I need help buying a computer that will suit GW

I bought GW not knowing that my computer was completely inadaquate but I am looking into buying a new one so I need to know which of these would work for it. (none of these have a agp slot unless specified, but there is a ATI Radeon 9550 on sale at Best buy) Keep in mind that all of these are bundles and come with a monitor, mouse and keyboard.



eMachines 524 Desktop:($409.97)

System Memory (RAM): 512MB
Type of Memory (RAM): PC3200 DDR
Hard Drive Size : 160GB
Graphics: ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 integrated
Video Memory: Up to 128MB (shared)
Processor Brand: Intel® Pentium® 4 with HT Technology
Processor Speed: 3.06GH
Available Expansion Slots: 1 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16





eMachines 352 Desktop($359.97)

Processor Brand: Intel® Celeron® D
Processor Speed: 3.2GHz
System Bus: 533MHz
System Memory (RAM): 512MB
Hard Drive Size: 120GB
Graphics: ATI RADEON XPRESS 200
Video Memory: Up to 128MB (shared)
Available Expansion Slots: 1 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16






Compaq Presario Desktop PC($349.99 after $50.00 rebates)

Processor brand: AMD Sempron
Processor speed: 1.8GHz
Bus Speed: 1600MHz
RAM: 512MB
Hard drive size: 120GB
Graphics: Integrated nVIDIA GeForce™ 6150LE
Video memory: 256MB
Video Memory Type: Shared
Available PCI Slots: 3




Acer AcerPower S280($370 one of the cheapest ones i found + AGP slot to get that card on sale!)

Processor: Intel Celeron D 336
Processor Speed: 2.8 GHz
Bus Speed: 533 MHz
RAM: 256 MB
Hard Drive: 80 GB
Graphics Controller - Type: Integrated
Graphics Controller Graphics Card SiS 661GX
Expansion Slots Total (Free): 3 x PCI ¦ 1 x AGP 8x




Any help in advising me would be great. I have Guild Wars Prophcies and I would like to run it as smooth as possible. Thanks in advance for any help.

I like the first one. If you want smooth gameplay upgrade the ram to 1 gig and get a pci-e card.

None, they all look a bit crap. Mu suggestion would be to buy the components and build your own.

I agree with gwfan. It looks to be the best of the ones you posted, and definitely upgrade to 1 gig of ram, pretty much the standard nowadays. It would also be a better bet with the PCI-E for your card since AGP are on the way out.

You can always build one, but really unless you know what to look for and that, it will cost you more than a pre-built which you can just modify afterwards.

I'm still using my old pc, but I just found out something new. While playing prophecies, I moved my character to Kaineng city from Lion's arch, and this is my proph. character. I could play it fine just like how I would in prophecies, and no error messages popped up. So then I went to my factions toon at shing jea monastery, and went to sunqua vale and the message of an error popped up again.

However, using my prophecies character in Factions didn't seem to cause a trouble. I was able to go from the port to Kaineng, and from Kaineng to budwe pass or something like that. So I don't understand how this can be?

And yea, my video card isn't supported by the hardware device I have...and it's a old model I think...NVIDIA RIVA Model 64 (Sony)..but I'm also getting a new pc for college etc...and factions did a data repair and all that before, but it didn't seem to help.

The first one is your best bet as the processor is actually capable of running GW (almost identical to my own). The 512 MB of RAM and the integrated graphics are grossly inadequate though. You can upgrade to a gig of RAM and cheap AGP or PCI-e card for under 200$ if you look around though.

Basically, all you are worried about for playing Guild Wars is Graphics, and they ALL need replacements in that regards.

So for Guild Wars they are all about the same. One of them doesn't have PCI-E or AGP slots, just old PCI..avoid it. Also avoid Celeron processors, the real Pentiums are cheap enough now...

BTW:
- My friend was playing with 512 for the longest time..."Grossly" would imply that he was lagging horribly...he wasn't...

