Should I get this computer?

[N3wbie]

Will this computer be able to run games like TF2, L4d, possibly Crysis? All on high settings?

 

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Gamer_Infinity_8000_Dream/

 

I'm thinking about buying it.

[Shadowex3]

the E8400 is an okay processor, it's a dualcore rather than a quad but it's got the full 6mb of L2 cache for intel's duallies.

 

The downside is its prolly got a very untrustworthy power supply and a low end mobo (although the mobo shouldnt take anything with it if it dies) and the videocard is a 9500 which has probably less power than an 8800gt. If you can afford to buy just a new power supply and videocard (corsair 550 or 650 and gtx 260) it would be a decent gaming computer that could handle valve's games at high settings and MAYBE crysis if you dont do too much with the physics.

 

Thing about crysis is that it's just coded badly, even my 3ghz quadcore and gtx 260 get blah framerates. Source games you should be fine since I ran l4d just fine on a worse comp.

 

The real problem is that unless you get a rig like this thats actually got a decent power supply and videocard you generally need to replace those two and that adds another $270ish onto the price ($99 psu, $170ish videocard) and that raises your total spending to $800ish at which point you can do a lot better building it out of parts off newegg out of a $30-40 case you buy locally (i recommend anything from coolermaster that uses 120mm fans).

 

For non-gamers who get a moniter+mouse+keyboard combo with their computer these deals are generally good but for a gamer it just doesnt really work out. Besides every gamer should have an understanding of the computer he's playing on, it helps you realise how to optimise your FPS without making the game suck in the process and also lets you keep comps going longer than you'd expect. Up until crysis came out I used a 6600gt and a pentium 4.

[N3wbie]

I've got a 500 Watt power supply.

 

So, should i just replace it?

[Akaru]

After seeing this computer, i recommended it to a friend who I am helping get a new computer. If he does buy this computer, I will tell him to buy it without a dedicated graphics card and the cheapest power supply available. Then I will go onto some e-tailer or go to a retailer and grab a GTS 250 and a 450+ watt PSU. That will run him about 700 dollars. Then he will spend another 80-120 dollars on a monitor.

 

This is the exact same technique I used for my current computer. Except I got a prebuilt with an E8400 and 4GB RAM for ~ 450 dollars, ~ 100 less than the above computer without a graphics card. Also, I cheaped out and got a 8600 GTS. So my computer came out to 600 or so after the PSU, graphics card, and monitor.

 

So you might want to use the method I used if you get the above computer.

[N3wbie]

Is the graphics card actually bad?

 

I've got a nVidia geforce 7600 right now, and its pretty good.

 

A 9500 would seem like an improvement.

[Shadowex3]

The first number doesnt mean anything, it's the "500" part that tells you its shite.

[Akaru]

Is the graphics card actually bad?

 

I've got a nVidia geforce 7600 right now, and its pretty good.

 

A 9500 would seem like an improvement.

 

If I ever got a new graphics card from Nvidia, I would get something that is 2 generations within the current one, and the last 3 number is 600 or higher (which is the Mid-Range GPU starting point). Since the current generation is the GeForce 200 series, I would either get 9600 and up, or a 8600 and up.

 

Just customize the PC and click on the 9600 in the graphics card option of that computer. It's 28 dollars more.

 

BTW, the 9500 is a big improvement from the 7600, but I would rather get a 9600 or higher.