searching for a new desktop that's under $700 (preferably below $500)

[reingiolt]

i recently became the victim of a defective NVIDIA graphics card :death: and now must find a new cheap desktop. i had my sights on a gateway sx2800-01 but unfortunately the GPU was connected to the motherboard. having been traumatized by my recent misfortune i'm limiting my choices to desktops where every single part can be individually replaced ( or upgraded ) easily.

unfortunately i have absolutely no experience with desktops so i'm not even sure what specs i should prioritize. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[gakido]

Newegg.com it's probably a good place to look for a new desktop. I'm planning on getting a new one too but have to wait till the end of the year though. The specs of the desktops on the site are a lot better than what you can get at a store like Best Buy for the same price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2032280010%201308920938&name=Gaming

 

[EzikialRage]

If it is a desktop then it should have expansion slots and you should be able to just purchase a graphics card and pop it in an expansion slot. You should at least have at least a regular PCI expansion slot or even an AGP expansion slot on your mother board.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048 1069609642&name=PCI

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048 1069609639&name=AGP 4X/8X



You should also read the product reviews before purchasing a new PC. Read some of the low reviews and read some of the high reviews to determine if this is a product you wish to purchase. I do not know if there is Bestbuy where you live but this store does sell a gateway sx2800-01 and it has product reviews.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9352336&type=product&id=1218089773975



I purchased a gateway LX6810-01 and it basically requires that I clean it out every week or two or else it will randomly overheat and shut down on its own and the printer that came with it is a piece of shit, luckily I still have my old HP Deskjet 842c printer. If I had bothered to read the reviews more thoroughly I probably wouldn't have purchased it or at least I would have purchased a different heat sink and fan and and perhaps some case fans and requested a different printer. But as long as I take a can of air or air compressor and clean the heat sink I have no problems. So it is important to read the product reviews and perhaps get some store replacement plan.



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