hey there everyone...\n\ni'm sitting right now in front of a dell dimension 2400.  for those of you that don't know, other than the processor speed, this computer is pretty low-end.  does anyone know what the most powerful gaming rig out there would be, while balancing a budget (no more than $1000)?  should i get a package or assemble it separately?  \n\nmany thanks in advance!
210357
For $1000, you could custom build a sweet system on your own. Some nice places to get the parts are, tigerdirect.com, newegg.com, zipzoomfly.com, and pricewatch.com. If you have never built one before, then get Building PCs for dummies. It's easier than you think. other than that, if you want a prebuilt gaming system, then the websites I mentioned will have them too, as well as Dell, HP/Compaq, and other mainstream PC brands.
262097
Your choice of PC is directly dependant on the projected use and if you desire to upgrade/expand the unit later.\n\nWhen selecting a PC ask yourself: 1) What am i going to use it for, 2) do i have space constraints, 3) do i need to add other cards and like to the system,  4) and the least, but often considered the most important do i like the 'look' or 'cool' factor of it( of course this in only important in the eye of the beholder )\n\nNow the Shuttle XPC is a sharp small stylish unit.  It's prospects are limited by shear size.  Although it does have LAN/Video/Audio on board and there is no need for cards / upgrades in this area.  Those items maybe a desired upgrade in the future.\n\nAnother thing to consider is the cost of the cute little cube.  In the electronics world the smaller usally mean more $$$$$.\n\nI guess that it is a personal factor choice.  I have several computers, ranging from the sexy Ultra Slim  EVO desktop, to a Monster Home Build Full Tower (not pretty but very useful and powerful) p.s. i use the monster the most.\n\nCompare and shop is my best answer. But know what features you desire, and know what it should cost before you go to the store.  Salesmen can be a drag. Don't settle for anything other than what you want, after all you have to pay for it.
547064
Get Alienware.....awesome machines....as long as you don't mind spending a little bit more for it. If money is an issue and you want something cheaper, I recommend a Dell. Don't go with Compaq or HP if you can avoid it, they are just proprietary, production machines.
451191
ahh yes well first of all you don't need to really buy a dedicated gaming laptop, but hey ur tha one who wants it so who am i to tell you what to do, The best is definately is the Aurora5700 from $4,769MSRP  Alienware, The Cheaper yet samething is the Dell XPSm1710, at $2,799 MSRP with 2gb of memory that kicks ass at lighting speeds, You can actually build your own extreme gaming processor, all you really need is a good processor, only 45-80 bucks, and memory which is really cheap, i made my Dell B130 into something like tha Aurora, so you don't really need to stress the money, i noticed that you mentioned that you dpn't want to buy a nother desktop, You can buy  a Dell E1705 and Put in a Intel Core Xeon that kicks ass for only $60 that actually turned my E1705 into the m1710,. thts sickkk i mean,  \nBest gaming laptop-Dell M 1710 or any notebook with a better processer nd memory\nBest desktop replacement-Dell e1705
31958
For anyone looking for a monster laptop without extreme pricing, I'd suggest www.xoticpc.com\n\nYou can customize a very powerful machine and less cost than alot of the competition.  When they start putting out dual core machines running Vista, I'll be buying from them.
191154
It depends on the chip used for the integrated graphics, but most on-board video cards would have a tough time with WoW or Galaxies.  Depending on if you have an AGP port of PCI-Express port on your motherboard, there are a number of budget cards that would allow you to play those games at a decent speed and frame rate without killing your wallet.  I run an old AGP Radeon 9600 and it is able to play WoW perfectly well.
364849
For gaming, the most important component in your system will be the video card, so that's where you'll want to bust the budget.  You'll get a greater performance boost by spending an extra $150 on the video card instead of processor in most cases. However, I would recommend at least another 512mb of RAM (preferably add 1 gb) since the newest fps games and online mmorpgs are quite ram-hungy.  Half-life:2 / Lost coast required 1gb to play, and that's about a year old now...\n\nThe 6600 is ok, but far from great. On the Nvidia side, upgrading to a 7600- or even better a 7900GT, will make you MUCH happier.  If you prefer ATI cards, get at least an X1800 series... I upgraded from a 6800 to a 7900GT and it's light-years better.  \n\nIf money is no object, then something like a 7950GTX or the brand-new 8800 series is absolutely amazing, but I personally can't afford $500 video cards, I need something closer to half that price :)\n\nYou can compare any two video cards at  www.gpureview.com, I suggest you take a look there.  Here's a comparison of your 6600GT to the 7800GT (an older card)\n\nhttp://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=187&card2=313\n\nFinally, check out this video card thread; it was started before the introduction of some newer cards, but gives you a great breakdown of which cards fall into which categories, and if you scroll through to the later entries on pages 13-15,  there is discussion of the newest stuff, too.
