Choosing A Computer

[Ultimate_Power]

Hello fellow Lurkers,

I was just wondering what your views were about computers and which ones are good yet affordable as I am in serach of one. Nothing too expensive as this will solely by a gaming computer. I have other computers to work on. all opinins are appreciated and will be considered greatly. Thanks.

[Dozer]

Nothing too expensive as this will solely by a gaming computer.

Errrrr.... games are the most demanding thing that a computer can run, short of 3D rendering and server tasks. That being said, don't expect to get a Half Life 2-owning caliber computer for under $1000.

Questions to ask before aming any reccomendations:

Could you/are you willing to build your own computer?

What is your specific price range?

Are you skeptical of off-name brand vendors? How about super-big name vendors?

Short of that information, one of the cheapest places that I've found that builds a full-fledged gaming pc is http://www.abspc.com/ , although if you don't like that there is always dell :)


:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Ultimate_Power]

1. As to building my own computer, I could possibly do that. My range really depends on quite a bit of things.

2. The minimum right now is about roughly $800 (US) and the maximum could go up as high as, oh, i dont know, probably about $1200.

3. Sure, I would go for off-name brand vendors as long as they are reliable and the return rate for the product is not too high. As for super-big name vendors, since they are super-big vendors, they couldnt possibly hurt. ;)

This computer that I am looking for will probably not be the best out there like 3.2 gigahertz, hyperthreading, over a gig of DDR Ram, and so on and so forth so please keep in mind when making suggestions that I will not really need these (unless they are in my price range :D ). Also, what are some good graphics and sound cards out there? And would building my own be cheaper/better or a pre-made one or maybe even a custom made one?

[channel1]

would building my own be cheaper/better or a pre-made one or maybe even a custom made one?

It's quite reasonable to build a better 'puter than any of the name-brands. It will also cost more.

Margins on 'puters are very slim. The big boys will cut costs anywhere they can. If it ain't listed in the specifications, it probably won't have it. Back in the days when L2 cache was on the motherboard, Dell made a lot of machines that were performance dogs. The average buyer had no idea of what L2 cache was, or what it did, and dell never listed it in the specs. At a time when 64k of L2 was a minimum, and 256k was reasonable, the Dell machines had zero. They DID have the sockets for the cache chips, and I wound up doing a LOT of upgrades on them.

Labour on 'puter assembly is also cheap. The "custom made" machines are often assembled by kids. If you know what you're doing, you can probably do a better job of assembly than the folks putting together the no-name machines.

As for what you use: Asus is always the safest bet on motherboards. Best quality, best support. Some other manufacturers may have a performance edge at one time or another, but Asus is easily the best long-term investment.

Noise: Sound Blaster, period. Go as high as you want, even the Audigy2 is now available in OEM for under Can$100, if that's too much go with an Audigy or Live.

Video: the ATI line-up is pretty easy to understand. The various nVidea chipset cards can be confusing to figure what is what. If you are up to doing the research, though, they can give a performance edge over the cheaper ATIs.

Everything else (RAM, HD, CD, etc.) can be pretty basic (512meg RAM, 120gig Seagate or WD drive, Sony or comparable CDRW or DVD). Whatever is left in your budget after that and incidentals (you DO have a case? :)goes for CPU.

-rcv-

[NiteFox]

Well, if you've got two grand (In either US dollars or UK pounds - The economy over here blows big time) then you can't do any better than dropping it on an Alienware computer. So good that the only thing preventing a lawsuit against Apple for their woefully incorrect and fraudulent Mac G5 commercial being sheer human ignorance. They. Are. Godlike.

Still, the next computer I'll get will probably be lovingly built by my own two hands. Since the last time I built a computer I slit my thumb wide open (Still got a scar two years on) and nearly bled over the motherboard and PSU. Fortunately, it wasn't my computer, being a university class, and the quality of parts were so below sub-par I'm surprised the pressure never imploded them.

[Ultimate_Power]

Yea, i looked at those Alienware Computers and i was just blown away. I mean, jeez. It freaked me out. CHances are, i probably do not have $2000 (US) to spend on one of those babies (though i drool at the thought :D ). But Christmas is coming up and maybe Sante Clause (speeld that way on purpose) will drop by and, if im a good widdle boy, I will get some upgrades or maybe even some cash. Oh well, if it means waiting a few months for an ALienware, so be it. But i really cant wait. Ohh, i really need one. Oh well. For buying a computer that i can afford now, i will probably buy my own as i would have to ask somebody to help me out there as i dont know a thing about construction of a computer and i dont want to "accidentally" say bye-bye to a really expensive mother board. Or, What are some good brand-name computers out there that are good?

