what am I missing here? (PC buying thread)

[axlryder]

Sorry to bring out such a redundant topic, but I feel like I'm missing something here

http://1saleaday.com/wireless/

I feel like that's a really good deal for a prebuilt PC. Granted I know practically nothing about buying or building PCs. Aside from what appears to be a middling processor it seems pretty good. I also don't know anything about mobos, this one has one called "jasmine" and I can't find anything on it. Either way, I feel like I'd be hard pressed to build a PC much cheaper than that for the price.

I was considering building a PC soon, and I've just started reading up on the process, but I figure if I can just buy this thing and throw in an AMD graphics card than I'm pretty well set for mid-range gaming. Can anyone enlighten me as to why I'm so wrong?

 

[A Satanic Panda]

Sorry to bring out such a redundant topic, but I feel like I'm missing something here

http://1saleaday.com/wireless/

I feel like that's a really good deal for a prebuilt PC. Granted I know practically nothing about buying or building PCs. Aside from what appears to be a middling processor it seems pretty good. I also don't know anything about mobos, this one has one called "jasmine" and I can't find anything on it. Either way, I feel like I'd be hard pressed to build a PC much cheaper than that for the price.

I was considering building a PC soon, and I've just started reading up on the process, but I figure if I can just buy this thing and throw in an AMD graphics card than I'm pretty well set for mid-range gaming. Can anyone enlighten me as to why I'm so wrong?

I don't see a PCI Express 2.0 expansion on this. You'll be hard pressed to find a decent video card that will run on this.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=ad&dlc=en&docname=c03343058&lc=en

Found motherboard specific specs, it's there. A mid-high range video card should do you pretty well. But make sure you're stock power supply can take one. You may need to replace that. I'd say if it comes with <500W then you should swap it out.

Edit: More specif information.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03348828&cc=us&destPage=document&lc=en&tmp_docname=c03348828

300W You'd have to swap that out for a more powerful one to get a mid-high range video card to work on there.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

I do have some concerns:

1. I have no idea who the fuck 1saleaday.com is. For all I know, it could be a massive scam site. It's probably not, but it's something worth looking into.

2. I have no clue what kind of power supply is in there, but from my past experience with HP, it's probably just barely enough to run the components that are in there. Expect to buy a new power supply on top of anything else.

3. I really don't like HP. Not only are their computers loaded with absurd amounts of bloatware, but I've also had an experience where an entire model of a computer came with a faulty motherboard (it still worked, but it had absurd amounts of crashing and bluescreens). I understand that my experiences are not the norm, but I cannot in good conscience recommend that somebody buy an HP computer.

4. I have no clue what kind of motherboard is in that thing, but I wouldn't expect it to be more than adequate. You might be alright, but I would expect having to buy a new motherboard a few years down the line.

5. I don't know this for sure, but I'm guessing that the case is really small, which would really limit your options for upgrading, especially with the motherboard.

And finally, I don't know how good the processor is, but that's mostly due to me not being familiar with AMD components.

Now, somebody might be able to give you good reasons why you should buy this thing, but my advice is to avoid it unless you just want to browse facebook and write documents. It might be worth getting for your purposes, but it also might cause you way more trouble than it's worth.

 

[Coffeejack]

It looks like what they are offering is a mid-sized PC tower as opposed to a full-sized one, so that could restrict your choices when it comes to swapping hardware out and adding new stuff. If you are adding, remember your power requirements! (Power Supply Unit / PSU)

If you want to change graphics cards, you'd have to make sure that the new one is compatible with the existing motherboard, or you'd need to get a new motherboard too. Now, I've never needed to get a new graphics card before (I use an ATI Radeon HD5850 with an ASUS P6T motherboard and three 4GB ram sticks, great setup that has never let me down). Your motherboard must be compatible with your sound card (**** knows what mine is).

I...don't see the graphics card on that list. They are giving you one, aren't they (watch out for that, people can be royally cheeky and it is factory-refurbished)? I see no monitor included, but I can recommend a good widescreen one for 1920x1080 resolution - the Iiyama ProLite E2407HDS. It should be attainable for under £200. I don't know much about processors, I'm afraid, but someone more knowledgeable should be along shortly.

