Advice on gaming computer

I need some advice on buying a new computer for gaming (pre-built). I'd probably be playing things like WoW, AA (America's Army) and so on. As for a budget I'm looking to spend around $1,000. I'd prefer it to have Intel Core 2 Duo and 2GB not sure on what i would need graphics card wise confused.

Also, would it be a bad idea to get Vista?. I've heard some programs like HackShield, and punkbuster (AA) don't support Vista, so would it really be worth getting or would i be better off holding out on that?.

 

A pre-built one is going to be hard to find w/ a Core 2 Duo and 2G... honestly its cheaper to build one.As far as a video card, I would be looking for at minimum a 7600 series nvidia or 1900 ATI. Vista - I'm not sure, personally I'm staying as far away as possible from Vista until the bugs are out. I'll go look around at some pre-built sites and see what I can find.

 

sounds easy.... under 1000... gaming.... i can do that
probably come up with a link.. dont do vista.. doesnt support some cool games, costs too much, invalidates your current operating system... dont lol

heres the pc
http://cgi.ebay.com/Intel-Pentium-D...QQihZ017QQcategoryZ140076QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
and heres the pci-e 640mb card to pimp it out.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2597918&CatId=2514
there.
now you're at 3.4ghz dual core with 2gb ram, 250gb sata and 640mb DX10 compatible.

for... 1020$ including shipping from ebay. i dunno about from tiger

 

Nice find Angel, the only thing is he was wanting a Core 2 Duo. That's why I thought it would be a hard find. The system you posted has a Pentium D, but it's still very much in his budget. Nice. +1 one the Vista response too LOL.

 

So you've run Vista and can confirm all that you said right? Right.....

Vista will run all of your modern games just fine with only a minimal performance hit due to the first generation of drivers from AMD and nVidia. In the next six months, as drivers improve, expect Vista to run games on par with and maybe better than XP.

Cost is another factor. If you are building a new system, you can get an OEM version of Ultimate for $200. You can even buy upgrade versions without the need to have a previous install. You can clean install directly from the upgrade disk using a work around. And no, it doesn't invalidate any of your previous operating systems.

If you are happy with XP, stick with it and put the money towards the hardware for now. It's not essential to have it and you won't see many games that require Vista to run for at least a few years.

My second piece of advice to the OP is don't buy a PC off Ebay! I can't stress that enough. If you want a pre-built system, check out a Dell if you don't plan on opening up the case, or search Google for a reputable system builder if you want more options for upgrades in the future. Of course, you can always build your own.

The Intel C2D E6600 is a great chip for the price. It's very popular because it can be overclocked a decent amount as well. That alone costs ~$320 depending on where you shop, but find a decent motherboard ~$140, some solid ram for about ~$220, and maybe a nVidia 7900GT for ~$200. I wouldn't jump into the DirectX 10 cards just yet. I'd wait for the midrange, second generation, cards to come out and then get Vista and the new card.

 

I won't be buying anything from tigerdirect, they hose people on rebates and have horrible customer service. I'm thinking of simply buying a computer with 1gb and installing another 1gb myself if it would really be easier to find. I guess if i can't install it myself i could always get geeksquad or someone to install it for me.