Where can I buy a nice desktop tower for cheap?

[old_gregg]

Cam, what do you think of this one? HDMI mb.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.672755

wow, that's a good deal. on newegg, the normal savings i've seen from these combos has been ~$35-$40, but that saves $80. the only thing i wish is that ram upgrades were allowed. 8gb (2x4gb) is only like $30 more than 4gb (2x2gb).

[falafel]

wow, that's a good deal. on newegg, the normal savings i've seen from these combos has been ~$35-$40, but that saves $80. the only thing i wish is that ram upgrades were allowed. 8gb (2x4gb) is only like $30 more than 4gb (2x2gb).

You mean you wish Newegg would allow you to upgrade the ram in the package? Not that the mb doesn't allow for more than 4GB memory, right?

I've never built a computer before. What do you think is missing from this machine? I don't need any peripherals. Maybe a card reader, but those are cheap. I can harvest the DVD drives from my old pc.

[old_gregg]

You mean you wish Newegg would allow you to upgrade the ram in the package? Not that the mb doesn't allow for more than 4GB memory, right?

I've never built a computer before. What do you think is missing from this machine? I don't need any peripherals. Maybe a card reader, but those are cheap. I can harvest the DVD drives from my old pc.

yeah, it doesn't make a lot of sense that they prevent you from upgrading. one very nice thing i just noticed about that mb is that it has four 240 pin slots, rather than the typical two so you can just buy another 2x2gb (instead of buying pricier 2x4gb and throwing away the 2x2gb that comes with it) of memory and have 8gb (assuming you're running a 64 bit os).

i can't even remember the last time i used a cd/dvd drive. i install all of my software mounted from a thumb drive.

[falafel]

yeah, it doesn't make a lot of sense that they prevent you from upgrading. one very nice thing i just noticed about that mb is that it has four 240 pin slots, rather than the typical two so you can just buy another 2x2gb (instead of buying pricier 2x4gb and throwing away the 2x2gb that comes with it) of memory and have 8gb (assuming you're running a 64 bit os).

i can't even remember the last time i used a cd/dvd drive. i install all of my software mounted from a thumb drive.

Hmmmm, you do, do you....



I use it mainly to rip movies and CDs. I also burn a lot of CDs still for my car.

[old_gregg]

Hmmmm, you do, do you....



I use it mainly to rip movies and CDs. I also burn a lot of CDs still for my car.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882647191

[falafel]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882647191

That's a single DIN. What am I going to do with my extra DIN?!

[falafel]

I just noticed that newegg has a non-refundable return policy for PCs and tablets. You can return them for replacement, but not refund.

I am thinking of buying the combo, but I was banking on the ability to return it all if I couldn't convince my wife we need it.

[U-Ute]

The only question I would have is in the graphics processor. It is kind of a dated graphics processor. It does support Shader Model 4 though. It may be outdated if you try to play any games on it a year or two from now, but if that isn't a concern, then it'll work plenty fine.

That, and I'm not a big AMD guy. I prefer Intel. Unless you push it you won't notice the difference.

[falafel]

The only question I would have is in the graphics processor. It is kind of a dated graphics processor. It does support Shader Model 4 though. It may be outdated if you try to play any games on it a year or two from now, but if that isn't a concern, then it'll work plenty fine.

That, and I'm not a big AMD guy. I prefer Intel. Unless you push it you won't notice the difference.

To the extent that I game, I'm a console gamer. So I guess I won't need to worry about. I would probably do a lot of video decoding though. I'm assuming it would be fine for that?

I don't have any brand allegiance when it comes to processors. This one seems to have good reviews. I'm not looking for a world-beater, just something to get me through the next 4 years.

On another note, if I were to get this machine, what should I do with my old one? Put ubuntu on it?

[wuapinmon]

but I was banking on the ability to return it all if I couldn't convince my wife we need it.

Just give her another iPad as a mordida. .

[old_gregg]

falafel, any updates? i officially have the green light to buy a combo <$500. i think my standard at this point is "will it play starcraft and have hdmi output?"

[falafel]

falafel, any updates? i officially have the green light to buy a combo <$500. i think my standard at this point is "will it play starcraft and have hdmi output?"

I haven't taken any steps yet. I think I've decided to wait until the computer gets a little more sick. I've got weekly back-ups scheduled plus some redundancy built in, so I'm not to worried about pushing it to the brink. Plus my wife can do most of the things she needs to on her ipad in the event of a total pc meltdown.

The major driver in my decision to wait a bit was that I was going to be using some cash I got for my birthday. I realized that if I waited until the pc HAD to be replaced, I could spend my b-day money on something else. In other words, this way I get both.

I'll still be looking at the combo deals, in case a screaming deal comes up. I'll post whatever I see in here. If you find something great I'd appreciate a link.

[old_gregg]

i am very strongly considering this. it's a bit more expensive out of the gate, but the i5 is a sweet processor and the heftier power supply will support the addition of a new video card (probably one of the geforce 550 or 560ti units) down the road. i will also probably include another 2x4gb of memory with the order to put it at 8gb.

what say ye, falafel, uncle ted, space ghost, fm, et al.?

[falafel]

That looks pretty sweet. I'd like to get an i5 if possible. I don't see the value in the i7 (but I could certainly be wrong on that). Supports up to 32GB of RAM.

Is there hdmi on the mb? I didn't see it.

[old_gregg]

ok. i ordered one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.661396

i also couldn't stop myself from ordering a video card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161348