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First time PC buyer overwhelmed! :(
Hey guys! My name is Maddi and I'm buying a PC on my own for my FIRST time! lol Before turning 18, I would usually just have my Dad but my computer because I don't really understand them. Now, I would like to get a better understanding of computers and be able to buy my own gaming computer! Now, I was wondering if you could help me by recommending computers and giving your advice etc! 
So because I'm a computer student, I would much rather get a laptop but a desktop is not out of the question. I just don't understand why people get desktops when they can get laptops. lol I went to Best Buy and the laptop they showed me was the following:
HP AMD QuadCore A-8 Accelerated Processor. He said that it had dual graphics cards and 4 processors. So thats the one I going to buy for $699.99 if nothing comes up.
I also heard that the best gaming computers were HP, Asus, or Alienware. Please tell me which laptop or desktop you would recommend for $700 to $1000. I am open to desktops but sadly I don't wanna try to build my own! lol I would like the laptop to be good enough to run GW2, SWTOR, and Secret World on max settings! Thanks again for your help!
Comments
You get a desktop because they are half the price. And the best gaming computers are custom built because they are way cheaper for the same performance.
I recommend that you get a laptop for school and a gaming desktop for gaming. But when Quizzical gets in here he will tell you exactly what you need to do. Listen to him, hes never wrong.
looking for a good gaming desktop is hard, simply because without going to a high pricepoint, you will only find computers with the worst possible GPUs you can find, with an inadiquite PSU to boot. its easier and cheaper to build one yourself. plus NO BLOATWARE
1ST OF ALL, DONT USE RED, IT HURTS MY EYE. I'M SHOUTING BECAUSE I'M BLIND!!!
now that's out of the way, the A-8 APU AMD laptop should be a good 1st machine for you to play with, HOWEVER, bestbuy is about the worst place you can buy it from:D
Quizzy will have the link to HP's site where you can order/config your own which would have better parts for what you are paying.
as for why desktop rather then laptop, generally speaking, PC will perform about twice as well for a given price range.
Thanks guys!
lol Who is Quizzy? hahaha I am open to ALL options right now expect building my own! 
Thanks for the nice replies!
Simple build your own, cheaper and you get more comp. Its not that hard start with a good tower stay away from lap-tops they over heat too easy. I bought a cm stacker and spent alittle money for a well built tower that comes apart easy then i bought a good MB, processer, graphics card 16gigs of ram 800 watt power supply decent sound card. Nice 25inch flatscreen and put it together. You will also need op system i would say windows 7. You will spend half the money and have twice the computer when done and several years of no problems.
MAGA
Quizzy is a helpful person who seems to be pretty knowledgable about computers and where to find good deals. I just recently purchased all my parts for my own computer (purchased yesterday actually) and am waiting for them to come, but Quizzical helped me immenseley with choosing the right parts for the best deal.
Good luck though, hope everything works great for you, looking forward to my own new computer this comming week
I am entitled to my opinions, misspellings, and grammatical errors.
Forgot good cd player and if you can get blue-ray and large Hard Drive.
" Hoo Yaa "
MAGA
These days buying a new 'off the shelf' PC / laptop isn't all that difficult. They are all pretty much the same, and honestly brand preference isn't going to net any performance gains. If you are dead set against building your own, just pick 3 or 4 models in your price range and compare the following criteria:
CPU
AMD or Intel, it doesn't make a difference unless you plan to build your own, which you say you're not.
Speed & Number of cores, this is what counts. Ideally you want the fastest GHz of the bunch, and most all new pc's come with multi cores. A nice pc would have a high 2.7 or 2.9 GHz, a real nice pc would over 3GHz.
RAM Memory
The more the merrier. You can also buy upgrades for this online for cheap. This might be a way to save money on a 'shelf' model that has low RAM and better other stats. Then get a cheap upgrade later, but I wouldn’t go less than 1GB to start, preferably you want 2GB or more.
