Build a PC or Refurbished Desktop PCs

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 10:13 am

Well I've been thumbing through some stuff on newegg again, and my head is spinning Rolling Eyes

Was trying to stick to a $500 budget for a PC rebuild but having trouble doing so... I have a case, 500w power supply (which I think is good) and all the optical drives i need...

something like this combo had alot of what I was looking for
Combo Price: $305.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.361269

Code:

1. AMD Athlon II X2 240 (Regor) 2.8GHz 2 x 1MB L2 cache Socket AM3 65W Dual Core Desktop Processor (ADX240OCK23GQ) - OEM
2. ASUS Socket AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G Chipset HDMI Micro ATX Motherboard (M4A785-M) - Retail
3. ASUS GeForce GT 220 1GB 128bit DDR2 PCI-E 2.0 x16 Graphics Card (ENGGT220/DI/1GD2-LP) - Retail
4. Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler - Retail
5. G.Skill 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit (F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ) - Retail
6. Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 750GB 32MB Cache SATA II 3.5" Hard Drive (ST3750528AS) - Retail

but not real sure about the video card and would be nice to have some more ram

and then on the flip side, they have some refurbished PC deals, which aren't perfect, but it's hard to beat when you start adding all the stuff up. This deal would probably need a vid card upgrade (as well as power supply, have that) but has some pretty nice stats and hopefully could use it as-is for awhile... or i may splurge and order a 5770 too

Recertified: HP Pavilion P6230Y Phenom II X4 810(2.6GHz) 8GB DDR3 750GB ATI Radeon HD 4200 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883147196
$499.99

Code:

General Spec
Brand HP
Series Pavilion
Model P6230Y(NY549AAR)
Type Home / Home Office
Processor AMD Phenom II X4 810(2.6GHz)
Processor Main Features 64 bit Quad-Core Processor
Cache Per Processor 2MB L2 Cache
Memory 8GB DDR3
Hard Drive 750GB 7200RPM SATA
Optical Drive 1 SuperMulti DVD Burner with LightScribe Technology
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 4200 Graphics
Audio Sound card - Integrated
Ethernet 10/100/1000Base-T network interface
Wireless Card Wireless LAN 802.11a/b/g/n
Keyboard HP USB keyboard
Mouse HP USB optical mouse
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Chipset AMD 785G
CPU Type Phenom II X4
Installed Qty 1
CPU Speed 810(2.6GHz)
L2 Cache Per CPU 2MB
L3 Cache Per CPU 4MB
CPU Socket Type AM3
CPU Main Features 64 bit Quad-Core Processor
GPU/VPU Type ATI Radeon HD 4200
Graphics Interface Integrated video
Memory Capacity 8GB DDR3
Form Factor DIMM 240-pin
Memory Slot (Total) 4
Maximum Memory Supported 16GB
HDD Capacity 750GB
HDD Interface SATA
HDD RPM 7200rpm
Optical Drive Spec SuperMulti DVD Burner with LightScribe Technology drive

what do you guys think?
(this pc would be around $1000+ direct from HP)

if that refurbished pc somehow sucks, what about any of these other deals?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2002280000%204016&SpeTabStoreType=97&cm_sp=recertifiednavigation-_-flashstorefront-_-desktops

Secretary of Defense Joined: Feb 16, 2007 Posts: 2379

the refurbished one is great minus the video card. I would probably grab another one an ATI 5000 series or a nVidia GTX series card would last years.

The combo deal seems to be the best deal since you already have the case and PSU, but the memory is lacking, only 2GB and its DDR2(which is 4 year old technology). But the motherboard wont support much higher speed memory than that anyways, so maybe buy another set of the same memory offered in the combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098

That will give you 4GB of memory which should be more than enough, and its well under your 500 dollar budget.

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 5:31 pm

I'm going back and forth on what to do. lol

I'm leaning toward some sort of refurbished setup, something to be said for not having to assemble the thing and hope it works as expected.. I dont have a 64bit OS so I would have to get that too if I built my own.

I realize most of the software I use isn't going to work on the new machine either..... so my plan is two fold... I bought a cheapy refurbished dell last night for $90 (free shipping) :
DELL 2.6 GHZ DESKTOP COMPUTER PC WIN XP PRO

I'll be able to merge that with some of my current parts and hopefully setup my old-school gaming rig for A&A, some of my old software, probably would run CoH too...

Secretary of Defense Joined: Feb 16, 2007 Posts: 2379

you wouldnt have to buy a 64 bit OS, you can get 32 bit OEM discs.

And ofcourse, i havent payed for an OS in 10 years, i can always show you where to get a free copy of w/e you want. Smile

Custom builds can bring about some problems, mainly guarantees. So many parts from different companies it can become a hassle if something beaks. I've only had to return 3 parts in 5 years of custom building, but thats because i did my research and found the best brands for the money i wanted to pay. Also you can use the hard drive from your current PC as the main drive and not have to buy an OS if you dont mind keeping what you have.

Systems pre-built by companies are easier to deal with but in order to get a low price they build it with one part lacking, like the video card in the refurbished one you posted. Also they tend to be loaded with a bunch of shit you will never use and no matter how well you uninstall it....still leaves shit behind.

One thing that is good though..that refurbished system isnt bad and a video card transfer down the road would be simple. If all your going to do is play AnA and COH a 4200 is perfect.

Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 4:19 pm

I think your best bet is the refurished one, the ram isn't that big of a deal, especially if your gunna upgrade the video card.