NEW PC Specs

[Maines]

This is the first time I have really looked at a gaming computer and I was

wondering what you think for the specs of this one I found at Wal Mart

•AMD Phenom II X4 955 processor

3.2GHz, 6MB L3 Cache

•4GB DDR3 SDRAM system memory (expandable to 8GB)

Gives you the power to handle most power-hungry applications and tons of multimedia work

•1TB SATA hard drive

Store 666,000 photos, 285,000 songs or 526 hours of HD video and more

•24x DVD+/-R/RW Drive

Watch movies, and read and write CDs and DVDs in multiple formats

•10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet

Connect to a broadband modem or wired broadband router with wired Ethernet

•AMD Radeon HD 5450 Graphics

With 512MB video memory, DVI and VGA capabilities

[Janke 1st MRB]

>Wal-Mart

This is my first issue with it. Wal-Mart is not very well known for selling computers, in fact, they often have a very limited selection and very limited knowledge of computers. I'd look for, if you're going to get a prebuilt, something at BestBuy.

I'm personally no fan of AMD, but the processor seems okay. The graphics card is likely integrated into the motherboard, and while it should play DoD fine, it likely won't perform so well on more graphically-intensive games. Everything else looks okay, but I'd spring for a better graphics card.

Granted, this is a pre-built from Wal-Mart, and personally I won't get a pre-built, I'd build it myself, you'll get better bang for your buck and better customization to your needs if you build it yourself.

[Maines]

Ahh, ok, So I see youd recommend a different proccessor?

I Assume Intel i3, i5,or i7?

[Janke 1st MRB]

Indeed, i5 or i7 personally, and preferably from the Sandy Bridge set for both or the Nehalem set for i7.

Also, what's the price of this computer? It being "decent" is kind of contingent on it being around $600 or less, and that $600 is me being a bit generous, I've seen much better priced at $500-$700, as well as priced out better for similar prices.

[Maines]

The Computer I found was set at $500. so thats considered a cheapie eh?

[Ford 1st MRB]

As long as it can download porn and music it's a good pc.

[Maines]

Well, this $650 PC should download as much as Ford would want

•Intel Core i5-2400 processor

3.1GHz

•4GB DDR3 SDRAM system memory (expandable to 16GB)

Gives you the power to handle most power-hungry applications and tons of multimedia work

•1TB SATA hard drive

Store 666,000 photos, 285,000 songs or 526 hours of HD video and more

•24x DL DVD+/-RW Drive

Watch movies, and read and write CDs and DVDs in multiple formats

•10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN

Connect to a broadband modem with or wired broadband router with wired Ethernet

•NVIDIA GT440 1GB Graphics

With 1GB of memory

[Janke 1st MRB]

I'd much prefer the second choice. Again, the graphics card isn't amazing, generally with NVidia it's at x60 that it starts to perform well, with ATI it's usually x770. It'll run DoD fine, should be able to handle most games, but won't get amazing framerates on high settings on more modern games. Still, I much prefer it over your other choice. Now the only qualm I have is Wal-Mart, but that's just my opinion on the retailer, it just means the staff there won't be able to tell you shit and you'll get no service from the store for any problems, which means any warranties are manufacturer warranties, and those require you ship your PC to them or bring it to a local service centre, which sometimes there are none of.

[Chen]

walmart is the place to go buy clothes candy and kitchen ware etc. your not the only one that thinks that janke. give bestbuy a shot or buy parts then build it yourself, itll give you a nice summer project and youll feel great after building it.

[Kilbourne]

I wouldn't EVER buy a pre-built computer... you never know all the parts that are in it and no clue on how much you can truly upgrade it. With buying the parts from places, like Newegg.com or tigerdirect.com, you can build your own computer with much more room from upgrades later if you so desire to do that. But that is just my $0.02 worth. Ultimately it is up to you and what you want to do.

[Nathan]

My comp is almost the same as the first you listed but an AMD 4670 1GB graphics card. Plays anything I throw at it at pretty high settings too. But I built it myself, I would NOT buy a gaming computer at Walmart. After building my own, I wouldn't buy one anywhere.