Computer Recommendations?

[Barrister]

hmm... Dell . . . or Mac? DECISIONS. DECISIONS. 

See if you can buy your computer from a manufacturer that doesn't load the computer down with crapware.

I know MS stores do that, and Sony does (I think), but not Dell.

[Iormlund]

See if you can buy your computer from a manufacturer that doesn't load the computer down with crapware.

The first thing you should do with a computer is partition the drive and start from scratch anyway.

[Barrister]

See if you can buy your computer from a manufacturer that doesn't load the computer down with crapware.

The first thing you should do with a computer is partition the drive and start from scratch anyway.

J-dawg seems to want a plug-in-and-go computer.

By the way, I think one of the biggest selling points for Macs is actually the simple fact they have no crapware.  People don't buy 'em for that reason, but it's what helps make using a Mac seem so much cleaner.

[Grey Fox]

I'll build you one J-dawg. My fee is 100$

[Jaron]

I'd take you up on it if you didn't live so far away.

[Jaron]

Nowadays, given what I stated what I want my pc to do, is there really such thing as ordering a computer that is too powerful?.

I mean just tinkering around on computer sites, I've seen some options that jack your costs up a thousand dollars alone for a single hardware component.

What I'm aiming for is a computer that does exactly what I need (mostly games, and I play mostly mmos nowadays) and is upgradable in the future should I need it, but isnt so powerful it can fit my needs with one hand behind its back.

Or in other words: I don't want to spend more than I absolutely need to.

If the speed limit is 65, I don't need a car that can consistently push 110.

Dig?

[Iormlund]

Unless you do terribly demanding stuff (rendering, number crunching) a suitable setup will be dirt cheap. And yes, there is such a thing as too powerful a computer. For example, BB's 10 Gb of fully-buffered goodness is quite excessive for 99.99999% of users.

[Jaron]

Any suggestions on what specs to shoot for if all i want it to do is office and internet functions and play pc games?

I've been playing with some setups but the 2000k+ price tags have me feeling like I'm putting too much extra OOMPH into this.

[Barrister]

Unless you do terribly demanding stuff (rendering, number crunching) a suitable setup will be dirt cheap. And yes, there is such a thing as too powerful a computer. For example, BB's 10 Gb of fully-buffered goodness is quite excessive for 99.99999% of users.

[DontSayBanana]

Unless you do terribly demanding stuff (rendering, number crunching) a suitable setup will be dirt cheap. And yes, there is such a thing as too powerful a computer. For example, BB's 10 Gb of fully-buffered goodness is quite excessive for 99.99999% of users.

I've been meaning to ask, do you ever actually use the Mac Pro for its intended purpose as a single-unit render farm?

[Jaron]

Mac Hijack

[Barrister]

Unless you do terribly demanding stuff (rendering, number crunching) a suitable setup will be dirt cheap. And yes, there is such a thing as too powerful a computer. For example, BB's 10 Gb of fully-buffered goodness is quite excessive for 99.99999% of users.

I've been meaning to ask, do you ever actually use the Mac Pro for its intended purpose as a single-unit render farm?

Nope.  I bought it because it was the only open case, expandable Mac.

In the 2 years since though iMacs have gotten much better video chips, so I'd probably have gone with an iMac if buying today.

But still it's nice - I expect a new Mac Pro model in a month or two, and with it probably a new video card.  I may well order that new video card, which I wouldn't be able to do with an iMac.

[Iormlund]

Any suggestions on what specs to shoot for if all i want it to do is office and internet functions and play pc games?

I've been playing with some setups but the 2000k+ price tags have me feeling like I'm putting too much extra OOMPH into this.

Usually the sweet spot is around 100 bucks. 100 for a mobo, 100 for a CPU, 100 for a GPU. AMD tends to offer more value for money. Good mobo brands: Gygabyte, Asus, Abit, ... As for memory, 4 gigs is more than enough for the average guy, who will rarely if ever use an app that needs 64bit (once again, rendering, number crunching ...).
I tend to spend more than most in a good case (I live in a warm country) and a good power supply (Seasonic, Corsair ...). And a lot more than most in monitors - I've got two Dell 2009FP, 1600x1200 IPS-panel goodness and I'm eyeing their new 2560x1440. Not cheap, though.

[Jaron]

My friend recommended this build, any comments on it?

PROCESSORS   Intel® Core™ i5-650 processor(4MB Cache, 3.20GHz)   edit

OPERATING SYSTEM   Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English   edit

MEMORY   4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs   edit

VIDEO CARD   ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB DDR3   edit

HARD DRIVE   500GB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache   edit

OPTICAL DRIVE   16X DVD+/-RW Drive   edit

I trimmed out some of the stuff I didnt think would be of interest, but if anything crucial was left off lemme know.

[Grey Fox]

more RAM, less ATI