PC build

[puNDuKE]

Is this a good computer?

Costco - $579.99 after $100 OFF ZT Affinity Intel Quad Core Q6600 2.4GHz 4GB DDR2 500GB HDD

plus you gotta think about the warranty and ability to take it back anytime (good costco return policy) incase it breaks down but I'm so confused cause I thought I was building a pc to save money and up performance as well as to make sure that the parts are quality. Anyway my confusion lays with my wish list here:

Newegg.com - Rosewill Conqueror WSL Triple 120mm Fans Steel ATX Mid tower Computer Case with Side Panel - Computer Cases

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N861-AR GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Newegg.com - PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, cUL, CE, CB, TUV - Power Supplies

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3320613AS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives


So what makes my list better than this Costco comp? I mean the Costco one comes with an OS (which uh would be nice since I'm using a pirated version of XP lol)

Has a quad processor which the one on my list is a duo not sure if those ever get better than a quad maybe mine on the list is...

4 gig of ram and a 500 gig harddrive which is much more than the 320 gig on my wish list and the 2 gig stick... the only thing it probably lacks is a good graphics card which I could pick up and still be saving money over my wish list on newegg.com

So yes being very confused by all this computer stuff, but still being more educated about building one over most regular people, I probably should buy this already built comp because I don't know how to make a motherboard register higher cpu's or how to tell if I do run into a problem like that when building one not to mention other technical problems and at least I know this already built one is tuned to the performance. What do you think? What would be the ultimate flaw here caving in from being tech savy, if you will, and buying a premade computer that looks like a good deal to me hence I'd be saving at least $100 or so and to boot looks like it exceeds the performance from a list I thought was highend but now am starting to think that I'd be blowing money on overpriced hardware compared to this Costco computer deal and it's $100 off but goes back to679.99 (which I'd probably end up having cash for this around after the sale anyway)

fellow guildies help'ith meh plus I didn't factor in the mail in rebates which some are like $20.00 so maybe it would be about even but still... costco one seems more powerful.

[Pwnzilla]

As you stated the pre-built box will have to have a video card to run games. I don't know what mobo is in that unit but it probably has a PCIe X16 slot for a dedicated video card. There is no guarantee of that though. You would need to confirm that it has an open PCI Express X16 slot. It does not state what size PSU is in the unit. I would be willing to bet that it will not be strong enough to handle a decent video card though. That means you will still need to purchase a power supply strong enough to support the graphics card. So you will need to add those items to the cost of the PC.

You will have to pay sales tax on the pre-built PC. You will not have to pay sales tax on Newegg purchases unless you live in New Jersey, Tennessee, or California. You will have to pay shipping though so that may balance out.

If you spec the exact components as best can be determined from the description it will be about $100 more from Newegg for to build a near identical box yourself.

So if you want to add a PSU and GPU you would have a good system. The only question I would have is whether Vista will give you any issues by adding the GPU. You may have to contact Micro$oft to get it registered due to the changes to the code the addition of a video card would cause to the hardware code. I don't think it would be an issue personally.

[Pedro]

Only problem is that to upgrade that PC with the PSU and the Vid Card then you need to open the case, that automatically voids the warranty and you won't be able to return it if something breaks.

Cotsco won't change parts for ya and keep the warranty, they are a wholesale store, they order PC's and they sell them, they don't build them or fix them.

So building one on budget is the best bet, Pwn and Fluf are better than me on that department

[puNDuKE]

Originally Posted by Pwnzilla

As you stated the pre-built box will have to have a video card to run games. I don't know what mobo is in that unit but it probably has a PCIe X16 slot for a dedicated video card. There is no guarantee of that though. You would need to confirm that it has an open PCI Express X16 slot. It does not state what size PSU is in the unit. I would be willing to bet that it will not be strong enough to handle a decent video card though. That means you will still need to purchase a power supply strong enough to support the graphics card. So you will need to add those items to the cost of the PC.

You will have to pay sales tax on the pre-built PC. You will not have to pay sales tax on Newegg purchases unless you live in New Jersey, Tennessee, or California. You will have to pay shipping though so that may balance out.