Video Graphics
Here is where most people get stuck because they all want to play games on a laptop or store bought desktop, and you can’t upgrade most ‘off the shelf’ laptop graphics cards. The laptops you can upgrade are going to be out of your $1000 price range, try more like $3000… As well as, most off the shelf desktop pc’s don’t have available expansion slots or they only have a low end expansion slot. Yes you can play some games on store purchased pc’s but it is OH SO MUCH BETTER when you build your own…
That’s how ‘off the shelf’ computers sell for so cheap in a store. They cut corners on the main components and integrate everything into a proprietary board. These days buying a desktop from Best Buy or any “Brick and Mortar” storefront you are basically buying a laptop in a bigger box.
Disk Space
Not nearly as important as the other categories as you can always supplement your storage needs with external drives. Performance wise, you would want a Hard Disk Drive that is rated at 7200 rpm or better, those 5400 rpm drive suck. The highest disk performance would be a Solid State Drive. Love my SSD!
That’s all you really need to worry about if you don’t want to build. Nothing you will find in a Best Buy can compare to what you can build yourself, for less. I highly recommend you wait just a bit and do some research and learn how to build your own. Tom's Hardware is an excellent site for information on the latest and greatest components, even if you are on a budget.. Check this link for a really nice Desktop PC that you can build yourself, as well as upgrade in the future for probably less than $500...
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/system-builder-value,2972.html
Now, you have to keep in mind that Laptops and Desktops are different, beyond just one being portable vs. stationary. Consider this; it is a near impossible task to perform decent upgrades to a laptop. Yes, you can purchase more ram memory, if you are brave enough to open the laptop case you can access the cpu or even a hard disk. For the most part, when you buy a laptop you are pretty much stuck with what you get.
If you have a $1000 budget, I strongly suggest you would be better off buying a netbook AND a desktop; and forget the notion of trying to game on an "off the shelf" laptop. The netbook can be crazy cheap to take to school, browse the web, answer emails, do some word processing and spending the rest of your budget on a DIY Desktop PC that can turn out to be a monster power house with just a few smart choices.
As well as you say you are a computer student, which is another reason to recommend building your own. It will give you the experience and knowledge to go along with learning things about computers. I can tell you I've built every PC i've ever had in the last 20+ years, and loved each one of them. It is really easier than it sounds, just like playing with legos... Electronic legos
Either way, good luck and I hope this helps you in your purchase.
Peace!
Jules: You know the shows on TV?
Vincent: I don't watch TV.
Jules: Yeah, but, you are aware that there's an invention called television, and on this invention they show shows, right?
Thank you sooo much!
I would build my own computer but once I get all the parts I don't think I would be able to putting them together in the box and make them work correctly! 
Is their a site that does that for you? Again, thank you! 
There are some sites that will let you pick the exact parts and then build it for you. They charge a hefty premium to do this service for you though.
However, as Quizzical has said in other threads, you will get incredibly detailed instructions when you order your parts. Beyond that, it's hard to put something where it doesn't belong, as it won't physically fit, so you could just shove plugs into holes that they fit into and your computer will more or less work. Besides, you might as well get your first time over with while you're a student-it won't be any easier doing it for the first time when you're 42 years old.
like others have said.. pure red text is a bad way to get help with stuff...
when it comes to laptops and desktops its apples vs oranges. desktop is cheaper and easier to maintain and upgrade. laptop has the option of mobility, which you cant do with desktops (reasonably well anyway)
before you buy any computers or parts you should sit down and figure out WHAT you want the system to do, and then research factory built computers or parts to make your own.
