connectors, on my video card it requires 2 8 pin power connectors, now it came with an 8 to 6 adapter, but even so if you don't have 2 (6) pin power cables that won't help you at all. In fact when I built a machine for Spelldancer the case came with a 350 watt power supply, I had to replace the power supply because the video card needed 2 6 pin power cables and said not to use a molex 4 pin to 6 pin adapter cable.

In other words, don't just buy a machine and think you can swap in a new video card and it will work. It may not have the cables required or be strong enough to run the card you bought. So you end up buying a video card, and a new power supply and while it is easy to install, your not saving money in the long run, it is cheaper to buy the machine with the video card you want upfront, unless of course building your own and planning for that upgrade down the line. Also not all power supplies are the same, and while you can get a $30 'high wattage' power supply at least listed on the box, doesn't mean it is what it says. If asked I can show you links of tested power supplies that when run hard just die, or in the worst case can catch fire. Yes horror stories for sure, but if your investing 8-900 dollars in a machine don't skimp on the one item everything relies upon, the power supply.

Sarellen I know upgraded to a GTX 460 card a few months back, the power supply had to be replaced because the one in the box was not up to the job of running it. Just one example.

Also don't skimp on the video card, basically it boils down to the better the video card the higher you can turn up the graphic settings without slowdown, and make all the eye candy look the best it can.

Calebe

[Kivanarri]

I have 2 Dell XPS, 2006 and 2008 models. I have upgraded the Video cards in both and added RAM. The 2006 model has 8 GB RAM and the 2008 model has 14 GB RAM. Last year I upgraded both to Windows 7 Ultimate 64 OS. It is far cheaper to buy a newer computer than upgrade especially with better windows and video cards. I can four box on the 2008 model with no problem with EQ and that is using most graphics settings. Having said all this, I ordered a new computer from Tigerdirect because it will be cheaper than buying newer video cards and doing further upgrades. I normally upgrade every 2, EQ expansions. My new order has Intell I7 2500K, Nvidia GTX 520, 16 GB RAM, Windows 7 Home edition 64 OS, liquid cooling, 1TB HD, and Blue Ray DVD/CD player. After taxes, extended warranty, and shipping I'm looking at close to 1K in costs. I suggest for EQ to get extra RAM and make sure you have the OS version that will recognize the RAM. I love Windows 7 64 OS personally and I recommend Home edition.

I do not recommend buying from Dell's site. You will end up paying way too much for them to build your computer. I did this in the past due to me having a personal business account with them. However, I will say I had no issues with either computer. Just expect to pay more if Dell builds your computer from the factory. Both are still great for gaming even in 2011. Get lots of RAM, a good video card (I prefer Nvidia), a good motherboard, and like Calebe said, a good power supply. I would make sure the computer is big enough to upgrade small things too. I made the mistake with my XPS 2006 model of not having a big enough tower. I could barely install my newer video cards. Ventilation is another factor. My office/den is small and when I have the heat on during the winter, it can get quite warm. Computers can put out a lot of heat.

Cheers!

[Kivanarri]

Actually, I was going to buy that computer, I found a better one for the same price I was paying .

[Kivanarri]

Sorry about the last post being short, I had some engagements to attend to fast, but I ended up buying a system similar to what Calebe mentioned. The only thing I didn't get was the 16GB RAM and bought the system with 8GB RAM installed. I ended buying 8 GB worth or RAM sticks to make the system 16GB. This system has: Generation 2 I7 2600k, Nvidia GTX 510i, blueray/dvd-cdrom, liquid cooling, 1 TB Harddrive. I'm looking at 1k after shipping, MS office, extended warranty, and the extra GB sticks. If I had bought this system through Dell, it would have cost somewhere in the $1500.00 to $1600.00 range from the Dell site.

[Hamilkar]

Oh another quick thing, If you work for a company that has a 'rewards' or bonus program with other companies look at the discounts you can get. When I was working for McDonalds I got an extra 20% off anything purchased from HP directly and 15% off anything purchased from Dell... I couldn't buy cheaper from tiger direct etc even when they were selling below their cost.

[Hughjeee]

Be careful with tigerdirect and their bundle deals. I have been pre-configuring my computer build the past couple weeks to see what I like best, and some of the deals are actually charging you 20-40 dollars more than you would pay if they were all purchased separately. Sometimes there are new rebates in place that do not take effect if you buy it in the bundle.