Building or Buying a New Computer

[Vince]

So my old computer is on the skids, and I've been meaning to get a new one anyways (the old one's almost three years old). The question is, how do I go about doing it? I've built a computer before, so that's definitely an option...the current one is a Dell system however, because I was lazy when I bought it.

I use my computer basically for Video Games. I do the occasional computer programming, but it has no impact on the specifications of my computer. Money's always good to save, but I actually am looking pretty good financially lately. I could probably convince myself to drop $2,500 top-end, though ideally I'm looking for around $2,000 or less. Since I'm doing ok financially, I'm tempted to just get a ridiculous system with a 30-inch monitor or something. But I know that I should probably be frugal.

Anyways...the real meat of this thread is my plethora of questions on the matter.

If I buy a full system...

Any suggestions as to where to go to get it? I don't particularly like my Dell (the pre-loaded software and update system annoyed me, for whatever reason), but it wasn't terrible either. I've heard Alienware is good...but it seems like they're sort of expensive.
Desktop or Laptop? Most of my anti-laptop sentiment has been because of the small keyboards they used to come with, but it seems like nowadays that's a non-issue. Plus the idea of one of those "anywhere" high speed internet cards is pretty slick (though I know nothing about them).If I build one...

Where to buy from? I used Newegg for my last computer, and they seem to still be around. Any place better / cheaper?
How ridiculous should I get? A Quad-Core Processor seems to be a bit much...but I'd like to have a nice system.
Vista vs. XP?
Intel vs. AMD? nVidia vs. Radeon? What sort of RAM?It's been so long since I built a computer, that I'm way out of the loop.

[Deattribution]

Some opinions...

Alienware is overrated and vastly overpriced. You'll pay a big premium and I've seen dozens of their systems crap out right after warranty expiration.

I'd still say Newegg is the best place to buy parts without a doubt.

A good quad core would be worth the extra expensive (since it's going to be maybe 100 bucks more, if that).

Intel has the edge but AMD's phenom processors are nice.

Both Nvidia and ATI have good high end cards, if you want to spend cash you can go sli or crossfire (two cards, or even three).

2000 bucks building it yourself will get you alot further than 2000 buying from anyone but obviously then all the warranties and whatnot are on you.

[Deattribution]

dola

Tomshardware.com is a good place to get reviews and benchmarks on parts before building or buying also.

[weegeebored]

Your probably going to get a lot of opinions here so I'll just throw in my .02. You definitely want to go with an Intel system as they currently blow the doors off of the AMD procs. If the AMDs were significantly cheaper they would be a good value, but they haven't beaten Intel since the first dual-core procs became available.

I would go with a quad-core; they are the current best available CPU, so why would you settle for older (dual-core) technology? It's not like your going to do another upgrade next year. Get the fastest CPU you can afford so you won't regret your decision a year from now.

I built my own system nearly a year ago; I used NewEgg and everything went fine. My budget was waaaaaaaay less than yours so if you chose to build your own (which is what I would recommend if you can do so) you will be able to put together a real nice machine.

As far as the OS, XP all the way unless you absolutely need DirectX 10. The problem is that you have to have a copy of XP or know where to get one. New systems are going to have Vista, and I think that it's becoming increasingly difficult -- if not impossible -- to get a new PC with XP.

I trust the geek community here, but you also might look at some sites for product review. Look at MaximumPC.com, Tomshardware.com, anandtech.com, and PCstats.com.

Which kind of Ram is a trickier question to answer. If you are talking brands, any of the well-known companies will do -- Patriot, OCZ, Crucial, etc. The bigger debate is DDR2 vs. DDR3. DDR2 will be cheaper and have lower latency values in general, but DDR3 may provide you with more throughput. My recommendation -- find a well-reviewed motherboard in your price range (don't skimp here) and that will more-or-less dictate the kind of Ram. Keep in mind that if you use Vista you will need 4GB for gaming, where as you could probably get away with 2GB with XP. Remember that while you can get 4GB for XP, the OS won't use all of it because of the memory manager limitation.

Right now, you can't go wrong with either an ATI or Nvidia card. Read the reviews, and look at your budget.

Hope this helps.

[Atocep]

Any suggestions as to where to go to get it? I don't particularly like my Dell (the pre-loaded software and update system annoyed me, for whatever reason), but it wasn't terrible either. I've heard Alienware is good...but it seems like they're sort of expensive.Dell's XPS series isn't too bad and their customer service is solid (they have special customer service for XPS owners).

Alienware has gone downhill sharply since Dell bought them out. Their quality isn't anywhere near what it used to be and customer service is absolutely horrendous.


Desktop or Laptop? Most of my anti-laptop sentiment has been because of the small keyboards they used to come with, but it seems like nowadays that's a non-issue. Plus the idea of one of those "anywhere" high speed internet cards is pretty slick (though I know nothing about them).

I'm not a big fan of laptops as a primary gaming machine. If its something you'd use as a backup or for on-the-go gaming then I could understand it, but laptops cost more, you get less, and there's no option to upgrade something like the video card down the line.


If I build one...
Where to buy from? I used Newegg for my last computer, and they seem to still be around. Any place better / cheaper?
How ridiculous should I get? A Quad-Core Processor seems to be a bit much...but I'd like to have a nice system.
Vista vs. XP?
Intel vs. AMD? nVidia vs. Radeon? What sort of RAM?It's been so long since I built a computer, that I'm way out of the loop.