NEVER buy a factory built computer (from bestbuy or futureshop ect) UNLESS it has all the specs you want. most of the time, the pre-builds are loaded with garbage parts.
personally though i rather enjoy building my own, it gives you more of a feel of the computers and helps you understand the benifits of buying better parts over pre-build systems.
i will tell you though,
NEVER scrimp on system ram, cpu power or video cards. the 3 most important parts of the computer outside of the mobo to support them all.
if you go vista (please for the love of god dont) or windows 7, DO NOT settle for any computer (self built or prebuild) with less then 2-3GB of system ram.
windows crapsta and windows 7 both require atleast 2gb alone for OS programs getting any less and you will have harsh loading lag.
as for video cards, that is up to what you want the system to do, if you are gaming and use nvidia, always look for a video card with 256+mb and a LOT of CUBA(cores) most pre-builds do not have quality cards generally so you might have to upgrade it later (least with desktop pre-builds)
as for CPU.. frankly thats your call, i like my I7 i know some I3-I5's can be just as good as an I7 (id hold off on any sandy bridge stuff until its more optomized) but frankly if you dont plan to upgrade every month, go for the best you can get/afford. if you can afford a 3.5ghz I7 do it. dont bother with 3.8 I3 while it would be a tad faster the I7 will just run alot better. and the few points really wont do a hell of a lot.
i dont use AMD so im not sure what they would count out as when stacked against intel.
but basicly desktops are the way to go for gaming, if that is what you plan to use it for. school stuff a decent laptop would be easier least for collage/uni stuff.
as you are a novice right now, just sit and figure out what you plan to use the system for, how much you can afford and go from there. paying more for higher end parts is better then buying cheaply and having to replace the parts/system in a month so always research your parts before commiting to anything. self built or prebuild (oh and ya bestbuy is a freaking ripoff... plus most of their geek squad are retards)
Let's start from the top. First, you have to decide whether to get a desktop or a laptop. As compared to desktops, laptops offer:
1) Far less customizability. In a desktop, you can get exactly what you want. In a laptop, this usually takes modding it yourself. Sometimes, you can't even get something close enough to what you want in a laptop to be able to modify it yourself to get what you want.
2) Far lower performance. The smaller form factor of a laptop means it's safe to dissipate far less power, and that means clocking things much lower. Some high performance CPUs and GPUs aren't offered in laptops at all, and those that are usually have to be clocked much lower.
3) Far less upgradeability. In a desktop, if you think it would be good enough except that one part is insufficient, you can upgrade that one part. In a laptop, that often means replacing the whole thing outright.
4) Far less reliability. There are several reasons for this. One is that in a desktop, you can pick high quality parts that will be reliable. In a laptop, you're stuck with whatever cut corners that the OEM decided on. Another is that it's much easier to keep everything properly cooled in a desktop form factor. Yet another reason is that laptops get jostled around a lot, while desktops tend to just sit there, and it's only practical to do so much to accommodate this without pricing getting way out of hand. (Look up fully ruggedized laptops if you want to see pricing way out of hand.)
5) Far shorter useful lifetimes. This is a direct consequence of items 2, 3, and 4.
6) Far less useful monitor space. In a desktop, you can easily get a big monitor. Or two. Or three. Or six, though that's getting expensive. In a laptop, you're stuck with just one monitor, and a tiny monitor, at that.
7) A very limited ability to reuse peripherals. If you like your keyboard, monitor, and speakers, and replace a desktop, you can keep the old ones. Sometimes you can even reuse the old case. In a laptop, replacing the laptop means a new keyboard, a new monitor, a new touchpad, new speakers, and so forth. That adds to the cost.
8) Far worse ergonomics. In a desktop, you can position the keyboard and monitor wherever you want. Hardly anyone presses them up against each other, as among other things, that's ergonomically terrible. It's also awkward to use. In a laptop, you have to do that, as it's dictated by the form factor.
9) A far higher price tag, if you need high performance. At the low end, laptops and desktops can be competitive on price. But once you get into high power parts, the demands of the form factor mean it costs far more to get a given level of performance in a laptop than in a desktop.
10) Far less security. The portability of a laptop makes it easy for a thief to grab one and walk off with it. Desktops don't get stolen nearly so much.
So what advantages do laptops offer in exchange for all of the drawbacks?
1) Far greater portability. For some purposes, this genuinely does outweigh all else. Gaming is rarely one of those purposes, however.
