Build Myself or Buy?

[jljr222]

Hey guys, I am new to the forums and was reading some previous posts made by various members. I am not the one to build my own PC, I fear all the things that can go wrong and all the horror stories from my friends when dealing with the manufacturer. Well, it seems the bulk of you say "build it!" however, where could a first time builder like me get a good guide online (paid if need be) to start from. Also, what are some recommended parts supplies (other than newegg).

If buying a good gaming PC is a good idea, tell me what are some good gaming companies. I have been heavily looking at VigorGaming, ABS, and Velocity Micro. Alienware is out of the question, they just seem overpriced. Any other companies.

Ah also, my budget is $2300-$2500. I plan to do this sometime in late March. Thanks guys.

- John

[sweeper2]

Dell is a good company to go with..especially around that price range...

you can get a good Dell XPS system..

[sweeper2]

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6600 (4MB L2 Cache,2.4GHz,1066 FSB)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition with re-installation CD
UPGRADE TO WINDOWS VISTA Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Home Premium from XP Media Center Edition
MEMORY 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs edit
HARD DRIVE 250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
MONITOR 20 inch UltraSharp™ 2007WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
VIDEO CARD 256MB nVidia GeForce 7900 GS
SOUND CARD Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ XtremeMusic (D) Sound Card

My Accessories
SPEAKERS Dell AS501 10W Flat Panel Attached Spkrs for UltraSharp™ Flat Panels
KEYBOARD Dell USB Keyboard
MOUSE Dell Optical USB Mouse
FLOPPY & MEDIA READER 13 in 1 Media Card Reader
MODEM No Modem

My Software
PRODUCTIVITY No productivity suite- Includes Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD
ANTI-VIRUS & SECURITY Norton Internet Security™ 2006 Edition 15-months


My Service
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1Yr Ltd Warranty and At-Home Service


ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.0
Future Operating Systems Windows Vista™ Capable
SYSTEM DETAILS 2.5MM aluminum thickness Chassis with front & back customizable LEDs
SYSTEM DETAILS 7-slot, BTX design motherboard
SYSTEM DETAILS 1 kilowatt Power Supply
SYSTEM DETAILS Tower Six-heat pipe, Copper base Heat Sink with aluminum fans
SYSTEM DETAILS Two 120mm x 38mm front fans
XPS Specialized Support XPS, Specialized Support
_________________________________

Total = 2504$ shipped ... from Dell...

[jljr222]

I already have a Dell and to be quite honest, their support isn't impressive, their product is okay for people who want a budget entertainment PC, but not really for gamers regardless of the new XPS model. Looking for a company that is purely gaming driven.

[sweeper2]

hmmm... you want to build yourself... not sure of a complete Gaming PC company besides Alienware...

Newegg would be your best choice for building it yourself...

[sweeper2]

you might try going over to www.techimo.com (sister forum), you will probably get more responses there...

you should be able to use your same screen name and password to login to the forums... (i think)

[sweeper2]

my dad uses Dell for all his stuff.. and a few years ago bought the Dell XPS with the single core 3ghz P4 and 2gb of ddr2 ram.. 6800 PCI-E video card etc.. it is a sweet twr ... he is still using it.. he uses it for mostly multimedia and bussiness, but ocasionally he plays his latest "flight simulater" game which has outstanding graphics and no studdering at all... i was quite impressed even though he only had the 6800 as a video card...

[Peter Cornstalk]

Alienware is owned by Dell now.

http://www.voodoopc.com/ is owned by HP now.

Here are gamer PCs http://www.falcon-nw.com/

[Kagetora]

I think it really depends on if you're electronics savvy. I've built around 10 computers (though about half were made out of parts from old computers) and I've really never had any problems. I have never had any problems with any manufacturers. But my brother has had so many problems setting up his computers, where he makes a tiny mistake and then cant figure out he left something unplugged, or not plugged in all the way.

[jljr222]

Originally Posted by Peter Cornstalk

Alienware is owned by Dell now.

Most of the reviews from Alienware seem scary, would hate to put myself in that position.

Anyone knows of any guides to getting started on building a PC?