New Comp.

Serry

Obliviot
I might be interested in buying a new comp. in the next few months and I was wondering if its better to go pre-assembled blah blah or should I just go parts and do a homebuilt? I dont really have any experience with putting a comp. together myself, but I do have quite a few friends that would be more than willing to help. I really like the alienware styling but are they really as good as the price merits? Any advice or help would be awesome.

Edit: I mostly use my comp. for gaming and graphics applications like photoshop also would like to get into maya and other 3D proggies. ^_^

Thanks :)
 

Baloh

Obliviot
My first computer was an alienware, bought it when I Knew nothing about a computer. Yes, it ran great for games at the time I bought it, but yes, I think it was way overpriced and could have assembled one myself with friends. If you've got your friends to help you, you should be able to make a high power gaming system without going alienware or other gaming-geared companies.

I know the next computer I'll be buying will be one that I will build.
 

Nosebiter

Obliviot
Alienware isn't worth it, other then for the dubious bragging rights of saying you spent more on your computer then anyone else you know.

I would build your own computer personally. If you are an Intel guy, let me know I can help you pick hardware out to run a fierce system. Additionally I can show you all the performance tweaks that Alienware charges hundreds of dollars for. :D
 

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
Nosebiter said:
Alienware isn't worth it, other then for the dubious bragging rights of saying you spent more on your computer then anyone else you know.

You hit it, right there. Their cases are pretty snazzy though, and I love their laptops. Serry is a girl btw :p
 

Serry

Obliviot
lol yep I'm a girl ^_^ last time I checked anyway...... I'm running a 2.6ghz P4 right now and its never treated me badly. But I do hear really good things about the AMD also. I am thinking that homebuilt is the way to go though, plus I might just go with a super cheapo case and stuff and paint it up myself. Airbrushing is awesome to do and I should have much trouble to do that once I get a compressor. ^_^ lol wayyyy off topic there.. anyways.... yeah so homebuilt it will be ^_^ if I need any help tweaking will definately give you guys a shout ^_^ lol thats if I can actually afford a new pc in the next few months that is... hehe :)
 

Mike Delorme

Obliviot
People say that AMD runs hot. I have never had a problem with my AMD overheating. I guess if you have crappy venting, but nowadays i think you have to try to get crappy venting. Plus AMD is the onlyone with a 64-bit, and AMD is cheeper than intel, and I think runs better.

If your that AMD GIRL, I would not mind helping you out with hardware to egt you set, all i need is your budget:p
 

sp1k3

Obliviot
If your looking for a Alien type looks, i would recommend you look at the X-Dreamer 2 case. It comes close to the looks, but some areas are different. Still its close enough that i consider my comp to have alienware looks :p
 

Muddy

Obliviot
Mike Delorme said:
People say that AMD runs hot. I have never had a problem with my AMD overheating. I guess if you have crappy venting, but nowadays i think you have to try to get crappy venting. Plus AMD is the onlyone with a 64-bit, and AMD is cheeper than intel, and I think runs better.

If your that AMD GIRL, I would not mind helping you out with hardware to egt you set, all i need is your budget:p
no amds do not run hot intels are known to run hotter. (some cores) Get a 939 AMD 64 3200+ and maybe a venice once they get more reviews. 1 gig of Ram i can help u

fyi intel is for like 3d stuff comiling and amd is for gaming
 

Will Nave

E.M.I.
Intel has definately been known for running hotter, and is the main reason that it took them so long to release their 64 bit processors. From what I've read/researched Intel is good if you are going to need to run multiple applications simutaneously. AMD is good if you are going to be using 1 or 2 applications, and do not do a lot of multitasking. (plus AMD is better on the budget ;) )

I personally like AMD for my home computer(mostly used for gaming), but I use Intel all the way at the office. I'm going to start building a media pc in the coming months and I'm probably going to chuck an AMD in there too... :D
 

Drew

E.M.I.
Help

I a, looking into building my first computer, all my others are way old and outdated i have some friends to help me and a few parts sites to buy from, tigerdirect and ncix. i actually got them off this site, can anyone recommend some more that i could look into?
 

Will Nave

E.M.I.
Xoxide
NewEgg
FrozenCPU

Try this thread for a list of other good vendors. If you find a component that you really like and want to make sure you get the best price possible run a search at Froogle and Pricewatch.

(Buyer beware though!!! I suggest you only buy from credible vendors, if they offer no support for their products or have several bad reviews from sites/consumers think twice before you buy from them.)

Good Luck!!!
 

leecho7

Partition Master
If you don't care about noise, and want some uber strong ridiculously powerful fans, let me know. I got a couple of Vantec Tornadoes that push an ungodly amount of air through, but it literally sounds like a blow dryer, but feels like a mini air conditioner. I was able to feel the air flow from those fans, inside the case all sealed and everything, about 10 feet away from the computer.

They's my babies though, will use them someday if i make a server for some reason that I can store in an isolated basement or something. If you don't want any of your old computer stuffs, give them to me.
 

Tech-Daddy

Tech Monkey
Building your PC is almost like empowering yourself. When you first get into computers, I understand the need ot purchase a working rig from someone else.

But you lear on that rig, and then you know what you want in the next machine.

I bought my first rig, and have built every one since then. You can control the $$$ that you spend for upgrades as you go! If you plan your machine well, you could handle several itterations of upgrades. Here is my point from an AMD perspective, since that is what I run.

I bought a socket 939 motherboard, as that is the pin socket that AMD has chosen to support and push out the newer products on for the forseeable future. This includes dual core processors. Same socket that will be compatable with dual coe CPU's with a BIOS update! Pretty cool!

I also bought my board with 2 PCI-E slots available, so that, should I need more video performance, I can SLI another card into my computer and boost it up rather inexpensively!

Since CPU and video are the 2 most upgraded components, with sound being a distant 3rd, my choice in motherboard will allow me multiple upgrade paths depending upon what I need.

You can makye your rig as flexable or as rigid as you want, simply through motherboard selection.

I hope this helps!
:)
 
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