Metal Reviews

A friend of mine from work says he will build me a computer for really cheep. He built a powerful gaming computer for this one guy would of cost around $1200 and sold it to him for $325.

So he told me to do some researching on the internet and figure out what I need and give it to him so he can give me a quote on how much it will cost to build. But I don't know shit about computers. All I really use a computer for is music and internet. If I had a good enough computer I would play some games on it, but the only games I like to play on a computer is real time strategy games like Age of Empires and shit like that.

So I am guessing that the computer doesn't have to be all powerful for a game like Age of Empires 3. I know I want it to have quite a bit of memory (no less than 200 gigs) and I want it to be fast.

Does anyone know possibly what I need, or do they know a website or something where I could go to learn about what I need? Any help would be awesome.

I think the more important question is how can he possibly make a discount of 900$ out of 1200$?


Did I get you wrong? Cuz with 325 dollars you'll buy a graphics card and maybe some ram. But you'll have to install them to your ass cuz you can't buy the rest.

The big question before you start looking for hardware is are you wanting vista or an older os? Vista is demanding so you'll have to double all the specs to run it properly.

Not running Vista I'd start out with this:

1 gb of RAM,
2.0 GHZ or higher processor,
200 GB Hard Drive should be enough at least to start out with,

Maybe he works at a small retailer, and as such can get things at cost. The amount of markup can be insane sometimes but wholesale isn't bad. and the price of 1200 was probably a quote from a shop where the guy assembling it will collect forty dollars an hour and the store will keep another 15 an hour for the service of telling him to do it.

Shave all that over head off and you get close to that. Then account for a little exageration.

Stolen pieces?

My advice is to not blow too much on a processor. High end processors have huge price margins, and they make a very minimal difference. Get something decent, but save that money for AT LEAST a gig of ram and ideally a half decent video card.

The guy who is doing it works out of his basement with his step dad, according to him they buy the parts on ebay. He said he can get a processor for a 1 cent. And thank you for your help so far, and as for that one question I want Vista.

1 cent?! It's stolen. Or at the very least make sure it works before you give him money. And pay with a cheque.

Dude seriously something smells bad here. I don't wanna stick my nose in your job but are you sure he's not selling stolen stuff?

Yeah, I echo several others when I say that something sounds very wrong here.

Honestly, I've never bought a pre-assembled computer. I have always built my own. You can buy components relatively cheaply online (though I don't really suggest ebay) and assembly isn't difficult at all, you just have to know what does (and does not) work with what so that you avoid any incompatibility issues. The biggest issue, imo, is whether or not you're going to need a lot of software or if you already have your own (particularly the OS).

Sorry I don't have the time to make a more helpful reply right now.

-Tyrion

If you want Vista, get 1.5-2 gigs of ram (preferably 2).

And you should investigate further in regards to this "unbelievable" deal.

Dude, never trust all these cheap stuff. Their either stolen, or in shit condition.

Vista is a pretty heavy OS, and it needs a minimum 1 gig of RAM to operate it. That's just the minimum, and it's still a little slow. Be a step ahead and get yourself a 2 gig RAM. Here in Malaysia, there's RAM slots that can support up to 8 gigs of RAM (4 gigs x 2). It's a good investment if you have the money cos sooner or later, 2 gigs would be useless. Another option is, get a 2 gig RAM with an 8 gig slot. That would help you if you need an upgrade.

By the way, do make sure all your preferred and used softwares are Vista compatible. I'd still go for an XP anyday.

I must say, Vista appears to have nothing over XP other than a sheen of cool menus. I usually seem to skip a version of windows, went from 98 to XP.

I'm also thinking of building a new computer to catch up with some missed game releases.
I was thinking maybe a double core processor athlon over 5000 series. Graphics card would be Geforce 8800 GTS, then the usual 2 gigs of RAM and a nice case with good cooling and power source. I'd also need a screen, maybe 19" TFT with a DVI connection.
Altogether I estimate something like 1300 - 1400 euros.
XP is still a fine OS, no use taking something as heavy as Vista IMO.

The more you guys say to watch out for this guy, the more it makes me want to buy a computer the store. It will be more expensive, but I know what I will be getting will work. i will say this though, the other guy he built that really cheep computer for, I know him and he says the computer works fine. And the guy who is building it swears that nothing is stolen or in shit condition. But now I'm not too sure, I need to think this over. Thank you for your help so far anyway.

If he is a true friend of yours and you've known him for some time then you can probably trust him more than anyone in this forum. He sounds as if he knows what he's doing and being a friend would have no reason to cheat you. You also get to have support on a personal level which sometimes can mean a lot (but maybe no guarantee if the parts are bought from ebay?). It's also true that you can find various computer parts from internet sources and markets at extremely low prices for various reasons, most of them totally legal. The trick in this is that the person building the computer should know what he's buying and if the parts can produce a balanced and dependable product that can work at its full potential. My advice is that if you know and trust this person then don't hesitate and go for it.

Well if you buy from a store, you'd have a warranty. Would your friend help you out if there's something wrong with your PC?

Don't get anything from a store. Just think about the parts you're going to buy if you build it, starting with the case (taking into account the power supply), cooling (taking into account how powerful the computer is), RAM (Should be 2 Gigs to run anything respectable), Hard Drive (You can choose between a SATA 5400 or 7200 RPM hard drive, or even go with RAID hard drive system which will run extremely fast), Video Card (Nvidia recently released a dual core video card, but you're better off with the 8800, which has minimal performance difference, and is cheaper), and the Processor (You really can't go wrong with a dual core here, as long as it's 2.00 Ghz and up). The only thing after that would be the accessories, like CD drives. Building it isn't very difficult, as you can just find tutorials online. Just keep in mind you're going to have warranties for each part rather than the entire computer in the case that you do build it.

Well I know I can trust this guy, it's his stepdad I am a little worried about. But enough of the worry wart that I am, all the people that this guy has built computers for has no problems with there machines. I hope mine is the same, but everday I way my options and sometimes I really consider just walking into a store and buying a brand new computer with a warranty. I see this guy tomorrow night, so we will talk it over some more then. Thanks again.

Dont be fooled with a high Ghz processor, Ghz doesnt mean that much these days, what you want is performance and for performance i strongly suggest a 64 bits AMD processor, trust me you wont regret it and its way more cheaper than Intel.