Looking for a new Gaming PC.

Hey guys, I'm looking to buy a new Gaming PC. Here's some basics:

Companies I've looked at:

Dell
Apple
Alienware
Shuttle
I Buy Power

What I want:

500-750GB HD
1 or 2 Graphics Cards, must be Nvidea Ge Force or similar
4GB-1 TB
Intel or AMD Processor
No Moniter (I plan to buy a separate Samsung Sync Master Moniter)
Expandability (Future-Proof)


Besides the things listed, I want a pc that will last for awhile, because I'm trying to make a long-term investment without spending tons of money. My price range is currently 1,500-2,800. I am willing to take down the level of the stats if I don't need that much.

The games I tend to play aren't just out there graphic's wise like say, Crysis, but I do want the ability to play those type of games if I ever decide to get into that or anything else. I just want the ability to play a moderate-high intensive game that won't crash on me like my current computer does.

I'd really appreciate any help, or suggestions as to what I could do, because I'm really confused as to exactly what I need. I should mention that the company that I buy from must be a payment excepting company. I can't afford to pay outright currently, so like my last PC, I had to apply for a Dell card and I'm still paying for the one I currently have that's 2 years old. At the time I wasn't as in to gaming as I am now, so obviously I was left in a bit of a pickle.

Anyways any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank-you!

 

Unfortunately, with a gaming computer there is no such thing as future proof.

The cheapest way to do it, is actually to build your own. I built one for just over $600, sans monitor which I already had, and video card, which I got for free.

That said, unless you're willing to put the effort into it, you might consider a gaming laptop, such as the Dell XPS. It'll do all but the most graphic intensive programs.

 

Perhaps your current computer could be upgraded. That might keep you gaming untill you can buy a new one.:cool List the model/specs of your current 'puter.

E

 

I don't think so, just because it's not exactly upgradable past a mediocre graphics card. I have a Dell Dimension E310, it's about 3 years old.

Stats:

60 GB HD
1 GB HD
Intel Intergreted Graphics
Windows XP SP3

 

Yeah, I think you are right. No slot for a decent video card. http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim3100/en/sm/specs0.htm#wp1052310

Your computer can handle 2GB of DDR2 RAM, that might help you a little. Not sure how you would finance it, but you can build a nice rig for around $700 or so that would kill your current system.

E

 

I'm definitely looking at Dell right now. My budget is pretty big so I hope I can get something that will be a long term investment. I'm curious, what do you think about Apple? They offer payments and seem to be sleek and powerful. The only downside is the learning curve, since I've used Windows since 95'.

 

As far as the Mac goes, whatever floats your boat. I have seen a lot of good things about the Macs, but for now I am staying with the PC.

E

 

Speaking from a PC gaming standpoint, I would say the Apple is right out. Not only is the offering of native games slim, there are few ports, and you would probably end up spending additional money to dual-boot to a windows OS for gaming.

More importantly, you cannot upgrade an Apple. Other than adding more RAM, you're locked in. There are no options to swap out graphics card or CPU for a more powerful one two years from now, and get an additional 12 months of gaming out of it. When Apple hardware no longer can keep up, you buy a whole system.

I would never buy an Apple for gaming.

Edit:
If you're comfortable assembling your own system, then like Fred said, you can get yourself quite a little beast for a very decent amount of money. In April, just a couple of months ago, Tom's Hardware built a good gaming PC for $500. You should be able to find the component selection easily on their website.

 

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...&cpncode=19-1148177&cmp=KA14525&ref=16&loc=02

This looks good to me, and it's in my price range. I found a link to this from tom's hardware.

 

Kinda pricy. I could not find what power supply they use in it. A bad/weak PSU can be a nightmare. I did not see what motherboard is in it. So upgrades could be a pain later on.

I would stay away from it, but I build my own computers, so I am not objective. Except for some quallity concerns, it does look like it will meet your needs.

Like Mimsy said, for half the cash, you could put together a beast of a 'puter.:cool

E

 

What Fred said. To me, that system is a bit over-priced, especially since they won't tell you everything that's in it. However, you're not me, and if that computer can and will do what you want it to, and is within your budget range, then that's the two most important concerns when buying a new system.

 

I built my computer for around $1,200 back in February ish. It handles Crysis decently on Very High settings(little choppy every now and then) but I play on High and it works pretty much lagless. Just turn up the fan speed on the graphics card, and I'm ready to go. It also handles other somewhat intensive games like Assassin's Creed. I had some crashing problems with both games at first, but oddly enough they both seemed to work themselves out. Probably was the card overheating...

You can, of course, get the same hardware now for less money. I was almost disappointed at the rate the price of the graphics card went down. hahaha

Anyway, I would suggest that you do a custom build rather than buy a name brand computer.

At least the case used to be that most name brand computers where not near as upgradable as most custom builds. For example, everything had JUST the right amount of connections for everything that came in the computer, and there generally wasn't even that much room for anything else, other than maybe an open PCI slot or two. Of course, now-a-days they seem to be a little more 'standard' and therefor a little more upgradable, but it's not like I keep track and write down which ones are and aren't.

