Finally about ready. New Comp.

[D3v0ur3r]

Last full computer I bought myself was a PII 333 many years ago. Built many computers since then though. So now I am looking into finally upgrading & purchasing a tower. I've been to, HP, Gateway, Alien, Dell, Velocity, Xtreme Gear, sites, & even looked online at local stores. From my point of view the Gateway FX541X system seems like it has the best bang for my buck. Xtreme Gear would allow me to build exactly what I want but I think I would be hitting the 2k cash mark. So here is a list of the specs. Please tell me what you think.

Gateway® FX541X
+ Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium (32-bit) SP1
+ Processor: Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9300 (2.50GHz,1333MHz FSB, 6MB L2 cache)
+ Memory: 3072MB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2-1024 & 2-512)
+ Hard Drive: 500GB 7200rpm Serial ATA II/300 hard drive w/ 16MB cache 1
+ Optical Drive: Hybrid Blu-Ray/HD DVD Player and SuperMulti Format DVD-RW DL Drive (Vista ONLY)
+ Optical Drive: DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti Drive featuring Labelflash™ 2
+ Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800GT 512MB Factory Overclocked (Dual DVI, VGA adapter and TV Out)
+ Sound: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer PCI Sound Card
+ Media Card Reader: 9-in-1 Memory Card Reader
+ Speakers: Logitech® X-240 2.1 Speakers
+ TV Tuner: Analog/Digital TV Tuner with 3D Comb
+ Application Software: Microsoft® Works® 9.0 & Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 (60-day complimentary trial) 3
+ Backup Media: Gateway FX541X Recovery DVD V1.0 - MENTOR
+ Chassis: Gateway® 7-bay BTX tower case
+ Color: FX Logo Accent - Black Steel
+ Expansion Slots: (1) PCI Expansion Slots, (1) PCI-E x1 Expansion Slot, (1) PCI-E x4 Expansion Slot, (2) PCI-E x16 Expansion Slot
+ External Ports: (7) USB 2.0 (3 front, 4 rear), (3) IEEE 1394 firewire (2 front, 1 rear), (2) RJ45 connector, Audio ports, and (2) PS/2
+ Finished Goods: Batteries for Remote Control 2 1.5V AA
+ Finished Goods: IR Receiver Blaster for Remote Control Vista Black
+ Finished Goods: Cyberlink Label Printer for Windows Vista
+ Keyboard: Gateway® Elite Keyboard (Windows Vista® Certified)
+ Memory Capacity: Expandable to 8GB
+ Motherboard: Systemboard with NVIDIA® nForce® 680i LT Chipset
+ Mouse: Soft-touch USB Optical Wheel Mouse
+ Network: (2) Integrated Gigabit (1000) Ethernet Connections
+ Power Supply: 700 Watt Power Supply
+ Security Software: Norton Internet Security™ (60-day live updates) 4
+ Software Documentation: End User License Agreement for Non-Microsoft Software
+ TV Tuner Accessories: Remote Control
+ Warranty: 1 Year Basic (Tech Support - Parts - Factory Labor) 5

Base Price: $1,699.99
Discount Total: $200.00
Total Price: $1,499.99

Last thing I think I would do is order another 8800GT & maybe another gig of memory from NewEgg. I already confirmed through a Gateway chat that this comp does support SLI. Sadly I can not do any customizing to this computer till its actually at home.

 

[ShaidarHaran]

Why do you want to buy rather than build? Are you aware of the cost-savings building your own PC can provide? Also, why the B-r/HD-DVD super-multi-drive?

Gateway has been pricing enthusiast-class systems extremely aggressively as of late, so I'm not saying your choice is wrong. Just want to make sure you get the most for your money!

 

[D3v0ur3r]

I priced a very similar system at NewEgg & it was in the 2k range. Also I am just tired of the building, & tweaking. I would rather buy a complete system & maybe just add a 2nd video card. Lastly I get a warranty with Gateway where as I have individual warrantied parts when building.

Basically less hassle & lower price so far. Otherwise I have to search many sites as well as order from many sites to get near this price when building.

The BluRay drive might be useful for movies & what if PC games get put on BluRay in the near future. I'm set with that.

 

[ShaidarHaran]

Fair enough. The only real drawbacks then are lack of overclockability/tweaking options in the OEM BIOS, potentially proprietary mounting mechanisms for the motherboard and/or CPU HSF, and perhaps an under-powered PSU or one that lacks the necessary types/amounts of connectors (say 8-pin PCI-e, for example).

If you can get this info before you buy, I think you'll be good to go!

By the way, I totally understand your reasoning, just wanted to make sure you were making an informed decision

 

[D3v0ur3r]

700w PSU ought to be pretty good for now, yes? OCing I am not all that concerned about, so if its there I may dabble in it, & if its not no biggy. Very good point about the "proprietary mounting mechanisms". I'll be sure to ask about that. The "8-pin PCI-e" would be for SLI? If yes then I was told the computer supports it so I would assume if the 8pin is for that it would be there.

 

[ShaidarHaran]

700w PSU ought to be pretty good for now, yes? OCing I am not all that concerned about, so if its there I may dabble in it, & if its not no biggy. Very good point about the "proprietary mounting mechanisms". I'll be sure to ask about that. The "8-pin PCI-e" would be for SLI? If yes then I was told the computer supports it so I would assume if the 8pin is for that it would be there.

The overall wattage rating of a PSU tells you little about its quality and capabilities, unfortunately. You need to find out how many +12V rails the PSU has and what the max. Amperage is for each.