[Dozer]

If you think alienware is the end-all computer vendor, you are sorely mistaken.

http://www.falcon-nw.com/
http://www.voodoopc.com/

Those two BLOW Alienware out of the water. Granted, they are just a lil' more expensive :D Falcon and Voodoo hand-build their PC's still, unlike alienware.

[Wapptor]

I'm partial to falcon northwest, but alienware has cool cases. :P
Personally I wouldn't mind one of these, power, value and coolness: http://www.falcon-nw.com/fragbox.asp

-Wapptor

[Erigion]

I'd just like to vouch for ABS Computers. I bought my computer from them for a couple hundred bucks cheaper than what it would have cost at Dell and Alienware. Their rating at resellerratings.com is also a heck of a lot better than Dell and Alienware.

[Ultimate_Power]

WHat is this ABS computer you speak of? What does ABS stand for?

[DeeBye]

What does ABS stand for?

Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene. It's used to make pipes.

;)

-DeeBye

editted 'cause I are too stoopid to use proper tags

[kandrathe]

A friend of mine is building one like this;

$33.00 -- Allied 400W Power Supply, 2 fans
$89.00 -- AMD Athlon XP Barton 2600+
$9.00 -- APC PER7 7-outlet anti-surge powerstrip
$84.00 -- Asus A7N8X-X motherboard, nForce2 chipset
$249.00 -- ATI/Sapphire Radeon 9800 128MB - OEM
$98.00 -- Kingston HyperX 512MB CAS2 DDR333 RAM
$20.00 -- Labtec Axis 502 headset w/mic model LVA-8502 (ThinkGeek)
$15.00 -- Lazer LED lighting kit
$29.00 -- Logitech MX300 optical mouse
$13.00 -- Mitsumi black PS/2 kbd w/hotkeys - OEM
$8.00 -- Mitsumi D359M3 black FDD 1.44MB 3.5"
$143.00 -- MS Windows XP Pro w/SP1a - OEM
$33.00 -- Raidmax 268WSP (silv/silv) 10-bay case
$225.00 -- Samsung 19" SyncMaster 955DF CRT monitor
$17.00 -- Samsung SC-152AEBB 52X CD-ROM black
$75.00 -- Seagate Barracuda 80GB hard drive - OEM
$11.00 -- Thermaltake TR2 M2. CPU cooler, T.M.D. fan, adj. speed

Total $1,211.00

[Zath]

It's not too hard to get a good computer at a low price actually, but you'll have to be prepared to assemble it yourself. I'll quote some numbers from NewEgg, the most reliable online computer hardware vendor I've come across so far:

- AMD Athlon XP 2600 (2.08 GHz): ~$100 (Intel's too expensive as usual)
- Heatsink, thermal paste, and fans for CPU: ~$10 (or you could just get the retail CPUs)
- ASUS A7V8X-X: ~$60 (ASUS is still more reliable)
- Mid-tower ATX case with 300W power supply: ~$40 (I prefer screwless when possible, try Enlight)
- Additional 80mm case fan: ~$10
- Seagate 40GB Barracuda 7200.7 ST340014A : ~$65 (quiet HDs help maintain sanity)
- 52x CD-ROM: ~$20
- Floppy drive: ~$10
- Sapphire Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB: ~$150 (best bang for the buck on the market right now)
- 19" CRT Monitor: ~$200 (most likely a Samsung)
- SoundBlaster Live: ~$40 (cheap and gets the job done)
- Altec Lansing speakers: ~$40 (these will do unless you have real sharp and picky ears)
- D-Link network card or some modem: ~$10
- MS Intelli Mouse Explorer: ~$30 (optical, with wheel and 5 button for extra hotkeys)
- MS Windows XP Home: ~$100 (I just love how NewEgg gives you a free cable splitter to satisfy the "must purchase with hardware" requirement :lol:)

System RAM is best purchased from Crucial. A stick of 512MB DDR333 PC2700 RAM will run you ~$85 USD. You may wish to purchase keyboards from your local computer store so you can test your fingers on them first, and this should cost you less than $20. Add it all up and we're still under the $1,000 mark, although shipping and handling will probably cost you ~$50. You can save some cash on the operating system if you... eh... recycle your old one too... yah, that's it :P An even lower cost can still be reached if you don't mind gambling with less reputable vendors online, but I don't think it's worth the risk personally.

