Gaming ~Closed.

[Rydian]

No I'm not kidding.
This is not "It doesn't play the absolutely latest games".
This is not "It's out of style"
This is not "I did something stupid and broke it".

This is "my current computer is five-year-old shit that's falling apart".
I'm talking Athlon XP and GeForce4 IGP old, and it's got issues.[/p]
While a laptop would be nice, I'm most likely to get way more power for the little money I have out of a desktop (since all I need is the tower). I am willing to order online (of course), and I'm aware I will most likely be getting something used/refurbished.


Here I'll list what I'm considering.

Full-size, C2D, 2Gb RAM
http://cgi.ebay.com/160552675072
No harddrive/OS, but considering with the money saved I could buy a harddrive for it and just move over my wireless card and such, this appeals to me a lot.

Slimline, C2D E4400, 2GB DDR2, looks like a very knowledgeable seller.
http://cgi.ebay.com/380321539733
Looks like I'd need an external enclosure to use my second harddrive with this one... Though it does have a PCi-E slot so I might be able to pick up a cheap half-height low-end video card in the future and game for once...

I've ordered the first since it's the best bang for the price I've found, and the ability to upgrade is important.

 

[Urza]

Wait until you have more money.

 

[Jakob95]

Out of all people I can't believe you are the one asking the question.

 

[Fishaman P]

Frankly, you aren't going to get anything close to lag-free, or anything close to modern. And Geforce4? Come on, that's not old. You want my Geforce2 with 64MB video memory? Free shipping!

 

[Joe88]

I would go with the IBM, your not going to really get something better for the price

 

[Originality]

Some people need a second opinion. I just say look to your needs.

If it's just a computer for computing (i.e. doesn't need a graphics card to do any more than output the display), then I'd go with the latter of the two choices - the slimline. Slightly faster CPU and a slimmer tower makes it more convenient for general computing tasks.

If you need a computer with a little more adaptability, then go with the Lenovo. It's not limited to half-sized expansion ports and the GF 7300LE (I assume) is a lot stronger than any Intel IGPs.

EDIT: I would go with the slimline computer. Then again, I've got a primary gaming PC, so any extra PCs would be used as a server (when I'm not using a laptop).

 

[Rydian]

Wait until you have more money.I've been saving up for months, and one of those would be way better than my current.

Out of all people I can't believe you are the one asking the question.Well it's not like I'm omniscient on the internet, I'm trying to see what sort of second-hand deals there are. I've been looking through craigslist but haven't seen anything decent.

Frankly, you aren't going to get anything close to lag-free, or anything close to modern. And Geforce4? Come on, that's not old. You want my Geforce2 with 64MB video memory? Free shipping!I've got one, too. The difference here seems to be that's not the card in use on your current machine... This geforce4 limits me in ways other than gaming. Many things are moving to hardware-acceleration nowadays. Windows Explorer (Aero), Flash videos, even browsers like Firefox 4 are using it for various things. In addition there's an issue with this card where I can't get any OpenGL display in Windows (it's just a black screen), so even if something that uses hardware acceleration would run acceptably, I can't see it to use it.

QUOTE(Joe88 @ Mar 5 2011, 08:25 PM) I would go with the IBM, your not going to really get something better for the price

I'm really learning towards that one as well because I know I'm going to be upgrading it in the future.

QUOTE(Originality @ Mar 5 2011, 08:33 PM)

Some people need a second opinion. I just say look to your needs.

If it's just a computer for computing (i.e. doesn't need a graphics card to do any more than output the display), then I'd go with the latter of the two choices - the slimline. Slightly faster CPU and a slimmer tower makes it more convenient for general computing tasks.

If you need a computer with a little more adaptability, then go with the Lenovo. It's not limited to half-sized expansion ports and the GF 7300LE (I assume) is a lot stronger than any Intel IGPs.

EDIT: I would go with the slimline computer. Then again, I've got a primary gaming PC, so any extra PCs would be used as a server (when I'm not using a laptop).

I've gotta' favor future expansion over it's possible use as a secondary.

 

[Urza]

If it took you months to save up 200USD, you should probably be working on better sources of income before throwing away the money that you have.

 

[Evo.lve]

If it took you months to save up 200USD, you should probably be working on better sources of income before throwing away the money that you have.

That's actually a really good point.

Sound advice.

 

[Urza]

If you absolutely insist, I think this is the best you'll do for your budget:

87USD - Bare-bone shell (X4500 integrated GPU w/ 300w PSU)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...82E16856115031R

29USD - 2GB DDR2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231203

30-40USD - E4500 C2D off of eBay

Just drop a drive in there and good to go. E4500 will clock up to 3.2Ghz on air pretty easily, and if you splurge for a low-end graphics card sometime in the future, you'll have a machine that will handle pretty much everything (the X4500 on the board will handle older games for the most part though, Source 07 will be no problem). If you do drop a card in there, may also need to get a beefier PSU, but they're fairly cheap.

