Getting a new PC .. YAY.. but need some advise

[pharik]

Hey all like it says im currently in the market for a new computer. Have no desire (or ability) to build one from scratch so looking for something premade. Budget around 1k-1500. Mostly just play wow and will play d3 when its released. Would like it to be good enough to last awhile.

I was thinking something like
cyberpowe...day_Special_IV/ (cant post links)

Is there anything specific that should be upgraded. or are there better options out there all together?

[Ghâzh]

Can't get the link working, no matter what I try :P Maybe you could list the parts?

Generally in that budget range you are looking for Intel i5 2500k processor coupled with GTX 560 TI, Radeon HD 6950 or better graphics card. Even if you aren't building it yourself, you shouldn't have to make do with less.

Try to look for smaller computer specialized stores that have their own prebuilds or even if they'd build one with your parts. Most pc repair shops do this kind of stuff for $30-80 which will give you absolutely better results than any generic electronics store prebuild.

[Blus]

I don't think Cyberpower is your best bet if you want to get the most out of your budget. I would recommend purchasing from a parts distributor. I am Canadian, so I can't speak about other countries, but I used NCIX for my PC in September. Often these companies will charge a nominal fee, $50 for mine, to put it all together. Also, I was given a 1 year warranty, so if I do have issues I can skip the RMA process and get a replacement from them. There are many posts in this forum highlighting good parts and various builds. Take this information to a store and see what their cost would be.

I say this because the mark-up on parts is quite ridiculous with these companies. To upgrade from 4gb of ram to 8gb of ram is $53 on Cyberpower (for one of the intel machines). I got my 8g, 1600Mhz, DDR3 for $29.99 total; however, it was on sale. I got my gtx580 for $390 and it would cost me over $600 from Cyberpower. These prices just illustrate the point that you aren't able to capitalize on sale prices from pre-built sites. My PC cost me $1732, including the $50 for putting it together. The same PC would have cost me $2400 from Cyberpower.

It takes a bit more time browsing sales, but I value my money too much to blow it frivolously on mark-ups. I don't mind spending $50 as it alleviates a lot of stress from me. If you do some shopping around, you could even buy the parts you find on sale. I would recommend browsing for the big ticket parts, and then purchase the rest from the place you chose.

[Fuzzykins]

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1DU26W
Probably something like this...

What you'd get if you actually purchased parts:

Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.44 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($132.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Mushkin Chronos 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($169.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 6950 2GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($267.55 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 6950 2GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($267.55 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi Tower ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7261S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1561.31
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-01-02 14:06 EST-0500)

A tiny bit over budget, but an amazing computer.

[DeltrusDisc]

^Holy shit. HOW?! I.... what. Good lord. That is an insanely good build for the price. O_o