New Custom Computer Building *Top PC*

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mkjaekmi

New Member
Hi, I'm new here and I recently became very interested in building my own computer. I was wondering if someone could help me out. I'm just curious as to what is one of the top computers that I can build. I see people with great computers and there usually around a $1000. To me, money is not really that big of a deal, but I won't pay like $9999, if there even is a pc like that. Anyways, my 2 main question is, what are the best pieces (hard drive, memory, motherboard, cpu, etc) that you can possibly get? I am willing to spend like $2000-$3000 just the pc alone (without including speakers, mouse, keyboard, and monitor). I would like to have the best type of computer (gaming). I am a gaming person so I need to focus alot on that part. So key facts -

- Gaming pc
- Still need the top internet browsing, work (business), music, messenger, etc.
- Willing to spend over $2000, without including mouse, keyboard, speakers, and monitor.
- Need to know what pieces to get (hard drive, memory, cpu, motherboard, etc).

Now, I understand that most of you will say that there is no best, and that it is all different for different computers. However, I am looking for a top gaming computer. A computer that basically has all (fast internet browsing, music, work, etc) but mostly gaming.

Another question. I herd that you can't just add any type of hard drive or memory in a computer because those depend on your motherboard, and it could either damage it or not work at all, am I correct? If so, how can I tell which pieces will fit with the motherboard and others that won't? Do I just put it in the motherboard and see if it fits?

My last question is, are computer like alienware really worth that much? or are you basically buying their name. I see the same pieces but it doesn't add up to THAT much.

Thank you for taking the time to read, and thank you for helping as well.
 
spanky

spanky

New Member
there is no reason to spend that much on a PC cuz it will be outdated in 6 months and you'll regret it. also welcome to Computer Forum and remember to read the rules and remember the search function is your friend.
 
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mkjaekmi

New Member
Ok thanks. Also could you answer those questions if you can.

How would I know which pieces go with which. What motherboard is good? and what's the current top cpu?

Thank You.
 
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kpxxbladexx415

New Member
although alienware is very popular in magazines, it has a BAD reputation with customer service and value. They pretty much charge you 25%-50% premium for them to make the computer over the actual cost of parts.

Truthfully, you don't need to spend $2000 on a computer all at once. If you want to stay on the top of the line you only basically need a good power supply, motherboard, processor, and graphic card. Really the Great parts are in total around $1500 if you built it yourself. You could get top of the line products at $5000-$8000 dollars, but are you willing to pay that extra for a 20% performance increase even when $1500 is more than enough? probably not. I'll give you a list of Great parts and you can look on new egg for pricing. Total it shouldnt come out above $1500 dollars.

Intel Q6600 $270
EVGA nForce 680i SLi $160
2x 1 GB PC6400 Corsair XMS2 $80
Nvidia 8800GT 512mb $300
Thermaltake Toughpower 800watt PSU $200
Creative Labs X-Fi Soundcard $100
WD 500gb SATA HD 7200RPM $100
These are the pretty much the best bang for your buck at high performance.
Everything else like DVD drives and case would probably only come out to $200

Total price : $1410

Mouse and keyboard and stuff shouldnt be much more than this.
 
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daisymtc

Active Member
kpxxbladexx415 said:
although alienware is very popular in magazines, it has a BAD reputation with customer service and value. They pretty much charge you 25%-50% premium for them to make the computer over the actual cost of parts.

Truthfully, you don't need to spend $2000 on a computer all at once. If you want to stay on the top of the line you only basically need a good power supply, motherboard, processor, and graphic card. Really the Great parts are in total around $1500 if you built it yourself. You could get top of the line products at $5000-$8000 dollars, but are you willing to pay that extra for a 20% performance increase even when $1500 is more than enough? probably not. I'll give you a list of Great parts and you can look on new egg for pricing. Total it shouldnt come out above $1500 dollars.

Intel Q6600 $270
EVGA nForce 680i SLi $160
2x 1 GB PC6400 Corsair XMS2 $80
Nvidia 8800GT 512mb $300
Thermaltake Toughpower 800watt PSU $200
Creative Labs X-Fi Soundcard $100
WD 500gb SATA HD 7200RPM $100
These are the pretty much the best bang for your buck at high performance.
Everything else like DVD drives and case would probably only come out to $200

Total price : $1410

Mouse and keyboard and stuff shouldnt be much more than this.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with you. A mid-high range PC would around $1500, there is no point to get something top of the line with a fortune, then you fine something better out within 6 months
 
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mkjaekmi

New Member
How's intel core 2 extreme and Amd Athlon FX-74? Which is better of the 2?

Also, would it be a bad idea if i basically bought the pieces in an alieanware and just customize (build) it myself?

And what's this new nvidia 8800 or w/e that's coming out? is it a motherboard? and is it good?

I need a top elite gaming computer. What would be better for my type? a amd or intel cpu?

