New Computer Help Needed

[mr chris]

Hi,
Ive just realiszed that my computer is going to need replacing in the next year.
I have had her for nealy 4 years now and i have upgraded her in a few deptments as the years have ticked by.
Namely a new PSU, 3 new Graphics cards over the years and more RAM.
But i have desided to bit the bullet so to speak and purchase a new one.
I have aloted a year to save up some funds to fund the new computer.
I have not a clue when it comes to computers really my upgrades that i done to this one have all been done after taking advice from freinds and members of this froum.

Im looking for a Top end gaming rig that will last for a while and be easy to upgrade as time goes on.

So what i wanted people's advice on was how is the best way to go about getting the best rig?
Do i buy one out of the store?
Do i buy one off the Internet?

Thanks for any help.

[CaptainHaplo]

Mr.Chris,

Honestly I would say save for the months you allotted, then with about a month or 2 to go, give a ballpark figure on what your budget is. The market changes often - but USUALLY the best bet if you have the skill is to buy the pieces and put the box together yourself. The reasoning is both money - since you can get the best part for the best price, as well as it gives you a knowledgeable foundation for later, if things start screwing up.

Right now folks could give you all kinds of parts to buy, but by the time you have the money saved, the equipment will have changed as well. Best wait till your close to buying before we get to that point.

I will say that unless the market changes drastically, your best bet will be internet purchases of the equipment, with places like newegg.com and tigerdirect.com being good starting sources. Pricewatch.com is also usable though you run the risk of dealing with companies that may not be as reputable.

[mr chris]

Have been doing a little bit of looking around at some of the high end gaming systems avaible at a few of these sites.

www.meshcomputers.com

www.pcspecialist.com

www.cube247.co.uk

www.alienware.co.uk

After picking a few of there setups and tweaking it a bit. I have come to the conclusion im not going to get much change out of £3500.
Which if im honest is about what i expected.
So its down to some hard saving so i can have a system that will fly through SH3 and eventually SH4 on the highest settings, and some of the other demaning games like Emipire Total War that will no doubt come out while im saving.

[Reece]

Your main choice will have to be either:
Intel & nVidia
AMD & ATI
I chose the latter purely for support, not as fast as Intel but still very good.:yep:
Most people don't know that AMD is having financial difficulties, nothing to do with the latest recession, though doesn't help, but because there CPU's don't perform as well as Intel!:oops: But just imagine if the company folded! you would no longer have the competition & the price of computers would skyrocket & quality would drop, horid thought, would be like Windows, Microsoft have no competition, that's why the price is ridiculous!!:nope: Getting a little off track here Mr Chris, but just had to say something!:lol:

[FIREWALL]

Build your own. It's not that hard. :yep:

[Onkel Neal]

Have been doing a little bit of looking around at some of the high end gaming systems avaible at a few of these sites.

www.meshcomputers.com (http://www.meshcomputers.com)

www.pcspecialist.com (http://www.pcspecialist.com)

www.cube247.co.uk (http://www.cube247.co.uk)

www.alienware.co.uk (http://www.alienware.co.uk)

After picking a few of there setups and tweaking it a bit. I have come to the conclusion im not going to get much change out of £3500.
Which if im honest is about what i expected.
So its down to some hard saving so i can have a system that will fly through SH3 and eventually SH4 on the highest settings, and some of the other demaning games like Emipire Total War that will no doubt come out while im saving.

Dang man, that's a lot of $$$ Do you really need that much computer?

[stabiz]

No he doesnt, those prizes are plain scary!

1000£ should be enough to get a Formula 1 PC. (If you build it yourself) That number is Norwegian krone switched to pounds, but Norway is supposed to be a prizy country so I cant see it be more expensive in the UK.

Btw, with Alienware you pay for alot of useless stuff, like the custom (and ugly) cases.