If you spec the exact components as best can be determined from the description it will be about $100 more from Newegg for to build a near identical box yourself.

So if you want to add a PSU and GPU you would have a good system. The only question I would have is whether Vista will give you any issues by adding the GPU. You may have to contact Micro$oft to get it registered due to the changes to the code the addition of a video card would cause to the hardware code. I don't think it would be an issue personally.

Yea if you look at the specs it does have PCI express but after reading what you guys have said i.e. voiding warranty, etc. it does seem better to build plus yea I didnt even think about the sales tax and what not evening it out but also it does come with Vista and thats a hefty cost in itself to buy an OS though I'm probably going to slap on my XP Prof but have to download everything behind Microsoft but the thing that does get me is just how much more powerful this system seems to be from the list I have going.

[Pwnzilla]

Originally Posted by puNDuKE

Yea if you look at the specs it does have PCI express but after reading what you guys have said i.e. voiding warranty, etc. it does seem better to build plus yea I didnt even think about the sales tax and what not evening it out but also it does come with Vista and thats a hefty cost in itself to buy an OS though I'm probably going to slap on my XP Prof but have to download everything behind Microsoft but the thing that does get me is just how much more powerful this system seems to be from the list I have going.

Comparable system from Newegg....

Case
Newegg.com - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
$119.99 (-$40 rebate) net price $79.99

Mobo
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
$89.99

CPU
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Processors
$209.99

RAM
Newegg.com - OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
$109.99 (-$15 rebate) net price $94.99

PSU
Newegg.com - Antec earthwatts EA500 500W ATX12V v2.0 Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, CB, C-tick, CCC - Power Supplies
$59.99

HDD
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
$74.99

GPU
Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N861-AR GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
$144.99 (-$20 rebate) net price $124.99

Keyboard/Mouse (Wal-Mart/K-mart/Best Buy/Circuit City/etc...)
~$40 (You're better off getting locally because of shipping cost)

Price ~$900 less $75 rebates = $825

Pre-built box
$580 + tax ~$40 = $620 + $200 (PSU/GPU) = $820

Those two systems are essentially identical except the mobo has more features and the RAM is faster. I know the case/RAM/mobo from Newegg are better and/or have more features than the budget box. You have Newegg return policy & mfg. warranty on all components. You will lose warranty on budget box when you crack it open to replace PSU/install GPU.

The only significant advantage to the budget box is the OS. You can add Vista Home Premium for ~$110 or stick with your XP. Essentially you can build a better PC for the same price as the budget box. The only extra you have to pay is for the OS. For $110 difference I will build my own and have a stronger system, good warranty, and certain upgrade options.

That is my opinion. Others prefer to buy a pre-built.

[puNDuKE]

Pwnzilla, excellent way of laying it out I pretty much took what I could afford and adjusted it to my final list at this point from what I had and your suggestions I took a closer look and I'm thinking I will just go with 2 gig of ram for the time being since I am kinda on a strapped budget but at the same time do want this to be a power gaming rig so I wont hold off too much (I dont think waiting on another 2 gig is gonna kill me) but that deal for the 4 gig is while supplies last and I'm sure it won't by the time I start buying the parts piece by piece. Definitely am going to go with the building it myself route from what I took out of this - makes a lot of sense to do so. Anyway, I thought I could save by going with my original tower even though the one you suggested was pretty sweet and not too costly while this one still hosts the uber blue double fans in the front:

Newegg.com - Rosewill Conqueror WSL Triple 120mm Fans Steel ATX Mid tower Computer Case with Side Panel - Computer Cases

and *sticking* with this stick of ram (till I can order another):

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Now that stick of ram I'm not too sure on how you check to see if ram meets the motherboards requirements but that could fit into the one you posted right? Does it just have to be 240 pin and DDR2 for the most part? Anyways that 500 gig harddrive is a steal for the amount of data for sure so I'm going to just invest in that but my total estimated list $ comes to: $675.93 counting the $20 mail in rebate for the graphics card but not including shipping on some of the parts.

So yea...
w00t
and I think I've found my dream upgrade for the time being and pretty affordable I must say. If I have any other questions Im sure its safe to say LoS members have the skill to answer