2) Lower power consumption. The demands of the form factor mean that vendors go to great lengths to reduce power consumption. This does mean that laptops use less power to offer a given level of performance. For most purposes, this isn't a big deal, and even if you're into saving the environment, it's likely that a desktop would be more environmentally friendly due to its longer useful lifespan, which means using energy and resources to replace it less often. If you're in a small room with no air conditioning and it tends to get hot, the power consumption difference between a desktop and a laptop can be comparable to having an extra person in the room. Keeping cooler when it's hot can be nice.
3) A laptop takes up less desk space, making it viable in some very small spaces where a desktop wouldn't fit.
And that's it. Now, in some situations, portability can outweigh everything else. But if you're going to get a computer and use it like a desktop, then you should get a desktop. Even if you want a gaming machine and also need a laptop for non-gaming purposes, it's commonly the case that you can get both a gaming desktop and a non-gaming laptop rather than just a gaming laptop, and end up with a higher performance gaming machine, a more portable laptop, and a lower total price tag. That really only kicks in significantly above your budget, however.
-----
Next is the question of whether you can assemble a desktop yourself. There's a simple test for this. Find a desktop, and unplug all of the cords from the back of the case. See if you can plug them all back in and make it work. If you can, then you'd definitely be able to assemble a desktop yourself if given the parts. (Write down where things are plugged in before you try this, to make sure you can fix it if something goes wrong.)
Now, if you actually try this, it probably won't take you too long to figure out that it's something to the effect of, put the round peg in the round hole and the square peg in the square hole, rather than the other way around. But that's the point. It's like that inside the computer, too. If there are several places where a plug will physically fit, then it often doesn't matter which one you use.
Furthermore, the case and motherboard you get will come with very detailed instructions. All you have to do is to follow the directions and it will work. If you goof up and try to do something wrong, then it probably won't physically fit, which should tell you that you're putting something in wrong. If you mess up in assembling the computer, it's likely to damage any hardware; more typically, maybe the computer doesn't turn on until you plug in something that you neglected to plug in.
That still assumes that you have the right parts sitting there to assemble. But we can help you with that.
-----
I don't know exactly what laptop you were shown, but I can tell you that it was badly configured. The point of a Llano A8-anything is to use the integrated graphics that is built into the same die as the processor. If you're also using a discrete videocard, then you're missing the point, as the processor side of Llano isn't that good. If you're going to use a discrete card anyway, then Intel's Sandy Bridge processors are better.
Now, nearly all prebuilt laptops are badly configured. All that varies is how badly, and in which particular ways.
In a sub-$1000 budget, you can a laptop that will run nearly any games well enough to be playable at moderate settings. But if you want high graphical settings on that budget, a desktop is your only option.
Agreed, a desktop is always the gamers choice, sometimes with a really cheap laptop or IPAD at the side for portable needs.
There is no way you can get a gaming laptop for 1K$ but you can build a great desktop or get a fine custom machine from your local nerdstore for that price.
Some comments on the replies:
"plus NO BLOATWARE"
To explain what he means, if you buy a prebuilt computer, it will come with a lot of programs already installed. You might think this sounds good. But it's bad, because they're programs that you don't want, and they waste both hard drive and memory space. That bogs your system down. Trying to track them all down and uninstall them all is a major hassle, too. If you build your own computer, you can install the programs you want and leave off the random junk that you don't.
"16gigs of ram 800 watt power supply decent sound card."
Very few people have any plausible use for more than 8 GB of system memory in a desktop, and most of them aren't building it for gaming, anyway. Very few gaming systems should get a power supply rated above 650 W, though there are some rigs that do need the extra wattage. Few systems should get a discrete sound card at all, as onboard sound is good enough for most people.
"Forgot good cd player and if you can get blue-ray and large Hard Drive."
Blu-Ray is a waste of money unless you're going to watch Blu-Ray movies. If Blu-Ray ever catches on for general computer use comparable to DVD today, then the drives will be dramatically cheaper to buy at that time.
How much hard drive space you need varies wildly from one person to the next. Personally, I have a 120 GB SSD and no hard drive at all. Some people have 2 TB of random junk that they don't want to get rid of. Check how much storage space you have in use now, and if you get more than double that in your new computer, you'll probably have plenty. There's no sense in getting a 2 TB hard drive if you're never going to bring it to 10% full.
