09-02-2013, 04:03 AM
I got a six-core AMD based system from Amazon (free shipping) about two years ago and although I had to add a real graphics card, the speed still blows away most of the units out there. I can't remember what I paid but it was less than $600 including Windows 7 and a 1.5TB hard drive. No monitor or speakers etc but I already had all that. It came with 6GB of RAM but I was able to add two more gigs later for not much money.
If you're going to be gaming, look for a unit that has the GPU slot (or slots) you'll want for a video card upgrade and a big enough power supply to run those cards. Otherwise you'll be fighting heat problems, esp in Hawaii.
I've had nothing but problems with Gateway, so I would not recommend that brand. Most of the computer's I've owned I've built from scratch because I usually had most of the pieces I needed on hand but a few years ago they started locking the OS to the specific CPU to prevent people from upgrading their computers without buying a new OS. And once you buy a new OS it seems like it costs almost as much as buying a completely new system with a warranty.
Now that I'm older, IF I ever get seriously into gaming again, I would probably get a gaming console (x box or whatever) and use a cheap laptop with a docking station for everything else. After this desktop unit goes, I probably won't ever own another desk top again. All signs point towards the future being towards cloud computing, 99% of the horsepower at your desk is wasted anyways, unless you are doing some serious graphics or computational work. For web browsing, word processing, streaming video, etc, a $200 notebook is all you really need.
So you might want to consider a gaming console to hook to the TV, and a laptop for everything else. It would be within your budget and solve some problems that haven't happened yet. My work laptop supports three monitors, maybe four if you count the monitor that is part of the laptop. But I have never tried that.
If you're going to be gaming, look for a unit that has the GPU slot (or slots) you'll want for a video card upgrade and a big enough power supply to run those cards. Otherwise you'll be fighting heat problems, esp in Hawaii.
I've had nothing but problems with Gateway, so I would not recommend that brand. Most of the computer's I've owned I've built from scratch because I usually had most of the pieces I needed on hand but a few years ago they started locking the OS to the specific CPU to prevent people from upgrading their computers without buying a new OS. And once you buy a new OS it seems like it costs almost as much as buying a completely new system with a warranty.
Now that I'm older, IF I ever get seriously into gaming again, I would probably get a gaming console (x box or whatever) and use a cheap laptop with a docking station for everything else. After this desktop unit goes, I probably won't ever own another desk top again. All signs point towards the future being towards cloud computing, 99% of the horsepower at your desk is wasted anyways, unless you are doing some serious graphics or computational work. For web browsing, word processing, streaming video, etc, a $200 notebook is all you really need.
So you might want to consider a gaming console to hook to the TV, and a laptop for everything else. It would be within your budget and solve some problems that haven't happened yet. My work laptop supports three monitors, maybe four if you count the monitor that is part of the laptop. But I have never tried that.