Johnny Fenoli Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 So here in the states many of us tax paying peoples are getting an extra rebate starting this week. im supposed to be getting back between 600 and 1200 cash money dolla dolla bills yall. so the wife and i decided we need a new computer for the house. im looking to spend around 900 or so on a computer and monitor. the only real requirements im looking for is the ability to run the sims 2 without crashing, the step daughter is a junkie. a laptop would be ideal but dont know if could get a good one at that price. if you guys got any ideas or could give me any help, I would be much appreciated. i have no idea where to start and dont want to run out to walmart and best buy blindly.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djthefunkchris Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 I'd talk to Circuit City before I went to Best Buy. I wouldn't buy anything from Walmart, computer wise, unless your just talking copy machine or something. If you CAN get a windows XP system, you'll want 2 gigs of ram. For Vista, probably more. Seems you need 1gig just to run Vista (my son's computer runs Vista). You will also want a good video card, with at least 256mb. One thing to note though, Vista is much slower then XP, so when you do get your new computer, realise that this doesn't mean it's a bad computer. You'll probably be able to do everything, just at a slower pace. I personally like the way it handle's certain things, you have to give it permission for bassically any type of connection to your computer, so it has it's good side, especially with having youngster's using it. Someone a bit more knowledgeable with specs/requirements should be able to give you some better goals for that specific game though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomnipotent Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 [URL="http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/Search.do?c=1&searchType=user&keyword=amd+phenom&searchSection=All&go.x=0&go.y=0"]AMD Phenom Systems at Circuit City[/URL] Take a look at these. The Phenom is a quad-core processor, fast enough for just about damn anything. Some of these systems boast 4GB of DDR2... once again, fast enough for just about damn anything. These are systems I've been looking into. They're nice, believe me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machinesxe Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 [QUOTE=Johnny Fenoli;412854]So here in the states many of us tax paying peoples are getting an extra rebate starting this week. im supposed to be getting back between 600 and 1200 cash money dolla dolla bills yall. so the wife and i decided we need a new computer for the house. im looking to spend around 900 or so on a computer and monitor. the only real requirements im looking for is the ability to run the sims 2 without crashing, the step daughter is a junkie. a laptop would be ideal but dont know if could get a good one at that price. if you guys got any ideas or could give me any help, I would be much appreciated. i have no idea where to start and dont want to run out to walmart and best buy blindly....[/QUOTE] I wouldn't go to any retail store. Look over at newegg.com. I built a duo core with 4 gigs and a sweet video card and also about 500g HDD for about 650 after rebates. I think your best bet would be going down that route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djthefunkchris Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 [QUOTE=machinesxe;413063]I wouldn't go to any retail store. Look over at newegg.com. I built a duo core with 4 gigs and a sweet video card and also about 500g HDD for about 650 after rebates. I think your best bet would be going down that route.[/QUOTE] Machine, if you want him to go down that route, you need to specifically tell him what he needs to build his computer... At least the specs if the brand isn't as important. Alot of times people think that everyone just "knows" how to do these things, and what to look for, but I think Fenoli made this post to get exact data, not just a place to start. Then there is the actual putting it together. I've installed everything from Ram cards to new video cards, to power supplies. If I didn't have the old ones to look at, I probably wouldn't have known where to connect things up at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Fenoli Posted April 29, 2008 Author Share Posted April 29, 2008 thanks for all the input guys. i guess im going to browse around some websites like newegg and tirger direct. i still have no clue what exactly i want... i dont want to wait for shipping either, so ill probably use the websites as a guide to find something in store. anyone want to come down to texas and go with me to find something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomnipotent Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 [QUOTE=machinesxe;413063]I wouldn't go to any retail store. Look over at newegg.com. I built a duo core with 4 gigs and a sweet video card and also about 500g HDD for about 650 after rebates. I think your best bet would be going down that route.[/QUOTE] I would typically agree with you, but that link I posted had a quad core with 4 gigs and a 640g HDD for 750 with no rebates to speak of. It's good for me because I already have a sweet video card. For some reason, I can't find any good, affordable quad core stuff on tigerdirect or newegg. Just sayin'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjdgoldeneye Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 [QUOTE=Johnny Fenoli;413091]thanks for all the input guys. i guess im going to browse around some websites like newegg and tirger direct. i still have no clue what exactly i want... i dont want to wait for shipping either, so ill probably use the websites as a guide to find something in store. anyone want to come down to texas and go with me to find something?[/QUOTE] eBay, eBay, eBay!!! Without monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, or etc., I got a GREAT computer. I don't remember what it said the specs were, but looking at it on the comp itself (sometimes underestimates things), my computer has XP, AMD Athlon 2.2 GHz processor, 1.534 Gb RAM, ATI Radeon X1550 Video Card w/ 256 Mb of video memory (pretty good... I have The Sims 2, for example, and that runs great. Command & Conquer 3 is a big game and it runs well too), a standard sound card, 2 USB 2.0 ports in the front (more in the back I think), a firewire port or 2, plugs in the front for speakers, headphones, mic, etc., and a place for SD cards. There's more, and if you need the specs, ask. The price? $300!!! W/ Dell 19" Widescreen Flat-Panel LCD Monitor, Pretty Decent Insignia Speakers w/ port for headphones right on them, standard Logitech keyboard, standard Microsoft optical mouse: $500 total. So, if all you're looking for is a computer good enough to run The Sims 2 at optimal speed, you can get one (w/ accessories) for $500 or less (my monitor alone was $179). For $900, on eBay, you can get an AMAZING computer that won't go obsolete or need upgrades to keep up for a few years. I HIGHLY recommend getting XP. Vista isn't ready yet, and just about everything needs a bit more for Vista to run it. It would probably be more cost effective to get XP and upgrade to Vista later... EDIT: 180 GB+ HDD too, I believe... :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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