In that case, he had very few background system services. If you plan on running a virusscan or firewall, in addition to a few other services, get more RAM.

Please for your own good stay away from E-machines!!!These things are horrible!! I am going to start a crusade against them.I am a tech and We get alot of these in where the power supply died and destroyed the motherboard. I had one in yesterday where the capacitors had blown up in a very smelly burning electronic stink..gross..seriosly have a friend help you build your own.. or teach yourself.Please don't buy an E-machine!!!

The third has an onboard that will easily play it.

That computer, out of the box, will do what you wanna do. If not, there's an x1300 PCI that will make a nice home in there and absolutely tear up.

6150, for the uninformed, is a 6200 in onboard form. We covered previously that the 6200 is MORE than capable of doing the job.

And, to boot, a Sempron isn't a bad choice, especially considering the other options. It'll be faster in gaming than the other ones, and cheaper besides.

None of them appeal to me, personally. I find that "boxed" machines are junk and assembled from highly inferior parts. The motherboards and power supplies are garbage and the cases are like ovens.

An NVidia 6200 (non integrated 6150) is the same release series as a 9550 from ATI. So you won't see that much improvement from the 6200 to the 9550. I'd say go with #3 and use the money you saved from not buying the card and on the base price to get another 512mb of ram or 256mb of ram.

When we needed a second PC for upstairs, we picked up an eMachines until we had time and money to scratch build one. Yes, they use outdated parts. Yes, they are mass produced. The one we picked up had onboard graphics capable of playing GW, but only 512 RAM. We picked up a 1 gig stick on sale. GW will play on medium graphics with no lag.

A 6200 is the same series as the X seris of ATi cards, not the 9xxx. That would be a 5200 you're thinking of. This is a lot different. A6200 will play most every option turned up, so long as it's not giant resolutions...

.

I hate people that immediately think that everyone can build their own PC just like that. Not everyone is a computer guru and knows exactly what is compatible with what and how to assemble everything. Plus, you don't get warantees with a homemade PC. On topic, go witht he first one and add a 512MB stick to your RAM.

I would say: save up 300 more bucks and buy a 700$ computer. you can have some pretty good one at this price, but under 400$... I'm affraid you wont be able to play alot.

Hate's a strong word, it's actually pretty simple. That is what these forums and other tech forums are for, here to help. It's quite easy to assemble, also easier to Google up a guide with step-by-step pictures, everyone has to start somewhere - why not now?

Erm, yes, you really do...I prefer warranties on each computer part than the whole thing, then when I want to RMA or send a faulty part, I don't have to send the whole computer back, most companys give a few year warrantys, some give lifetime warrantys depending on the part.


On-topic; as for the computers choice to play Guild Wars, the third PC with an AMD Sempron and the GeForce 6150 will more than adequate enough to play Guild Wars, just don't use huge resolutions for it (1280x1024 +).

1. SiS is & always will be utter crap (yes despite the low price its not worth it, regardless of component(s)).

2. Intergrated graphics are just about useless for games, the radion/nvidia intergrated are not as good as the stand alone versions.

3. Some online-stores have their own "packages" they sell which are just standard/medium/high-performance components which can go a long way.

4. The Best Gaming Graphics Cards for the Money: December 2006 from tomshardware gives excellent tips on best bang per buck.

All of those machines are crap. I only say this because nearly all "box" systems are assembled using inferior parts and leave little room for inexpensive upgrades in the future.

I would suggest you give building your own rig a shot. It's truly not as difficult as it is time consuming. The time consuming part, of course, is the research you will have to do to match up components. The information is out there, and most of those specs and numbers are merely marketing tools. The important figures will become obvious to you and you will find that you can build a better system for nearly the same money or a slight bit more.

well none of them are great, but i would go with the campaq for sure. AMD processors are so much better quality than Intel, its rediculous. My friend has a compaq and has never had any problems with it.