I will soon be buying a new computer for the main purpose of playing games. (I mean schoolwork… of course!)
Now, the big names like Dell and Gateway make it easy to get a fast one, but I hear them constantly referred to as overpriced and poorly built.
Is that true?
If so, where could I buy a better one?
Is it really cheaper to build my own?
How difficult would it be to build a computer?
(or is that sort of talk just people trying to act “too good” for major brands, or rebellious?)
-Aeh
I’ve found Gateways to be excellent computers from what we’ve owned (just bought a new one actually). Another fantastic brand is Sony’s Vaio. Just stay away from Compaq and HP.
Builind your own computer isn’t hard at all really. I thought it would be but I have built two myself and as long as you’re not intimidated it will probably be fairly smooth.
As far as saving money. You will save money if you build yourself. Whether or not you save enough to make a difference depends entirely on your own perspective. THe nice things about Dell’s (I live in Austin, TX home of Dell ok well it’s really ROund Rock, TX) is that they have pretty good customer support and warranties. Everyone I know with one is happy though I do not own one myself.
When I built my own I spent the same amount of $$$'s but used top quality components. Also it works out a ton cheaper to go with AMD chips than INTEL chips. However if you compare systems built by yourself and Dell component for component you will find that Dell’s at least aren’t terribly overpriced.
One place I have come out ahead in the past was having access to student software. I could get Windows and Microsoft Office Pro for like 30 bucks. If you can get cheap software than you will save a ton of money building yourself.
Just sit down and decide what exactly you want out off a computer and then shop for the prices of the components. Then build a similar one at dell and see if the price difference is enough to sway you one way or the other. If you build it yourself though you have to be ready to be your own technical support and your warranties will be handled by the original component makers which can be a hassle.
After building my own I’ve been happy with the results. To me it was fun. If it wasn’t for the fact that I enjoyed doing it I would buy from Dell knowing what I know about the whole process.
Hope that helps a little I know I rambled some.
Forgot to add:
www.newegg.com has good prices on stuff and can let you see how much building it yourself will cost.
www.anadtech.com has good info about computers in general and the components as well. look in their forums for some great info
ok crap that link should be www.anandtech.com
I really wish we could edit. Sorry about the first link.
Also, check www.pricewatch.com for general hardware prices. Building your own computer isn’t that difficult, but these days you maybe save $50-$100 over a similarly equiped Delll; of course if you build it yourself you will know exactly what motherboard and powersupply you get, two important items that are glossed over by the big manufactors. If you build your own, I reccomend AMD over Intel - for the same performance in games you get the proccessors quite a bit cheaper. As for the motherboard, I reccomend the Asus A7N8X Deluxe - lot of options, very good builtin LAN, and the built in Sound rivals any consumer level soundcard.
This is simple…
Build your own PC and make your dream system…whatever that might be. I’ve done it myself on a few occasions and my now current PC is a little past 2 years old and would be considered top end average/bottom end fast.
However, choosing the parts you want for your own PC can require a good deal of research. It can be done with next to no research but if you want top notch stuff then you’ll have a lot of reading to do. Getting things like cooling right can be a chore (but very important).
If you want someone else to build it for you then the two best (IMNSHO) are Falcon Northwest or Alienware. You really can’t go wrong with either of those two companies. When it comes to gaming rigs these two set the standard (Falcon did it first but Alienware stole some of ther thunder down the road). I’m partial to Falcon but again they both rock. Of course, you pay a premium for these systems. While they cost more than doing it yourself they both have outstanding tech support and warranties (at least last I checked) which you won’t get doing it yourself. They also have some way cool looking systems including (for a hefty fee) airbrushing the case with custom art. A tan box and saving several hundred dollars works for me but if you want a computer as artwork as well go for it.
I read a recent review in PC Gamer Magazine that gave excellent marks to a computer from ABS Computers. Their machine matched the best from Falcon and Alienware in raw speed tests (using games for the testing). Better still their tested machine cost about half of what the comparable rig from Falcon did. Of course, they use lesser parts in their construction so possibly the longevity may suffer and the warranty isn’t as good but to save $1500+ that’s a fair tradeoff.
Crap…I forgot to mention to go with an AMD Athlon chip over the Intel Pentium. Just an opinion and the Intel Pentium isn’t a bad chip but I think the Athlon is better and for less money to boot. Definitely AVOID any PC that tries to lay RDRAM on you like the plague (goes with some Pentium systems). Good old DDR-SDRAM is what you want for whatever you get (it comes in varying speeds so pay attention to that too).