"Speed & Number of cores, this is what counts."
IPC matters, too, and that varies quite a bit. A hypothetical 3 GHz Sandy Bridge quad core would be meaningfully faster than a hypothetical 4 GHz Athlon II quad core, even if we ignore turbo boost and hyperthreading.
"RAM Memory The more the merrier."
That's only true up to the point at which you have enough, and then adding more doesn't get you much benefit. For most people, that point comes before 4 GB, and hardly anyone needs more than 8 GB. You can get 8 GB of system memory for $50, so I'd recommend that for a lot of people. Someone on a very tight budget may need to cut back to only 4 GB.
"NEVER buy a factory built computer (from bestbuy or futureshop ect) UNLESS it has all the specs you want. most of the time, the pre-builds are loaded with garbage parts."
To this I'll add that a lot of companies are good at listing a lot of things that look like computer specs, without actually telling you what you're getting. I've seen cases where they had 40 lines that ostensibly listed the computer's specs, without actually telling you exactly what you were getting for a single part in the entire machine.
One simple litmus test is whether they tell you the power supply. If they don't, then it's probably cheap junk. Giving the nominal wattage on the power supply is not at all the same as giving the power supply. "650 W" is not a power supply. Seasonic X-650 is a power supply. Corsair TX650 V2 is a power supply. Antec EarthWatts Green EA-650 is a power supply. Diablotek PHD650 is a power supply. They're all nominally 650 W, but no two of them are remotely similar to each other. The Diablotek unit is bad enough that if it dies the moment you take it out of its box, then you got lucky, as that will prevent it from killing anything else.
http://us.toshiba.com/computers/laptops/satellite/P750/P755-S5269/
It's served me well playing just about any game I come across at high or max settings. Heck with desktops, I'd much rather take the advantage of not having to sit in some horribly uncomfortable chair for hours on end and the ability to easily take your machine wherever you want.
If you're maxing settings on a GeForce GT 540M, then either you're content with some awfully low frame rates, or (more likely) you haven't tried any graphically demanding games. Then again, at a 1366x768 monitor resolution, one could argue that the highest settings that your system will allow you to even attempt to run are actually fairly low. Only 768 pixels in height is tiny, and makes a lot of programs awkward.
Again, my favorite reference is going to be Tom's Hardware sites.. Here's a quick overview on how to put all those Electronic Legos together and make it work. Something that an aspiring Computer Sciences Student should be able to do blindfolded (after a few build attempts of course =P )...
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-your-own-pc,2601.html
You seem to be getting a decent amount of good advice, but just keep it simple since you seem to be just starting out. If you are going to buy a "pre-built" computer in any form, from an actual 'brick and mortar' store (meaning you drive to it, and walk through a door to buy things) don't focus on upgradability or sustainability because it's not going to happen.
Computers in any form, sold at a Best Buy, CompUSA, Circuit City, Hhgregg, etc are basically toasters. You buy it, plug it in, then use it till it dies. They are not a 'KitchenAid' where you get a pasta roller, linguini cutter, ravioli maker, meat grinder, sausage maker, dough hook, whisk, paddle mixer, etc. for upgrades later down the line.
Look back at my previous post in this thread, it may be a lot to read but all my points are valid, I tried to keep it simple and focused on my audience, i.e. You and your situation. Anyone can take a snip of text and find some technicality or counter point to make themselves sound more authoritarian. Trust me, this computer WILL NOT be the last one you purchase in your life time and some of the counter points that have been stated are really too technichal for someone looking to buy something off the shelf. Really, even for a first time builder. Sure after you've built a few PC's you will want to start finessing your specs and looking deep into things like clock cycles, memory timings, architecture differences, chip sets, modular power supplies, single rail vs. multi rail power delivery, air flow, dust filtration, cpu cooling, air cool vs. water cool, etc... (Just keep it simple for this first time out into the wilds)
I still say you would be better off with a simple netbook for mobility and (slowly if needed) build your own desktop system for greater power and flexibility. Either way good luck with your purchase, computer equipment depreciates faster than cars. What you find on the shelf was obsolete before it arrived at the store, so don't stress too much on it.
