I have come to seek advice from our resident computer geek- er, I mean people . I've been considering getting a new computer seeing as how my current one is ancient (all of 3 years old) and I'm befuddled by the choices I've got nowadays. I use my computer for gaming/internet/word processing in that order and I'm not interested in a Mac. Anyways, I've pretty much determined that the order of importance I've placed on my core components is: 1) Processor 2) Video Card 3) Memory 4) Hard drive 5) Sound card First of all, I have to decide Pentium or Athlon. I'm thinking Pentium just for name value, but some of my friends are pushing me towards Athlon based on dependability and performance. Then I have to decide dual core vs. single core. I can get a single processor that's one or two steps up the scale speedwise from the dual processors for about the same price. Since I don't usually run more than one higher-end program at a time, I'm looking at the single processor. Then I have to consider the video card. I figure that 256 megs is more than enough but then comes the decision of Radeon vs. Nvidia. I'm not very technically oriented, so I'm very unsure of this one. Finally, I have a $3k line of credit with Alienware and a $1500 line with Dell. I can build a very nice system at Dell for about $2k or about $2600 from Alienware. So, I'd have to pay a few hundred upfront for Dell but it would be cheaper in the long run (all financing being equal). Is Alienware worth the extra, or is it just "flash" and not worth it? Any input/recommendations that anyone has especially those who have an opinion different from mine (I always like to get both ssides of a story), especially those who work with computer extensively (I'm looking at YOU, DaDa!) would be much appreciated.
Two questions: 1) How in the WORLD did you only get $1500 from Dell and you got $3000 from Alienware? 2) What are you going to primarily use the computer for? Basic home use? Gaming? Digital editing (photos or movies)? Question 1 is just out of curiousity. Question 2 would be more pertinent to your dilemma.
I don't know why people say "I have an OLD computer" and it's three years old. My system from Dell at home is 5 years old and it still runs well. I've upgraded the hard drive and the memory, and have added nothing else and it still runs like new. Couldn't you just upgrade the "OLD" computer and give it some more RAM and some more hard drive space or add the components you need? You don't need to buy a new one. Three-year-old computers are not to be trashed. What will you do with your old one? Give it to the kids? At least buy it some RAM.
If you're into gaming, there's no point in trying to upgrade a 5 year old computer - you'll basically end up buying a new computer anyway. A 5 year old video card would choke on some of the more popular games out today - specifically ones that use heavy graphics that you want turned up. I had a 2-3 year old video card that couldn't keep up with new RTS and MMORPG games if I wanted the graphics turned up.
Yeah, I have no idea why Alienware gave me so much more than Dell. Especially since my last Dell computer got paid off in like 3 months. They even turned me down for a credit increase. Basically my computer will be used for gaming, internet use, and word processing in that order with WP coming in a very distant third. Two reasons why I'd rather just go with a new system as opposed to updating my current one. One, my system is slowly showing it's age with errors and the "blue screen of doom" with alarming frequency. I'm getting errors every time I try to upgrade drivers, and it's freezing more and more often. Also, the cost of purchasing and installing the components I'd want to upgrade would almost equal a new system (sound card, video card, memory, processor and motherboard). My current system would probably end up with mom, who only uses it for internet and word processing, which doesn't require near as much power.
If you're using the PC for gaming, stick with AMD's Athlon64 chips for now. They have a slight edge over most Pentium processors when it comes to gaming. The biggest advantage Intel chips have is if you're rendering or encoding video/audio files. For video cards, I wouldn't get anything less than an NVIDIA-based 7800GT or 7800GTX card. On the ATI side, something like an ATI X1800 XT. The pain with video cards is not buying too low an end to where the thing is obsolete in 6 months and not buying so high you're paying twice what you should for something that will be 1/3 the price in 6 months. I make these video card recommendations as minimums if you're a gamer heavy into 3D/first person/MMORPG type games. I would try to get a system with 2 gigs of RAM as well. If not, don't get one less than 1 gig of RAM.
if you have 3k with alienware, than go for alienware, although $3000 can get you a dual core SLI gaming comp if you know where to look.
