I'm planning on getting a gaming PC soon, and after looking around on ebay for components, I think I found a really good complete deal. I'm pretty unfamiliar still with the qualities of a good gaming computer, and I know a bunch of people here are well versed in the subject.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Intel-Core-i5-2500K-3-4GHz-PC-w-Windows-7-Ultimate-MS-Office-Pro-2010-/160718027967?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item256b8a7cbf

Before you say anything, I know it only comes with integrated graphics, so I'll have to buy a video card separately. Still, I'll be saving some money if I get this. Should I go for it?

Possibly passable as a budget gaming PC, but not really worth the price if you ask me. The motherboard isn't particularly great (the P67 and Z68 chipsets are what you want to look for in a good gaming PC), and the lack of information on the power supply (aside from the wattage, which is on the low side for a gaming PC) definitely makes me worry (and this could really bite you in the ass if you throw a power-sucking GPU in there). And once you add in the cost of a good GPU the overall price isn't particularly competitive with good systems you can put together yourself (or even some other retail options).

I'd definitely say pass on this one, you can do much, much better.

Hmm ... I'm not that well-informed about US prices, but I don't think it's that good a deal. The components don't fit together very well, so no matter what you're planning to do with your new rig, there ought to be better options.

- The case is meant for heavy-duty aircooling, but the machine doesn't have any parts that need that, so you could save money by getting something with a cheaper, yet solid, case.

- CPU is the one I'd recommend at the moment (great performance per dollar, and powerful enough to last a while). I'm not sure why it's listed as 3.4 GHz in the title and 3.3 GHz in the description though. Doesn't raise my confidence in the seller.

- Mainboard with H61 chipset is about as low as you can go for this CPU. It'll get the job done, but it'll have very little upgrade possibilities (e.g. the 8 GB of memory already fill the two available banks - granted, 8 GB _should_ be enough right now). The mainboard won't have any bells and whistles. But it's hard to evaluate/recommend a mainboard without knowing exactly what you want to do with it. Basically, currently the cheap mainboards work as well as the expensive ones, getting more features on the mainboard isn't expensive, but why get them if you don't need them.

- Hard drive is small. Getting a small drive might be justified considering that HD prices have skyrocketed after the Thailand floods, but personally I wouldn't buy one with less than 1 TB. But that massively depends on the amount of data you want to store. I know people who'd have trouble filling 100 GB. Gamers and music or video aficionados will probably want larger drives though.

- Windows 64 Ultimate is overkill and unnecessary. You can get Win7 Professional for less, Home Premium is even cheaper and still sufficient for most people's needs.

- Microsoft Office 2010 - do you really need that? Imho it unnecessarily raises the price. OpenOffice gets the job done just as well and costs nothing.

- The few other components are low-end to keep the price down (or the seller's margin high)

Altogether, I'd say: Stay away. This sounds like a rather unprofessional hobbyist build made by someone who didn't really know what he was doing. I can't think of a single application that this machine would be well-designed for.

Well, my budget won't be much more than $1000 dollars anyway, once I added up the separate components on Newegg. I contacted the seller asking about the power supply and customization options. He has a perfect rating, so I'm going to wait and see what his response is. If I can switch out the power supply or get a better motherboard, should I consider it?

The problem is that the build simply doesn't make sense.

For an office PC, you'd use a cheaper case and a cheaper CPU, and a cheaper Windows version.

For a low-cost PC, you'd also throw out Microsoft Office.

For a gaming PC, you'd add a graphics card (as you said), throw out MS office, save some money by using a cheaper Windows version, use a bigger HD, and get a better motherboard that will allow upgrades.

For a media PC, you'd use a mainboard which supports more connectors, has better sound, use a bigger HD, and possibly add blu-ray capability to the drive.

No matter from which perspective I look at it, the build simply doesn't fit together. Honestly, if a seller recommended my such a build, I'd probably leave immediately since I'd immediately lose my confidence in his competence.

Instead of buying a machine that you _have_ to customize in order to make it fit your needs, why not getting one that's build to do so in the first place?

There are several stores on ebay that let you customize an order, then they'll build it for you. I'll probably do that. I don't want to order the components separately, as I'm terrified I'll screw up and ruin something. Thanks for the insight. That's why I love this website.

Perhaps something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-i5-2500k-Extreme3-Gen3-GTX560Ti-Newly-Built-Desktop-Computer-/260959731346?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item3cc2697e92

Those are better components, but it's overpriced. You'll need to add at least $200 to that (probably closer to $300) to cover an OS and a monitor (unless you already have both). Also, buying user-built PCs through ebay is about the worst approach you can take. You're not getting much (if anything) in terms of a price advantage, plus if any of the components crap out you'll have a tough time calling in the warranty on them. If you're set against building it yourself then look at what some of the major retailers are offering and go from there.

