# Gaming Computers. [i got questions..]



## Flipdan92 (Jan 20, 2008)

Ok, well, i've been thinking of buying or making a computer. And here are my questions.

Buy or Build?
AMD or Intel?
Alienware or iBuyPower.com?

pick any question just make the answer a really good one. THanks!


----------



## valtr3x (Feb 6, 2008)

Flipdan92 said:


> Ok, well, i've been thinking of buying or making a computer. And here are my questions.
> 
> Buy or Build?
> AMD or Intel?
> ...


Being someone who just built and is an Alienware Customer as well, I can answer these questions easily for you. Do not buy from Alienware, they're overrated. I just built my new computer for the same price I bought my Alienware computer for, and I'm able to play games that I wasnt able to with my Alienware, (CRYSIS, BioShock, etc..) I'm not really a computer buff but from what I understand it's better to get AMD for gaming rather than Intel, for reasons I do not know but it's just what i've heard.


----------



## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

Definitely build it if you think you can.

If you have the money go with intel, Amd is great and all but intel is worth it.

Alienware is horrible never buy them unless there used or cheap or somthing.

Now a great way to build your own pc is to tell us your budget and we can help you pick out the parts. You've got dozens of smart people here that know there stuff and love making pc's. Even if your not confident in building your own we can help you find a already made pc. Let us know what you think.


----------



## Flipdan92 (Jan 20, 2008)

emosun said:


> Definitely build it if you think you can.
> 
> If you have the money go with intel, Amd is great and all but intel is worth it.
> 
> ...


Well, i dont have a budget right now. But in a month i'll get 4 grand. Also, my cousin told me that building a PC is easy to do. Just connect em to right spots. He told me he can help too. He has a high end computer. Is my $4000 good enough to make a computer better than Alienware? I need good graphics, quad core, XP-Home, and good memory and processor. What should i get?


----------



## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

Flipdan92 said:


> Well, i dont have a budget right now. But in a month i'll get 4 grand. Also, my cousin told me that building a PC is easy to do. Just connect em to right spots. He told me he can help too. He has a high end computer. Is my $4000 good enough to make a computer better than Alienware? I need good graphics, quad core, XP-Home, and good memory and processor. What should i get?


anything over 2500$ is overkill so yeah it will kill the alienware

Why not vista for dx10 it is needed


----------



## Flipdan92 (Jan 20, 2008)

1 g0t 0wn3d said:


> anything over 2500$ is overkill so yeah it will kill the alienware
> 
> Why not vista for dx10 it is needed


Thats why i hate vista. Always messing it up for everyone. lol. And they always make the folder files all gay. lol Is it easy to be pro at vista?

Ok, i'll go Vista Ultimate ( the best/highest vista ) hehe. So, what can i get with $2500 then? I want BEST-HIGH-END computer. I want the case to look like this. 

Nzxt Lexa Blackline Gaming Tower Case (http://www.ibuypower.com/ibp/Images/Case/Big/Lexa_Black_1.jpg)

Also, i would like Quad Core Intel, BEST Graphics and Sound Card. Best Processor. A power supply that will last long. (because i think thats what happened to my gateway[ipostedit somewhere. still want to fix it though.. so help me out on that too] And liquid cooling. oh yeah, and RED LED Light! with Blu-Ray DVD CD Burner/Reader. lol... What kind of things do you guys have for me?


----------



## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

heres the case (your will be throwing away the power supply) http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3111229&Sku=TC3J-2269

i will get some other stuff together if i get done with my homework soon


----------



## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

Yea sell the psu that case comes with on ebay. And definitely stick to a budget of 2,500 because I think 4000 would be way overkill. 

As for the system itself I'm thinking a ddr3 board with 2 of those 3870's with room for four of them. Then a core two extreme maybe if you can work it into 2,500. Core two extremes are crazy fast cpu's. Then two of those 750gb seagates.


----------



## MaXXimus (Feb 7, 2008)

Im the owner of an Alienware Area-51 ALX and have had it for 3 months now... cost me $6100 for a QX6850 overclocked from 3.0Ghz to 3.33Ghz, XFXForce 680i mobo, dual 8800 Ultras, dual 150Gig Raptors and 4 Gig of Patriot DDR2 800Mhz low latency RAM. My advice to you is this....... STAY AWAY FROM ALIENWARE!!! LOL

Seriously though, this thing on day one, hour one was shutting down from overheating... sent in for repairs and 2 weeks later get it back and still freakin overheating. Here after asking for money back a tech tells me to try removing the rear decrotive chrome piece and all the temps drop to normal... thus showing how inept this company is considering it should have been caught during their so called 48 burn in and then to go back a second time and get repairs and come back with the same problem, well... thats twice it wasnt caught and should have been.

Then since fixing that its been rebooting multiple times daily and I have spent more time testing and rebooting then actual time enjoying it. I called 2 days agoa nd told them I wanted my money back... so this coming Monday its shipping back to them and Im building my own and thats what I recommend to you. Also, IBuyPower... stay clear! Most of these companies aint no good and for what you pay, you could have had a way better machine.