I would agree with that. They also have some really good Media Center PC's, but I am waiting until they come out with better HD support before I delve into one of those.
Yeah cyberpowerpc.com looks to have some good deals and a more in-depth selection but they don't seem to finance. Plus, I'm wary of the non-namebrand PC dealers. Maybe I'm just paranoid.
i was thinking along the lines of building it yourself for $3000, or get a barebone PC and build it up.
How's this. Find out what you want with specs and I'll help you build it. Not only will you save alot of money, your new pc will also be more reliable. I only use the best quality parts when I build computers and never had a problem except once. An amd processor just died, (not even OC). AMD quickly sent out a replacement under warranty.
Word, my dell is 6 years old and it works fine for surfing the net, word, brining cd's etc. It is not as fast as my work computer but it gets the job done.
Build it yourself. Goto newegg.com and open a line of credit with them. Even if they charge you intrest, the money you'd save would make up the difference. Unless you're dl'ing lots of pron, movies and mp3's, stick with a sata HD under $100 bucks. Get at least a gig of ram. As far as soundcards, youre really not a hard core gamer so you do not need the most expensive thing on the block. I use a SB live. Dont overpay ... alienware is insanely expensive. im willing to bet you can build the box at new egg for half the price than alienware.
Don't know about problem no. 2, but with respect to problem no. 1, it's nothing that a reformat and installing latest drivers won't fix. Besides, you'd be facing the same problem within two years even with a new computer. I'm always amazed by how much faster my computer runs after a complete reinstall, even though I have done this a few times myself now.
rocks_fan check your email. I hope it went through, I spent some time finding out all the info for you. Basically the same computer from cyberpowerpc can be had for $1,600 or $1,200 if you go with my slightly less (3800/4300 vs 4600 and x1800xt vs x1900xt) powerful version. Seems like your email is down. Case - I couldnt find it on newegg, but you can get cases anywhere. Cpu - The amd cpu you want is very expensive. Usually its not a good idea to buy the "latest" cpu because in 3-4 months or even half a year the price will drop dramatically. If thats what you really want, its $552. Imo, you should get the 3800 ($296) or 4200 ($360) for hundreds less and just overclock it a little. Motherboard - Asus makes good motherboards. I use asus mb on all the computers I've ever built. The one you want is $98.99. Memory aka Ram - Corsair makes great ram. I have either corsair or kingstons in my computers. The one you want is $183 after $40 rebate. Video card - $549. Are you sure you want to buy the best one? You can get the x1800xt for $429. Hard Drive - I stick with Western Digital, but you can go with whatever brand your comfortable with. WD 200 gig sata2, 8 meg cache = $91. Optical Drive - Only color I could find is black and its $54.99 for the cheapest one they have. You could spend $4 more for the retail version which comes in a box with software. Your set up total = $1,528.98. or go with my build, $1,156.98. These are the prices w/o the case. So add another $100-$150 and that should be your total before shipping. Feel free to chip in what you think would be a better cost efficient set up bbs'ers. If you decide to go with the custom route and are uncomfortable with building/setting up the computer. I'll do it for you or guide you through it so you know how to do it next time.
Yeah what I sent you was kind of a "best case" scenario of what I happened to find. By no means am I married to that build.
And no, I've never even thought of building my own. I'm uncomfortable messing wround with any electronics apart from hooking up my computer and programming my DVR. With my tax return ($400, no dependants darn it) and the rest of the money my friend owes me from my 360 ($240) that would be a good start towards the component parts. Would still need to save for another couple of months (at least) to come up with the balance though.
Credit card? Or like a poster mentioned above you could apply for a Newegg cc. If your not in a rush, you can purchase the computer later and save even more money. Only thing about custom built computers is you need a o/s. If you go to UH or any university, you can get windows xp for $7 and it'll also come with the 64bit version.
The problem with "building your own" is that, if you're not used to building or troubleshooting a computer, or not very techy, you're responsible for finding out what is wrong with the computer, which component is causing the problem, and then shipping that part back to wherever you got it from. Most "normal people" don't want to do this or have time to do this.
