11 replies to this topic

[Carbon]

Hi I am new to this website and I have a few questions, my computer is pretty good but I want to get a good, affordable, gaming computer, does anyone have an idea? My pricing range is from $600.00-1,200.00 ! Thanks in advanced

~Carbon~

Edited by Carbon, 21 July 2008 - 09:59 PM.

[Stridr]

Self made computers are good. Just buy what you need and customize your very own. If not you may want to get Asus or Alienware desktops. These two are generally gaming based PCs, very high performance.

[rayzoredge]

I would stay away from pre-fabricated systems, especially Alienware since they love to make you pay for the name. (Well, Dell would, anyway, since they kind of bought them out.)

Look into building your own machine. It's really not a hard thing to do, plus you learn more about computers and the components that drive your gaming experience and how to improve it. You'll learn a lot about what you should go for and why, and it's actually good experience to learn more about the hardware inside the case that you probably stack CDs and other crap on.

There are a ton of threads talking about building computers, not to mention that outside of Trap17 there are a lot of resources to glean from. If you have any questions about building a computer, you can always post it here too... a good handful of us are more than willing to jump in and show off our knowledge.

[Saint_Michael]

I would have to agree with rayzor on part of his post in which building your own machine and put in the best parts and you can have a great gaming machine fore half the price of a name brand computer. On the other hand, I have to disagree on the fact that you be buying the name of Alienware, yeah they are expensive but the hardware is worth the price though. However, if you build your machine you can get the same parts for better prices.

[csp4.0]

Ah, typical... Alienware is overated... If you want to buy a pre-facricated computer, then get a Falcon Northwest Computer...

But otherwise if you're going to build, I would need to know what currency you're using...

[Kubi]

First off, I'd like to start with a little story.

My friends old computer was loaded with viruses and bad stuffs, so he bought a new computer. He bought a Dell. And "Dude he spent a lot"(pun intended). He spend nearly 6 grand on a computer..and the specs on it weren't even that great. (Definitely not worth 6 grand). I offered to build him a computer, a third of the price, twice as powerful. And I SO did it. Spent 2.3 on an amazing computer.

I would ALWAYS recommend buying custom. Even if you don't know how to build a computer, you can pay someone to do it WAY cheaper then it would be to buy a brand name one. I would always go with Newegg. They have the best prices I've seen, and all there products have customer reviews so you can really get a feel for what it can do. A lot of there products offer FREE shipping! If not, you'll never pay more then 15 dollars for shipping the biggest of computer parts..

[TheKoolAidGuy]

I would have to say that the alienware is a great gaming computer if you just want to buy one.

However if you know what your doing when it comes to computer parts I personally would just go out get all the nessesarry things like the monitor,key board,speakers,and of course the tower. Then you go out and buy all the important stuff thats needed for gamers.
Like a good graphics card making sure that your computer is constantly being cooled so that it doesn't overheat ect.

I hope I helped!

~TheKoolAidGuy

[eukristian]

it's very easy to get a custom build computer . If you haven't got some basic hardware knowledge than you can ask the store you are buying from to assemble it for you . Within your price range you can buy a decent gaming computer that will last for several years . I recommend you a good power supply as the cheap ones broke down very easily and it might harm your other components .

[iGuest]

Hey just finished one
Amd 9850 quad
Velociraptor hd
8 gig ddr2
Three way sli gtx280 s(3) a total of 3 gig onboard ddr3
Blue ray hd burner
1200 watt power suply
All sit ontop of a crosshair 2 motherboard
What do you think
SMILES
Maxxx


-reply by 2theMaxxx

[Nik]

I would say you go for AMD Athlon Processor with Gigabyte motherboard with 2 GB Kingston RAM. For gaming purpose this configuration is better. If your budget is more then you can buy latest configuration of AMD processor with Gigabyte motherboard.

[Maggot]

If your going for a Amd processor there will be price and performance comparison...

Amd is way cheaper than Intel...

Assembling a computer your self gives you the freedom to choose your own specs and learn too...

If you decide to go for any processor compare it online before buying it...

Go for a Amd or a Intel i3, i5 or a i7

Motherboard - Gigabyte, Asus, Msi ... Best for both Intel or amd.....

Graphics card- 2 Gb or above would be sufficient but for gaming try not to compromise on the display card... Try and get the best...
( SLI is just for show....Try and avoid it as it does not have a significant impact on gaming performance...

Ram - 3 Gb will be sufficient if you are going to use a 32 bit operating system as 32 bit operating systems can use upto 3 Gb ram Max... If you decide to go with a 64 bit operating system just increase the ram...

Storage - The hdd capacity depends on how much space you are going to consume... Min i would recommend 250 Gb and Max if you are a downloader like me then above 2 Tera...

Monitor, Keyboard, Speakers, Mouse, Comouter cabinet all depend on your choice....

[Ash-Bash]

You get people saying AlienWare PC's are the best for gaming however they are not and you might as well buy a car with that money, as all you do with Alienware is pay for the logo. Self-Made computers are the best as you can design and have it how you like whilst also saving money like labour costs etc.. I recently just made a gaming PC for around £600-700 that will run any game (at the moment) in high graphics settings. Click here to view the topic
If you go with Self-Made then all of us Sutra's will help you out with parts etc if you don't have the knowledge and want the best for your money! Which I am very sure you do.