Buy,Build... Which parts or comp?

B

bmxmonk3y

New Member
I'm new to building and have been reading alot of the 101's and i heard people saying building is getting more for what you paid for but i would not want to mess things up with the building part. I was looking to buy a computer or build one up to 1300$. Is there is particular computer to get rather than building or is building the way to go?

Another thing is if it came down to not building what would be a good computer. I was looking at Alienware area-51 5500. I would not be playing many games because i play xbox 360 but i would be working with Adobe photshop cs2 and messing around with programs like studio max.

Thanks a lot for reading and to later replies.
 
If you really don't feel like you can build a computer-DONT
You'll have more troubles than you can imagine.
Although there are many guides out there that could probably help you

Lots of people say alienwares are very overpriced and building is the way to go but if your not going to build there still good computers.

There are also places where you can customize your own computer and they will put it together for you. Im not sure how well they put it together, organize cables and such like alienware does.
I think one place is www.monarchcomputer.com

Im getting an alienware soon because i can't build my own.
Lots of people disagree but i don't really care. lol
 
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building is the way to go. its easier than you think. if you can build legos then you can build a comp its that simple.

and have you look at Computer Specs 101. since your not much into PC gaming then look at the Work Machines configs
 
Pancakes said:
If you really don't feel like you can build a computer-DONT
You'll have more troubles than you can imagine.
Although there are many guides out there that could probably help you

Lots of people say alienwares are very overpriced and building is the way to go but if your not going to build there still good computers.

There are also places where you can customize your own computer and they will put it together for you. Im not sure how well they put it together, organize cables and such like alienware does.
I think one place is www.monarchcomputer.com

Im getting an alienware soon because i can't build my own.
Lots of people disagree but i don't really care. lol
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Your very right, alienware are good computers if your willing to drop 7,000 dollars on 3-4 thousand in parts. Then your right.

Its worth the hassle that you might have to go through to build your own computer.

When you plug in your custom built computer and see it work for the first time, it feels good. You CANT get that satisfaction when you plug in your incredibly overpriced pc that all you really did to get it was whip out your credit card.
 
Encore4More said:
do u have a budget?
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yes he does
bmxmonk3y said:
I was looking to buy a computer or build one up to 1300$
Click to expand...

also since you wont be playing games on the PC i think you can go for even less than $1300. unless you need the monitor, keyboard, etc..
 
Mr.Suave said:
yes he does


also since you wont be playing games on the PC i think you can go for even less than $1300. unless you need the monitor, keyboard, etc..
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ugh... srry i missed the budget...
yea, do u need monitor, keyboard, mouse?
pff... i use photoshop on my 866MHz P3 w/ 192MB ram and it is fine (not that i recomend that)

u could get a pc 4 cheap and it work fine 4 ur purposes

this would b a'ight 4 ur purposes (cn't beleive i am recomending intel :eek: but it is cheaper dual core than AMD X2 (even tho X2 is superior) and dual core is nice for what u do )

Processor: Intel Pentium D 820 2.8GHz 800MHz FSB LGA 775 Dual Core
Motherboard: Foxconn 955X7AA-8EKRS2 ATX Intel Motherboard
RAM: pqi TURBO 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR2 667 (PC2 5400)
Harddrive: Seagate Barracuda 120GB 7200RPM
Video Card:ASUS Geforce 6200TC EN6200TC256/TD/64M Video Card
Soundcard: SABRENT SBT-SP6C Sound Card
DVD/CD Burners: NEC Black IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner
Approx: $690
 
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Nope i already got a mouse,keyboard,speakers, and moniter that i like. I have come to a conclusion that I should build one. What would be the best computer you could get for 1300. Not strictly work or game, a combination of both would be great.

Im running off a old comp that my dad had a friend build and is 900h of speed. Not fast at all so a new computer would make me very happy.

Thanks
 
The only thing with building your own computer is you have to purchase an os or it, buying one it usually comes with it. But other then that building one is much better then over spending.
 
first off your not going to get a good PC from alienware at $1300. the config in Computer specs 101 for $1300 will run you upwards to $2000-$3000 on alienware and they dont offer the X1900XT.
even if you bumbed down to the $1000-$1100. to make room for shipping, the case that you want and the os. its still better than anything youd get on alienware for the price.(compared to the Aurora 7500 and the 1gb special it still cost $1800 compared to $1100)
and plus you have this forum for any technical help.
 
Encore4More said:
pff... i use photoshop on my 866MHz P3 w/ 192MB ram and it is fine (not that i recomend that)
Click to expand...

are you running elements? or ps 7 or lower? cs2 requires a fairly nice system to run without too many blips or annoying waiting times.

bmxmonk3y, i'd recommend an x2. here's a comparison of the two brand's dual core processors: http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10442_7-6389077-1.html

for cs2, the amount of ram you have and the speed of your drives help alot. I'd recommend at least 1gb of ram (2Gb in dual channel is your best bet) and perhaps 2 hdd in raid 0 or an extra small and/or faster drive to use as a scratch disk for your photoshop files. it's not necessary, but it really helps.

for 3d stuff, the more you have the better. but since you obviously arent doing tons of it, a mid range graphics card (nvidia 6800GT, ati radeon 9800 or x800) will do good (especially with the extra RAM).
 
Pancakes said:
If you really don't feel like you can build a computer-DONT
You'll have more troubles than you can imagine.
Although there are many guides out there that could probably help you
Click to expand...
Hold on pancakes...now u have a pretty cool name and all, but i didnt know crap about computers a month ago and now im working on my own cumstom built system right now...it is NOT as hard as it sounds...i was quite suprised with how easy it was

Pancakes said:
Lots of people say alienwares are very overpriced and building is the way to go but if your not going to build there still good computers.
Click to expand...
Exactly true
 
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