Choosing a Computer

[tofudude]

i'm looking for a computer to use as a platform. I don't have enough experiance to build one from scratch. So im just wondering what would be a good place to build from? i was looking at dell but from what i hear its not easy to expand on it

 

[WR2]

looking for a computer to use as a platform

Something to stand on? What are you going to use it for? And what is your budget?
You probably over-estimate the trouble of building one yourself. It's really not that hard.
It's only like five or six parts you need to install in a case and hook up. Here is an example

 

[aford10]

What you plan to use it for is important info.

 

[clairvoyant christopher]

Here are some a good specs on this new Alienware Aurora it has 875 watts of power and it cost about $2,104.00:

Print Summary Add to My Wish List Add To Shopping Cart
Compatibility Instructions
REVIEW MY SUMMARY
Congratulations! Your system is ready to be built.
Software & Services
CHASSIS COLOR Lunar Shadow, Alienware Aurora Chassis edit
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ i7 920 2.66GHz (8MB Cache) Quad Core Processor edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium (64 bit) + Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade Coupon - Engli edit
VIDEO CARD Single 1.8GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 295 edit
MEMORY 12GB Triple Channel 1067MHz DDR3 edit
HARD DRIVE 750GB - SATA-II, 3GB/S, 7200RPM, 16MB Cache edit
OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 24X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability edit
SOUND CARD Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Titanium edit
MONITOR No Monitor edit
KEYBOARD Alienware Multi-Media Keyboard edit
MOUSE Alienware Optical Mouse, MG100 edit
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis edit
My Accessories
ALIENFX AlienFX Color, Quasar Blue edit
AVATAR Alien Cyborg edit
WALLPAPER Alienhead Chrome Red edit
AUTOMATIC UPDATES Automatic Updates: Enabled edit
My Software & Accessories
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
Alienware Aurora Alienware Aurora Desktop
COOLING OPTION Alienware™ High-Performance Liquid Cooling
Adobe Software Adobe Acrobat Reader

I plan on purchasing this computer myself.

 

[aford10]

^ From those specs, way way overpriced. There's no reason for 12GB of RAM. It doesn't include a monitor. It only has 1 optical drive. You are paying a premium for the alienware name.

 

[clairvoyant christopher]

The price is a little high, but if purchased you would have one of the latest gaming computers that will last you for many years. The graphics card alone is one of the top of the line graphic cards that Nvidia makes. And you would not have to worry about upgrades for a long time.

 

[aford10]

That system can be built for ~ $1K less than what they are charging.

 

[clairvoyant christopher]

That system can be built for ~ $1K less than what they are charging.

You said that"There's no reason for 12GB of RAM." Then how much Ram should a gaming computer have?

 

[aford10]

There's virtually no benefit above 6GB. Most users won't use more than 4GB.

 

[clairvoyant christopher]

There's virtually no benefit above 6GB. Most users won't use more than 4GB.

Can to much Ram slow down your computer?

 

[aford10]

It won't slow down the PC. But only so much RAM is used. After that, it's simply a waste of $$.

 

[tofudude]

well i was talking along the lines of like a dell or hp some thing for school and light gaming like left4dead or call of duty 4. Its a real pain trying to see whats works with what hence why i dont want to build it

 

[tofudude]

and i'm trying to keep it under $550

 

[swordfish1030]

listen to these guys and build one. I recently built a quad core.
q9550
4gm mem
2hd's
2 8800gtx video cards and all the other stuff in a computer. It was truly very easy!!!

 

[Mousemonkey]

Best answer selected by mousemonkey.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey