I need a new system.

Well watching Ian's addiction to World of warcraft showed me that I really need a new computer.

I need some recommendations.

Should I build or buy. What sort of components do I have to make sure I get.

I want to be able to play any game I want. Any machine can handle word processing and email. I also want the capability to do some digital video editing in the future.

I was looking at Alienware but I am afraid I may be paying too much for a shiny case. Also I got lost in the maze of upgrades.

I would like to keep the cost under 2 grand.

Help me out you nerds.

Check out the foruims at Anandtech.com. Lots of good information for parts and first time builders.
Good luck! For 2K you can build a GREAT system and have some money for a monitor

BUILD!!!! ALL THE WAY!!!

Here is an idea for a killer system:

Aspire X-SuperAlien 21 Silver ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Front USB, Firewire and Audio - 500-Watt Power Supply
- $175.99

Asus A8V Deluxe Via Socket 939 ATX Motherboard and AMD Athlon 64 3400+ Processor - $279.99

2 sticks - Ultra 512MB PC3200 DDR 400MHz Memory CL3 @ $49.00 ea. - $99.98

Sapphire Radeon X800 XT/ 256MB GDDR3 / AGP 8X / VGA / DVI / VIVO / Platinum Edition Video Card - $549.99

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Sound Card - $199.99

Maxtor / 160GB / 7200 / 8MB / ATA-133 / EIDE Hard Drive - $99.99

Toshiba 16x Dual Layer DVD Burner and 16x DVD ROM OEM(comes with two seperate drives - one DVD-R and one DVD-RW) - $89.99

Logitech MX Duo Cordless Multimedia Keyboard and Mouse Combo - $59.99

NEC LCD1912 / 19-inch / 1280 x 1024 / Silver / LCD Monitor - $399.99

That is a KILLER gaming system for a total of $1955.90 (+ tax and shipping unfortunately )

All prices were taken from Tiger Direct's website as a basis. You can find cheaper prices on the same items at places such as pricewatch.com, newegg.com, ebay, etc... This is only a base from where you can build from.

I agree...if you are comfortable doing it, build. The only thing I would add to that price list is software. Unless you already own it, then it's a non-issue.

For what I wanted, a high end box for Java and web development, I couldn't build it cheaper than dell could sell it to me. I watched the "As Advertised" section on Dell, gotapex.com and Bensbargains.net Got a 3.4Ghz with 512MB 533Mhz ram, 250GB SATA Drive, Dual DVD/DVD+-RW drives, XP Media Center, Raedon X300, 19" LCD, 5.1 speakers 3 year warranty & support for $1100 to my door. I could come close to building something similar for near that price, but when shipping was included and I figured the value of the warranty it's way over.

Look around, Dell is really giving some killer deals lately. They had some on their XPS line which is their gaming line when I was looking that weren't bad.

Building machines is fun, but it's hard to beat someone like Dell's prices when you figure the discounts they get on everything.

The only reason I build my own is so I can do it a little at the time. It's hard to throw down $1100 at once, but slowly building up a new system $50-100 at a time isn't so bad.

If I had the money to blow, I'd go with a Dell XPS, hands down. Definitely the most bang-for-your-buck. Alienware desktops have a bit of a history for being horribly unreliable. They do have some nice laptops, though.

Here's a killer set-up for you right here -

Wow!!

What a steal at that price!

Email Superjens. Let him build you a system and send it to you. NOBODY does a better superPC than him. (written from my 3.06 SuperJP special that ROCKS)

Lightning-fast 20mhz microprocessor MS-DOs 3.3 and virtually-simultaneous data transfer between peripherals. The funny thing is I can remember when I would have DROOLED for that system!

Brief Tech-support story:

My former boss was one of Bruce Carlson's first customers. Whenever the system would crash, Bruce would drive to Charleston, WV area from Maysville, KY personally to fix it, usually by writing new code on the spot. That was back in the "good-old days". Now THAT is what I call tech support.

I would consider having someone build one for me. I wonder If I have met jens.

So Just out of the box what is my best option. A dell, Gateway or an area 51

If you really want to go the route of the Super Computer....I have a Packard Bell 386SX-16mhz I can sell ya!! Fully operational!!!! Even has updated RAM (4mb) and a 200mb harddrive!!! Make me an offer!!!

Crap the more I read the more confused I get. I just want to order one from somewhere. I was close to pulling the trigger on a dell gen 4 but I cheesed at the last second. I can't make up my damn mind.

Ok here is what I am considering right now
What do yall think.



