I need a new computer and I'm not sure what to get. I haven't built my own computer since I was in high school and the computers I have now are basic Best Buy packages.

My biggest priority is gaming. I'm looking for best of the best. What should I get? Would it be better to buy a prebuilt PC or build it myself?

 

Build it yourself

 

calliing all comp geeks

Yeh I'm in your boat, I'll eventually get a new comp but havent bought a new one since the end of hs. I still have a pentium 400? laptop. man slow....

 

Great time to build one yourself.
1. Athlon64's 90nm Processors about to hit Store's (5-10% faster over same speed 130nm Athlon64)
2. PCI Express coming to AMD!
3. DOOM 3 and Half Life 2! woohoo thats it for now iono

 

wtf did you just say

Damn I need to start reading PC magazine again....

 

i've built 4 or 5 lately myself,,,,,

newegg.com has the best prices i've found, and GREAT shipping and customer service.

tiger direct has HORRIBLE customer service.

here's what you need, i'll leave specific suggestions to others.

motherboard: look for ATX (size), AGP8X. i like MSI and ASUS motherboards.

processor (i use intel, my 2.4G celeron is OC'd to 3G, so don't let people tell you celerons are crap)

hard drive (80G is ok, unless you're a pack rat and don't know how to clean stuff out every once in a while)

serial hard drives are'nt what they are cracked up to be, so don't waste the money.

video card (i see alot of people recommend ATI RADEON 9800 pro)

cables (for hard drive and CD rom,,,some motherboards include one EIDE cable for a hard drive, but get some round cables)

CD/DVD ROM/burner (i bought a 52x cd burner/dvd rom combo drive for $60 but you can get dvd burners now for $75)

case (up to you, but watch how many fans you can install. not many of them come with more than 1 fan already installed)

power supply alot of cases come with a power supply, but if not, get one rated for at least 350 watts.

fans case fans are'nt a real crucial decision here, just go with as many cheap fans as you can fit in the case.

RAM (i'm using 1.5G of PC2700 DDR ram. crucial brand)

O/S newegg.com has winXP pro for like $90 when you purchase hardware

not much use for floppies now, so i don't even put the 3.5" drives in my comps.

if you DO get an AMD processor, shell out as much as you can for the heatsink/fan,,,,those things run hot, and most heatsink/fan combos for them can be LOUD. another reason i go with INTEL.

if you are not going to use your old comp anymore, you COULD re-use some of the stuff like CD drive and such just to save a little money.

don't let it intimidate you! most of the stuff WILL ONLY PLUG IN ONE WAY!!! (except for the front panel connectors and front usb connector, but it's easy to figure out)

here's the latest i built (yes, i'm gonna bundle the PSU wires, and i KNOW the side panel is'nt screwed on yet!!!)

 

for gaming build it yourself. otherwise get a dell $400 jammy.

 

Thanks for the advice. Like I said, I've build computers in the past so I'm pretty confident at being able to put one together, but it's been so long since I've built one that I don't know which parts (motherboard, processor, video card) would be the best these days.

Also, a few coworkers told me that these days it's actually cheaper to buy a prebuilt system (like Alienware) than to build it myself.

I guess I'll take a look at newegg.com and see what I can put together.

 

While you could buy a premade computer, chances are it will come configured with hardware or software that you would never need or use....then you end up upgrading or changing things out, then you end up spending more in the end....this is the exact reason why I will never again purchase a premade computer....

Also, you gotta think that it would be so much more satisfying to build one from the ground up, and customize it to suit your needs....

 

Good points.

What would you guys recommend for motherboard, processor, and video card? Any reason to pick one over another?

Anything I should avoid?