Need help finding a good computer.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Just listing components is not enough because I wouldn't probably buy any of the components used in that Dell due to their inferior quality. Cheap is cheap. I wouldn't accept the keyboard or the mouse even. What good does it do to you to get something ultra cheap and then not be satisfied with it?

I have seen and even used many Dell boxes due to my work. I can't say I was very impressed with them. There can be nasty surprises - for example I remember one customer who had a dell desktop. It was very quiet - you couldn't even hear it run. Except when we started to run software on it and the cpu actually started working, after 30 seconds the box started to literally sound like a hoover. Huge vacuuming roar that made us raise our voices in the office. The same effect would happen during gaming and I would certainly be a very unhappy camper if it did.

IMO the best way is to skip the ready built boxes completely, they always contain huge compromises due to cost savings. The hard drive may be a super slow 10 year old model for example. Mobo may be totally gimped in a way that actually makes the whole system work subpar - lack usb3, sata6, pci-e 3 etc. features that are found in every new board that I would choose.

Sure it ends up costing a couple hundred bucks more easily than the gimped mass production box - but it's well worth the price when you get the use experience.

The one place where Dell beats home build in a big way is the price of the OS. If you don't own one already this makes easily 100 bucks difference alone.

[Brooke]

Yes, you can always pay more for something more fancy.

But I don't think that you can beat the $500 Dell on performance/price.

[Bizman]

Yes, you can always pay more for something more fancy.

But I don't think that you can beat the $500 Dell on performance/price.

I disagree. First, it's not a $500 computer after the necessary modifications. Second, here's what pcpartpicker gave with similar values with not even the cheapest alternatives. As you can see, the price would be about the same but with plenty of alternatives to choose from.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/PqwcFT
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/PqwcFT/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($179.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($50.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill AEGIS 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($65.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.24 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card  ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer  ($15.00 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Keyboard: Rosewill RK-101 Wired Standard Keyboard  ($6.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Gear Head MP1600RU Wired Optical Mouse  ($4.19 @ Mwave)
Total: $662.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-13 05:51 EST-0500

[Brooke]

I disagree. First, it's not a $500 computer after the necessary modifications. Second, here's what pcpartpicker gave with similar values with not even the cheapest alternatives. As you can see, the price would be about the same but with plenty of alternatives to choose from.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/PqwcFT
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/PqwcFT/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($179.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($50.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill AEGIS 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($65.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.24 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card  ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer  ($15.00 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Keyboard: Rosewill RK-101 Wired Standard Keyboard  ($6.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Gear Head MP1600RU Wired Optical Mouse  ($4.19 @ Mwave)
Total: $662.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-13 05:51 EST-0500

OK -- that is as good a price. 

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I would change Bizmans list a bit however, especially with the mouse. A good laser mouse is well worth the extra few bucks, you won't need a mouse pad and it tracks perfectly on any table surface. Nothing sucks more than to miss your shot because your mouse warps all over or you hand gets stuck to the side of the mouse pad.

Small things but can make a world of difference. Sometimes it's just smart to pay more.

[Bizman]

I would change Bizmans list a bit however, especially with the mouse. A good laser mouse is well worth the extra few bucks, you won't need a mouse pad and it tracks perfectly on any table surface. Nothing sucks more than to miss your shot because your mouse warps all over or you hand gets stuck to the side of the mouse pad.

Small things but can make a world of difference. Sometimes it's just smart to pay more.

Before getting more suggestions of making the list better I'd want to stress out that it was made only to prove that a computer similar to a modified Dell can be built for the same price. Or has Dell started to include a laser mouse into their packages?

[Brooke]

Or has Dell started to include a laser mouse into their packages?

They do, but those sorts of things are only small changes in price.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Before getting more suggestions of making the list better I'd want to stress out that it was made only to prove that a computer similar to a modified Dell can be built for the same price. Or has Dell started to include a laser mouse into their packages?

I know, I was just pointing out that the low price is by no means the goal to end all goals. One must see how much bang for buck you get. Sometimes you pay 20 bucks more but get '100 bucks worth more' performance.

[Brooke]

They do, but those sorts of things are only small changes in price.

Actually, I misunderstood.  I thought you meant optical mouse.  They are optical, but not with a laser.

[save]

Personally I would invest more into Graphics than other component.
intel I5
8gb ram
quality power supply
as good graphics as you can afford.


AH3 will eventually come out , and will gain much more on good graphics card.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Personally I would invest more into Graphics than other component.
intel I5
8gb ram
quality power supply
as good graphics as you can afford.


AH3 will eventually come out , and will gain much more on good graphics card.

Agreed. Even a Pentium G CPU (overclocked) goes a long way on games if you have a decent graphics card. There used to be a Pentium + motherboard bundle for 120 bucks on Amazon, that made basically a sub 500 dollar gaming machine capable of playing most current games with decent performance.

The Pentium cpu:s lack many features that the i-series have so they suck on multimedia etc. tasks but on games they run surprisingly well.

http://www.overclockersclub.com/guides/intel_pentium_g3258_oc_guide/

[morfiend]

Well in regards to local shops, I've had some issues when them in the past and I really don't want to have work done by them. I know it'll cost more money than building it myself, but I really just want to order one out of a box.

I'm looking at Cyberpower right now and they seem to have some good PCs in my price range.

I'm currently looking at this rig which seems pretty decent, what do you guys think?

https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Mega_Special_II/

 I looked at your choice and my suggestion would be to upgrade the video card selection!  I would pick the 2 gig version at the very least and actually I would look to save in some other places and get a much better card! The 970 Gforce would be my choice but I guess it depends on what you do on the comp and your needs.

   I'm not sure if the monitor and KB/mouse are included but do you really need those?  Maybe drop down the size of the HHD,you can get memory sticks and external drives for cheap so do you re\ally need 2TB of storage?

  The I would next consider cooling,is it worth the extra $$$ for water cooling when a good heatsink and fan will do?

 The lastly have you looked at price matching? Most online places will price match and if you can prove that a certain component is cheaper at say newegg then a good suppler will match it for the sale.  You can do this with NCIX,if you live in US use their dot com site,they price match,have OS's and will assemble for a nominal fee if you purchase an OS with the system.

 They even have topnotch customer service,just call them and you can talk with a person who speaks and understand our language.....


  Of course there are plenty of others here who can advise you much better than I can.


   

[save]

Most modern processors can be 'almost' equally cooled using after-marked air-cooling.
There is another thread about this in this forum.

Personally I have a 12 cm fan with a big cooling tower attached, do not forget to use quality cooling paste.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Here's a Tomshardware review of the 75 dollar Pentium: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pentium-g3258-overclocking-performance,3849-17.html