[stabiz]

This is my next build:

Radeon HD 4870 512MB (allready have this one): approx 200£
Some mobo: 100£
RAM: 50£
Core2Duo E8600: 200£
Case: 100-150£ (Lian Li for me)
PSU: 750W Corsair: 100£
HD: 2x Samsung Spinpoint F1 500GB: 100£

Thats 900£. I might have messed up the currency-thingy a bit, but not more than 10%, so 3500£ is totally unneccesary.

[Wolfehunter]

If you got the money and don't like to play with computer components then go with alienware.

Alienware makes best quality computers and uses the latest technologies. BUT you will pay for it. Their not cheap.

They get stuff one else can get. I wish I had that kind of cash because I would by from them only.

When it comes to POWER Gaming they have it.

Goodluck dude.:up:

[stabiz]

What do they get no one else gets?

[CaptainHaplo]

Custom built makers like Alienware have a tendency to add in the "newfangled" hardware that few people use. Think Physix cards for a recent example. I myself was sold on them - but you notice there isnt a big call for them now.

Honestly, your paying for a year of support and the brand name. If you don't want to build a box yourself - check with local pc firms. Often you can either provide them the parts and they will put it all together for you, or let them get the parts and build it. If you provide it all, most reasonable small companies will only charge you an hour or so to put it all together because it doesnt take long.

If you want to pay 3500 or more - go ahead - but your not going to get the best gaming rig if you go with a "prebuilt package". Spend 1500+ and get something that will smoke a "stock" Alienware machine.

[Wolfehunter]

Custom built makers like Alienware have a tendency to add in the "newfangled" hardware that few people use. Think Physix cards for a recent example. I myself was sold on them - but you notice there isnt a big call for them now.

Honestly, your paying for a year of support and the brand name. If you don't want to build a box yourself - check with local pc firms. Often you can either provide them the parts and they will put it all together for you, or let them get the parts and build it. If you provide it all, most reasonable small companies will only charge you an hour or so to put it all together because it doesnt take long.

If you want to pay 3500 or more - go ahead - but your not going to get the best gaming rig if you go with a "prebuilt package". Spend 1500+ and get something that will smoke a "stock" Alienware machine.They also get latest tech. Stuff other companies have to wait in line for.

I don't know about there hardware issue. I haven't readup on that but I'm surprised to hear this.

Did they loose there quality?:hmm: I haven't been keeping up with them last 2 years so I don't know.

[mr chris]

Wow this thread has come to life.
Guys i was just listing what i had looked at.
I dont really wish to have a pre bulit system from a big company as i know i would be paying over the odds.
But i dont really wish to bulid my own as i would no doubt bugger it up.
I was looking on some sites and i found this one where you get to confiurge a PC from scratch.
http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/

What do you all think?

I know what i was talking about earlier is alot of cash but i just wanted a computer that would smoke most games and be very upgradeable for many years.

[={FH}=Paddy]

Mr Chris, I have a perfect conditioned “antique” Commodore 64 that I’m willing to part with for a mere +/- £3000!! I will even throw in immensely challenging game of “Paddle Tennis” for free! :up: For a meagre additional fee of £500, I shall add in its stunning monitor, despite it being the size of an average fridge do not be fooled, this unit comes with a very funky cool “green back lite” glow and the text looks almost real!! :smug:

This is cutting edge technology as far as gaming devices are concerned!
I’ll even send it over to you free of charge……….just send me on the cash mate!! :p


(Good luck with the rig building, it's fun!)

[goldorak]

There is nothing complicated in building your own pc.
Its like playing with lego or meccano.
Read the instructions and assemble the components.
I build my first pc in late 1999, 2 hours assembling the components.
Just to be careful and when you get the hang of it it becomes second nature and you will save big $$$$$$.
It is worth it.
Anybody can do it. ;)

[mr chris]

You guys are making seriously think about buliding the PC myself.
Its just that if you get someone to bulid it for you. You get peace of mind that if anything should go wrong you can take it back and get it sorted out.
If i built myself i would be out of pocket if i screwed up when buliding the rig.

