I totally wrecked my pc and I need a new one

Somehow, installing too many antiviruses and pc games wrecked my pc. Don't ask me how, but its so bad I can't just wipe the hard drive and reboot.
Therefore...
I am purchasing a new computer in the near future and I need help in the decision. I am unable to build it myself, although I can upgrade it in the future. I currently have a very limited spending limit (About $1300-1700) and im looking for a budget PC that can also play modern games. Not like Crysis or something, but Command and Conquer 3 or HL2:Ep 2 at medium-to-high settings.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
I really appreciate the help.

With that kind of budget you could build pretty much the best system that money can buy right now...minus the SLI 8800 Ultras.

I spent about $1400 on the following system a month ago:

EVGA 8800gtx

AMD X2 5600+

2 GB DDR2 800 RAM

EVGA Nforce 590 SLI mobo

and all the other components that come with a computer minus the x-fi I swapped out from my last rig.

Does anyone know of a service that will builda PC for me if I give them the parts? That will probably still be cheaper than buying one straight from dell and will be more powerfulTommygun141

I dont thnk that I am that tech savvy. Opening up a PC and adding more ram is one thing, but im slightly intimidated by buiildingmy own from the ground up.Tommygun141

$1300-1700 isn't really a budget lol. That will get you a beast.WhiteSnake5000

thats what i was gona say.he will be able to max like every single game with that kinda money

[QUOTE="WhiteSnake5000"]$1300-1700 isn't really a budget lol. That will get you a beast.beex215

thats what i was gona say.he will be able to max like every single game with that kinda money

anyways, this hardware guide from tomshardware.com will teach you how to put together a PC of your own

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/12/14/how-to-build-a-pc-part-3/

On that budget you can probably get yourself an E6600, 8800GTX, and 2GB DDR2 800 RAM. If you got that same rig from Dell, Alienware, Falcon Northwest, Velocity Micro, etc. it would cost you $xxxx. Also, with AVADirect I never felt like I was being railroaded. When putting together computers on other companies' sites there was like one or two choices, or to get one certain part, I had to upgrade to the more expensive model. AVADirect has a ton of choices and freedom. Although, I would suggest not starting with their "gaming" models, as I found if chose all the same parts on the regular models, it cost about $100-200 less.

Of course, this is all only relevant if you do end up going pre-built and not building yourself (which is cheaper).

I put this together on AVADirect for $1702.72 before shipping. With shipping it will probably be about $30-40 more. It's a little over your budget, but they are all good parts, and it would be a very good rig. If you want to put this rig together in the configurator for yourself, just select these parts under the mentioned categories and leave any other choices at their default settings. These aren't the exact wording for the choices, but it's enough to easily identify the choice.

Here's the base system I customized from: http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=830

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Dual-Core, 2.4Gz

Motherboard: ASUS, P5K, LGA775, Intel P35 (the cheaper one, not the Wi-Fi Deluxe version)

Memory: Corsair 2GB (2x1GB) XMS2 Xtreme DDR2 800MHz, CL4 (4-4-4-12)

Video Card: PNY GeForce 8800GTX 575MHz, 768MB DDR3

Hard Drive: Seagate, 320GB Barracuda 7200.10, SATA II 300mb/s

DVD-RW Drive: Samsung, Super-WriteMaster, Black 18x Dual-Layer Burner (Model SH-S182D, not lightscribe)

Case: Antec Nine-Hundred Black Mid-Tower Case, ATX, No PSU

Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream 600W

Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Premium Home Edition 32-bit

*EDIT* OK, I lied a little. You'd have to select "No DVD/CDRW Combo Drives" under DVD and CD-RW Combo Drives to get the exact rig, not just leave it at its default.

Oh, you'd also have to ditch the floppy drive. That's the last thing.:P

CyberpowerPC.com will let you pick the parts and then the computer will be assembled and then shipped to you. Also Ibuypower.com does the same thingbatistafan99

They have generally bad reviews of the builds and even of the company itself. On ResellerRatings.com, IBuyPower has a lifetime rating of 6.97, whereas someplace like AVADirect has a rating of 9.52.

QUOTE="Tommygun141"]I dont thnk that I am that tech savvy. Opening up a PC and adding more ram is one thing, but im slightly intimidated by buiildingmy own from the ground up.

Its easy just a bit fiddly. its like a 7 piece jigsaw.

Also, I should mention that when I put together the parts on Newegg for the same PC I'm getting from AVADirect, it was only about $100 cheaper. Plus, when you buy a pre-built you get a warranty and support.

Both ways have advantages and disadvantages. Hopefully, next time around I'll build myself.

With that kind of budget you could build pretty much the best system that money can buy right now...minus the SLI 8800 Ultras.

I spent about $1400 on the following system a month ago:

EVGA 8800gtx

AMD X2 5600+

2 GB DDR2 800 RAM

EVGA Nforce 590 SLI mobo

and all the other components that come with a computer minus the x-fi I swapped out from my last rig.

D9-THC

Pls, dude, a 5600+ is not the best processor, I just saw a quad core yesterday for 300 bucks get that senor!

[QUOTE="beex215"]

[QUOTE="WhiteSnake5000"]$1300-1700 isn't really a budget lol. That will get you a beast.mig_killer2

thats what i was gona say.he will be able to max like every single game with that kinda money

anyways, this hardware guide from tomshardware.com will teach you how to put together a PC of your own

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/12/14/how-to-build-a-pc-part-3/

WHAT DO U MEAN PROBABLY!!!

Just get a new Hard Drive, but i doubt you can't wipe it clean.X360PS3AMD05

All he needs is a floppy drive and an old windows 98 startup disk. Boot from the startup disk. Wait for the command prompt. Type fdisk, hit enter and follow the onscreen instructions. Delete the "non-dos" partition. Remove the floppy. Insert the Windows install CD and reboot the system. Reload windows. Easy peasy... Does anyone still have floppy drives...or win98 startup disks? LOL!!! :P

[QUOTE="X360PS3AMD05"]Just get a new Hard Drive, but i doubt you can't wipe it clean.Sentinel672002

All he needs is a floppy drive and an old windows 98 startup disk. Boot from the startup disk. Wait for the command prompt. Type fdisk, hit enter and follow the onscreen instructions. Delete the "non-dos" partition. Remove the floppy. Insert the Windows install CD and reboot the system. Reload windows. Easy peasy... Does anyone still have floppy drives...or win98 startup disks? LOL!!! :P

I still have a copy of win98 and a floppy :P I wanna get a cheap old laptop and use it to play old games like dos games etc so i need win98 for that. Im a retro feind.