Building Gaming Computer. Need simple help

minx88 · 07-13-2007, 04:21 PM

Hey everyone. I am about to go to college and my lovely grandma is going to buy me a computer to celebrate going to collge. It has to be around $2000 and that is pretty much the only limitations. I already have a "32 moniter so that is already taken care of. I think I have it down to two options. Either a Dell 410 XPS or a Hewlett-Packard - Pavilion 5600+.

From Bestbuy-
With the HP I can get a Intel® Core™2 Quad processor Q6600 , 3GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM , 640GB Serial ATA hard drive capacity (320GB x 2; 7200 rpm), High-definition TV tuner (not really needed since i will be getting free cable). That total from Best Buy is $1,139.99. Add on a BFG - GeForce 8800 GTX OC2 Graphics Card which is $649.99 (i know i can buy cheap from online stores like newegg but i need it all on one reciept) That total comes to $1789.99.

From Dell.com-
With the dell I can get a Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6700, 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz, 500GB Performance RAID 0 (2 x 250GB SATA 3Gb/s 7200 RPM HDDs), 768MB nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX. That total comes to $2,018.

For both i still have to get a good mouse, keyboard, and microsoft home and student edition. Those will total another $200+.

The reason i want to order from Dell and Bestbuy is so that i have a warranty that will cover anything if it breaks.

I am not sure which computer to get. The HP has a better processor, more HD space, more RAM, and is cheaper. But will that thing overheat with all that in there? I mean it isn't a machine meant for gaming like the XPS. The XPS also has faster RAM but will having an extra GB in the HPbe better than having less RAM but it being faster in the XPS. Also will I need to buy a power supply for the HP and/or Dell due to the huge video card? I will be ordering this within two-three weeks. I am also wondering if prices for the viedo card/processors drop even more then? ANy help would be much appreciated because this is a huge purchase that I dont want to mess up. Thanks

P.S. I will not be overclocking either one and both of these will be able to most likely run Crysis right?

fade2black2004 · 07-13-2007, 05:32 PM

i would suggest either building it yourself
or
going to a site like cyberpowerpc and having one built it will come with a warranty

ThirdLeft152 · 07-13-2007, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fade2black2004

i would suggest either building it yourself
or
going to a site like cyberpowerpc and having one built it will come with a warranty

i agree. at least go to cyberpowerpc if not build it yourself, you will get way more for your money either way.

Oreo · 07-13-2007, 06:04 PM

O nooo, thats a sin. Never spend $2000 on a pre built pc, unless its Vadim, Voodoo, or Alienware.

Build it yourself, dont worry. Its easy to do, especially with thousands of people on these forums who know exactley what to do and can give you plenty of help.

You could get twice the performance probably if you built it yourself.

azzyork · 07-13-2007, 06:34 PM

yeah i agree...build it yourself...i mean you gotta be smart, your going to college right??..lol

azzyork · 07-13-2007, 06:43 PM

your better off lookin for a computer on ebay

Invisible · 07-13-2007, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azzyork

your better off lookin for a computer on ebay

why?
i suggest buy parts, and follow directions and if not we have experts like bigaple, vernong, and sora

vernong1992 · 07-13-2007, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Invisible

why?
i suggest buy parts, and follow directions and if not we have experts like bigaple, vernong, and sora

lol i'm really stupid.... what are u talking about??

i agree on building..... i mean i'll show u those prebuilt systems for WAYYY cheaper

u could go crazy and buy it now.... but thats silly because u should wait 9 days and buy then but i expect other prices to go up as well, i recomend u buy everything except the q6600 cpu asap, and built it on the 22nd

q6600
tuniq tower 120 (look for it on svc.com)
gigabyte p35-ds3r
g-skill HZ 2gb kit (for this if u look up g-skill HZ u will get 0 finds on the search, what u need to do is look up g-skill ddr2-800 and look for black ram)
coolermaster elite 330
8800gtx
get two 320gb seagate 7200.10 HD's with a RAID0 config (HD's are really cheap nowadays

)
DVD-RW Drive, just look for the cheapest ones u can find