Thanks so much! It worked!
Sorry to have sidetracked the thread.
I do want to give a solid recommendation to eCollegePC. It was an easy process and also fast and they are so helpful.
Andrea

Whoa ! A $75 shipping fee ? Yikes !! Do they give fries with that shake ? As to the setup I listed from Cyberpower , the initial configuration came with a water cooler for the cpu . The aftermarket cooler I recommended was , unless I'm in error , a $20 price difference between a stock cooler . A small amount . For casual and adventure gaming , maybe a stock cooler would perform well enough . Then again , I would not take the time to find out . It has been my experience , when I've built an AMD based computer (20 if I remember correctly) , the stock cpu fans have been woefully inadequate , largely due to the size of the cpu fan (often , the cpu fan is just a 60 mm solution . Not nearly enough . Some fans were 80 mm . Fair enough size , mostly) . On the Intel side of the computers I have built (about the same amount as AMD computers I've built) , a stock cpu cooler performed well enough (I believe the fan size was 80 or 92 mm . I may be incorrect on that though) . I only recommended an aftermarket cpu cooler , based on my experiences .

That's what I thought when I checked into the shipping charges! A friend who builds AMD computers agrees with your assessment of their stock cooling solutions. My experience with the new 2nd Generation Intel CPUs is that for web surfing, email and casual gaming, the stock coolers perform more than adequately. But then, adding an after-market CPU cooler is sort of like doing overkill on a power supply - can't hurt!

Hi All,

I feel so much better now than I did a couple of days ago. I will compare Intel and AMD and make a decision and start saving my pennies. I've got a room full of unplayed games waiting on me with newer ones being released soon so I had better get busy and make a choice...I will keep you posted.

Have fun, lexxy - half the fun is the shopping!

Phenom II Quad Core Gaming PC Computer Win 7 HDMI 8GB RAM DVDRW WIFI 1TB HDD
I found this at Ebay, what do you think. I have not decided to buy from Ebay as it is risky and the return policy is not what it should be. I am checking both of the sites you gave me but a friend bought one at Ebay at a decent price so I decided to stroll over and see what they had to offer.

Great Looking Gaming Computer complete with:


CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 850 3.3GHz 4x512KB Socket AM3 Quad-Core CPU



Graphics Card:



GeForce GT 430 2GB DDR3 PCI Express (PCIe) DVI/VGA Video Card w/HDMI & HDCP Support

8gb DDR 3 1600 MHZ Memory

1tb SATA Hard Drive 7200 RPM
6 USB Ports
DVD RW Drive

WIFI Card

550 Watt PSU

Please allow 4 Business days for Assembly and testing prior to shipping. Thank you Riodeels.


Raid Max XB Case with 10 inch monster system fan with blue LED lights!



Includes:

Motherboard:



Foxconn A74GA AMD 740G Socket AM3 ATX Motherboard



General Features:

ATX form factor

AMD 740G + SB710 chipset

Socket AM3 architecture

Dual-channel DDR3 memory architecture

Supports up to 16 GB DDR3 1333/1066 MHz memory

Integrated ATI Radeon 2100 graphics

Integrated Realtek ALC662 5.1-channel HD audio

Integrated Realtek RTL8111D Gigabit Ethernet LAN

Six (6) Serial ATA 3.0 Gb/s ports (support RAID 0, 1, 10)

One (1) IDE port

24-pin ATX power connector

4-pin ATX12V power connector

Lead-free components (RoHS compliant)



Expansion Slots:
One (1) PCI Express x16 slot
One (1) PCI Express x1 slot
Three (3) PCI slots
Four (4) 240-pin DDR3 DIMM slots


Rear I/O Ports:
Two (2) PS/2 ports
One (1) 9-pin Serial/COM port
One (1) 15-pin VGA port
Six (6) USB 2.0 ports
One (1) RJ-45 jack
Line in, line out, microphone 3.5 mm audio jacks


Internal Headers:
One (1) front panel header
One (1) front panel audio header
One (1) 9-pin Serial/COM header
One (1) 25-pin Parallel/LPT header
One (1) 4-pin CD-in
Three (3) USB 2.0 headers (six ports total)
Two (2) 4-pin chassis fan headers
One (1) 4-pin CPU fan header





*Please allow up to 4 Business days to assemble and test prior to shipping. Thank you, Riodeels

**

What's Covered


Riodeels Ebay Store Warranty Coverage


-There are no hidden fees, co-pays or deductibles. Buyer does pay shipping to seller. Seller pays shipping to buyer through Ground shipping service.