Speakers are also not mentioned on the list, but the Iiyama has in-built speakers. Nothing special though - you can do much better with a headset.

That's all I can add. Refurbished PCs have basically been sent back to the factory and 're-done', if I understand it right. This usually knocks a lot off the price, but someone more helpful should come along with a more comprehensive checklist of essentials.

If nobody shows up, you can consult this guide. PC Gamer has a great feature in which they build a gaming PC on the cheap, covering everything you'll need. Click 'Read and Comment' on the latest article, then scroll down to see the full list of components.

http://www.pcgamer.com/tag/pc-gamer-rig/

Maker guide your path.

 

[SciMal]

I was considering building a PC soon, and I've just started reading up on the process, but I figure if I can just buy this thing and throw in an AMD graphics card than I'm pretty well set for mid-range gaming. Can anyone enlighten me as to why I'm so wrong?

I wouldn't worry about the motherboard too much, unless it's notoriously bad (just search the 'net). Motherboards are built to some specs, so if the mobo lists PCI-Express (x16) - which is what your vid card will plug into - then it can certainly support it.

You won't be able to (and I wouldn't recommend you try) overclock anything. BIOS options on pre-builts are poor, and the components are always up for guesses.

The power supply will probably need to be replaced. Pre-builts often use the cheapest PSU they can source, and the one in there probably isn't 80%+ Certified, much less capable of supporting a video card.

So I'd say you should look into a new PSU along with your video card.

Of course, the problem is: Once you add those two items (say another $200-$250), you're spending $600ish for the setup. For that much, you could build yourself a pretty similar (if not slightly better) setup. If your budget can't budge, then there isn't harm in your idea, but if you can squeeze $700 into it then I'd go with something you've built yourself. The components will be better, the warranties are often better, and by learning how to put everything together you can also service it yourself.

 

[A Satanic Panda]

I do have some concerns:

1. I have no idea who the fuck 1saleaday.com is. For all I know, it could be a massive scam site. It's probably not, but it's something worth looking into.

http://www.mywot.com/en/scorecard/1saleaday.com

It's legit.

2. I have no clue what kind of power supply is in there, but from my past experience with HP, it's probably just barely enough to run the components that are in there. Expect to buy a new power supply on top of anything else.

300W, it would have to be changed.

3. I really don't like HP. Not only are their computers loaded with absurd amounts of bloatware, but I've also had an experience where an entire model of a computer came with a faulty motherboard (it still worked, but it had absurd amounts of crashing and bluescreens). I understand that my experiences are not the norm, but I cannot in good conscience recommend that somebody buy an HP computer.

Rather then use HP's pre-installed O/S he could just do a clean install of Windows.

4. I have no clue what kind of motherboard is in that thing, but I wouldn't expect it to be more than adequate. You might be alright, but I would expect having to buy a new motherboard a few years down the line.

It's fairly modern. But you're right in a few year he will have to replace it.

Now, somebody might be able to give you good reasons why you should buy this thing, but my advice is to avoid it unless you just want to browse facebook and write documents. It might be worth getting for your purposes, but it also might cause you way more trouble than it's worth.

It's low risk investment and fairly powerful. If he doesn't like it then he'll already has most of the parts for PC he'll need for years. However, I still suggest building a PC from the ground up.

 

[axlryder]

Well I bought it. I can probably snag a decent card and PSU for around 200, and 600 is a pretty good deal for a competent rig. Worst case scenario I already have many of the parts I need to build a new one.

 

[Domogo]

I think building one is only worth while if you cant afford to have one built I would recommend (even though you bought it already) that you go to a local (read not geek squad or other major provider) and tell them what you want in it and if they are worth anything it will be cheaper then average and better overall.

Building is great because you know what is in it and if something goes wrong you can fix it, however is something goes really wrong you are at fault and there is no warranty on it.

EDIT: you should also notice that this comes label factory refurbished which means no way is there a good grantee