Buying new computer

[Musk]

I'm getting a new computer Sunday week but I just wanted to make sure it was a good deal.
I'm buying off a friend and it's only 18 months old. Is Pentium 4 3.2Ghz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HD space, decent video card (not sure what it is) but I can upgrade the card if i need to later.
All that for $350.
What I'm asking is is it better to just get this or save up for a new computer?

 

[Bad^Hat]

Depends what you want to use it for. Seems like an alright deal I guess (without actually looking anywhere or figuring out the conversion), but in general it's better to save for a good new one.

Wrong forum, too. This stuff goes in hardware & software.

 

[Musk]

Yeah I just realized I posted in the wrong place =/
The computer would be mainly for gaming and just general computer operations.

 

[Deleted member 56031]

You would need to upgrade alot of it if you want to play alot of recent games.

Let's just say that won't play crysis

 

[Javert]

Is there a PCI-e slot on the mobo? Windows XP I assume?

 

[Eejit]

Might be a bit slow on 2008 and onwards games, most 2007 are more likely to play (Crysislol).

 

[StardogChampion]

Not a great deal really although depends on what the graphics card is.

You could get a decent Dual Core CPU, 8600GT, 2GB RAM and a new Mobo all for $400 or so. That's if you kept your current monitor/case/HD's/DVD drives though.

 

[Warbie]

I wouldn't go for it.

 

[Shakermaker]

it's only 18 months old.

'Only' wouldn't be the word I would use. Do you know how much 18 months is in computer years? I wouldn't go for it either.

 

[Musk]

Is there a PCI-e slot on the mobo? Windows XP I assume?

Yes it does have PCI-e and it is Windows XP.
I'll find out what video card it is.

 

[Musk]

The video card is Nvidia 6200.

 

[Bulletbrain]

I wouldn't go for it. The 6200 will allow you to play pre 2004 games well, and probably 2004 games (like HL2, Doom 3, Far cry) reasonable well...but it would struggle to play anything post 2004.... its not a good deal.

 

[Naudian]

$350 AUD is actually not a terrible deal if it includes a case and decent power supply, but I think you're still better off buying a brand new setup.

 

[Gordon_X]

The Pentium 4 is the problem, more recent games take full advantage of the dual core.

I'd say:

-Upgrade Processor
-Upgrade Video Card

 

[Musk]

Yeah it's $350 Australian. I don't know the power supply but he's throwing in a free monitor but its not great and a desk.
Say if I did buy the Computer. How much would I be looking at to upgrade it?

 

[Pesmerga]

Trust me mate, just save another $300 and buy a much, much better system that will last you for much longer than that POS will.

 

[Saturos]

I wouldn't go for it. The 6200 will allow you to play pre 2004 games well, and probably 2004 games (like HL2, Doom 3, Far cry) reasonable well...but it would struggle to play anything post 2004.... its not a good deal.

The 6200 is not a gaming card to begin with. If it was a x600 or higher, then maybe. He did say that he would look into a new video card. Then again, I wouldn't bother to buy a "used" computer either.

 

[Musk]

Ok a friend who is offering to sell a Geforce 7, 7600 256 DDR2 PCI-E for $50. Would this make the computer any more better? So in total I would be spending $400 on this.

 

[Saturos]

Ok a friend who is offering to sell a Geforce 7, 7600 256 DDR2 PCI-E for $50. Would this make the computer any more better? So in total I would be spending $400 on this.

Not really. To be honest, my 2 cards, which is a 7600 SLI setup, is getting a bit long in the tooth just in case you were looking at my sig. They are still good cards for me, but they would probably run the latest games like arse, and that's with two GeForce 7600 cards. You get what you pay for if you buy cheap with computers tbh. Also, there's no guarantee how good of condition your friend's card is in. Just take everyone else's advice and save up for a new PC. If you decide on a new PC and video card, go with the GeForce 86xx or higher cards if your interested in the latest games. For pre-2007 games, the GeForce 76xx series of cards or higher will do if your not into the latest games.

 

[Musk]

Hmm yeah. I'm thinking i'll get some money for my birthday and treat myself with a 8600.

 

[Raptor_Jesus]

DON'T DO IT DUDE


d:

 

[Musk]

Urgh this is hard. So many people are saying don't do it but then so many other people are saying its a good deal (though none are from this forum).

 

[99.vikram]

It's a good deal for a second PC but it's a terrible deal for a gaming rig. The processor is already outdated, and the graphics card was never top of the line to start with. If you want to play new games at mid-to-high range settings, save your money.

Buy a Core 2 Duo or the Extreme (if you can afford it). After that buy a graphics card - preferably an ATI HD2600 or NVidia 8800GTS. Then focus on the PSU etc.

(I'm an ATI fanboy)

 

[Krynn72]

Hmm yeah. I'm thinking i'll get some money for my birthday and treat myself with a 8600.

Dont bother man. The processor and ram would just bottleneck it and you wont get all the performance out of an Geforce 8 series card.

To be honest, if I bought a computer for gaming today, it would at the very least be a dual core, 2gig system with a geforce 8.

Do you already have a case, monitor,keyboard/mouse and all that already? You could probably buy much better componants with that money, and just put them in an old case.

But I suggest not getting that computer, because its not a good deal if you're going to do any gaming.

 

[Druckles]

I'm getting a new computer Sunday week but I just wanted to make sure it was a good deal.
I'm buying off a friend and it's only 18 months old. Is Pentium 4 3.2Ghz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HD space, decent video card (not sure what it is) but I can upgrade the card if i need to later.
All that for $350.
What I'm asking is is it better to just get this or save up for a new computer?

No. That's not a great deal.

That sounds like my parent's PC which has been knocking around for years. Sure, it's had some updates, but it's still shit.

You want to buy a machine twice as good as that for $400.