PC Buying, again

[iggy880]

Ok, I know I keep doing this, and said "I've given up on buying a PC and am buying a 360" but I have a better chance of fining a PC good and in my range this year then a 360 at all. Anyways, I have narrowed my choices to 3-4 well priced, good quality HPs and I need a final recomendation. Again, I only have about $400 and would like some left over. So, here are my choices:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/iggy880/PC1.jpg
$350

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/iggy880/PC2.jpg
$350

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/iggy880/PC3.jpg
$400

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/iggy880/PC4.jpg
$400


I see these as my best options for my money, as name brands, fast processors, a monitor with them, and 512 is a free upgrade, as is CD-RW drive. I just need help deciding as going Celeron or Pentium 4 (with a $50 difference) is a tough decision with me since I know the difference, but don't want to spend all of my money if I can, also because I heard AMD was better for gaming, but I am unsure on that or if I want to loose processor speed on even that possibility. So if and when I get a PC finally it will probably be one of these, so any help is welcome, and needed.

[Larke]

hP sucks, I'd go with Dell

[Larke]

they have one that is $299 andyou can upgrade the memory for only $30 and the processor is 2.4gig

[iggy880]

I dunno Larke, I mean the family one I have is a Compaq,a nd it's held up perfectly well under the use of at least four people using and they are like co-owned now. Also, I've checked Dell over and over and I just don't feel up to an upgrade when I can get this stuff that is good now, none the less with out the work of upgrading and part shopping, not to mention I don't know if I'd trust those types of upgrades to myself.

[Kinetix]

I second the Dell quote but I go with the 4th of 4 of your finds.

[Larke]

no no, its part the upgrade on the Dell Site.. there are many upgrades you can do, you can "customize" the computer on your own. go to the website, check it out at least, www.dell.com
I've had way too many problems with HPs and Compaqs that I'd never buy one, the only way I'd use one is if it was fast and free :)

[Remianen]

Those specs make me cry :(

First off, I'd do everything I could to avoid Integrated graphics cards. There are ways to skimp on stuff without causing yourself undue grief down the line. I'd dump the monitor (CRT? No thanks), knowing I could get a flat panel from WAL MART for $60.

Get the 3rd or 4th one. NEVER buy a Celeron, under any circumstances. If you want this computer to last longer than 6 months or so, get the best you possibly can afford up front. I'm a bit more harsh than Larke. I wouldn't take a HP/Compaq even if it was free. I'd get Pavilion/Presario flashbacks so bad, they'd diagnose me with post traumatic stress disorder. :p

I'd still recommend you hang on to your $400. Once you get to the $600-800 range, you can get a rig that would smoke all 4 of those systems like a chocolate thai blunt. The computer I play on most of the time cost me $801 to build (with a GeForce FX 5600 LE card in it). But as Larke said, check Dell and see if they have something comparable.

[iggy880]

Thanks to everyone for the help, and Larke while that does seem like a good deal, if I was to get a DVD-ROM drive to watch DVD's and the 512 that would leave me with barely any, and I'd rather go with an HP personally considering the extras I can get for free, but if you could make a build for my range that you find perfect I'll at least put it up there. Also Kin, any personal preferences towards the AMD processor and why please.

Last but not least, Remianen, I've never seen a flat screen for $60 plus that is still a bit through the the range, but I know where you are coming from with the Celeron. I also know integrated are a pain, but they can last me until I can afford better graphics, and the prices of cards are going down. I would save up but every day or so I end up sharing a PC, the more painful it is since I have to skip TFs and SFs because others want a turn, or leveling time and stuff. Either way, I truly want a good system, and these seem like great builds so if they can give me good processor, price, and tie in's I'm fine, but I need it to have a monitor with it, or so I can afford one after the fact.

[Tarkenchi]

AMD has better power delivery is the best way I can say it, while a car with 300 horsepower goes fast, a different car which has better power delivery and less horsepower can go faster, all because of the way it works... same story with AMD and Intel, 3.0 ghz may sound faster than a 2.0 but the AMD works different and has better delivery.

[Larke]

i personally prefer intel, bad AMD history.

And as far as celeron, I've been using the one I got for like 3 days and it works great LOL
but seriously, I was using a 2ghz for over a year and now its in another machine. I've had nothing but successes with celerons, despite them being slower. I've been able to use them as long as I have to til I upgrade and then other machines run them

[Larke]

I personally would never get a Dell for a gaming machine unless it was one of their gaming machines (heheh) because of graphics card. For 4 hundred bucks you can get a pretty good gaming machine without the graphics card, the good ones are just so expensive, that you're gonna be paying 100-200 just for the middle range ones (though best buy and comp usa can have some insane deals)
Also with prefab its hard to upgrade later, cause you'd have to take it to authorized tech place to put it in whihc might cost, unless you don't care about breaking warranty.

Also if you can build a puter yourself, tiger direct is having a sale on the mother board processor I have, $59 bucks for both, its a 2.93mhz celeron. (doesn't come with cpu fan, not sure how muchon those, um, 20 bucks?)
Best Buy is having a sale on PC3200 512mb mem for $40 (mb only has 2 slots, so buy 2 sticks 512 = $80
network card 10-15 bucks (or look at online places, sometimes get them cheap)
DVD burner (really good sale 30-40 bucks online place maybe, tops 99)
Graphics card (whatever you want to spend)
monitor (if you can find walmart sale)
mouse keyboard speakers (whatever you want to spend, check ebay :D )