 

[Rydian]

If it took you months to save up 200USD, you should probably be working on better sources of income before throwing away the money that you have.

Gotta' say I'm pretty offended. What, you think just because I don't go around bitching and moaning about my life it means I'm having a good one, and I lack money because I'm lazy? You think because I don't go around trying to make everybody else feel bad it means I'm always in a good mood because my life's peachy? Ever think that maybe there's an additional drain on my income? My mother broke her neck and back in six places when she was pregnant with me, and the guy she re-married went into rehab recently. Needless to say that's a bit of a drain on my funds...

My current computer is almost non-functional for my classes (it's financial aid that's allowing me to attend a local community college, and the point is so I can try to find a better job). When I need to boot into two different OSes just to switch between working audio and working video to complete an assignment, it's past the point where I need something more functional (and the campus is like 45 minutes from home).

I thank that you're trying to help me, but I generally prefer not to talk about what's going on with my life, and you've no right to assume.

 

[Urza]

When someone who has made time for 8500 posts on a public forum in the span of a year reveals they're having financial problems, I can't help but think said person's priorities aren't in line.

My intention was not to offend.

 

[Rydian]

When someone who has made time for 8500 posts on a public forum in the span of a year reveals they're having financial problems, I can't help but think said person's priorities aren't in line.An hour of free time between classes on-campus (for example) can get a lost of posting in, but it's unfortunately not enough time to go somewhere and work.

QUOTE(Urza @ Mar 5 2011, 10:05 PM) My intention was not to offend.

Given the above line I have a hard time believing that. :\ Your posts are almost universally degrading in some way, and it often does seem like a targeted insult (again, see the above line).

 

[Hakoda]

Urza's build seems to be fitting as I can find an E4500 C2D on eBay (Buy It Now) for $55 shipped and the rest adds it up to ~171.50.

EDIT: Forgot about the heat sink. Damn, that's a tough one. Found one for $9 shipped on eBay but you're going to need a couple more bucks. I'd buy it for you if i could, its $9 wouldn't kill me if I had a job.

Although I agree on Rydian's point in which you shouldn't be judging anyone online. You don't know them so don't assume.

Small suggestions, I sometimes make small bits of cash on survey sites like PrizeRebel or something. They're not that hard but time consuming. You can find some bots online or something as well.

 

[Urza]

When someone who has made time for 8500 posts on a public forum in the span of a year reveals they're having financial problems, I can't help but think said person's priorities aren't in line.

An hour of free time between classes on-campus (for example) can get a lost of posting in, but it's unfortunately not enough time to go somewhere and work.

There are many, many ways to make money that don't involve "going somewhere to work."

 

[twiztidsinz]

If you have a case, hard drive, CD/DVD drive from an old computer, you might want to look at buying a motherboard/processor (either individually or as a combo), RAM and Video card. You might even be able to salvage your old PSU.
If you do decide to go this route, I highly suggest and recommend NewEgg.com. I've used them almost exclusively for nearly a decade and never once been disappointed.

A motherboard with a decent integrated gpu shouldn't be too expensive, but make sure you get a motherboard that also has a PCI-E slot so you can upgrade later on. I built a new PC for my mom about a year ago and she can play 1920x1080 HD video without issue (my old Radeon x1600XT struggled to play it).

I think her Motherboard and CPU (dual core 2.4GHz Athlon) were about $140ish and RAM was cheap ($30 for 2GB) so if you can salvage a CD/DVD and Harddrive all you really need is a PSU.

 

[stinkoman]

Get whatever's cheapest until you can save up for a good one. Install a low-end linux distro (Xubuntu, Puppy Linux...) on it and use that until you get a nicer PC.

 

[Rydian]

When someone who has made time for 8500 posts on a public forum in the span of a year reveals they're having financial problems, I can't help but think said person's priorities aren't in line.

An hour of free time between classes on-campus (for example) can get a lost of posting in, but it's unfortunately not enough time to go somewhere and work.

There are many, many ways to make money that don't involve "going somewhere to work."

I'm normally not that tight on money (I can eat well) but my "rainy day" fund needs to go to a new tower very soon (I've already got a new-ish screen and some other stuff because of failures).

I appreciate that you're trying to help, but please try to be less critical. You rather hurt my feelings.



twiztidsinz: I'm quite familiar with Newegg and the process of cannibalizing parts, but the only stuff usable in my current for a new one is the stuff I plan to move to the first machine (drive(s) and wifi card). Urza's suggestion earlier was a choice as well, but I get more for the money with the first.

 

[EJames2100]

I'd go with the 1st one myself, very similar specs to the more expensive one and you get to keep most of your money.

 

[GentleFist]

you might consider buying a second hand gameboy

e: seriously for that money you wont get a computer that does much more than a phone