Picking out a new computer

[Kwyjibo]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to buy a non-expensive computer that can be upgraded in the future and still play today's games at maximum velocity. I was referred here by my brother in law (Inann), as he thought ya'll would be the experts on this. I've been looking at the alienware systems but have been told there are better options available both price and quality wise. I don't want to go to much into system specs, as I thought ya'll would be more knowledgeable on what I should get. I have been looking at AMD over Intel, but I'm willing to go either way.

Thank you very much for any help and all apologies if this is the wrong forum to post this is.

Kwyjibo

[Hoplon]

There is a new AMD cpu socket out called AM2. What that means to you is that if you buy a computer that has this it will likely have more upgrade options in the future.

Most of the techno geeks around there build their own computers, which is honestly the best way to go for quality. Price wise i think dell has the best computers for the money??? I haven't been fallowing it lately.

I haven't messed with an alienware in a couple years but i had to work on one for a friend because it was overheating. The wire that powers the case fan actually got cut by the cpu fan. I've never seen wires ran through a computer so carelessly. Definatly not that quality you'd expect from a $2000 rig.

[Kwyjibo]

Thank you for the quick reply,

I should've been more specific in my post.

The system I've been looking at is the Aurora 3500 from Alienware. Let me just run through the specs real quick.

-AMD Athalon 64 X2 4200
-Mid tower chassis
-Motherboard NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI motherboard
-2GB DDR2 PC2-5300 at 667MHz - 2 x 1024MB
-250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ NCQ & 8MB Cache
-52x32x52x CD-RW Drive
-256MB NVIDIA® GeForce 7300 GS
-High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio - Standard
-stock keyboard and mouse

No monitor or speakers are included in this and the price comes to about $1500. I was wondering if there is a better deal out there somewhere as my budget is about $1200 at most. Also I was wondering if I was going with the best sound and video card. The Dell systems I've been checking out seem to stick to Intel and I'd rather go with AMD (good choice?).

So I know most of you don't care but I'm looking for a company that sells a computer with comparitive specs but costs less and hopefully I can finance. Also any other advice would be appreciated. I'd build my own system but sadly I lack the skill.

Thank you very much for any input.

Kwyjibo

[Laroacha]

Dude, look here,,,,,the biggest part of buying a computer is support, closely followed by price,,,,,and if you aren't going to build you own,,,,then look here:

http://www.abs.com/app/m6s_compare.asp

[Kwyjibo]

Many thanks Laroacha, I should've been more concise and just asked where the best place to buy a gaming computer is. Sorry for the trouble.

[Hae-Yu]

What I did for my last PC was buy a stripped down Dell for @$1200. I put my own soundcard, speakers, monitors, etc in it and it's lasted a long time. Any issues I've had with it are due to me adding a bunch of low quality software. Now I remember why I stopped supporting new & open software.

For the PC I'm building now I went Core 2 Duo simply because it smokes in damn near every benchmark price/ performance-wise. A lot of people here are AMD fanboys, but I never owned one that wasn't trouble. That's just my take and for now, the prices are pretty good on a very good processor regardless of brand.

My experience with Alienware was that it was the worst PC I ever owned. Draw a square. Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner. Pick one half. Put thermal paste on one half. That's what they did to my CPU on a $2300 system. The support sucked ass too.

[McTucket]

yeah dude building your own computer is the way to go.



less money put forth, and less bullshit.


just make sure you know what you're getting yourself into.

[Nebula]

if I may add my 2 cents..

As many have already said...you could build this same computer for a few hundred less if you just buy all of the parts off of newegg.com or something

I recently built my own computer for about $1300 and it has basically the same specs as that system.. but 3GB Cosair RAM, AMD 4800+ processor and a 512 X1800XT video card.

only thing is I did save money on the drives... being I was able to pull them from my old system and put them in the new one.

[Hoplon]

The video card you list in that Alienware isn't that impressive. More then likely you'd have to replace it to play new games, making that computer cost around $1800.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_series.do?series_name=m7690e_series&catLevel=2&category=desktops/media_center&storeName=computer_store

This system is a better value.