8-pin PCI-e power connectors are used on several high-end graphics cards (HD 2900 XT, 9800 GX2, GTX 280). SLI has no bearing on the matter (except for necessitating the use of additional connectors).

If Gateway won't give out the tech. specs on the PSU, you can ask them if it's been SLI/CF certified. If the answer is yes - you have nothing to worry about. If they don't use the specific phrase "SLI certified" and try to say "it will work", I'd be wary were I you.

 

[digitalwanderer]

700w PSU ought to be pretty good for now, yes?

What brand? A 700w no-name PSU could really suck too, that's why I prefer to build my own; better component quality control. (Plus all the fun! )

 

[Neb]

What brand? A 700w no-name PSU could really suck too, that's why I prefer to build my own; better component quality control. (Plus all the fun! )

An namin it 'Bubbles'...

 

[MfA]

Priced it on MWAVE including assembly and after rebates it came out about the same ... that was with high quality PSU (modu82+ 625 Watt, which I would take over a no name 700 Watt any day) and decent case (P182) too. As digitalwanderer says, you get to do your own component quality control.

PS. Christ they charge a lot for assembly, got it done for 35 euros over here ... and I thought that was pushing it.

 

[digitalwanderer]

An namin it 'Bubbles'...

My daughter named it actually, I just liked it and kept it.

Besides, it's fun to be able to tell people my PC's name is "Bubbles". When they get done laughing I tell them her stats and they don't look as amused anymore.

Aside from component quality control in building your own, you just ain't never gonna know a pre-built PC as well as one you build yourself. Never, ever, ever. Build your own PC and you're maintenance/upgrades will be about 800% easier down the road.

 

[ShaidarHaran]

Aside from component quality control in building your own, you just ain't never gonna know a pre-built PC as well as one you build yourself. Never, ever, ever. Build your own PC and you're maintenance/upgrades will be about 800% easier down the road.

Maintenance efforts do not increase as a byproduct of a system being OEM-built or custom-built, at least not in my experience. Note: my experience is as a PC tech having serviced literally thousands of units over the past decade.

There are benefits to ownership of each. It is true that building your own PC tends to instill more of a sense of attachment to a system, however.

 

[D3v0ur3r]

I've built many systems, I just do not want to be hassled with it. Maybe I am getting old.

 

[MfA]

Well as I said, I priced it on MWAVE and it came out about the same, with assembly.

Personally I'd be more secure in my purchase knowing the brand of the components than knowing the brand of the sticker on the outside of the case filled with the cheapest components they could source at the time. Also your computer will come out a lot more silent with well picked components (good case, Modu82+ PSU, Accelero S1 or HR03-GT for the video card and a decent tower cooler for the processor).

 

[D3v0ur3r]

I'll look at Mwave. I've not looked there before.

 

[D3v0ur3r]

Found out the PSU is "Delta". Is that an Intel PSU? No proprietary mounting mechanisms for the motherboard.

 

[Sxotty]

OEM machines can be some screamin deals, but sometimes their performance is subpar for some reason. I almost bought on last fall just b/c it was $50 more than a 24"LCD to get the PC and the 24" LCD

 

[MfA]

Found out the PSU is "Delta". Is that an Intel PSU?

OEM supplier ... obviously not going to be certified, although that isn't a huge issue. It's going to be noisy though, has the standard small diameter exhaust fan setup of yesteryear.

 

[Blazkowicz]

Last full computer I bought myself was a PII 333 many years ago. Built many computers since then though. So now I am looking into finally upgrading & purchasing a tower. I've been to, HP, Gateway, Alien, Dell, Velocity, Xtreme Gear, sites, & even looked online at local stores. From my point of view the Gateway FX541X system seems like it has the best bang for my buck. Xtreme Gear would allow me to build exactly what I want but I think I would be hitting the 2k cash mark. So here is a list of the specs. Please tell me what you think.

Gateway® FX541X
+ Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium (32-bit) SP1
+ Processor: Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9300 (2.50GHz,1333MHz FSB, 6MB L2 cache)
+ Memory: 3072MB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2-1024 & 2-512)
+ Hard Drive: 500GB 7200rpm Serial ATA II/300 hard drive w/ 16MB cache 1
+ Optical Drive: Hybrid Blu-Ray/HD DVD Player and SuperMulti Format DVD-RW DL Drive (Vista ONLY)
+ Optical Drive: DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti Drive featuring Labelflash™ 2
+ Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800GT 512MB Factory Overclocked (Dual DVI, VGA adapter and TV Out)

...

expensive but there's all that stuff (bluray, tuner, remote, keyb mouse speaker windoze). it looks like a decent deal, good CPU and GPU but ideally I'd like it with 2x2GB, Vista 64 and two 750GB drives in raid 1.
first thing you should do with it is download the norton removal tool and use it, then remove some of the OEM start up tray thingies, and as for the OEM BIOS you can sometimes flash with a more standard version with full features, either from the OEM (it depends) or from the mobo's manufacturer.

 

[Sxotty]

first thing you should do with it is download the norton removal tool and use it, then remove some of the OEM start up tray thingies, and as for the OEM BIOS you can sometimes flash with a more standard version with full features, either from the OEM (it depends) or from the mobo's manufacturer.

I strongly disagree.

Instead reinstall windows w/o all that bloat to begin with.

http://directedge.us/content/abr-activation-backup-and-restore

 

[suryad]

Agreed with Sxotty.