Buying a New Computer

[undacuvabruva]

Well, I'm not on a huge Budget.
I have about 1500 dollars to spend on a new computer.
what should I get? Or should i save more money?

[geek]

www.pricewatch.com (http://www.pricewatch.com/)
www.newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com/)
www.tigerdirect.com (http://www.tigerdirect.com)

use the above sites (in that order) to find individual parts for a computer, and put it together yourself. If you don't know how, ship the parts to me, and I'll put it together. You can usually save at least $500 by doing it this way. Plus, you know you're getting what you want. If you want your comp to excel in graphics, but don't really care about sound, you know to buy a better video card and slack with the sound card. :P

[brianthisis]

Yeh. It's way cheaper to build it yourself. And I would reccomend newegg over the rest of those links.
If you don't want to put it together yourself you can always buy a pc from www.alienware.com

[DrWolfgangVonBubbles]

www.pricewatch.com (http://www.pricewatch.com/)
www.newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com/)
www.tigerdirect.com (http://www.tigerdirect.com)

use the above sites (in that order) to find individual parts for a computer, and put it together yourself. If you don't know how, ship the parts to me, and I'll put it together. You can usually save at least $500 by doing it this way. Plus, you know you're getting what you want. If you want your comp to excel in graphics, but don't really care about sound, you know to buy a better video card and slack with the sound card. :P
Yeah, you could do that... OR you could mail it to me, and I will put it together. Although, there would be that tiny little detail where I wouldn't send it back to you and I'd just keep it... :p

[Blur]

Whatever you do, build it yourself. It'll be ALOT cheaper this way and you'll get exactly what you want. Only thing you will be missing is customer support but thats what you have forums like this one for. You can get a perfectly good computer for $1500 so give us a little more specifics of what your looking for and what you want it to do and maybe we can suggest some specific parts for you.

[Forsakenzoul2]

WHat do you want to do with this said computer? its good to know this so you can prioritise on the parts that you really need. Like if your not gaming you dont need a fancy vidcard and would benefit from more space ^^

[Forsakenzoul2]

Chenming Black Entry level server case with side arcylic window. (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=11-125-444&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE) $70

NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, Black, Model ND-3520A BK, OEM (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=27-152-035&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE) $60.99

Seagate 7200.8 200GB 7200RPM SATA NCQ Hard Drive, Model ST3200826AS, OEM (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=22-148-066&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE) $136

PQI Dual Channel Kit 240-Pin 1GB (512MB X 2) DDR2 PC2-4200, Model PQI24200-1GDB - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=20-141-200&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE) $182.50

DFI "LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D" NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-152&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE) $147

Fortron Blue Storm 500W ATX12V V2.0 Power Supply with 120mm Fan, P4 and AMD ready, Model "AX500-A" -RETAIL (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-934&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE) $89

AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 512KB L2 Cache, Socket 939 64-bit Processor - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-502&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE) $191

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS PCI Sound Card, Model "SB0350" OEM (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=29-102-178&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE) $69.99

Sapphire ATI Radeon X800 XL Video Card, 256MB GDDR3, 256-Bit, DVI/TV Out, PCI-Express, Model "100105-BL" -OEM (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-499&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE) $349

Total Without S&H or taxes= $1295.48

That rig can play anything you throw at it ^^ the RAM, Proc, and HDD is your choice. All the selected ones are good components but i dont know how much space you wanted or if you want to spend an extra $50 and get a 3500+ and obviously you can change the case if you dont like it ^^ That one is just roomy and easy to build on :D

[undacuvabruva]

Well, I am going to be doing just about everything... and the hard thing about building your own is i don't know practically anything about Reliable videocard brands, sound cards or anything like that. and what's the diff from one to another.
I mainly want good videocard, and decent sound. I'm going to be gaming a lot, but graphics, web developing, and just surfing are what i'm gonna be doin the most.

[Forsakenzoul2]

then the setup that i gave you suits you awesomely ^^ Great Sound, SWEET graphics card and a lot of head room for any future upgrade ^^

[RavensChild]

I say you should build your own...they are really easy to build and if you make your own you save alot of money here is one of the best sites to buy the parrts on www.newegg.com

[Forsakenzoul2]

yeah all the parts i linked are from NewEgg ^^ and if you need help with anything dude just post here im more than willing to help you out :D

[RavensChild]

ya newegg.com is the best place. You can build a kickass computer there for under 1000 and if you want even a better one that that you can pay more.

[mck9235]

Yeh. It's way cheaper to build it yourself. And I would reccomend newegg over the rest of those links.
If you don't want to put it together yourself you can always buy a pc from www.alienware.com
The best thing about Alienware is the case, and they're still plastic. They're overpriced machines. You can get something of higher quality for hundres less.

[Gwendylyn Post]

Agree with mck about alienware

Building yoru own is cheaper, but then you have to know what you are doing or you will screw up (murphy's law). As for parts for a computer, go to ebay. I actually bought my laptop off there for half the price ($1300 instead of $2600) that still has another 2 years of warranty left - and if it breaks beyond repair, I get a full gift certificate for original price and make money off of it. Originally I planned on a desktop, but I just found the 'right' offer instead.

[Smoky]

Emmm heres the PC i want to get in september...

http://www.meshcomputers.com/updated/xtreme_3.htm

The spec is:

* AMD Athlon™ 64 3800+ Processor
* Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
* 1024MB DDR 400 RAM (PC3200) Memory
* 250GB Serial ATA (150Mb/s) Ultra Fast Hard Drive
* 2x 128MB GeForce 6600GT - PCI-Express SLI
* 19" TFT Flat Panel LCD Monitor
* SONY 16x Dual Layer DVD-RW (R/W all standard formats)*
* Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
* Creative Inspire T7900 - 7.1 Surround Speakers
* X-treme4 Games Bundle (Speedpad, 3 titles)
* Internet Ready V.92 56Kbps data/fax/voice modem
* Network Ready integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet
* Logitech Cordless Keyboard and Rechargeable Mouse
* ASUS WiFi 54MBps IEEE 802.11g PCI Card
* FREE Microsoft Works 8.0
* 3 Year Parts & Labour Warranty (Back to Base)
* Midi Tower Case/6 USBs + Additional Features

And believe me when i say that is rather nice for £1400..! If i was you id go for something like this or get the AMD FX55 processor instead or if you wana be stupid upgrade the SLI graphics cards and spend loads...!

To have a look what a good computer is about have a look at this web site and get some bearings. If you build a computer itl cost you more by the way.. Because all the companys buy in bulk its cheaper to buy computers whole.


p.s
Dont got Alien Ware because u would be ripped off left right and center. Spec the computer above against a Alien Ware computer and see the differ

[Forsakenzoul2]

uh.... i have built 5 systems and none are more expensive than if i buy em from a company that has em prebuilt. the components i choose are better than any generic RAM or any other component that a store would choose to use. No im not saying that what i choose is the best but it is better than any OEM store. I do, however, agree with you about Alienware THEY WILL RIPP YOU OFF!!!

Now why spend soo much on a FX-55 when a 4000+ can be overclocked to a higher performance ration than a FX? and beside he only has $1500 USD and £1400 is more than that.

Oh yeah i had made a mistake on the RAM :P you dont need DDR2 since AMD wont be using DDR2 till they release their dual core processors. so buy something like this pqi TURBO Series Dual Channel (Gunmetal) Kit 184-Pin 1GB(512MB x 2) DDR PC-3200 - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-141-154&depa=0)