Hey, 'Boomies! Well, my 6 year old computer's hard drive took a nose dive. Any advice on what specs I should look for in a new computer? I'm a gamer.

I'm going to scootch you over to Glitches where the techhies can help you better. Sorry your computer died.

Ana

Thanks, Ana!

It depends on what kind of games you are talking about. A decent video card is a must.

I put one together at ecollegepc for under five hundred. (I already had an operating system so the pc did not include one So add a hundred bucks if you need OS)

I got the core i3 processor 500 gig hard drive 4 gig ram because I was using XP-Pro (XP PRO won't recognize more than 4gig---Win 7 will ) I bought extra fans and a better case. The case has a sensor that reports internal temperature of PC plus a clear panel with cool lights inside. Total of six fans inside. It was an extra twenty bucks and the clear panel allows you to see inside because of the blue light. So I can sit here and see red and blue light and the fans going around. I can tell you it is seventy four degrees fahrenheit inside my computer. I have no idea how hot too hot is.

Also bought a middle of the pack motherboard. You need to pay attention to number and type of card slots and number type of usb ports. Some of the bottom end motherboards had only one pci slot I needed two. So I bumped up the MB.

Those intel on board graphics are terrible. I bought the video card elsewhere.

PC arrived with onboard graphics. I could not believe how bad Sims2 looked with onboard graphics. That is not exactly a demanding game.

I loaded up saved games. It looked like hurricane Irene hit the town. Four streets were under water as the "lake flooded out covering the streets. People were actually walking around underwater.

When I put in Nvidia GT450 three days later it was like FEMA arrived pumped out the streets and repaired the houses.

My setup will do justice for adventure games and nvidia clames the 450 can handle shooters.

But if onboard graphics can't handle Sims 2 then don't rely on it for anything.

For adventure games and Sims 2 a nvidia gt210 or 240 under $30 at new egg will do fine We are not talking big bucks. The 420 or 440 are not much more in price, If you do shooters you should look higher end.

Wonderful information, oldmariner! Lots to think about. Thank you so very much!

Ahh, but don't forget, that if you want one of the bigger GForce cards, you need a big power supply at at least 4-500

What do you recommend for those of us who don't build our own computers? For years I had someone building them for me, but now I've moved to a place where I don't know anyone who builds them.

Get one from ecollegepc.com like Oldmariner did.
Ecollege will build the computer the way you want it. You can specify a video card as part of the configuration if you don't want to install your own.

Thanks, Jenny! I'll bookmark that page so when I'm ready I can get it from them. I've always had someone build it, so I'm leery of just buying one off the shelf.

You're smart to be leery. Most "off the shelf" computers at Best Buy, Staples, etc. have very poor video cards if they have a video card at all, as well as a power supply that's too weak to accomodate much of a video card upgrade. ECollege will guarantee their work too, in case something happens to the computer during shipping.

Plus their 3 year warranty on parts and labor is no extra charge. One thing I would recommend is getting a better power supply than the stock one they have one some of the computers. My experience with the 3 computers I had them build for friends is they were very low end. But upping the power supply to a better one didn't cost much more.

Well, have my new computer and I'm lovin' it! Ended up having son, who is a tech-guy extraodinaire helping me out. He researched the kind of games I like to play, what they require, predicted what I might need in the future, plus other type of useage. Then went online and found a computer that, after a two-hour drive, we could bring home today, and voila! I'm a happy camper!

Good for you Darlene Hope you enjoy it. what did you get.

To answer Drac I upped to a 500 watt power supply. Bought an up graded case and mid level MB.Quite happy so far with e-college.

It's an HP Pavillion p7-1010. Son checked out the specs, says it should do me well. Definitely not top of the line, but for the type of gaming I do and being on a budget, it will do.

What video card?

The specs say an integrated ATI Raedon 4200. Hope they upgraded to something else.

Drac you just touched on the question I raised below. Jenny's comment goes along with my suspicion. That PC she bought has a 250 watt power supply. Just like the one in my post they let you upgrade to video cards that require larger power supplies than they included in the PC. It might not be a bad idea to pin HP down to define what game they are playing. Whatever they are doing they are not telling the buyer when configuring on their website.

GB PC Post

I read that post last night, oldmariner. Like Jenny, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they were selling stripped down video cards so they don't have to upgrade those dreadful 250 watt power supplies. And unless they have changed in the last few years, I've replaced two of these 250 watt power supplies on HP computers and the quality of the original power supplies was horrible. Definitely not "built to last."

This is another reason I got away from brand name PCs. Used to be the major brands were truly trustworthy, but that's all changed.