Peace!
Jules: You know the shows on TV?
Vincent: I don't watch TV.
Jules: Yeah, but, you are aware that there's an invention called television, and on this invention they show shows, right?
at that price it is a hybrid graphic card probably one in welded to mobo and a modded 5770 is added (probably called 6770 or such)a8 is a very nice proc from amd mobile but dont touch any graphic card with less then 256 bit datapath.everything is being accelerated buy graphic card these day espacially if you use the awsome ie9.need a bit of learning for the various ie9 tool and setting but once done you wont regret it!
the reason user use desktop is because on average you used to get twice the perfomance from desktop compared to laptop.dont know if its still the case since casual are all buying ipad or simiar stuff.
by by the way hybrid normally can be deactivated via bios(if bios isnt locked for that laptop)
i got hybrid and mine is disabled on paper it sound fine but it isnt a very good system.
building your own machine isnt too hard. it's a matter of learning to handle electronic parts. the problem with building your own computer isn't the act of assymbling the parts, but the diagnostics that need to happen IF something doesn't work. 95% of the time, there wont be a problem and building a computer. it is simply putting the parts together and installing the operating system. the whole process is about as hard as building a lego set. the only thing you need to worry about is keeping yourself grounded while handling the parts or simply putting the parts together on none carpeted floor so you dont build up static electricity to begin with. the issue is IF something actually goes wrong (a part came DOA or something) then you have to diagnose the problem and deal with RMAing the parts.
DO REALIZE that even if you buy a pre assymbled computer, depending on the shop you buy it from, they may not have assymbled it correctly. I just recently worked on a pre built computer that was ordered from a not so reputable vender and the whole thing was assymbled incorrectly. for example, the powersupply was pointed in the wrong direction and it was getting zero airflow because the fan was pointed at a solid sheet of steel known as the bottom of the case:D and no, there were no ventilation holes drilled into the bottom of the case nor was there any gap at the bottom to allow for airflow into the powersupply.
IF you have decided that you do NOT want a laptop AND you do not want to build your own, then the favored site for pre built machines is
http://www.avadirect.com/
and quizzy would be able to pick out the parts for you.
edit:
PS found a funny video that shows what goes into building a machine. (putting it together)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wkY8K-T5es
this is basiclly how us geeks spend our saturday afternoon after a week waiting for newegg to ship our stuff:D
Just some friendly comments on the 'comments on the replies',
overall you provide very valid and sage advice and I thank you for that. We need more people whom can provide valid and constructive feedback on the internet in general, and not so many trollolol's.
"Speed & Number of cores, this is what counts."
"IPC matters, too, and that varies quite a bit. A hypothetical 3 GHz Sandy Bridge quad core would be meaningfully faster than a hypothetical 4 GHz Athlon II quad core, even if we ignore turbo boost and hyperthreading."
Your point is absolutely valid, but in my opinion, a bit more advanced than our OP requires at this time. The OP continues to lean towards an off the shelf pre-build, with a budget under $1000 and running away from the direction of a DIY PC build project, which just makes sad. So, unless we as a community can help him/her to see the error of their ways, that is where they will end up (starts to cry). I think that getting too deep into the technical aspects for a first time builder only intimidates, confuses and scares them away from the hugely satisfying enjoyment of building your own PC. It's sometimes hard for people like us to simplify the process to an acceptable range, vs. making someone's head explode thinking about CAS timings, clock cycles, voltage adjustments, and other overclocking qualifiers for min/maxing your PC stats. Considering what is ‘commonly’ available in off the shelf pre-build systems, we are looking at Core i7/i5 or the Phenom II family of processors, but if we can convince and guide our fledgling pc enthusiast into the warm and welcoming light of DIY PC builds we can unload our vast talents and knowledge.
