Xmas Game System Help! With Gaming Computer Specs

[DAWCRN]

Hello. I'm interested in a computer that m y 12 year old son can use to do computer games - video games. he will NOT be doing photo editing, video editing or anything else fancy. I have been told I should look at at Pentium P4, Dell Dimension E310 as well as a e510 as well as a AMD or something. I am NOT a computer person. I know that he plays Civilizations, Ages of Empires, Halo and what not. I do not want to spend a fortune. But I would love to get some feedback from folks as to minimum requirements - how much RAM, what type ofprocessor, etc.

I've been expecting to get at least 80G, 512 memory and then I don't know what... Any help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Dawn.

[DAWCRN]

Hello. I'm interested in a computer that m y 12 year old son can use to do computer games - video games. he will NOT be doing photo editing, video editing or anything else fancy. I have been told I should look at at Pentium P4, Dell Dimension E310 as well as a e510 as well as a AMD or something. I am NOT a computer person. I know that he plays Civilizations, Ages of Empires, Halo and what not. I do not want to spend a fortune. But I would love to get some feedback from folks as to minimum requirements - how much RAM, what type ofprocessor, etc.

I've been expecting to get at least 80G, 512 memory and then I don't know what... Any help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Dawn.

[RockNRoll]

What's your budget?

[thxmanu]

Hi DAWCRN,

Well, the easiest thing for you to do is, yes, order a Dell. As you are not a computer person, Dell has pretty good tech support and their equipment doesn't suck (as far as I can tell, only the case and motherboard are actually Dell). Spec-wise, you should get at least 1gig of RAM and a high-end video card (128mb or 256mb). Any of the last 3 or 4 generations of processor should suffice. You may save a little money going AMD, but I don't remember if Dell even does AMD. 80gig should be enough for space, but hard drives are pretty cheap now so you can go bigger if you feel like doing so. I hope this helps you a little.

Ciao

[BipolarBill]

The video card is the key here. You should look to spend at least $150-200 for a decent one. All depends on whether the system you buy has a AGP or PCI-e video video port. If you're going to buy a Dell system, check the video upgrades available before clicking "buy now".

A full 1GB RAM is recommended for gaming. It's cheap.

[DAWCRN]

Thanks. My budget... I've been told isn't reasonable. I'd really like to stay at under $500-$600 with monitor and shipping.

Is it better to get an integrated video card or something else? I don't know the difference... Is an AGP or PCI-e video video port - is one better than the other?

I was looking at Dell - to be honest t hey are cheapest of the ones I've tried to consider - HP, Compaq, Gateway... but again, we're not using it for anything else but we are not going to be doing high end stuff. I just want the games to work, run ok, or good, and not break the bank.

Is there really a decent system out there though for under $600? Or even about that?

Dawn

[DAWCRN]

Thanks. When you mention a high-end video card (128mb or 256mb), that size is different than the RAM I want.. which I was told was at least 512 MB?

I was aksed about budget and I'm wondering if I'm dreaming... can I get something halfway decent that will run for about $500? I don't believe Dell has AMD - I'm not familiar with that but would Celeron D work for them or should I go with P4? If not, who does AMD? Thanks again.

Dawn :-)

[BipolarBill]

Your budget is impossible for a gaming PC. You need to add at least $300.

AGP is at technology that's on the way out. Most new PCs will have PCI Express video ports.

[dragflameson]

Is there really a decent system out there though for under $600? Or even about that? Not for gaming, and definitely not including the monitor and shipping. A decent video card (which is what you're going to need) will cost almost 1/2 the amount you want to spend, and thats just the video card nevermind the CPU, RAM, ect... :(

[RockNRoll]

You could however BUILD one for around $600-700 and up but you might be more comfortable buying something pre-built like a dell as thxmanu said. :D

[thxmanu]

The last thing you want is a system with built-in graphics!!!! :( The gaming systems heart is the video card.