Computer Shows versus Online: PC SHOPPING

[liquidstayce]

Which is a better place to buy a PC?
I am going to go to the Market Pro Computer Show next weekend with Mop. Have not been to one in several years. Anyone know if the vendor prices are as good as the prices you can find online?

I would like to keep the cost $500.00 and under so we need to be very savvy shoppers. Basic gaming system but upgradeable later.

Video Card wise - ATI Radeon X800 XL ok? Cnet had that best card for midrange cost. Think it was running just under $300. I might have to just get that as an upgrade later.

[Gidan]

Computer shows are a great place to pick up hardware. Just make sure to check out as much of it as possible before you buy. You can get some amazing deals but at the same time some people charge more then your local computer store. If you shop carefully, you will do just as well or beter then you would online.

That ATI card is very good if you dont want top of the line.

[liquidstayce]

Ya Gid.. with the budget I set we can't go top of the line right now. However if I do see some good deals then I will grab. I'm so out of touch though with what a good deal is these days. I just have not been out in the hardware circuit in ages and have not had a need to keep up with the market. Any chance you can come up with a laundry list of things to look for that fit close to that price range? What about just buying a full system from a vendor instead of shopping for individual components?

[Lyion]

The only problem with Computer Fairs is if you dont buy from a reputable vendor, you could be out of luck if they sell you a lemon.

I'd suggest going for an online wholesaler with a good rep, like Cyberpower Systems.

Also, buy a machine you can upgrade incrementally. If you have 500 dollars to use on a gaming system, I'd suggest an Xbox

[Gidan]

You may be able to save a little by buying the parts seperately, although some venders give a discount on price for their pre built systems because your buying everything from them.

if you want to include the video card in the $500, your going to limit yourself a bit. The video card is probably going to be either the most or second most expensive piece of your computer.

My suggestions would be
AMD 64 (939pin) Processer/motherboard combo. Most venders will sell them as a combo for a small discount on the price of them together. You can probably get this for about $250. AMD 939 is going to be AMD's new standard, dont go with any other.

Video - GeForce 6600 GT ($200ish), RADEON X700 Pro($200ish), GeForce 6800 GT($300ish) ,RADEON X800 XL ($300ish). If you are going to get this at the same time as the rest of your system. Go with a PCI express, It will give you far more upgradability later and will perform beter now. I prefer nVidia, other prefer ATI. Its really just a matter of preferance. For every day gaming, any of those 4 cards will probably perform great for you.

Sound - Unless your looking for something great, almost all motherboards have it onboard now and it is probably enough for what you want it for. - $0

RAM - 1Gig PC3200 $50 - $100 depending on how lucky you get with the venders there. (512 probably wouldn't save you much $$ and your beter off with 1G if you can get it)

HD - This depends completely on how much HD space you need. I just picked up an 80gig drive for $40 the other day.

Case - Just make sure it have atleast a 350W power supply, beyond that go with what you like be it based on price or looks. $20 - $100

Floppy (optional - I have a few comps without one and dont miss it) - $5 - 15

DVD (I would go with a DVD if you can get 1 cheap, CD is fine but DVD would be beter) $20 - $70

Extras, I would recomend a couple small fans (if your case doesn't come with them)

If your very careful with your $$ and get some good deals from venders, you could get the whole thing includng video card for around $500 (before tax). Probably going to be more like $600 though. Its mostly depending on what video card you want and how much you care about looks vs performance.

Easiest way to cut cost on this would be to go cheap on the HD (this doesn't mean go small, some of the smaller drives are actually more expensive). Video card, if you want to lower the price try and find yourself the cheapest pci express video card you can. The performance will not be as good as the cards above but I will still be good. I would definatly go pci express if you can, it is going to be the new standard and if your building from the bottom up now, its easier to use it now then to replace your motherboard later. Go cheap on the case, just be carful on the powersupply and make sure its 350W or more.

If you really want to cut the costs, go with a cheap AMD 64 939 motherboard with AGP and an inexpensive AGP video card. But keep in mind, when your ready to upgrade you will probably be looking to replace both the motherboard and the video card for PCI express.

A word of advice about the computer show.

Talk to people, see if you can run across a regular visitor. You will hae some people who go every time they can. They will know who the good venders are and who suck. They can be the difference between getting a lemon and getting an amazing machine. Some of the best stuff I have ever had came from computer shows at great prices.

[liquidstayce]

Thanks Gid!

[Tikker]

http://www.tigerdirect.com

that's all you really need to know