You see the limited specs of this ALX I gave ya... well imagine how much less your going to get with only having $4000 to spend... and does my computer have $6100 worth of parts in it? Hell no! Between parts, build, warrenty and tech support it still aint worth nowhere close to $6100... Im building a system that will knock the socks off the Alien and here are some of the specs @ my thread on here (I updated the list as well as added prices... also still need to add video & memory water blocks and will need some various fittings) http://www.techsupportforum.com/f255/first-build-monster-machine-219212.html


----------



## Flipdan92 (Jan 20, 2008)

alright. Sweet. i got some but i need more info of what i need so i can buy them all online and get the same day and build it all. So yeah. Thanks for the posts.


----------



## MaXXimus (Feb 7, 2008)

Lets us know what parts you decide on and dont hesitate to ask questions


----------



## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

mobo 260
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3109410&CatId=3355

memory 500
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3591424&CatId=3433

cpu 1099
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3451428

video card 470
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3572148&Sku=V261-3872

cpu cooler 60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118020

hard drive 200
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2203982&CatId=2459

case 170
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3111229&Sku=TC3J-2269

power supply 390
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153054

WOW, that only came out to 3,149. Thats if you buy 1 of everything.

Now if you get two of those hdd's and two of the video cards , it comes to 3,819. If you were to build this pc it would be insanely fast, faster then anyone on this whole site has I'm sure.


----------



## Flipdan92 (Jan 20, 2008)

I am in need of help ATM. I dont know what to get for my comp. Fan, or water cooling. What's better that can last my computer very long? Fan or water. And what is compatible on the things that i am buying. So please. Oh yeah, the fans, which ones and how many is max for a case?

Also, the same thing with power Supplies. What should i get


----------



## Rolyin (May 14, 2007)

http://www.voodoopc.com/ check that site out i think its a little cheaper than Alienware. But I would still recomend building your own as I plan to.


----------



## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

Flipdan92 said:


> I am in need of help ATM. I dont know what to get for my comp. Fan, or water cooling. What's better that can last my computer very long? Fan or water. And what is compatible on the things that i am buying. So please. Oh yeah, the fans, which ones and how many is max for a case?
> 
> Also, the same thing with power Supplies. What should i get


he listed a great power supply also look at a zalman 9500 they are great air coolers


----------



## MaXXimus (Feb 7, 2008)

Flipdan, emosun's list of parts is awesome... only thing is the memory is not available anymore, I would recommend substituting it with this http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3495742&CatId=3433

Only other thing I would recommend is getting 2 of these hard drives http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136011 It does add $160 more to your overall but I think its worth it.

As for water cooling, your perfectly fine on air cooling. If you think your going to get into overclocking your system then I might suggest water cooling... if not then no need getting into something a little more complicated. And just so you know... the CPU in emosuns list, QX9650... it it can be overclocked up to around 4.0Ghz before even considering water cooling options. I have even heard some say it can be pushed up to around 4.3Ghz - 4.4Ghz on air... though I wouldnt go past the 4.0 myself on air alone.


----------



## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

Not a big fan of the raptor hdd's. lol. I mean yea there faster but there only 150 gigs. I guess its really personal preference. 200 for a slower 750 gig or 180 for a fast 150 gig. Its really up to you what you want either will work fine. Or even better you could get two of them raptors and get the 750gig seagate anyway. lol


----------



## themisiek1 (Aug 20, 2007)

Speaking of hard drive I always had a small 80GB or 60GB hard drive. I never really thought speed of a hard drive actually slowed down the computer. Now I build a rig 6 months back with 1x500GB, 4x250GB, and 2x160GB and the 500GB has 200GB already filled. Starting to notice slower boot times. I don't really like the Raptors that much either. As we speak I' am putting a spare 2x250GB hard drives into my Alienware to see how well they work. I have alot of hard drives lol.

BTW all the harddrives are the same RPMs. I believe 7200RPM.


----------



## MaXXimus (Feb 7, 2008)

See that is where you are wrong themisiek1, Raptors are 10,000 RPM... put 2 of these puppies together and your drives are flying!


----------



## Flipdan92 (Jan 20, 2008)

All right. Well, i just made my choice for now. here are the picks i did from newegg.com

Motherboard-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131235

Video Card-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129103&Tpk=Visiontek+Radeon+HD+3870+X2

Memory-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231150
or 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231151

Processor-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115034

Hard Drive (Storage)x2-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136151

Hard Drive (Gaming Storage)x2-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136035

Sound Card-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102005

Power SUpply-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153054

Case-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146038R

Now what i dont get is that DDR2 or DDR3 thing. What does it do?


----------



## themisiek1 (Aug 20, 2007)

No I meant all my hard drives are 7200 RPMs. I know the raptors are 10K RPM. They even have 15K RPM.


----------



## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

Ddr2 and ddr3 are the types of ram that go into the pc. Ddr3 is the newest, fastest ram and most people don't have this yet as its freaken expensive but its freaken fast. It also consumes less power I believe.


----------



## Flipdan92 (Jan 20, 2008)

Ok, ill try to get DDR3's then since i have 4,500$ for the computer im about to build. 

Anyone want to tell me how and what Liquid Cooler i should buy


----------



## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

i would say a dangerden or a swiftech system


----------

