Gaming Buying my first Desktop

[luke_c]

Well i was thinking of buying my first Desktop PC, and maybe selling my Laptop, so i was wondering if this would be a good choice, Acer ASX3200 Desktop I only want to use it for surfing, watching movies now and then and casual gaming, like Orange Box and Counter Strike, Left4Dead and maybe Borderlands when it's released. I don't mind if i have to upgrade the GFX Card or whatever as it looks pretty easy, but with these specs could i run everything at atleast minimum quality?

I may be able to get this as it's just in my price range but for the gaming i want to do would it be worth it? I'd be updating the HDD on the other Desktop to 1TB anyway.

Aparently the GFX card in the first one is crap so which one would you guys recommend, i don't wanna spend more than £60 on one.

 

[Gobnoblin]

the second choice is a better one as it should support true hd and h264 etc with smooth playback... also it will play all the games you want at maxed out graphics and let you dabble in newschool games as well if you decide you want to play something newer.... like i tell everyone you should wait at least a week once you think you have made up your mind so you have a chance to do some more bargain shopping incase you find something awesome on sale rather than jumping at the first one you find....

 

[luke_c]

I don't wanna splash out on the expensive one if the cheaper one does everything i want it to, which it seems it does.

 

[Gobnoblin]

i just know with the limited vid card you will have some probs with true hd and h264 and some codec playbacks... i know even with my 512 i had issues so had to go to a 1 gig vid card so try to find a good vid card maybe and sacrifice a little cpu or ram or something you can upgrade later.... just my opinion though as i'm no pro.. also keep an eye out for deals.. you guys got dell there? or gateway... i just bought from gateway recently and am quite happy with it

 

[luke_c]

That's what i was thinking, i just may need to upgrade the GFX/Vid Card or whatever you call it, but i have no idea which one to get, would be grateful if someone could point me in the right direction.

 

[myuusmeow]

i just know with the limited vid card you will have some probs with true hd and h264 and some codec playbacks... i know even with my 512 i had issues so had to go to a 1 gig vid card so try to find a good vid card maybe and sacrifice a little cpu or ram or something you can upgrade later.... just my opinion though as i'm no pro.. also keep an eye out for deals.. you guys got dell there? or gateway... i just bought from gateway recently and am quite happy with it

There is more to a GPU than just its memory size. A 1GB 4650 will always be slower than a 512MB 4850, for example.

@op: I looked around some sites that sell in UK prices, seems like USD$1=1 pound for most sites so 60 pounds won't get you much.

 

[luke_c]

I can get a custom-built Desktop off a friend of mine for cheap, these specs sound good?

Case 1 CiT 1001 Black Midi
4GB DDR2 RAM
AMD Athlon II X4 630
1TB SATA HDD
516MB Radeon 4770