[CaptainHaplo]

Mr Chris,

Sure you run a small risk of screwing things up. But to be honest, as long as you dont break a board in half or something, your not going to burn anything up. Its simply a matter of paying attention to what your doing. Heck, keep your existing machine running and start the build - any questions you have you can post here. So it might take you a day or 2 to put it all together if you really are unsure and want to be supercareful.

Ok I will grant you that you also don't have a "tech guy" to fall back on. But then again - once you do it the first time - you will know how everything fits together and be comfortable opening up the box if needed and doing whatever needs to be done.

I would say this though, make sure your comfortable with installing whatever OS your going to use from scratch. Often, this is more time consuming and a pain in the a$$ than putting the box itself together.

[stabiz]

Thats a good idea! Keep the old box and post pics here if you are stuck or unsure, there are tons of tech guys here.:up:

[goldorak]

The thing to watch out for is static electricity.
Always touch the graphics card, the memory modules, the expansion cards from the edge. Never touch the integrated circuits, you potentially run the risk of damageing them. Before starting the build, buy one of those 5 $ antistatic wrist bands.

[mr chris]

Thanks for the tips and advice guys.
Very much aprecatied indeed.
Now it is down to the hard job of saving up the cash.

[mr chris]

Hi guys
After a few weeks of mulling over my computers needs.
I have decided to tone back my original ideas.
I have been looking around on for a good rig that i would be able to afford in about 2 months. My old rig is really staring to feel its age.

This is one that really caught my eye.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-113-OK

On the options at the top i went for.
Case: Antec 1200
OS: Vista 64bit Ultimate OEM.
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 LGA775 'Wolfdale' "Overclocking E0 Stepping" 3.33GHz Overclocked to 4.00GHz
Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048MB GDDR5 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI



The company overclockers i have done business with them before an was impressed.
Also i have found it hard to find someone who had a bad word to say about them.

All thoughts on the rig above are most welcome.
Thanks guys.:up:

[Reece]

On the options at the top i went for.
Case: Antec 1200
OS: Vista 64bit Ultimate OEM.
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 LGA775 'Wolfdale' "Overclocking E0 Stepping" 3.33GHz Overclocked to 4.00GHz
Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048MB GDDR5 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI
Sounds good Mr Chris, if it's only 2gb with Vista 64, just ask them to throw another 2gb of ram in and it's a done deal!;)

[mr chris]

Thanks Recce.
It comes with 4GB of Corsair DDR2 Ram.

[YukonJack_AK]

Based on the build I just finnished for my roommate... I would look into The Intel Core 2 Quad and the Intel DP45SG MoBo. ;) With this combo you're getting a FSB of 1333Mhz and the MoBo is DDR3! Cost was minimal... like $230 for the processor and $170 for the MoBo. Went with a 'middle of the road' graphics card ($100) - ATI Diamond 4850 (512Mb GDDR3) cause he's not a huge gamer but plays MS Flight Sim X and after it was all set up at 1440x900 I was getting 45FPS on MSFSX, 60+ FPS on Call of Duty 4, and 70+ FPS on HalfLife Orange Box. I'm an AMD/NVidia guy - but have to say that I was impressed... especially for the price.;)

[mr chris]

Have changed the rig i went for in the end this what should be next to me in a month or so time.
Have upgraded the memory to 8GB
Any thoughts are welcome.



- Antec 1200 case
- Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 LGA775 'Yorkfield' 2.83GHz 12MB-cache (1333FSB) Processor Overclocked to 3.30GHz.
- Arctic Freezer 7 pro CPU Cooler
- Arctic Silver 5 Heatsink compound
- Asus Rampage Formula Intel X48 (Socket LGA775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
- Corsair Dominator 4GB PC2-8500 CAS5 (4x2GB)
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache
- ATi Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048MB GDDR5 HDTV/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) DirectX 10 Graphics Card
- LG GGC-H20L Blu-Ray/HD DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black)
- Corsair TX 750W Next Generation Power Sup

[Reece]

That's one Kick-Ass machine Mr Chris!!:up:

[Red Heat]

I personaly think you are ready to "fly", Mr. Chris... :lol:
I think will have a pc for many years with out any kind of problem to run all the games from this new wave!