I have a Core 2 Duo E6750, a EVGA 8800GT SC, a dvd burner(don't remember which brand... probably $30-$40), XION II case, 610W PC Power & Cooling Silencer PSU, a Linksys PCI wireless card w/ speedbooster, a 320 gig Seagate Barracuda drive of some kind, 2 gigs of Corsair memory, Gigabyte MB, it's a nice system. Even with Vista, it runs very well and generally very fast, even when multi-tasking or running resource hogging apps like Crysis.

So, the point is, you can get a nice custom system that will easily handle even games like Crysis for $1200. And building custom and selecting every part, you know about and control the quality of each part, you don't just see the highlighted good stuff about the computer.

Hope it helps.

 

I understand what you mean. I'm sure it would be cheaper to build one but I don't think I'm up for the challenge right now. I just need to get a pc and get it going. Although, in the future, I do want to learn how to build them. Since I know someone who gets good deals building separate parts. I just don't want to get all different parts and then end up missing something or wasting money. The funds just aren't there to make that kind of mess up. Anyways I think I'll go ahead and get the one I saw on best buy. I do still have a question though, what kind of monitor would you guys recommend? I'm looking at the Sync Master and some of Dell's stuff.

By the way, on one of the reviews they say the PSU is 400w but can upgraded to 550w.

 

Is the power supply adequate?

 

When it comes to gaming, like mentioned, nothing future proof. Right now I'd stick to Intel CPU's and nVidia graphics card, as they are "generally" faster, not necessarly "cheapest" either.

You'll want to go even across the board, you don't want to put a lamborghini motor on a volkwagen. I would also suggest find a friend who can build a computer, or has the know how. Gaming systems are not like "typical" PC's.

I figure this hardware would give you a pretty good thrill ride:

Motherboard: MSI P7N Diamond (around $240)
CPU: Intel Q6600 2.4 GHz (around $220)
Memory: 2x mushkin 2 GB DDR2-1066 PC-8500 (about $60 per stick)
Hard Drive: (see below)
Video Card: nVidia GeForce 9600 at least 512 MB or more or looking to save a little, the 8800 will do well, and they both support SLI, the MSI board supports 3-way SLI, likewise you'll need identical video cards to make this work.

Hard Drives: Not so critical for gaming per say, but if you really hate waiting, like my, definitely go with a WD Raptor drive, and if that's not enough go SCSI320, as those drives often are 15,000 RPM, such as the Seagate Cheeta drives. I suggest Seagate drive as they have a longer warranty, 5 years, versus 3 years with Western Digital. The WD Raptors only go up to 320 GB currently, so if you're looking for more space, probably go with a 500 GB Seagate Barracuda, which they're pretty decent drives. Now keep in mind you wont jump out of your chair between the time it takes to boot windows on a regular 7200 rpm drive or a WD raptor.

Now why I'm giving you this info? Because I own a PC very similar to the above. I will note that going with a 45nm CPU, such as the Core2Extreme, you might want to look at a different board, as I ran into some issues with the P7N with the QX9650 (Core2Extreme), so if you not too much for tweaking things, aviod 45nm CPUs, the Q6600 is not a 45nm CPU, so you wont have any issues with this setup.

Probably asking why MSI boards, everyone says Asus is for gaming... I've had a lot, and I mean, a lot of time using MSI boards, I've owned 2 computers that I've built with MSI boards, and they're a little easier to deal with, but not sacrificing blows and whistles on the higher end. I just stick to what I know works, veruses looking around the net finding stuff. Now this isn't low-budget, but if you build it yourself (or someone else) you get the manufactuer's warranties, versus 1 year from dell or whatever or wind up paying a bunch of money for an extended warranty on the same hardware.

But dont be like me and go all out on the CPU. My story is a bit different as I'm not really using my rig for gaming, or not that much- I'm running an 8600GT on a QX9650, yeah, pretty crazy. Had I known a little more about my CPU (I actually won it at an Intel Channel Confrence-don't mean to brag), and I went and ordered all this and come to find out the video card doesn't even come close to the capability of the machine, even a Q6600 would find itself twiddling it's thumbs. Quad-cores at any rate are very powerful processors, and it takes a whole lot of program to really max them out, at least for now. But don't over do it, because technology doubles about every 2 years, you'll be seeing your system for sale for $599 in two years.

Another thing to consider, cooling, a good cheaper case, that will do the job, the Cooler Master Centurion, I think mines the 650? either way has a drive cage with a 120mm fan, and a rear 120mm fan, power supply mounts at the bottom, keeps your hard drives nice and cool and will last you for a long time.

I would reccomend at least a 600 watt power supply, don't have to go all out, but figure about $100.

So to sum it up:

You'll save a bunch by building it yourself or having a trusted friend do it, and you'll keep the warranties.

Case: Cooler Master Cenutrion
Mainboard: MSI P7N Diamond (Supports 3-way SLI & DDR1066 Memory)
CPU: Intel Q6600 Core2Quad 2.4 GHz 6 MB L2 Cache
Memory: 4 GB DDR1066 [2x 2 GB mushkin PC2-8500]
Hard Disk: Seagate Barracuda (any size-to 1 TB), WD Raptor (74 to 320GB)
DVD-Burner
Power Supply: 600 watt or greater

Estimate cost: $850