The only acceptable components are the case and CPU. If the Thermaltake is the one in the picture, it's a bargain case, but a really good bargain.

A power supply that is not specified by make and model, has an unreadable label, and has the specifications covered up by a rail, should be assumed to be junk and a hazard to the other components and your fire insurance. It would make the deal unacceptable even if everything else were perfect, which it isn't.

Everything else is, as others have said in better detail, nonsensical.

If you want a custom prebuilt, go to ibuypower.com or cyberpowerpc.com.

If you want a rock-bottom priced unit you can customize further, try Dell Outlet.

I was just on cyberpowerpc.com. It looks like no matter the site, It's going to be at least $1000. Unless I get a video card less than a GTX 560 TI or Radeon 6950. Or are 2 GB cards really necessary yet?

Well ... I don't know if I'm overly critical, but I don't think that build is recommendable either. The composition does make more sense, but the build's main "thing" seems to be the overclocked CPU, which is simply unnecessary. Even at regular clock speed, modern applications and games usually don't max out that CPU (with some exceptions), so overclocking it to 4.4 GHz might impress customers who are still looking focusing on GHz, but it won't add that much to actual performance under real-life conditions. Also, the "test" he mentions to check the temperature of the overclocked CPU is ridiculous (only one hour?). He also doesn't specify which overclocking method he used (which would be good to know since it has implications on stability, power consumption, and performance under different levels of load).

I'd also be _very_ skeptical if someone specifies an operating system in the specs, but then mentions way down in the description that it "isn't activated". It simply doesn't look honest. And this then makes me skeptical about the overclocking.

This build looks like an attempt to make money off ebayers who are impressed by the 4.4 GHz. It's a better build than the last one, but it's too expensive for what it does, and spends too much effort forcing a CPU to a level of performance that won't be needed.

I'm not sure which criteria you're using while looking for an interesting offer, but they don't seem to lead to good results. Perhaps tell us what you want to use the machine for, and which level of performance you want. Then we can give much better advice, and once the basics are determined, it'll also be easier for you to look for a good deal.

Basically, I would love a PC that can run The Witcher 2 at or near it's max settings, since that seems to be the benchmark for games right now. I wrote out a list of all the parts I picked out on another thread, but, like I said, I want to order the computer already constructed cause I'm worried I'd mess something up. I looked on cyberpowerpc.com, and the choices it gives are great. I think the last thing I'm unsure of is a 1GB or 2GB video card. 2GB are so much more expensive, and are they really worth it?

2GB cards really aren't worth it yet. The jury's out on whether it does any good in TW2; the game doesn't auto-tune for it, but you can raise the texture memory to some crazy value like 1500 MB, and at least in theory, the game won't have to reload textures so often.

The HD 6950 and the GTX 560 Ti are the best high-end cards for "performance at a price" right now. There are new cards coming out (AMD 7xxx, nVidia 6xx), which may change the picture.

You need a good power supply and case for these cards, and those drive up the price too. The power supply must have lots of current (34 amps or so) and excellent regulation at +12V, and be rated to run continuously at the needed power. The case must have plenty of room and airflow, because high-end cards produce heat like crazy. (The 560 Ti is known to run at more than 200 watts, and that's a lot of heat to get rid of.)

You might want to grab another HD as well, at least for backup reasons (unless you don't have many things and don't intend to download a lot of - for example - Youtube videos).

Ask for a Windows DVD as well, not only as recovery. Exactly how long is that? And how is "the Computer" defined? Is it still the same even if all components are changed over the course of its life? Not sure if it can burn DVDs, better ask. N Edition means it complies to European laws. Essentially it is the same as Ultimate, except:
* You have to choose what standard browser you want to use [although the manufacturer is allowed to make this choice if Windows is preinstalled, as in your case]
* Windows Media Player is not installed That's definitely very short. Try to get 2 or 3 years.


If you don't need the software, you can manufacture a better one on your own, as was pointed out already. ;-)

I'm curious as to why you're even looking at eBay. It's been a while since I built a computer, but I've found Tigerdirect's barebones systems to be a really good starting point if you're not interested in putting the entire system from scratch.

In general, I'd avoid eBay like the plague, the whole site is pretty scummy at this point.
Why wouldn't it be? Disc burning software is between free and cheap and the W stands for Write. I don't think anybody's sold drives that can only burn CDs in years, which is irrelevant as this drive can either burn DVDs or somebody's engaging in fraudulent listings.

Yeah, though "combo" usually means "read DVD, write CD", while it clearly starts with "DVD+/-RW" (showing that it writes DVDs).