Hoping to buy a desktop PC with win7 but there are very few available from the major retailers here (they're mostly all-in-ones). Mostly the graphics cards seem to be 'Radeon HD7540D shared' or similar and I'm not sure if they are too low end. I could have a computer built but that option might be outside of my budget until I have an idea of specs. Which graphics cards would be suitable for an adventure gamer and general computer user, I also live stream from Wildearth. Any other specs I need to take into consideration? thanks for any help and advice.

blackbird, there are a couple of recent threads here about having a new computer built for you by eCollegePC or by Cyberpower. You might check them out and see if anything there helps you. That will be the only way you can still get Windows 7 on a computer that is appropriate for gaming. There are some business computers such as the all-in-ones you've looked at, but they are not going to work for gaming, even adventure gaming. That word "shared" is the clue...

If you can give us a budget, we can help you figure out the kinds of components you should get. Your other thread mentions transferring games. What operating system do you have on your old computer?

hi Draclvr, this is my current computer: HP Pavilion 061 A1140A. Intel Pentium 4CU 3.06GHZ, 2560RAM, 140GB Hard Drive. Nvidia 6200 turbocache 256MB. 17" Benq monitor.
Component options and pricing is very different in New Zealand, I think we pay considerably more here. My budget is about $1500NZD. It looks like having a computer built is the way to go so it will depend on cost really. Would you consider 1TB hard drive and 4GB RAM ok and do you have a suggestion for an Nvidia graphics card. My tech knowledge as you can see is very limited but I'd like to approach a local computer build company with some idea of my requirements.

I wish I could remember who had a computer built in another country based on some of the specs we provided. You might do a search here in the Glitches forum.

You don't mention what operating system you have on the old computer, but I assume it's HP or maybe Vista?

I found a New Zealand website called Ascent which has a PC Builder tool. They do not actually assemble PCs, but just allow you to price and purchase the parts. Anyway, I used their tool and got this for $1445 NZD. So this should at least give you an idea of how much the parts are. The only thing I would upgrade on this one is the motherboard, although the one given is fine. This has the top of the Core i5 series processors and a really good video card. You could step down a bit on either one and still have a very nice computer.

* Case Silverstone Redline $71.42
* Motherboard ASUS H81 $92.58
* CPU Intel Core i5 4670 $328.53
* Hard drive WD Black 750 GB $111.41
* Optical drive ASUS DVD writer $43.47
* Memory 8 GB ADATA Memory $134.03
* Video card ASUS GTX 760 $439.60
* Sound card $0.00
* Keyboard $0.00
* Mouse $0.00
* Monitor $0.00
* Power supplies 500 watts, Enermax $94.06
* Modem $0.00
* Network card $0.00
* SCSI & IO $0.00
* OS Windows 7 64-bit $159.84

thanks so much Draclvr you've given me somewhere to start from. www.pcu.co.nz build computers and have a system builder on their website so I'll be able to compare the specs on your list against what they have on the drop down lists of components. I'll be needing a new monitor too. I may have to stretch the budget but it's important to get a good video card and processor. I'll post again when my list looks workable. Will search previous posts as suggested. My current OS is XP SP3.

Then you won't be able to do an image and transfer your games. You can transfer documents, photos and things like that, but you will have to reinstall all your programs and games. A pain, but once you're done, well worth the effort!

I checked out the website you posted and a computer with similar parts (except for a motherboard upgrade and a video card change) came up to about $1885! I dropped the video card down to a 750Ti which is still a very good card, but over $200 less than the Gigabyte GTX 760. I didn't care for their case options at all. The Coolermaster Elite 343 they have as "standard" is far too small to provide adequate cooling for a large video card and the other components in anything other than a low end machine. I selected the Coolermaster HAF. You should look at the mid-sized cases and make sure there are adequate fans for cooling. If you don't like any of the other ones, perhaps they have some other options?

I was shocked at the price they want for the Windows 7 OS - $269! The other place offered it for $159.84. I know they need to add for the cost of building the PC, but that seemed a little extreme!

Those prices seem too high. I know you can get a very powerful computer at Cyberpower for 1/2 that amount. The problem is that I don't know if they ship out of the US.I would guess that they don't.

I know, Geo. But blackbird said things are really high in New Zealand and that is certainly the case!

And in the UK !!