first pc

[patches]

So i have had a mac for a while and it's starting to get a little dated. I wanted to get a PC this time but didn't know what to get. I looked at some cyberpowerpc's but they had mixed reviews and they were more gaming PC's. I was wondering what I should look at if I have a 650-700$ budget and wanted 8 gigs of ram. I would prefer a desktop because they tend to last longer. Thanks for the help

 

[putur]

for that price range you are looking at a decent refurbished PC..... I personally prefer Dell. They tend to be more reliable and packed with decent hardware.

 

[Slante]

Putur is trolling... anyway check out IBM they can hook you up, if not head to best buy you can surely find a pc in that pricerange there

 

[iceyc0ld]

Actually, I think both of you are trolling. I highly doubt IBM/Dell/Best Buy would have a PC with 1/3 of the performance he can get with building his own PC. Cyberpower's PCs are fine, but you can generally build yourself a PC that performs better and is cheaper overall. So would you prefer to build or to get a pre-built from Cyberpower/iBuyPower? Gotta let us know first.

 

[Trotter]

So i have had a mac for a while and it's starting to get a little dated. I wanted to get a PC this time but didn't know what to get. I looked at some cyberpowerpc's but they had mixed reviews and they were more gaming PC's. I was wondering what I should look at if I have a 650-700$ budget and wanted 8 gigs of ram. I would prefer a desktop because they tend to last longer. Thanks for the help

Since you are int he US you can use NewEgg. I will try to check back in later and see what I can whip up for you.

Icey is right... forget a pre-built if you actually want any horsepower (as in gaming). You can build a decent computer for that much cash.

 

[PP Mguire]

Trump card is peripherals. Most of the time a pre-built will come with LCD/keyboard/mouse for next to nothing. If you don't need any of these then building your own is always cheaper.

 

[patches]

I think I would be able to handle building a computer, ive watched a couple of videos and their are enough step by step guides that I would be fine

 

[patches]

Actually, I think both of you are trolling. I highly doubt IBM/Dell/Best Buy would have a PC with 1/3 of the performance he can get with building his own PC. Cyberpower's PCs are fine, but you can generally build yourself a PC that performs better and is cheaper overall. So would you prefer to build or to get a pre-built from Cyberpower/iBuyPower? Gotta let us know first.

I would be comfortable building a computer, I've watched a couple of videos and it doesn't look to difficult. What kind of parts should I get If I do build one?

 

[Joe C]

With a $650-$700 budget you can get a decent system
This is around your $700 price, I did not include rebates, instant discount codes or ship
Intel System
CPU
Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K
Board
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-Z77-D3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Memory
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
Video
Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Power Supply
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
DVD/CD rw
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - CD / DVD Burners
Case
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Case fan
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Megaflow 200 R4-LUS-07AB-GP 200mm Blue LED Case Fan
Third party cooler extra, only if you plan on over clocking it
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7

AMD System
CPU
Newegg.com - AMD FX-4170 Zambezi 4.2GHz (4.3GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4170FRGUBOX
Board
Newegg.com - ASUS Crosshair V Formula AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Gaming Motherboard with 3-Way SLI/CrossFireX Support and UEFI BIOS

These AMD parts are cheaper than the Intel's are so you can get an upgrade on the video card from the differences in price
The rest of the parts can be the same as the Intel, This case doesn't have usb 3.0 but you can upgrade that at a later time

 

[patches]

With a $650-$700 budget you can get a decent system
This is around your $700 price, I did not include rebates, instant discount codes or ship
Intel System
CPU
Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K
Board
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-Z77-D3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Memory
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
Video
Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Power Supply
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
DVD/CD rw
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - CD / DVD Burners
Case
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Case fan
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Megaflow 200 R4-LUS-07AB-GP 200mm Blue LED Case Fan
Third party cooler extra, only if you plan on over clocking it
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7

AMD System
CPU
Newegg.com - AMD FX-4170 Zambezi 4.2GHz (4.3GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4170FRGUBOX
Board
Newegg.com - ASUS Crosshair V Formula AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Gaming Motherboard with 3-Way SLI/CrossFireX Support and UEFI BIOS

These AMD parts are cheaper than the Intel's are so you can get an upgrade on the video card from the differences in price
The rest of the parts can be the same as the Intel, This case doesn't have usb 3.0 but you can upgrade that at a later time

That seems reasonable, would their be a very noticeable performance difference between the intel i5 2500k and the amd fx4170