[WeeScot]

Gaming computers generally need to be way more up-to-date, and are thus more expensive, than something you would use for your average office work. I'm writing this on a P-III-based PC in my office, and it's fine for everything I have to do here.

Two important points that you didn't mention that could have significant bearing on your price point -- what game(s) are you planning to play on this machine, and are you planning to buy a monitor? My upgrades are usually motivated by a specific game in the end - what are people saying you need for that game; and obviously the monitor is usually $200-300 for a decent one, which will affect your budget.

Here's Wee's rule-of-thumb for sensible but effective computer purchasing: buy the third-newest CPU speed and second-newest generation (broadly speaking) of video card. You will still be ahead of the curve in terms of what gaming machines are really being required to do by new releases - indeed, you'll have a bodacious gaming platform. And you will avoid paying top dollar for the latest-greatest, which is just foolish. I look to spend $100-$150 each on CPU and video card.

Putting together your own machine is a great idea, I am on my 3rd home-built machine, but it can be time-consuming the first time, and sometimes there's some troubleshooting to do that can take a week or two to resolve depending on what hardware you're trying to combine.

I have always found the buying guides at http://www.sharkyextreme.com to be very helpful in doing a quick reconnoiter of what the current perfomance/price points are. They have a "value" gaming machine and a "high-end" gaming machine guide each month. For shopping parts, I go with NewEgg or I cherry-pick at http://www.pricewatch.com

Good luck!

WeeScot

[DaveO]

I'd advise waiting on buying or building new computers right now. There are the DDR-II and PCI Express features being released by the end of this year perhaps. If you must upgrade, then choose a Pentium 4 computer since Athlons are still troubled by the Thermal Death issue(it will melt your processor and possibly damage your motherboard if you lose the CPU fan, whereas P4s will merely cycle down to prevent this).

[Zath]

New features tend to be bundled with new hardware, and those don't always come with an acceptable price tag. There's always that next best thing around the corner anyway, so I wouldn't be too concerned about them. The Thermal Death issue with Athlon processors have long been resolved as well I think. Overheated Athlon systems on new motherboards will still crash and lose data, but at least you don't have to worry about starting a bonfire in your computer now :lol: The ASUS A7V8X-X motherboard is certainly capable of handling this, and you can check out its specs here.

[Erigion]

www.abspc.com

It be good place to buy a computer if you don't feel like hand building one.

[Ultimate_Power]

Hmmmm, many good replies, and I thank you all for them, just now I am bombared with them. Okay, to start with some obvious ones. Well, Since it was pointed out that I should wait till the end of the year, I might consider that as it is in only a few months. Its not like the Computer Im using now is about to blow up upon using or anything. I probably will not need a moniter as I could just use the one I would be using now, a 19 inch flat screen VAIO one which, at the moment, am quite happy with. As for building a computer, this would be my first one so would there br any tutorials out there or maybe a Lurker interested in guiding my in doing so? :D I might be wrong but some one mentioned OS'. I have both XP Home, Office, 2000 pro, 98, and a few older ones which are totally out of the question. I may need to share this computer so the question of playing games on a power user may cause problems. I have tested it and some games (like D2) can only be run by administrators. As for the games I will be playing, not quite sure. But definately D2, Counter-Strike 1 and 2 when it comes out, Baulders Gate II (If i feel like it), America's Army, and maybe a few more. What am i say, a lot more :P Okay, I think that is all so far but pleas,e keep those replies coming!

[Walkiry]

Today someone showed me this particularly well-built computer, and although I suspect it's not in your intended price range, I can't help but invite you (and the rest) to take a look at it:

http://www.go-l.com/desktops/machl38/featu...tures/index.htm

^_^

[Ultimate_Power]

The minute I got to that site, I knew my jaw would be opened for a little while. That is some crazy computer right there. If only I could get that baby! Sigh, well, there are always dreams and fantasies.

Oh and also, what are the exact benefits of waiting till 2004 to buy my computer or to make one?