For reference here is another Tom’s article outlining the general gaming and computing power of today’s common processors.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-llano-processor,2989-5.html
"RAM Memory The more the merrier."
“That's only true up to the point at which you have enough, and then adding more doesn't get you much benefit. For most people, that point comes before 4 GB, and hardly anyone needs more than 8 GB. You can get 8 GB of system memory for $50, so I'd recommend that for a lot of people. Someone on a very tight budget may need to cut back to only 4 GB.”
The more the merrier. You can also buy upgrades for this online for cheap. This might be a way to save money on a 'shelf' model that has low RAM and better other stats. Then get a cheap upgrade later, but I wouldn’t go less than 1GB to start, preferably you want 2GB or more.
Just some comments on the 'comments on the replies',
"Speed & Number of cores, this is what counts."
"IPC matters, too, and that varies quite a bit. A hypothetical 3 GHz Sandy Bridge quad core would be meaningfully faster than a hypothetical 4 GHz Athlon II quad core, even if we ignore turbo boost and hyperthreading."
Your point is absolutely valid, but in my opinion, a bit more advanced than our OP requires at this time. The OP continues to lean towards an off the shelf pre-build, with a budget under $1000 and running away from the direction of a DIY PC build project, which just makes sad. So, unless we as a community can help him/her to see the error of their ways, that is where they will end up (starts to cry). I think that getting too deep into the technical aspects for a first time builder only intimidates, confuses and scares them away from the hugely satisfying enjoyment of building your own PC. It's sometimes hard for people like us to simplify the process to an acceptable range, vs. making someone's head explode thinking about CAS timings, clock cycles, voltage adjustments, and other overclocking qualifiers for min/maxing your PC stats. Considering what is ‘commonly’ available in off the shelf pre-build systems, we are looking at Core i7/i5 or the Phenom II family of processors, but if we can convince and guide our fledgling pc enthusiast into the warm and welcoming light of DIY PC builds we can unload our vast talents and knowledge.
For reference here is another Tom’s article outlining the general gaming and computing power of today’s common processors.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-llano-processor,2989-5.html
"RAM Memory The more the merrier."
“That's only true up to the point at which you have enough, and then adding more doesn't get you much benefit. For most people, that point comes before 4 GB, and hardly anyone needs more than 8 GB. You can get 8 GB of system memory for $50, so I'd recommend that for a lot of people. Someone on a very tight budget may need to cut back to only 4 GB.”
The more the merrier. You can also buy upgrades for this online for cheap. This might be a way to save money on a 'shelf' model that has low RAM and better other stats. Then get a cheap upgrade later, but I wouldn’t go less than 1GB to start, preferably you want 2GB or more.
Just some comments on the 'comments on the replies',
"Speed & Number of cores, this is what counts."
"IPC matters, too, and that varies quite a bit. A hypothetical 3 GHz Sandy Bridge quad core would be meaningfully faster than a hypothetical 4 GHz Athlon II quad core, even if we ignore turbo boost and hyperthreading."
Your point is absolutely valid, but in my opinion, a bit more advanced than our OP requires at this time. The OP continues to lean towards an off the shelf pre-build, with a budget under $1000 and running away from the direction of a DIY PC build project, which just makes sad. So, unless we as a community can help him/her to see the error of their ways, that is where they will end up (starts to cry). I think that getting too deep into the technical aspects for a first time builder only intimidates, confuses and scares them away from the hugely satisfying enjoyment of building your own PC. It's sometimes hard for people like us to simplify the process to an acceptable range, vs. making someone's head explode thinking about CAS timings, clock cycles, voltage adjustments, and other overclocking qualifiers for min/maxing your PC stats. Considering what is ‘commonly’ available in off the shelf pre-build systems, we are looking at Core i7/i5 or the Phenom II family of processors, but if we can convince and guide our fledgling pc enthusiast into the warm and welcoming light of DIY PC builds we can unload our vast talents and knowledge.
For reference here is another Tom’s article outlining the general gaming and computing power of today’s common processors.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-llano-processor,2989-5.html
"RAM Memory The more the merrier."
