Good Deal?

[blyver]

Just saw this desktop in the new bestbuy catalog (sale starts tomorrow):

Intel Q6600 Quad-core processor
19" HD LCD Widescreen Monitor (Gateway FPD1975W)
2048MB DDR2 memory
500GB hard drive
Dual-layer DVD/CD burner
Geforce 8500 GT graphics (DX 10 compatible)
Lexmark All-in-One printer X2500

It is a gateway and the price is 1179.97. Seems like a decent deal. I'll be playing games on it but don't expect absolute top of the line performance, so the 8500GT should be fine. Any opinions on the price, is it a good deal?

 

[Law]

Sucks, $1200 you can build a better rig yourself IMO.

*EDIT* Plus you never know what you will get. It could come with a crappy PSU and motherboard. If they got one on display, check the inside and see what type of future upgrade you can make and if the case has more room for expansion. Sometime these manufactures just stuff the OS with useless softwares that kills resources and hard drive space.

 

[blyver]

Thanks for the input. I was definitely planning on checking out what the motherboard was as well as the power supply. They don't list these things in the catalogs, which is a pain in the ***. Like you said, I wouldn't be surprised if they were crappy - but I'll check it out. I did add up the price of the parts in that comp using the cheapest prices I could find on pricewatch.com, however, and I got 1176.91, which doesn't include the price of the case, the power supply, or the copy of Windows Vista. Are you sure that the deal sucks? I've built my own rig in the past and so I know how much money that can save (and I wouldn't normally consider buying a pre-configured comp), but adding up the price of the parts here it seemed like this might actually be a decent deal. Any other input on this?

 

[saltynay]

the 8500gt is a dupe card it will need to be replaced if you want to any form of gaming. Yo should check on ebay you might be able to sell these on for a profit

 

[Jorsoft]

8500 card is a huge weakpoint for that machine. It's there because it looks good (dx10 card after all) but doesn't require a big psu or special cooling. Therefore, you're almost certain to have a crap proprietary psu like all gateways. It'll be tough to replace and will be about 350 watts. Ram will most likely be cheap off brand. I can almost guarentee the mobo will be an Intel one if that matters. Reliable but almost no BIOS options.
Short and simple: You could build a better PC for under a grand. Not bad for a retail system but you could do sooo much better on your own. Plus none of Gateway's mountains of trial software to trudge through and uninstall.

 

[blyver]

Yeah, I understand about the 8500gt - but I'm not a hardcore gamer and I don't need the latest and greatest video. The higher end ones are simply too expensive. To say that the card would "need to be replaced if you want any form of gaming" is simply not true - I use a 7300gt right now, and am able to play every game out there comfortably. Not at the highest detail or resolution, but decently enough that I'm satisfied. The 8500gt would give slightly better frame rates than what I have now, plus the dx10 features. Again, I know it's not the card for hardcore gamers, but it would be fine for me - and to say that ANY form of gaming would be impossible on it is a ridiculous statement.

jorsoft03: thanks for the comments. If you have a minute I'd be interested in your ideas for building a better system for under a grand - I assume this includes the monitor and printer like the gateway?

 

[Nagasama]

way better than that for under 1000.00, easy. the printer, i dunno. i use an el cheapo brother myseflf...not too big into printers...it may put you over, but the computer itself would be like, "stomp stomp stomp, gateway"..

 

[blyver]

Ok, could you be a bit more detailed? What parts would you use and where would you buy them?

 

[veg1992]

lol i know....... u can buy from cyberpower for cheaper price tomorrow........

 

[blyver]

Ok well I just entered the same exact specs on cyberpower, and the price was $1667 - this does not include the printer. So total would be about $1727 (60 for the printer - it's a cheap one). Now the power supply and motherboard are probably a bit better, but this doesn't really account for a $547 difference... really, I'm not trying to be a pain in the *** here, just trying to understand where you guys are coming from. Could you link me to the setup on cyberpower that you say is better and cheaper? I'm excited that you guys think I could get "way better" for under a thousand, but it would help me a lot if you could be a bit more specific and show me what you mean.