New computer time!

[grizzlyironbear]

OK guys...I FINALLY got the wife to OK the purchase of a new computer after 5 friggen years! So here goes....the one we currently have is an AMD 1.6 CPU, with a whopping 1 gig of DDR ram, and a HUGE 128 AGP vid card..LOL!!! Yeah i know its basically a childs play toy, but its no longer serving what i want it to do. SO...im getting my tax returns back, and i will have about 1000 bucks to drop on a new comp. ive been looking at tigerdirect, but with all the new firmware upgrades that have hit the market, i feel like im not informed enough to make a valid decision on which tower/parts to purchase. And this is where i need you guys help...basically im looking to get the best bang for my buck, as i wont be able to upgrade for probably a few years. I know i want at LEAST a dual core, preferably a quad core, with at least one GOOD vid card if not two. prolly should go with a minimum of 2 gigs of ram. I figure i can cut some of the cost down by using the HDD i currently have in this tower as its a 250gig HDD...but as for the rest, i gotta buy new...now as far as the case goes i dont care about looks as this will eventually go into the wife's mod and be fully encased....so no need for super looks...just gotta be super functional.

Any ideas / links? I would LOVE to get schooled in this as much as possible before i get my money so i can make a good purchase :)

[TheGreatSatan]

Seriously, all you need to do is go to a chain store and buy and HP or something and add a nice video card to it. At Office Depot they're selling an HP with a Q8200, 8GB of RAM, and a 600+GB HD for like $800. A decent card and you'd be rockin':up:

[FuzzyPlushroom]

Seriously, all you need to do is go to a chain store and buy and HP or something and add a nice video card to it. At Office Depot they're selling an HP with a Q8200, 8GB of RAM, and a 600+GB HD for like $800. A decent card and you'd be rockin':up:

Well, yes and no. If you make sure said HP is ATX-standard, cut a hole or two in the case, and replace the power supply before you try upgrading the video card, that's good advice (I assume Grizzly isn't looking to overclock anything).

[SXRguyinMA]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3776572&CatId=3423

[FuzzyPlushroom]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3776572&CatId=3423

Good deal, but you run into the same problem - the PSU's likely a steaming pile. Not your problem, though, assuming IBuyPower honors their warranty.

On top of that, the case requires a bit of work (http://www.maximumpc.com/article/nzxt_alpha) to fit expansion cards in down the road, particularly full-length cards if you decide to upgrade to a newer high-end video card. Furthermore, to upgrade your RAM, you have to get a pair of larger modules and find your existing pair of 1GB chips a new home somewhere else, since the board has only two slots - and you may well want more, since it comes with Vista.

That being said, if you can live with these limitations, that's not a bad deal at all, since there's no mail-in rebates involved.

[TheGreatSatan]

Wow, what a deal! $659 (http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/HP-M8307C-Media-CenterQuad-Core-Computer-Refurbished/3421166/product.html) (was $1400+)

Processor: Quad Core Q6600 (2.4GHz)
Memory: 3GB
Hard drive: 500 GB SATA 7200 rpm
Optical drive: DVD-RW Dual Layer
Media reader: Integrated
Additional features: NTSC TV tuner
Operating system: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
GeForce: 8400 GS (256 MB on board)