Thank you everyone.
 
tlarkin

tlarkin

VIP Member
If you want to spend 2000 dollars build a dual Xeon processor system. What exactly are you going to do with this, video games? i see you said some other basic stuff but describe in detail what you are going to do, because most likely dual xeons would be way over kill.
 
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PabloTeK

Active Member
The nVidia 8800 series is the top-end set of graphics cards by said company, the best value is said to be found in the 8800GT series but you'll be hard pressed to find one by a decent brand such as eVGA or BFG short of $300. And don't get Alienware, they're overpriced, oversexed, and just rubbish really.
 
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oscaryu1

VIP Member
http://clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=A1938452
Q6600 G0

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059
P35-DS3L

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151151
Samsung DVD Burner

http://216.52.208.185/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220144
Patriot Extreme 2GB (x2 for 4GB)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074
WDC SE16 SATAII 320GB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021&Tpk=antec+900
Antec 900

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002
OCZ GameXStream 700W

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130303
8800GT EVGA 512MB PCI-E x16

Total after rebates including shipping: $1024.23

Overall, a good nice solid computer... HDD can come in for a upgrade, and a Ultra may be waiting for you.
 
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oscaryu1

VIP Member
With a x38... he could just overclock that far. Anyways, the x38 is unneeded unless you're crazy about DDR2 1066 and PCI-E 2.0...
 
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paratwa

New Member
I am assuming that he wants a motherboard that will work with next gen CPU's and video cards. If he doesn't care about that, then by all means get the P35 board.

And he did say money was not a problem. And the board will work with 800 mhz ram
 
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paratwa

New Member
Really the only problem I have with that board is that it's a crossfire board. But it will still work with nvida cards. So if your not going to run sli then it's not a problem.
 
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oregon

Active Member
Get 4GB of RAM, buy either an 8800GT or an HD3870 and if necessary double up.

BTW, the new 8800 coming out is the (new) 8800GTS which is supposed to be better than the 8800GT. The old 8800GTS is worse than both. I think the 8800GT may still be the better value though.
 
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vonfeldt7

New Member
If you want the best deals...it'd be best to wait a few months...if I were you, I'd get the Asus Maximus Formula, 4GB of either DDR2 @ 1066mhz or your choice of DDR3, the Q9450 (quad core, 45nm, not quite out) and wait for the 9000 series from nvidia...

You'll be glad you did (wait)
 
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oscaryu1

VIP Member
I am assuming that he wants a motherboard that will work with next gen CPU's and video cards. If he doesn't care about that, then by all means get the P35 board.

And he did say money was not a problem. And the board will work with 800 mhz ram
Click to expand...

The P35 seiries WILL work with 45nm CPUs. They only need a BIOS flash, while the x38 natively supports them, meaning that the x38 is a bit more stable than the P35 series due to it's native support. And it does have PCI-E 2.0... Save more money and get a good rig. Get another cheap car. And I never did say it would not work with DDR2-800.

Really the only problem I have with that board is that it's a crossfire board. But it will still work with nvida cards. So if your not going to run sli then it's not a problem.
Click to expand...

Some Crossfire boards only work with Crossfire, and not SLi... So double check the specifications.

Get 4GB of RAM, buy either an 8800GT or an HD3870 and if necessary double up.

BTW, the new 8800 coming out is the (new) 8800GTS which is supposed to be better than the 8800GT. The old 8800GTS is worse than both. I think the 8800GT may still be the better value though.
Click to expand...

The G92 version of the GTS may be more worth it, but before it really comes into production... I'd get the GT. After all, the GT was priced at $200 from Nvidia. The sellers added a $60 fee... So the GTS G92 might not be as cheap as told.

If you want the best deals...it'd be best to wait a few months...if I were you, I'd get the Asus Maximus Formula, 4GB of either DDR2 @ 1066mhz or your choice of DDR3, the Q9450 (quad core, 45nm, not quite out) and wait for the 9000 series from nvidia...

You'll be glad you did (wait)
Click to expand...

DDR3 is overkill right now. Q9650 is out if interested, and nVidia's 9800's are coming out in Feburary
 
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mkjaekmi

New Member
alot of options. thing is, if i knew which pieces went into which, i'd know which 1 to get.

What's a good hsf?

and whats a good hdd? is blue ray disc technology a hdd?
 
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oregon

Active Member
No, Blu-Ray is sort of the next generation optical disc (DVD). There's a big format war between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD though and it looks like it won't end. So I would buy dual-format if I were buying an HD optical drive. You really don't need it though unless you want to use Blu-Ray discs or HD-DVD's.

A good hard drive is SATA 3GB/s, at least 7200RPM, at least 16MB cache. Look for Seagate, or Western Digital.

HSF... I think Zalman 9700 or 9500 is supposed to be the best. You will only need this if you overclock though.
 
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