299047
please dont listen to danuitti's prices, apparently he thinks every thing costs 100 dollars...\n\nati radeon x1800 video card-$150\nHD 150-200$\n2 gigs of ram ( i dont know the brand you have so here is an estimate) $150\nasus mobo $200\n3800 dual amd processor-$300\ncooling system: 15 bucks per fan and a liquid collant set up that would likely cost between 50 and 75 bucks\nsound card $55\ncase 100$\nOS 90$ \nit sounds like you got an alienware product. the company is well known for well built PCs and also insanely expensive PCs...900 dollars was a damn good deal
434710
The first thing you'll want to identify is if you have an AGP slot or PCI Express. Most newer computers have PCI Express, but I'm still rocking an AGP slot. I assume you have that out of the way.\n\nNow, when looking for a graphics card the numbers tell much of the story, but it's not always true to form. For example, depending on the quality of a graphic chip or the memory used, you might get varying results.\n\nThere's also varying degrees of "high level" 3D. Odds are you are looking at specific game or two? You can check the game's recommended graphics card levels on the box or website. They will give you two levels "required" and "recommended." Required is the bare minimum. You'll want more than that. Recommended is what they say is best. A good rule of thumb for PC games is to find the recommended specs, and then boost up your power a level or two. This way you won't be lagging behind completely 1 one year. But PC games the way they are now, 2 years is about as long as you'll ever get at "high level."\n\nMemory is highly important, one of the key features of a graphics card. I'd recommend a minimum of 256mb at this point.\n\nNow I could talk specs with you all day, but your main concern here has to be price. Graphics cards that can play any modern game on the shelf today range from $100 to well over $700. What is the difference? Well that $700 is going to be BRAND NEW and have every new piece of technology out there. The $100 card, while serviceable, probably is on it's dying breath and will need to be upgraded to play next years games. The question is, are you going to want to play a specific game now? Are you looking to the future? And how much are you willing to pay for future proofing?\n\nAnother item to consider is that a new graphics technology, DirectX 10 is JUST coming out. If the future if your concern, you'll want a card that features this technology.\n\nIn short: the number one thing you want to look for is a good price to performance ratio. You can do this by researching reviews and all the technical numbers that these kind folks will feed you. A good sweet spot for graphics cards is typically $200-300. More than that and you're paying to be an early adopter. Less than that and you're buying an already outdated card.\n\nI've avoided using specific numbers, due to the fact that "high level" changes every 6 months. And it varies greatly depending on what game you are wishing to play. World of Warcraft is an entirely different beast than F.E.A.R.\n\nI've linked a great source for you to check graphics card reviews. Often times you can find the card you are looking for and see how it stacks up to other cards of similar price and features.
484063
Just look for the best deals on a computer. He's not a heavy gamer, so it doesn't really matter which processor is in the box. Anymore, they are pretty much the same. I have both Intel and AMD. I have recently moved over to AMD since I have started building computers.
423839
either go mac, or if your building your own, then check out nVidia's FX line of vid cards. they dont get much attantion because they are terrible for gaming. what they excell at is graphical design. for graphics apps, a Quadro FX1500 will most likely beat out the new GeForce 8800. I'd say go with a Quadro FX560. You'll need a motherboard with at least 1 PCI-E slot, which is now the high-end standard for graphics and should not be hard at all to find. For the processor go with something dual-core. either the AMD X2s or the Core Duos. You'll also need at least 2GB of memory, i'd recommend 4GB so that your computer will keep performing decently for the next couple of years.
264825
I would look at the latest versions of the Nvidia or ATI graphics card range ie ATI Radeon 9800 or Nvidia 6800 or 7600 ( I dont think they do an AGP version of the 7800 or 7900 although I could be wrong ) Worth while checking out though. Look on www.tomshardware.com and www.firingsquad.com for reviews etc\n\nI hope this helps
642696
It will work more than fine, but if you really want to not sacrifice any noticable performance for quality in the  higher end graphics I would add one more gig of ram. \n\nIt is not a  necessity, but currently in high end gaming 2 gigs of system ram is the sweet spot right before you begin to see diminishing returns. ( I am speaking in terms of games which pursue graphic realism, not ones like WoW or guildwars, which look nice but are entirely different and not as resource hungry)
406748
When you say "suitable for gaming", what type of games are you looking at playing?  The really high-end first-person titles like Half-Life 2, Fear, Everquest II etc probably have hardware requirements that far exceed what you've got.   \n\nMost of the high-end gaming cards that offer dual outputs are PCI-Express these days (rather than AGP) and generally have dual-DVI.  The most common configuration is still one VGA and one DVI output port, and you can use a $5 adapter.\n\nThere are a number of older AGP cards that have dual VGA outputs like the GeForce 5200 and ATI Radeon 7000 series, but those aren't fast enough for the newest games.   However, they will handle games like StarCraft, the Sims, and watching photos & video clips just fine.  That might be a good choice for what you're doing.
