Buying Gaming Rig, $1,500-$1,900 US

[norcal313]

Afternoon all,

I had a custom build for the last 2 years, and I'm constantly having issues with it. I don't have the time or knowledge to keep current on all the problems.

I've decided to buy a new gaming PC, with a budget of $1500-1900 US. Many people recommended CyberPower, and I've heard Dell has made some great improvements in the gaming PC market.

I'll be playing some FPS, and Diablo III once it's released. I enjoy playing with the highest visual quality as possible, and I'd like to keep it that way.

Would any of you happen to have any additional suggestions as to which company offers a great gaming PC for the best price, considering options included? I'm probably going with Intel's Core i7 cpu, so 6 GB RAM and a GPU with at least 512 mem.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Muffin Man]

dont buy from dell, their "gaming" pc's are overpriced.

cyperpower or ibuypower would be your best bets for getting good parts in prebuilt pc's.

but you would get more bang for your buck if you were to build your own.

would you consider building your own? you'd get better parts everytime.

edit: also, would you need a monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc?

 

[Slaymate]

As far as buying a Pre-Made Factory Computer, your taking a risk with any of them. If something goes wrong you have to deal with them just like you would deal with the manufacturer if you built it yourself. Check out this link and see if it looks like you can handle the tasks. If so I'm sure you'll get plenty of help picking out all the "Right" Parts

Build a PC - Introduction to Building your PC - PCitYourself.com

 

[norcal313]

Thanks for the replies. I've considered building my own, I may still, but I'm highly considering just buying one.

I'll check out the link.

 

[myowngod]

honestly man, building your own is THE way to go. I had a similar price range when I first started looking for a new comp. I looked at dell XPS, alienware, cyberpower, etc... then I found this site and xtremesystems.org.... prior to building my own, the most I had done was swap out some RAM and install a CD-RW drive, It is much easier than you would imagine, and much more rewarding. I had some tiny issues, posted up on here, and had the thing up and running in one day because of this forum. Plus if I ever needed to do anything/replace anything, I knew my way around it... much more satisfing, and its way more fun than buying a pre-built. Definitely worth a shot if you ask me...

and yes, the first go around your wire management will suck, and it could be neater looking.. but give it time , im on my second build, this one has watercooling, with UV blue tubes glowing and UV blue wires and crap... its a horrible (read: expensive) yet awesome hobby now, that I never would have found had it not been for this site.

 

[Burn]

i agree with everyone else. build you own, it really isnt too hard. i was like 10 when i built my first pc

 

[GreenMachine]

Build your own. It's the only way. Worst case you should at least order all your parts, then use a pc store near you to assemble them for you (if you reeealy don't want to yourself). Should cost an hour of labor only which will be only a part of the amount of money you'll be saving by ordering the parts yourself. DO IT.

 

[norcal313]

Here's what I got so far:

Case: CM Elite 310 $39.99
PSU: Antec 750W ATX12V $119.99
CPU: Intel i7 920 Nehalem $279.99
Cooling System: Liquid, haven't decided (looking for suggestions)
MoBo: Asus P6T Deluxe V2 Intel x58: $289.99
RAM: 3x2GB Corsair Dominator DDR3 1600 $179.00
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 285 2GB $402.00
HD1: WD Velociraptor 150GB $179.99
HD2: WD Caviar 1TB $99.99
DVD R/W: LG $24.99
BluRay: Lite-On $89.99
Sound Card: SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio 24-bit $54.99
OS: Vista Home Premium 64-bit $224.99

So I have $1985.90 in parts, minus a water cooling system. I priced the same computer out on CyberPower and their total, including watercooling and a 3 year warranty is $2011.00.

It just doesn't seem like doing it myself is worth it anymore...

 

[myowngod]

... where to start my friend...

First.. the cyberpower watercooling is crap compared to a good setup.. eliminate that immediately..

go with a corsair 750TX
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies - $115
OZC platinum 1600 RAM Newegg.com - OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK - Desktop Memory - $105
trade out the raptor for a WD black 640 gb drive, nearly the same performance, less money. - $70
you dont need a sound card unless you have an awesome audio system, mobo sound is fine. - free
skip vista, go with the windows 7 RC (free), or if you do get it, dont bother with premium... - free

we can easily take your 2000 dollar build down to 1500 + water if you want to.. but you will probably want a full tower case...

totally worth it long run though, I have a similar setup... pushing 4.4ghz on my i7 on water.. check it out here: http://www.techist.com/forums/f76/begins-new-build-project-hafshell-204821/index6.html for some inspiration...

oh and unless you have a very large monitor, spend 300 on a 1gb 285... and save yourself 100 dollars...

AND unless you want some serious overclock... or you are like me and love tinkering with crap... skip water all together and get a nice air cooler... Newegg.com - Xigmatek THOR'S HAMMER HDT-S126384 CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks ... with 2 powerful fans...

 

[norcal313]

Thank you for your input myowngod, I truly appreciate your insight.

I'll play around with your suggestions, as for water, any ideas on something I could use? My current monitor is a decent 23" display.

Nice build you have there, I'm looking forward to getting my machine put together, trying my hardest to not be impulsive with my purchase.