-All existing hardware is covered. This includes, Hard drive, Case, RAM, Motherboard, Any cables, Power Supply, Video cards, PCI cards, and any other hardware add-ons purchased from Riodeels Ebay Store.

-Repair or Replace Guarantee
If your product cannot be repaired, it will be replaced with a product of equivalent or greater value.

-Cosmetic Damage caused by shipping is covered.

-Power Surge
This feature protects your covered product against damage or defects caused by a power surge up to a maximum of the replacement cost of the product over the life of the contract while your covered product is properly connected to a UL approved surge protector.

-Duration
3 years warranty from shipping date.

-Exclusions

1. The Warranty coverage does not include unauthorized repairs or modifications, theft, abuse, misuse, neglect, vandalism; any 3rd party repair

2. Any existing or added software is not covered.

3. Viruses are not covered.

　

For Any additional questions you can send messages to my riodeels ebay store.


Thank You Riodeels






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Every buyer gets a MyStoreRewards invitation for cash back



Here are the specs on this system, I forgot to add it to the above post, please feel free to combine it if necessaart.

Buying electronics from ebay is dangerous , largely due to return options or warranty shortfalls . Based on the information you provided for the computer case , I was able to find the ebay seller for what you have listed . Has the auction for this particular computer expired , or is this computer you listed available as a custom option ? I did not see it listed anywhere in this seller's store . Perhaps I overlooked .

In any event , The video card listed would be ok as an htpc option , but low end as a gaming card . With no concrete information for the power supply , one can only presume it is also low end , and in need of an upgrade in the near future .

I was able to locate the case for the listing you provided : Here

One fan , no matter how large , is inadequate for cooling , especially in a gaming computer . I do not mean to sound negative in any way , and realize that you are likely trying to get some "bang for your bucks" . However , I would strenuously recommend to spend some extra money , and invest in a quality setup from a reputable company with reliable warranty and service terms .

That three-year warranty is kind of iffy. I might have missed it, but I don't see any mention of an Operating System.

Actually, I find a different case than Creeping Doom did and it's even lower end than the one he found. It mentions coming with a 380 watt power supply, so that makes me wonder about the power supply.

Raidmax XB Case

All-in-all, not a good buy in my opinion for several reasons.

I saw that case myself , Draclvr . Low end , all the way around !

Don't most cases have places where you can add fans?
The cases I've used have a place in the lower front near the bottom where you can add a couple of fans.

More often than not Jenny100 , yes they do . At the same time , however , by the time extra fans are purchased , the final cost could be more than purchasing a case with adequate fans already installed . By adequate , I mean enough fans , more than one , and fans that move enough air , measured in cfm (Cubic Feet per Minute). Fans with led lighting , depending on size , can cost up to $10 or more each .

Some definitely do come with options to add more fans. This particular one does not. It comes with two tiny little 80 mm fans - one on the side and one on the back, which is actually one more than many OEM computers. I'm fine with using low end cases and have used several for builds meant for web surfing and a little email. They used integrated graphics and a low-end CPU. A couple of 80 mm fans is fine for that kind of use.

EDIT: Just to add now that I have a bit more time to look... that motherboard only has SATA 3.0. SATA 3.0 is fine (that's what mine has), but it is older technology. SATA 6.0 is the current standard. If I were buying a new computer I would want it to be as close to new technology as I could get it since I use my computers for a very long time.

Thanks all for your input. I just wantd opinions from those in the know. I will more than likely have one of the two sites you supplied build one for me but before I spend my money I will return here with the specs and see if I've made an educated purchase...thanks again for taking the time to help me.

Not a problem at all lexxy !