93074
Very cute getting other people to do your IT support for free :D\nGuess I am the 1st sucker to come along :&#92;\nIn theory this is a question you should be asking emachines support - this is part of the price you payed for buying a branded machine.  You could have got better components for the same money if you had bought components & pieced them together yourself & then relied on YahAns. for tech. support XD\n\nI searched for your model on the site & it says that your gfx is indeed built-in, 'on board' or 'integrated' as this is often called, since the chips are soldered onto, & part of the mainboard construction.\n\nGraphics chip used:\nIntel® Graphics Media Accelerator 900 (GMA900)\nUp to 224MB DDR shared video memory\n\nHere is the rest of this machine's *default* configuration:\n\nCPU: Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 516 (64-bit with Intel® EM64T) (1MB L2 cache, 2.93GHz, 533MHz FSB)\n\nOp. Sys.: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition (SP2)\n\nChipset: Intel® 915GV\n\nMemory: 512MB DDR SDRAM (2 × 256MB), 400MHz Dual Channel\nExpandable to 4GB\n\nHard Drive: 200GB Serial ATA (7200rpm, 8MB cache)\n\nOptical Drive: 16x DVD±RW multiformat double layer drive\n\nVideo: Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 900 (GMA900)\nUp to 224MB DDR shared video memory\n\nSound: Intel® High Definition 6-Channel (5.1) Audio\n\nNetwork: Intel® PRO 10/100Mbps integrated Ethernet LAN\n\nModem: 56K ITU V.92-ready Fax/Modem\n\nPeripherals: Standard Multifunction Keyboard, 2-Button Wheel Mouse, Amplified Stereo Speakers\n\nPorts/Other: 7 USB 2.0 (2 in front, 4 in back, 1 in Media Reader), 1 IEEE 1394, 1 VGA external connector, 1 serial, 1 parallel, 2 PS/2, 5 audio ports (2 in front, 3 in back)\n\nDimensions: 14.25"H x 7.25"W x 16.00"D\n\n(You don't clarify as to whether you have done any upgrades or payed to have some added yourself).\n\nSadly the one component we are interested in is not mentioned at all - the mainboard.\nYou have to ensure that you disable the onboard graphics chips (the Intel GMA900 chip in your case) if you can & do purchase a graphics card that is CORRECT for the slot your motherboard has.  I would imagine it has the more recently introduced PCI-Express graphics connector or at the very least one of the older style AGP connectors.  The mainboard could come with both, though this is perhaps less likely.\nEither way a card designed to interface via AGP is physically different to a card connecting via PCI-Express (commonly abbreviated to PCI-E).\n\nI will try & get the spec on the mainboard used by your machine (though emachines may change this depending on what deals they can strike with their supplier over what number of units - they are primarily trying to end up with as large a profit as possible of course), so it could be something that can only be ascertained with diagnostic software.\nYou could find out exactly what motherboard it is by running some official discovery/diagnostic software such as the free edition of 'everest' which used to be known as Aida32 before.\nWhats particularly good about it is that it does not need to be installed the exe unpacks the archive to a directory & you just run it from there.\n\nDownload it here.\nhttp://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html\n\nThen run the mainboard/motherboard (different terms for the same thing) info section & come back here with the complete text for the boards model.\n\nYou can right click the text & then paste it in Yahoo Answers.\n\nThe icon you want to select is in the left pane of Everest & is labelled "Motherboard".  On my machine this gives:\n\nField:\nMotherboard ID\n\nValue:\n08/19/2003  nVidia-nForce A7N8X2.0C-00\n\nSo my motherboard(mainboard same thing)'s serial is A7N8X (Revision or version)2.0C.\nWhen I look that up online I can see the full specification for all the features of the board.\n\nWith yours we will then be able to look it up on the board manufacturers website & arrive on precisely
652229
Oh I just saw that it has 2 GIG of RAM....okay, I take back my last comment. I think thats a great entertainment system for a great price. I think you should definitely get it. If you have any more technical questions about your system, then you can contact me, but for what I can see from the spec.....I think thats a great deal and I'm even thinking about getting it lol
190426
Definitely make sure you get one with a TON of RAM and a killer video card.  You'll also want to make sure that you have a super fast processor.  Maybe even one of those dual core ones they have out now.  We sometimes play WoW on the laptop via an external HD, but only because the laptop happens to be an older model, and installing it directly seems to slow the refresh rate down a bit.  Right now we've got a pretty slick setup involving RAID on SATA drives which optimizes game and PC performance.  Email me for more information.  At any rate, the external - that might be an option for you to consider as well, if money is an issue.