Dell Dimension XPS Series - Gen 4 Pentium® 4 Processor 550 with HT Technology (3.40GHz, 800 FSB) MP348H

Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition WHXP

Memory FREE UPGRADE! 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz

Keyboard Dell Wireless Keyboard and Optical Mouse

Video Card 256MB PCI Express™ x16 Nvidia® GeForce 6800 GTO Graphics Card

Hard Drive FREE UPGRADE! 160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive(7200RPM)w/ Native Command Queuing 160SP

Floppy Drive and Additional Storage Devices 3.5 in Floppy Drive FD

Network Interface Integrated Gigabit Ethernet IN [430-0742] 13

Modem No Modem Requested N

Document Management Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0

CD or DVD Drive Dual Drives: 48x CD-RW Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ double layer write capable

Sound Cards Sound Blaster Audigy™ 2 ZS (D) Card w/Dolby 5.1,

Speakers Dell 5650 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System with Subwoofer

Productivity Software WordPerfect®, Powerful Word Processing

Security Software McAfee SecurityCenter with VirusScan, Firewall, Spyware Removal, 15-months

Digital Music Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software

Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options 1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr At-Home Service, and 1Yr Technical Support

Operating System Enhancements Combo: Microsoft® Plus! for Windows XP and Digital Media Edition

TOTAL: $2,127.00

so what do yall think

Ivan,

From past experience I can recommend a company named Velocity Micro. I purchased my recent system from them and they rocked, both in build quality and customer service. They are located in Richmond Viginia but the good thing is, if your computer needs warranty maintenance they will contract out a local service person to physically visit your place of residence to repair the machine.

The good thing about this company is that they use off the shelf products when constructing your computer. They DO NOT use proprietary hardware in any way shape or form so you know exactly what the specs/performance of your hardware will be. They will also tune your computer to your specific needs when they build it.

I've had my computer for over a year and have not encountered any issues with it. This is very important to me because I have a freelance design business that depends on a trustworthy and dependable computer. I can honestly say that Velocity Micro has delivered on their promise of quality.

Here's the link if you're interested in them.
Velocity Micro Home Page...

I haven't researched the new technology in wireless devices but when I was shopping for a computer I learned that wireless keyboards and mice were not adequate for gaming. There was some latency issues that interfered in the faster paced games. Just an FYI.

PS - The technology may be better now but I thought I should share this tidbit with you since you expressed an interest in PC gaming.

PSS - You expressed concern with paying extra for a shiny case. Companies like AlienWare and Velocity Micro are higher priced but from my research they offer a better product. Think of it this way, you order an Xterra from Nissan built from the ground up using quality after market parts which will be warrantied in full. To me, that was worth the extra $250 I paid to Velocity Mirco. Plus, I was able to get the top of the line video card that was released 2 weeks prior to my computer being built. Pretty cool.

Anyway, good luck and keep us informed as to which direction you went.

As much as I hate to say it, if you want the best display for video editing, a CRT is better than an LCD.

I'd use this as inspiration:

http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/system-guide-200411.ars/4

and build my own. newegg.com is your friend

I'd say you can do better from Dell than that particular deal. They had a similar config for under $1500 a couple weeks back.

You might also want to consider the 8400. Unless you decide to go with the P4 Extreme Edition, the only advantages the XPS offers are a bit more expandability due to a higher output powersupply and better cooling along with an extra PCI slot, and firewire ports.

For me I didn't see the value in the XPS. I'll probably end up upgrading the video card, and probably adding an additional HD. I didn't have any need for firewire, and IMO, 3 PCI slots are more than I need.

I'd suggest just watching the sites like gotapex.com and BensBargains.net, also make sure to check out the newspaper deals in the "as advertised" section of Dell's website. TV deals are all low-end, but they have some nice deals under newspaper where they're throwing in disk upgrades or something. Dell seems to have cycles, they'll have great deals one week, then they'll cool off for a couple. If you can handle waiting, you can get a stellar deal.

If you're sold on that XPS configuration, you can get that machine with a couple upgrades, including the 250 MB HD and a 3 year warranty for $1500.

Apply this coupon (F1B0649QN51B2Z) to this system

You'll want to upgrade the video and the speakers to match the system you had configured. I'd also consider the $40 to upgrade to a 320GB RAID-0 array. This will give you a nice performance boost.

Well that cinched it dell system is on the way. NOBODY tell me if it sucks. The money is spent.

Oh Damn Ivan Wish I had seen this sooner.

The XPS is plagued with a TH5 virus vulnerability that enables a hacker to take over and EXE file and use it to thier advantage.

That includes deleting the windows directory and turning your new PC into a rock.

That also does not include the latency issues with the bus speed on the RAM, not to mention the Raid configuration is flawed beyond all belief.

J/K