Whoops…I just checked and I gave the link for the ‘value’ gaming PC wrong. It is http://www.abscomputer.com
In fairness the difference is the missing ‘s’ at the end of ‘abscomputer’…should be a law against that or something. Also, PC Gamer claimed the $1799 system matched the $3800 system from Falcon in speed tests (won a few, lost a few but overall close enough as to be statistically equivalent). The difference in the prices mostly reflects namebrand quality of parts, warranty and (although they didn’t say so directly) the prestige value of the Falcon name on your rig and I suspect far better tech support from Falcon. Still…that’s a $2000 difference…Falcon had better watch itself.
Or you might consider saving thousands of dollars, and instead buy an Xbox or GameCube for 1/10th the price.
I didn’t really pay attention to what people wrote so don’t shoot me if i’m just repeating stuff…
If you buy from a major brand make sure to pay attention to the VIDEO card. Do not get ANYthing with a MX I.e geforce 4 mx. pretty much all the other modern cards will do you quite well for gaming.
I didn’t save much money by building my own–in fact, I’m sure I could have done it cheaper. However, if you’re interested in staying near the top end, it’s much cheaper to build your own and upgrade as necessary.
My big recommendation, in addition to the excellent advice above, is to only buy from reputable retailers. You don’t want your motherboard to be DOA only to find out that no one speaks English at the store where you bought it and you’re going to have to ship the damn thing across the country several times, if they honor the warranty at all. (Yes, this happened to me.) Ideally, I like to buy parts from my local nerdy computer store; I rarely do so since their prices are often extortionate, but sometimes they surprise you. If I’m buying mail-order, I have to save an awful lot of money to buy from anyone but NewEgg, since I’ve had nothing but good luck and ultra-fast shipping from them.
Dr. J
will have to chime in and second the Gateway suggestion if you are looking for a middle ground between building your own and gettig one of those insane Alienware systems.
we got a 500x last year, added a little to the ram, sound, and video options, and still made out well under $2000. pushed it over with a digital camera for my wife and i (that’s a whole different story) and i’ve been very happy with it. not sure what sorts of games are your thing. i can run up to psx and n64 emulation with no problem, GTA3, Thief, Oni, Morrowind, and pretty much any rpg.
My advice is to use the web for price comparison, but actually go to your local computer store and see if you can get a price match. You’ll save shipping costs and it will make returns easier. Just try to avoid the larger chains (always bad prices), but also avoid dingy fly-by-night stores that close once a year and void all their warrantees.
If you are going to make your own, then you should avoid no-name parts. For example, you can pick up a power supply for really cheap but if it’s a 250 watt el cheapo brand it may lead to lock ups and assorted problems. If you spend an extra 20% or so, you can pick up a quality power supply like an Antec 400W. If you are going to have a gaming system, you will probably need the extra juice.
Same goes for memory… bargain bin memory is just asking for frustration. Spend the extra cash and get Crucial brand memory.
AMD vs Intel. Like other have said, go for AMD. There is more that needs to be done to get your system working right (several patches, VIA 4-in-1 drivers, etc) but the price is right. Be aware that AMD systems are much more finicky and demand that you use quality parts. If you use the bargain bin memory in an Intel PC you might not have any problems, but less likely in an AMD system.
Lastly, video cards. Right now your choices are cards with ATI or Nvidia chipsets. ATI cards right now have a raw speed advantage over Nvidia, but Nvidia cards have the market share and are signing “special agreements” with big companies such as EA. These agreements basically say that the software companies will design their games to take advantage of special abilities of Nvidia graphics, and the games will look better on an Nvidia card than an ATI. Myself, I just bought an OEM Sapphire ATI Radeon 9700 (non-pro) 128 meg which is essentially the exact same hardware as the 9700 Pro but with a different BIOS. I can flash the BIOS and get 9700 Pro performance with a 200 dollar savings.
Whatever you do, stay away from the ATI Radeon 7xxx or 8xxx series, and the Nvidia Geforce MX or 5200 series. If the card is less than 150 dollars, it’s not a gaming card.
If you want more details on what to buy, just let me know. I can go on for hours…
I built my own system for the first time a little over a year ago. I was a great experience, and I saved a considerable amount of money. I forget exact numbers now, but it was in the 300-500 range. I made extensive use of pricewatch.com (already mentioned), as well as straight-up eBay, but, as others have mentioned, using the web as a price resource and then trying to deal with local folks is a better idea, risk-wise. I was lucky enough not to get burned with online deals, but the risk is definitely there.
Regarding parts: Since you’re going for deals, you might as well get good parts. Two very important things to having a healthy computer are power supply and memory. Don’t go no-name, read some reviews on the web. If you’re really into gaming, go to some of the overclocking websites for CPU recommendations. HDs are cheap, get a big one.
There’s really too much advice to give. Definitely do it though. Be prepared, don’t be scared! And wear get some ESD (electro-static discharge) protection. If you’re handing expensive, good quality memory (or anything else, but particularly memory), you’ll reduce physical errors on the chips when you install. Have fun!