Tiger Direct Question - (Barbone PC kits) Options

[superstitious]

I was reading up on the barebone stuff and it seems like you get more for your money, as far as hardware is concerned. The optimist in me says it's similar (ok, not the same, but theoretically...) like buying furniture and putting the pieces together. I get that I'm grossly oversimplifying, but I'm wondering if that's the general concept.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/ca...lc.asp?CatId=31
(for reference)

I'm looking into getting something different, something more graphic saavy as my computer is going on 5 years now and since my son needs a new computer, I figure why not buy a new one for me and give him my old system. Yes, I am a mean mom. haha

[Deospeon]

I'll suggest you to just build a PC Yourself.

As You said You want a graphics savvy computer.

Heres what I'll suggest you.

Intel Core 2 Quad,
3GB of RAM,
160-500GB of HDD,
Nvidia 8800GT or 9800GTX whatever turns you on.
and a nifty 26" LCD.

[heyo-captain-jac...]

Processor Information:
Vendor: GenuineIntel
Speed: 2400 Mhz
4 logical processors
4 physical processors
HyperThreading: Unsupported
FCMOV: Supported
SSE2: Supported

Windows Version:
Windows Vista (32 bit)
NTFS: Supported

Video Card:
Driver: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT
DirectX Driver Name: nvd3dum.dll
Driver Version: 7.15.11.7813
DirectX Driver Version: 7.15.11.7813
Driver Date: 18 Sept 2008
Desktop Color Depth: 32 bits per pixel
Monitor Refresh Rate: 59 Hz
DirectX Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT
VendorID: 0x10de
DeviceID: 0x614
Number of Monitors: 2
Number of Logical Video Cards: 2
No SLI or Crossfire Detected
Primary Display Resolution: 1680 x 1050
Desktop Resolution: 2960 x 1050
Primary Display Size: 23.35" x 14.57" (27.48" diag)
59.3cm x 37.0cm (69.8cm diag)
Primary Bus: PCI Express 16x
Primary VRAM: 1024 MB
Supported MSAA Modes: 2x 4x 8x


Sound card:
Audio device: Speakers (High Definition Audio

Memory:
RAM: 2813 Mb

Miscellaneous:
Total Hard Disk Space Available: 476937 Mb
Largest Free Hard Disk Block: 369145 Mb

Those are my specs. Build around that, and you should have something good, and under $2.5K.

[Deospeon]

9001 is right,
go for 9800GTX or Geforce GTX 295 if you have alot of cash with you.

[mipadi]

I'm no expert, but a lot of those kits actually look pretty good. Here are a few pieces of advice I can offer to keep in mind:

• A lot of cheap kits have crappy power supplies. Do not skimp on the power supply -- it's one of the most important components in the machine. A fried power supply can take out a lot of other components.
• Along the same lines, unless you have a lot of hard drives or an über-powerful graphics card, you don't need a really high-wattage power supply. Something in the 400W range is probably sufficient, so don't bother paying extra for a kit with, say, an 800W power supply.
• I'd get something with an Intel Core 2. The Intel Core 2 Duo is sufficient; I wouldn't pay extra for an Intel Core 2 Quad.
• Unless you're doing some really intense gaming (e.g., playing the latest and greatest games at the highest resolution with the graphics quality turned all the way up), you probably don't need more than a 256MB graphics card. An nVidia 8xxx-series card is probably sufficient, although a 9xxx-series can't hurt (or the ATI equivs, but I don't know as much about ATI cards). If you're not worried about serious gaming, you might even get away with integrated graphics (but a separate gfx card is always nice).
• 2GB RAM is sufficient. More is always better, but I wouldn't break your wallet trying to get more than 2GB -- plus you can always add more down the road.

[illriginal]

Didn't read the thread nor the OP, just read, "Tiger Direct". Stay away from them.. they're too expensive compared to other places such as Newegg.

[heyo-captain-jac...]

Didn't read the thread nor the OP, just read, "Tiger Direct". Stay away from them.. they're too expensive compared to other places such as Newegg.

I actually agree with you for once. Newegg completely pwns the shit out of Tiger Direct.

[Insurmountable]

Actually, the ATI 4850 is considered to be the best bang for buck video card on the market right now. If you have money, buy an ATI 4950 X2. Just check out the benchmarks on websites like TOM'S HARDWARE.

NVIDIA has been slacking all year. Last year, NVIDIA was king. This year, they've just eaten dirt. The new ATI R770 GPU kicked NVIDIA to the curb in every way shape and form.

ATI is king...

[heyo-captain-jac...]

Well it's only March. NVIDIA still has a few months to release something badass.

[Uronacid]

Well it's only March. NVIDIA still has a few months to release something badass.

Heh, not likely. NVidia just keeps ramping up the DIE size on their cards. It will only take them so far. ATI took a different route, and a successful one at that. Investing in an entirely new GPU architechture.

However, NVidia still has the most powerful card on the market, the 295. The $500+ graphics card is worse than a paired 4870s ($400+) in a xFire configuration. A complete waste of money if you ask me. Seeing as how the 4850 can play just about any game on the market (Crysis aside) on maximum in some of the highest resolutions for only $130.00...

I used to play NVidia, but I'm not a fan boy. I just buy from the best manufaturer. Now, I shop ATI because they're the best.