[AVGWarhawk]

She will kick a$$ with your games. Quad is the way to go because the future is going that way. Same with 64 bit. Nothing like the smell of fresh hardware warming up:smug:

[mr chris]

Cheers guys.
Thanks for your help as im not the brightest when it comes to computers.
Really cant wait to get it. My current setup is a nearly 4 years old off the shelf Dell, and the only thing that has been upgraded is the PSU and the Graphics card. And that was nearly 2 years ago.
Im hoping this rig means a end to playing SH3 / CoH and the Total war series at low settings. Im looking forward to being able to play the games the way they are meant too be played.

Just need to see the back of this month as the wife went mad in the sales buying loads of stuff for the new quarter.
So fingers crossed next month i should have the cash together.
Then i will be a very happy man.
Will keep you updated and when it finaly arrives i will post some pics.

[mr chris]

Yeah!!
My new rig and monitor have arrived.!!

Have gone from a pentium 4 Dell to this.

- Antec 1200 case
- Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 LGA775 'Yorkfield' 2.83GHz 12MB-cache (1333FSB) Processor Overclocked to 3.50GHz.
- Arctic Freezer 7 pro CPU Cooler
- Arctic Silver 5 Heatsink compound
- Asus Rampage Formula Intel X48 (Socket LGA775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
- Corsair Dominator 8GB PC2-8500 CAS5 (4x2GB)
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache
- ATi Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048MB GDDR5 HDTV/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) DirectX 10 Graphics Card
- LG GGC-H20L Blu-Ray/HD DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black)
- Corsair TX 750W Next Generation Power Supply

My new monitor
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-013-AS&groupid=17&catid=949&subcat=

Have already started to upgrade it a little.
I brought another ATi Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048MB GDDR5 to crossfire with the one i already have installed.
And a CoolerMaster Real Power 1250w Power Supply to power them both.
Am just waiting till they arrive to install them both.
Also i will be getting two of these beauties which i will use to power the operating system.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-014-OC&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=910

Will post some pic of the new rig tonight.
Just want to thank all the guys on here for the advice with the purchase of the new rig.:up:

[FIREWALL]

Congrats Chris :woot:

Wish you many years of trouble free enjoyment with that HOT rig. :salute:

Is that the screensaver on your monitor. :haha:

[AVGWarhawk]

Good deal. I hope you enjoy it! :yeah:

[mr chris]

As promised here are a few shots of the new rig and screen.
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa286/MrChris99/024.jpg

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa286/MrChris99/028.jpg

[Contact]

I would say it's a money wasting to build this kind of rig..
Unless you do upgrades once in a decade :)

Whoops, reviewed prices of your parts here. And It's not so expensive that I thouht in first place, looks like balanced choice :)

[Castout]

A mighty PC......you got all of us jealous :yeah:
Have you tried tackling Empire Total War on that machine?




I'm still waiting for Empire Total war to hit the store here sigh.....

[Castout]

And It's not so expensive that I thouht in first place, looks like balanced choice :)

Never buy a pre assembled PC. Always build your own PC. Save lots of money and get ultra mighty PC!.

[Contact]

Never buy a pre assembled PC. Always build your own PC. Save lots of money and get ultra mighty PC!.

Never bought pre assembled pc. I like to choose its parts, install and test them by myself :)

[mr chris]

A mighty PC......you got all of us jealous :yeah:
Have you tried tackling Empire Total War on that machine?




I'm still waiting for Empire Total war to hit the store here sigh.....

Yeah i have Empire installed. It runs like silk even with all the settings on ultra. Though im suffering with Ctd's with the latest patch.
Can't wait to see how it goes once i get the other card in crossfire and the new PSU in there.:)

[Reece]

Looks like a nice rig Mr Chris, love the fans!!:yeah: How about a shot of the rear & the guts.:yep:

[mr chris]

Looks like a nice rig Mr Chris, love the fans!!:yeah: How about a shot of the rear & the guts.:yep:

Will do mate tried the other day but the lighting in the room is not great. Will give it another go tonight.