“That's only true up to the point at which you have enough, and then adding more doesn't get you much benefit. For most people, that point comes before 4 GB, and hardly anyone needs more than 8 GB. You can get 8 GB of system memory for $50, so I'd recommend that for a lot of people. Someone on a very tight budget may need to cut back to only 4 GB.”
The more the merrier. You can also buy upgrades for this online for cheap. This might be a way to save money on a 'shelf' model that has low RAM and better other stats. Then get a cheap upgrade later, but I wouldn’t go less than 1GB to start, preferably you want 2GB or more.
Peace!
Jules: You know the shows on TV?
Vincent: I don't watch TV.
Jules: Yeah, but, you are aware that there's an invention called television, and on this invention they show shows, right?
I think what quizzy ment in his context is that no "consumer" class software would use more then 8GB of memory within the "useful lifetime" of the current build.
there are exceptions where the use of professional software or the use of a ram drive may exceed the 8gb recommendation, but for all intensive purposes 8gb is enough for a "civilian" build:D
personally, i like running ram drive for various purposes so i'd build a 16gb or more system myself. but as a "1st time buyer" i'd seriously doubt he/she would use more then 8gb:)
I agree, a starting point of 1 - 2GB or even 4GB is good, and eventually upgrading to 8GB would max out probably 90% of the users out there today. I've not played much with ram drives but would love to see how fast I can get apps or even the o/s to cache in and out with that setup.
Jules: You know the shows on TV?
Vincent: I don't watch TV.
Jules: Yeah, but, you are aware that there's an invention called television, and on this invention they show shows, right?
If the reason to get a laptop is to be able to take it to class with you I'd go with a netbook/desktop combo. Use the netbook at school and the desktop at home. Laptops aren't very comfortable to use for hours at a time whereas you can get a desktop setup that is comfortable to be at for hours and hours. I can't imagine gaming on a laptop but I know people who do it - they do have problems keeping up with graphic card upgrades.
The other big advice is to just start window shopping at all the various sites on the internet - there is a wealth of information that will probably seem like someone is talking in an alien language but the more time you spend with it the more familiar it will all become. You also might see if you have any friends or family with an old computer that no one uses anymore for practice on taking apart and putting back together.
Maddeline scares me. At first I thought it was a troll. Could anyone be so ignorant? Then I thought to myself - Of course, not everyone are fortunate enough to grow up with computers in that sense. I came from a household with both Mac and PC, but in the end I had to learn to build myself.
We live in a world of brands, fads and prestige of owning the right thing. The Apple influx has taken it's toll. Four years ago, the coolest and best thing I could think about would have been an Imac, a Iphone or an Ipad(not available at the time). But if you ask me now - I would say no way. I find them boring, mainstream and the same. Everyone has them. They all look the same, react and do the same.
It's one step closer to the world turning into a collective airport where everyone has the same clothes, homes and gadgets.
Building your own computer is amazing, and anyone can do it. A computer is so much more than a tool for gaming. The internet can be your source for vast amounts of knowledge. You can download programs that basically can insist you in almost any field of work you are interested - Regardless if your creative, into science, or acedemic. The customization is out of this world.
You build something from scratch and it only take a few parts - A Case, Graphics Card, Processor, Ram, Motherboard, DVD Drive, Power Supply and a Hard Drive. That's it. You buy these things, and you just have to make sure they are compatible.
It's not just the experience of building it, but using it every day. Of building something wonderful from the ground up. Something that can last you for years. I see my computer as an companion. I use it for work, I use it for school, I use it for recreation, I use it for socialising, I use it for entertaintment.
I think it would be a shame to go buy a 699 bottom scraper at target. Those things are for the uneducated, the lazy. Be somebody - Build something. Create something. Make something for your hands, take a challenge, get the drive to want to learn something.
Here is one good step by step on how to do it: http://www.tested.com/news/video-how-to-build-the-best-1500-gaming-pc-step-by-step/152/
just ask people to tell you what parts are compatible and what your budget is. then order from newegg or your local computer store.