I noticed you want a gaming PC. In that case definately...

-get 2GB of RAM
-get a core 2 duo E6600 2.4ghz or better.
-get a decent video card. I suggest $200~ ATI 1950XT or ~$300 Nvidia 8800GTS
-DO NOT SKIMP ON THE POWERSUPPLY. get a quality one

NOTE TO PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE MARKETERS: "Dual Core 3.0GHz" MEANS RUBBISH PENTIUM D NOT AMD

1. Use XP. Don't get Vista - it's incompatible and will not run well at all on the first PC.
2. Core 2 Duo 1.86GHz is excellent and will run games great
3. To play games, you need a better graphics card. Seriously. If it doesn't say the brand name it's not good enough. Buy an Radeon X1950 PRO separately
4. Don't buy a PC from a big manufacturer, ever. You can often get the same computer for two-thirds of the price elsewhere or if you build it yourself, especially in the US.
5. You don't need what the guy above suggested. I'd say less than 3% of Desktop PCs are that or better.

1. No graphic card exists now can run Vista (not mentioning games under Vista) at any good framerate
2. Vista supports little to no game, if you can get XP, then you should get XP
3. Vista reduces resources actually used for running program due to a constant background run DRM protcol enforced by... I think RIAA?
4. Also potential backdoor
5. The first PC have too low a RAM for anything, although you aren't specific enough in their MHz
6. None of them seem to have any good video cards, although being a dual core somewhat reduce these deficencies
7. Core 2 Duo is definitely better
8. There is no 8

Seriously, don't mind the vista bashing. Get Vista. Most if not all of its problems have been fixed. I dual boot XP and Vista, but there's no need to anymore. All of these people bashing vista I can GUARENTEE do not even have it. I 100% recommend Vista if you are getting a prebuilt. You'll be sorry in the long run if you don't get it.

I've gotten all of my DOS games working on vista. It's just as much work as XP was.


And what is takkxyz talking about "no graphic card can run vista or games under vista at any good framerate." How can you even call yourself a PC gamer in your signature spouting such misinformation? Seriously.. if you don't know what you're talking about, don't bother trying to help people.

"1. Use XP. Don't get Vista - it's incompatible and will not run well at all on the first PC."

At least this comment has some logic and truth behind it. If you do end up with a machine like the first one you described, Vista probobly isn't the best choice, but buying a computer now, you should never end up with a computer with those specs.

Vista just won't run on the first system.

Even Microsoft says 512MB RAM is not enough: I believe the OS itself takes up nearly that.

My son just uninstalled Vista and went back to XP as he wants to run games on high settings but they run so badly...and he has 3.2 dual core, 2gigs of ram and geforce 8800 XXX card!

With XP he can now run everything on full settings.

You often get much better spec PCs for the price from the net so stop looking in the big stores and see if someone here can give you a link.

maybe like this: http://www.evertek.com/

Forget all the extras stores throw in like a great sounding mouse or wireless keyboard, free software or printer, you can buy these extras anytime for a few $s so spend as much as you can afford on a decent spec PC and it will last you years (especially if you upgrade the RAM and graphics card) rather than having to buy yet another one in 18months - 2 years!

You could just buy a base unit off the net and a monitor instore or preowned if you see a special deal.

currently Vista and Games do not work WELL together, a few gaming sites have done comparisons with XP and Vista and in almost Every Instance the XP system worked better (higher FPS for the games) by anywhere from 5% to 25% depending on the game and the settings used. vista basic is OK for running stuff. doesn't have aero though


here is what I'd do- if i am on a budget and have to get prebuilt

check to see if the first machine has a pci express slot, if so,

bump that one up to 1 to 2 gig of ram

then buy a decent pci-x video card and put it in.

you'll still save money over the 2nd computer listed.


OR buy the components yourself- do you have an XP Disk you can use for Installation of the OS?


don't know foreign countries, but in the US you can buy the components and have a Good gaming system for 600 dollars minus the OS (700 with 20" widescreen LCD monitor)...

"3.2GHz Dual-core" is actually quite pitiful.

Seeing as most games don't use both cores, what you're really looking at is a huge CPU bottleneck caused by (essentially) a 4-year-old midrange processor from the then-losing manufacturers' lineup.

Yes, that's right, it's basically a  3.2GHz Pentium 4.

There's no point having an 8800 with that.

Since he went up to the 8800 he can now play all games on full settings, which he couldn't before.

He does realise the next component he buys will have to be a better cpu but whilst he can run everything on full why bother.

TheLivingShadow, I highly highly recommend that you do one of two things.

1. Make friends with someone who is EXTREMELY tech savvy.  Not just sort of knows his way around a computer, but someone who has lots of experience building and fixing computers.
2. Learn computers yourself.
   

1. Memorizing all the components of a computer that are required and the common parts that are optional.  (ie Motherboard, Processor, Memory, Video Card, Hard Drive, etc...)
   
2. Learn the strengths and weaknesses of those parts, in other words the common bottlenecks of each part and how/why those bottlenecks impact system performance.
3. Learn to balance price and performance.  With computer parts their is always a line that is the balance of good performance and a good price.  Finding those parts and incorporating them into your build will be a great benefit to your wallet and your specs.