Need help building a gaming PC on Dell.com

[Kearnzo]

I recently got approved for credit at Dell.com, and am looking to finally get myself a gaming desktop. Problem is, I don't really have a clue about the specs needed to play certain games and exactly what i'll need to play games such as Crysis, which i've really wanted to try.

If someone has the time, would you mind going to Dell.com and setting up a gaming desktop for me anywhere up to $1400-$1500? I'd really appreciate it, as I don't want to order something that will need extra addons at a later time just to be able to play newer games. Thanks!

[SqueakyD]

Re: Need help building a gaming PC on Dell.com

It's tough trying to find a future proof PC for 1500, especially when it comes to running Crysis. I mean, you can still run the game at medium, high settings, but the highest will be somewhat unreachable unless if you're willing to dish out 2k+. However, recent games like Call of Duty 4 will run awesome on it.

For your price limit, I would suggest building from the Dell XPS 720. The specs are pretty good for gaming, and I believe the parts are upgradeable in the future.

[Cebby]

Re: Need help building a gaming PC on Dell.com

I would very, very, very strongly advise against buying a "gaming PC."

If you want to have a gaming PC, build one yourself. You'll get a far superior product for literally half of the cost.

[Kearnzo]

Re: Need help building a gaming PC on Dell.com

I would very, very, very strongly advise against buying a "gaming PC."

If you want to have a gaming PC, build one yourself. You'll get a far superior product for literally half of the cost.

That's the problem though. Despite being half the price, I wanted to put it on my Dell card and pay it off gradually. Not to mention I wouldn't even know where to start in building one myself.

I see my parents XPS run most games pretty well, and it's just a good PC in general. That's what I was looking for, with preferably a little more power to play games such as Crysis/COD4.

[mudtiger]

Re: Need help building a gaming PC on Dell.com

Do you need a monitor? Speakers? Blu ray?

XPS 420 - $1419, no monitor, no speakers
E8500
4 gig ram
500 gig HD
DVD
ATI 3870 / or nvidia 8800 gt

If you have the ability and time, I'd suggest building your own too.

[Unoriginal Name]

Re: Need help building a gaming PC on Dell.com

I didn't know where to start when it came to building my own computer but there are a lot of useful websites out there that you can read and learn from. Plus mudtiger was a big help when it came to troubleshooting (thanks again for all the help mudtiger everything is working great.)

It wound up being such an easy thing to do that I don't think I will ever buy a pre-built computer again. I'll always build my own now.

[pk500]

Re: Need help building a gaming PC on Dell.com

That's the problem though. Despite being half the price, I wanted to put it on my Dell card and pay it off gradually. Not to mention I wouldn't even know where to start in building one myself.

Not on topic, but why would you want to pay off over time -- incurring interest charges -- for a machine that probably will be outdated by the time you've completed payments?

If you don't have the dough to buy it now, don't buy it. That's a good maxim for any purchase, especially for something that becomes outdated quickly like a PC.

Take care,
PK

[e0820]

Re: Need help building a gaming PC on Dell.com

Not on topic, but why would you want to pay off over time -- incurring interest charges -- for a machine that probably will be outdated by the time you've completed payments?

If you don't have the dough to buy it now, don't buy it. That's a good maxim for any purchase, especially for something that becomes outdated quickly like a PC.

Take care,
PK

Agree, why dont you just upgrade your parents pc (I assume you still live at home with your parents) some RAM and a new video card is probably all you need.

[Kearnzo]

Re: Need help building a gaming PC on Dell.com

Agree, why dont you just upgrade your parents pc (I assume you still live at home with your parents) some RAM and a new video card is probably all you need.

Actually, I live with my fiance and child :wink:

Anyways, I appreciate the help guys.

pk, the reason I want to pay it off gradually is because i'm not looking to ever have a rediculous, $3000-$4000 monster of a gaming machine. I just want something that has the capabilities to play high end games, not necessarily to have them look as amazing as possible. I'd be content with something that could get by as opposed to something that could run games at their highest level.

[hogfan]

Re: Need help building a gaming PC on Dell.com

If you feel up to it, you should buy your own components and build it yourself.

Except for the monitor, which I got from Dell, I bought these from Tiger Direct and Newegg.

I have an E8400
8800 GTS
4 gig Corsair 1033mhz RAM
The latest Dell 22" monitor(which Cnet gave very high scores)
Kick butt Antec P82 case. It's very quiet and keeps things very cool.
Gigabyte mobo(can't remember the exact model, but i you're interested I'll find it for you)

I won't bore you with the other components, but they are high quality
unlike some of the ones you will get from a Dell, HP, Gateway, etc. Plus,
when you buy high quality components you have a greater ability to upgrade in the future.
The pre-made systems you buy are designed for the components you originally buy with it. Say in two years you want to upgrade your GPU, you may not have a big enough power supply to support it. You end up having a machine that shuts down constantly.(this is what happened to me when I upgraded the GPU in my Sony Vaio.

Plus, they usually don't put the best RAM in those systems.

All of the components and Monitor ran ~$1150 after rebates.

I'd never built my own pc before, but my brother convinced me to.
Trust me, you can do it.

[pk500]

Re: Need help building a gaming PC on Dell.com

Actually, I live with my fiance and child :wink:

Anyways, I appreciate the help guys.

pk, the reason I want to pay it off gradually is because i'm not looking to ever have a rediculous, $3000-$4000 monster of a gaming machine. I just want something that has the capabilities to play high end games, not necessarily to have them look as amazing as possible. I'd be content with something that could get by as opposed to something that could run games at their highest level.

You're missing my point: By the time you finish paying it off (and stupidly giving the bank more of your money than you should), your rig is going to be outdated. Your machine won't be able to play high-end games in two years -- that's how quickly PC hardware and technology evolve.

Take care,
PK