Hello Every Body

I'm new here and my computer knowledge is very limited so I thought i get some informations for those who know better then me.
I have a very old computer and I finally decided to buy a new computer. I'm looking to get a good gaming computer from one of the retalier stores such as circuit city or compusa. The problem is that i don't know which pc should I get or even what components i need.Some pc i saw had amd 64 x2 3000+ or 3400+ some are intel pentium 820 or 920. i have no idea which processor i need to be able to play the latest games. Also whatvideo card i need and if i should buy a diffrent card than the one existing inside.
I'm willing to spend between 700 to $900
Building a computer is not an option for as I dont have the necessary knowledge.

If any one can tell what retail store and what computer i should get i'll be very thankful

You're not gonna find a decent gaming machine for $700-900, especially at a retail store. Most of the machines in that price range have low end graphics. You should be able to find one that can be turned into a gaming machine though, provided you get one that has either an AGP or PCI-E slot available.

Otherwise, you might wanna consider a custom built system:

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/Default.asp

http://www.ibuypower.com/mall/lobby.htm

I m sorry what does it mean AGP or PCI_ slot?

PCs have several different slots types that can be used for video cards & other add-on cards. The 3 that can be used for video cards are PCI, AGP, or PCI-Express.

PCI = Peripheral Component Interconnect. It is the oldest slot type currently in use. It can be used for sound cards, modems, network cards, video cards, etc. PCI cards runs at 33MHz.

AGP = Accelerated Grahics Port. This slot is used for video cards only. Until recently, this was the standard slot for high performance graphics. AGP cards run at 66MHz.

PCI-Express = is the new slot type that was recently introduced & is becoming common on new systems. There are different PCI-E slots...the one exclusively for video cards is called PCI-E x16. PCI-E cards run at 100MHz.

Most low end systems use motherboards with onboard graphics & have PCI slots only. There are still PCI video cards available, but manufacturers have all but abandoned this format in favor of AGP & PCI-E. When shopping for a system, avoid "PCI only" setups. Check the specs & make sure to get a system with either an AGP or PCI-E x16 slot...that way you can add a gaming video card or upgrade the existing video card when needed.

You should be able to find a retail system in your price range with either an AGP or PCI-E slot, but the board will probably use onboard video & slot will be empty...either that, or the included video card will be low end & not good for gaming. But as long as you have that slot available, you can install a gaming video card when you have the money.

Hey Jam

I’m so thank you very much for explaining to me the advantage of having a PCI-express. I made some research on that subject anddecided to go with it.
I think I narrowed my selection for my next computer to 3 PC’s but I still need some help in some areas. I’m going to list the different types of computers which are within my budget and if someone can tell me which one will be the best.

1st Pavilion m7330n TV Minitower
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ 2.2GHz Processor, 1GB RAM, 250GB Hard Drive, 16X DVD+/-RW and DVD Drives, Windows XP Media Center 2005 PCI Express x16 Video Card ATI Radeon xpress 200IGP

2nd Choice Pavilion m7360n TV Minitower
Intel Pentium D Processor 920, 2.8GHz, 2GB RAM, 300GB Hard Drive, 16X DVD+/-RW and DVD Drives, Windows XP Media Center 2005 PCI express x16 Video Card:Nvidia Geforce 6200SE

3rd Choice Gateway PC GT5032
AMD Athlon 64 x2 4200+ 250 GB hard drive, 1024 MB Ram Nvidia Geforce 6100 PCI express x16

Also if someone can clarify for me this few points. I heard that Amd is better then Pentium but the first choice has 2.2 GHZ processor speed but the second one which is Pentium D processor 920 has 2.8 giga speed processor. None of the retail store I looked at had anything faster then 2.2 Giga for AMD but some Pentium PC were as much as 3.8 Giga. My question is does Amd outperform Pentium when both have the same speed or that a 2.2 amd giga speed processor is better then a 3.2 pentium processor.
I will appreciate if any one can tell me which computer I should get based on the better processor, Video Card and brand name

Thank You in Advance

JAM : "Peripheral Component Interconnect. It is the oldest slot type currently in use."

Cmon man get with it, ISA is still going strong =D /JK

AMD Athlon64 3500+
1024MB 512x2 Dual Channel Corsair TwinX
Coolermaster Wavemaster
120GB Seagate SATA HDD
Gecube X800XT Platinum
Logitch 5.1 Surround
LG 16x Dual Layer DVD
Countle