Gaming Computer Help?

[Foote 10+ year member]

Im looking to buy a game computer. The budget is roughly $2100 with shipping / taxes.

So far, my best find has been the Dell XPS 720 from Dell.com

The one thing I don't like about it is its pretty big. The spot im putting it in, it would stick out about 3 inches. But thats ok.

I have looked at a lot of these "you choose what you want to put in, and we build it for you"-type sites and they seem to have a ton of terrible reviews. Whilst, dell seems to have a lot of great reviews.

Included that I have definetly x-ed out due to bad reviews: Pc-infinity, cyberpowerpc, and i-buy-power.

Also: Building my own is NOT an option, because I don't know enough about it.

What I am looking for is a high performance gaming computer (I dont care if it is more than I need, or more than I will ever use --infact, I want it to be that way) So I want to go as over board as possible. And it needs to include Monitor (prefer 20 inch widescreen with good reviews), keyboard and mouse (WIRED), and a 2.1 speaker system (2 speakers, 1 sub). Also, the following components or better:

MUST BE WINDOWS XP (I have heard nothing but terrible things about VISTA)

Highly Prefer NVIDIA and INTEL over AMD-ness.

Intel Duo 3.0+ghz proc. (or quad @ 2.66 +, But not quad @ 2.4 or under)

2 GB RAM @ atleast 800 mhz (prefer 4GB, no more than 4 because will be running Windows XP)

512 MB 8800 GT Nvidia Video Card (2x is a plus, but this is the card I want)

320GB + HD @ 7200+ RPM with 16+mb Cache.

Those are the minimums I want.

If anyone knows a site, with good reviews, where that I can get an even better computer, with WINDOWS XP, and at least those components or better; that would be awesome if you could let me know.

Oh and one question I have. When looking at the Dell XPS 720, I have the option of 2 GB Corsair Dominator Ram or 4 GB Dual Channel Ram. Which is better?

Here is the copy and paste:

2GB Corsair Dominator DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz OC'd to 1066MHz-2 DIMMs

OR

4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4 DIMMs

And why?

Click to read more...

 

[Scoobydoo 5,000+ posts]

+1 for writing a coherant post

i would try to help, but i know nothing of OEM manufacturers since i have been building my own since the AMD T-Bird/Duron days

installing a video card and ram is a very simple task and you might be served better buying those seperate if that is an option, it will save you money

it sounds like the 4gb ram option is just basic ddr2, but the 2gb dominator is oc'ed from the factory. the oc'ed 2gb is probably gonna be better for gaming, but if actually run ram intensive programs such as video editing you might be better off with the normal 4gb

 

[Foote 10+ year member]

+1 for writing a coherant post
i would try to help, but i know nothing of OEM manufacturers since i have been building my own since the AMD T-Bird/Duron days

installing a video card and ram is a very simple task and you might be served better buying those seperate if that is an option, it will save you money

it sounds like the 4gb ram option is just basic ddr2, but the 2gb dominator is oc'ed from the factory. the oc'ed 2gb is probably gonna be better for gaming, but if actually run ram intensive programs such as video editing you might be better off with the normal 4gb

Ah, I see. Well I want it to be best for gaming for sure. So, If I get the XPS I'll choose dominator.

BUT---I Just discovered a new site. Its one of those "you pick what you want and we put it together"-types. It is VigorGaming.com. Unlike the other ones, however, this one has GREAT reviews. ReSellerRatings.com gives it a 9.61 / 10.0 lifetime rating (based on 172 reviews) and 51 reviews in the past six months are averaged at 9.71 / 10. This is MUCH better than previous sites like this, SO I may get one of these...

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

Alright... First off, I'm pretty sure all pre-builts have vista, and am pretty sure you will over pay for a computer with an 8800 pre-installed.

You could get a 700$ computer with all your req. and add a 300$ card, and have an awesome computer.

 

[Jmac 10+ year member]

I'm pretty sure you already made this thread a couple weeks ago ...

 

[DDeitz 10+ year member]

i would suggest learning on how to build a computer its not very hard at all a monkey could build them these days. Everything can really only plug into 1 spot and its mostly plug and play..

but same thing i dont know much about OEM systems, but im sure you will highly overpay for a good gaming rig.

you can build your own and ull be happier //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[bds0688 10+ year member]

Some people don't mind paying for warranty and customer service, something you don't really get with building it yourself. Granted, RMA's and such aren't that much of a problem, but some people have other fish to fry.

If you go with the XPS, definitely dominator. Dell offers XP on their desktops, but not laptops. So there's a plus for you.

 

[Scoobydoo 5,000+ posts]

The loss of value as soon as you open the box on an oem far outweighs the advantage of a warranty through the OEM, but if you are that pc illiterate definately get some sort of in home service

Your gonna lose about 50% of what you paid as soon as you open the box on a prebuilt mainly because the components are priced higher than buying them retail. However with a home built even after you use it you could probably still sell it for 75-80% of what you paid

$2000 Dell + just opening the box = $1000 Dell

$2000 home built + 1 month of use = $1700 home built

Walk down to your companies IT dept and yell "$200 to anyone willing to build me a pc" and you will still save money in the end and possibly make a new friend

 

[bds0688 10+ year member]

^^Also good points.

 

[tRidiot 10+ year member]

You would not believe how easy it is to build a PC from the ground up.

If you want, I can help you out, or there's a ton of people out there who could. I hate seeing people overpay astronomically for shit with a pre-fab machine. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[tRidiot 10+ year member]

Walk down to your companies IT dept and yell "$200 to anyone willing to build me a pc" and you will still save money in the end and possibly make a new friend

Quoted for ultra-****ing-truth

 

[Dingleberry 10+ year member]

You can try custom built ones.

http://www.ibuypower.com/mall/lobby-intel.asp

Then get the rest of the components from newegg e.g. monitors, speakers etc. . The net is chock full of custom built websites, voodoo, falcon northwest & everyones favorite alienware. But self built is easily the cheapest.

 

[ryan8551226 10+ year member]

Alienware = Dell just so you know.

 

[Foote 10+ year member]

You can try custom built ones. http://www.ibuypower.com/mall/lobby-intel.asp

Then get the rest of the components from newegg e.g. monitors, speakers etc. . The net is chock full of custom built websites, voodoo, falcon northwest & everyones favorite alienware. But self built is easily the cheapest.

Its obvious you didn't read the OP. FYI

 

[TulsaMike 10+ year member]

Alienware = Dell just so you know.

They might be owned by the same people but they are still completely different companies. In the end however, with alienware you are paying for a name. I can build the same alienware system for considerably cheaper.