Newegg is still the way to go. The combination of price, warranty, and customer service makes it a no-brainer.

Quad-cores for gaming are a waste. Games right now only efficiently use 2 cores and it looks like it will stay that way for the foreseeable future. If you're big on running multiple applications, then that's where the quads shine, but dual cores blow the quads away as far as gaming goes. You get higher clock speed per dollar and both cores are put to use efficiently.

Vista. There's really isn't a good reason to stick with XP if you have a system that can run it.

Intel right now has the best performance as far as their high end processors go and if you're an overclocker they overclock much better than AMD's current line. AMD still offers lower prices for the most part, but for multi-core processors Intel is king and right now its not that close.

Nvidia vs ATI is a little more complicated. ATI has some fantastic options in the mid/mid-high range of cards. You can get ATI's 4850 off of newegg right now for $180 and it comes with a $30 mail in rebate. Pretty hard to beat the performance to price ratio on that card. Going a bit higher the 1gb version of the 4870 also offers great performance, but the price is around $300. Going even higher nvidia's gtx280 is the best single GPU card on the market right now, but the price is ridiculous.

To answer your main question. If you have the know-how or have someone you trust to build for you then building your own will get you much more for your money and make it easier to do part by part upgrades down the line.



EDIT: Tom's hardware forums are a fantastic source of knowledge when building a system.

[Ryan S]

Keep in mind that if you use Vista you will need 4GB for gaming, where as you could probably get away with 2GB with XP.

My Vista machine (Core 2 Duo 6300 with a graphic card that was midrange in early 2007) has had no problem gaming with 2gb of memory in Vista.

If I were building a new system I would go for 4gb, but 2gb will not be too much of a problem in Vista if the rest of the system is pretty good.

To answer the original question, I think you should build a PC. Intel currently has the best processors, and I have heard good things about NVIDIA lately (though I have an ATI card). The new Intel Core i7 is being launched next month, so there could be price cuts on the way for the Core 2 range.

I like Vista, but I don't think it will make much difference which operating system you use.

[flere-imsaho]

Arstechnica.com does monthly "build your own rig" articles, at different price points (and for different purposes, such as gaming systems). That's probably a good place to start if you want to build your own.

[Edward64]

If you require a system that can play the high end FPS shooters etc. now and in the future, without the need for portability, then I would go for a desktop. You cannot beat the expandability of a desktop.

However, if your requirements are somewhat less and your genre is more Civ4 I would consider a laptop. Other than for GPU, a laptop w/dock should give you all you need with the added benefits of (1) portability and (2) resale value. The docking station will give you the ability to hook up to a nice lcd, keyboard etc.

For desktops, I stick with Dell's and wait for their sales. Good combo deals can be had but you will have to buy an additional graphic cards. Stay away from other than 1 year support, I don't think the cost/benefit justifies it. I know there is some cost savings to build a desktop yourself but the premium is not worth the hassle to me.

For laptops, I am partial to Lenovo Thinkpads and stay away from the Dells (yeah, I know they have gotten better). Unfortunately the best gpu for a thinkpad right now is 3650 but my games are Civ4 like.

With that said, I got my wife a Dell Quad Core 2, 2GB RAM, 250GB HD, 22inch monitor for $720 earlier this year for her Adobe CS3 app.

[Edward64]

Oh, I would also wait for the Thanksgiving sales if you can. With the economy as it is, I bet there will be some great sales.

[Vince]

Really, the only serious gaming I do nowadays is World of Warcraft. So super-top-end isn't necessary...but I do tend to dabble in FPS games multiple times a year. Like I said...I don't necessarily NEED it, but I'd like to be able to go pick out any game off the shelf and run it at full speed. Plus, since money isn't that critical for me for the first time in, oh...ever...I sort of want to splurge.

Sadly, time is sort of of the essence. I have no internet connection right now and I run a raiding guild on Warcraft, so I need to be able to get back online. I can use other computers (for instance, the one I'm using to post this), but it's inconveniencing me and the people who own these computers. So waiting for Thanksgiving sales probably isn't going to happen, though I'd love to.

A friend recommended IBuyPower.com, and it seems I can get much more "bang for my buck" than Alienware and some other sites (Falcon something or other? Never heard of them but someone showed me their site). It's still a little beyond my price range, but I could pony up the money. I set up a system with the following specs:

Quad-core 3.0GHz Intel Processor
4 GB DDR2 RAM
Dual GeForce 9800 1.0GHz SLI graphics cards
26" LCD Monitor ( :D )

And ended up at about $3,000 before shipping. I'm guessing if I were to do it myself, I could probably put this together for about $2,000? I think the things I worry about most are...

Cooling system
Mother Board - I know next to nothing about MB's. I'll have to go check out some of those review sites.
Foolishly enough, attaching a heat sink to the Processor. Last time I built my PC I broke my first processor because I sucked at putting on the heat sink.

[Vince]

Anyone have any feedback on Motherboards, or ibuypower.com?

[flere-imsaho]

This is the resource I first used (and still do) when I started building my own computers about 8 years ago: http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer.ars

[INDalltheway]

Bumping this up. I'm in the market for a new desktop, but not on the high end scale. Honestly the only things I will be doing are playing poker, browsing the internet, and the occasional text sim. I am so far out of the loop with what I actually need these days to run the programs above. I'm honestly looking to spend <$700.. Any help would be appreciated fellas.