Best Gaming PC for £1000 ?

gdh82

I realise you could spend much more than this but we've got £1000 to spend on a Gaming PC for our son.

He's identified this one as a possibility from PC World:

Acer Aspire Predator G7200 Defender - Quad-Core Gaming PC with ATI Radeon HD4850 and 20" display. £959.99


Is this a resonable deal ?

Any other tips on makes/models/specs and/or recommented retail outlets (online or high street) would be much appreciated.

Many Thanks
Garry

exup

try cclonline.com for a comparison (and ebuyer).. PC world isn't noted for being good value so I would definately check around first.

£1000 should be plenty for a decent gaming PC

timbim_2

To me, the predator's always looked like a piece of earth moving machinery. Must be the hideous orange colour and the shovel shaped front cover. What games are you looking at playing anyway. That sort of machine could easily be overkill.

Tin-of-Spam

Hi,

the same machine is available from Currys for £869.99.

I wouldn't bother buying a machine for that much - you could build it yourself and get a much better spec for your cash. It is really easy to build your own these days. Ten years ago it wasn't so.

Antec 900 Nine Hundred - Gaming Case £83.95

Sapphire HD 4850 X2 2GB GDDR3 PCI-E Graphics Card £259.97

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.66GHz Socket 775 Processor £154.40

Gigabyte GA-EG31MF-S2 iG31 Socket 775 Motherboard £52.72

Corsair 4Gb (2x2GB) DDR2 1066MHz/PC2-8500 XMS2 Memory £42.99

Maxtor 500GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm *32MB Cache* - OEM £45.88

Powercool 750W PSU £44.99

Pioneer BDC-S02 Blu-Ray Reader £57.87
Windows Vista Home Premium OEM - DVD - 64-bit - English £82.69
total inc vat £825

Much better spec, twice as fast graphics card, faster ram, blu-ray player and better supported motherboard. The case is also a really good one for airflow, keeping your components cooler and lasting longer!:D

He should be able to play anything that is out now and anything coming for a while yet with the above spec and a wide screen 22" monitor can be got for less than £100 at the mo.

banger9365

how about this one http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=31358&category_id=683&manufacturer_id=0&tid=
£543.98
and a nice monitor http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=31055&category_id=364&manufacturer_id=0&tid=ls22mynkbb
£119.37
gaming mouse http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=6408&category_id=305&manufacturer_id=0&tid=rz01-00110100-r2m1
£16.45
and keyboard http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=18466&category_id=441&manufacturer_id=0&tid=967929-0120
£41.15

DatabaseError

I could've sworn I'd replied to this?! Maybe I forgot the send button?

...anyway..the same box from play is under £800 without a monitor, and you can get an ok 22" or even 24" for under £200

Don't be taken in by "quad core" most applications (even games) don't make much use of the extra 2 cores...if you need them then great, but most people wouldn't know the difference.
I'd suggest building your own (I always do) but Banger's suggestion is better than the PCworld box, though he missed a copy of your fovorite OS on the bill
...pop over to the ccl forum for tailored advice...amdist friendly arguments over the superiority of intel over amd (a bit like the mac vs pc stuff here)

asininity

If you build your own you'll end up with a very very good rig. I'd stick with ati graphics as not only are they cheaper but now are better as well. ATX motherboard and stick with intel for the CPU. I'd personally buy two HDs one for storage and one the fastest you can get for gaming. Get a modual PSU and decide if you want water cooling or not.

If you dont want to build try alienware or comadore.

DatabaseError

...and there's thee other great debate...ati vs nvidia (I have 4 nvidia based PCs...so you can probably guess my stand)

enthrone

Stay away from pc world.

gdh82

Cheers for the all replies (exup, timbim, tin-of-spam, banger, database error, asinity, enthrone).:) Much appreciated and gives us plenty of ideas.

I've always liked the idea of building our own pc but don't really have the time/expertise for this. One day!

Already had some doubts about PC World and the advice hear confirms this so will check out what's on offer CCL Online, Alienware and Commodore and post later.

Thanks again for your help.

timbim_2

Expertise isn't a problem, it really is just a case of care and not trying to force anything. All the components are very carefully designed, and fit together like a dream, so if it resists at all, you know that you're doing somthing wrong.