Anyone up for giving advice?

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vassalofodin

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I just joined the forums recently because I've been looking for a good prebuilt PC that I can actually game on. I found the forums by reading some old reviews on [H] Consumer.

If I listened to most reviewers, Alienware, Dell, and Cyberpower would be the best choices for me. However, I have an old Dell myself and I know that their customer service is far from good--If I actually bought an expensive PC from them, and it was broken...I would probably kill myself. The same is probably true for Alienware, since it is owned by Dell--and it is just plain expensive. And even though Cyberpower is dirt cheap...there is no way I'd ever buy from them after hearing numerous horror stories. v.v

Most people I ask just tell me to build a PC, but I don't trust myself enough yet to do so. I know it's really easy and cheap, and all that...but I would rather buy from a boutique shop. I just need to know who I can trust--mainly with customer service. I also don't want to spend too much over $2,000, but I'm unsure what configurations I need to play games well. I haven't had a new computer in like 5 years, and the one I have now is a Dell Dimension 2400. O___O

So yeah, any reccomendations, advice or whatever. I'd REALLY appreciate it.
 
are you adventurous, build your own and save a butt load, would be my advice. (it is much easier then most people would think!

IF that is not an option then your stuck to the one's you indicated.
 
Well, I have two friends who thought they were hot shit because they 'make' their own computers. Well, both of their computers broke. Since they don't have anyone to call for tech support, they had to send it to an actual tech guy to fix it and right now--neither of them have a working computer because after the tech 'fixed' it--it stopped working again.

So, considering I don't think of myself as versed in computing as either of my friends...I don't think I'm ready to rely on only myself.
 
Take a look at velocity micro, maingear, and puget. All three of those vendors provide consistently amazing support and offer great performance to go along side that. As well, all 3 have reps on this forum. Randy Copeland, CEO of velocity micro, Wallace (I believe... ) of maingear, and Heather Taylor of puget :)
 
vassalofodin said:
If I listened to most reviewers, Alienware, Dell, and Cyberpower would be the best choices for me.
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Well, if you listen to [H] or the people on this forum, you'll buy from one of the following: AVA Direct, Maingear, Puget, or Velocity Micro.

vassalofodin said:
I also don't want to spend too much over $2,000, but I'm unsure what configurations I need to play games well ... So yeah, any reccomendations, advice or whatever. I'd REALLY appreciate it.
Click to expand...

I've been working on a config for a gaming computer, that runs about $2000. I price mine at AVA Direct because they are the least expensive, and have an amazing choice of parts. Anyway, this is my most current config. I'm sure it can still be tweaked. The idea is to use a Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 stepping) and overclock it. According to silent-circuit on this forum, with excellent air-cooling, it can get up to 3.6GHz. If you want AVA Direct to do the overclocking instead of yourself, add $95. This config should play anything well. You'll also need to add one fan for the Thermalright heatsink, which runs from $5 to $15 depending on where and what you get. A Scythe S-Flex or Yate Loon will work well.

This config begins with the configurator at: http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=9528

GAMING PC, Core 2 Duo DDR2 Gaming System $2037.16

* INTEL, Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 Quad-Core (SLACR G0 stepping), 2.4GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 8MB (2 x 4MB) L2 Cache, 65nm, 95W, EM64T EIST VT XD, Retail
* THERMALRIGHT, Ultra-120 eXtreme CPU Heatsink, Socket 775/AM2, Aluminum
* SERVICE, Do Not Overclock
* ASUS, P5K-E, LGA775, Intel P35, 1333MHz FSB, DDR2-1066MHz 8GB /4, PCIe x16 /2 CF, SATA 3Gb/s RAID 5 /6, HDA, GbLAN, FW /2, ATX, Retail
* G.SKILL, 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz CL4 (4-4-4-12) SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
* BFG TECH, GeForce™ 8800 GTS OC 675MHz, 512MB GDDR3 1940MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, DVI /2, HDTV-Out, Retail
* WESTERN DIGITAL, 500GB WD Caviar® SE16 (WD5000AAKS), SATA II 300MB/s, 7200-RPM, 16MB cache
* RAID, No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
* SCYTHE, YD-8V08-BK Black 1.44MB 3.5" Floppy Drive + 18-in-1 Card Reader Combo Drive, Internal USB 2.0
* LITE-ON, LH-20A1L Black/Beige 20x DVD±RW Dual-Layer Burner w/ LightScribe, SATA, Retail
* ANTEC, Performance One P182 Black Mid-Tower Case, ATX, No PSU, Steel/Plastic
* CUSTOM WIRING, Standard Wiring with Round Cables
* CORSAIR, CMPSU-750TX TX Series Power Supply, 750W, 80 PLUS®, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, Multi-GPU Ready
* MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Ultimate Edition 64-bit, OEM
* SERVICE, OEM System Recovery (both secure HDD partition and bootable CD/DVD)
* SERVICE, System Binder
* LOGITECH, Office Pro Keyboard, Black, PS/2
* LOGITECH, MX™518 Gaming-Grade™ Optical Mouse, USB, PS/2, Black
* ALTEC LANSING, VS2321 Silver/Black 2.1 Stereo Speaker System, 28W (2x6W + 16W), Retail
* GAMING PC, Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)
* SERVICE, Standard Shipping (UPS, DHL, or Fedex)

Anyway, that's a starting point, if you like.
 
I guess I should have asked if the $2000 includes a monitor. You can save money on the config I posted by dropping down to an 8800GT 512MB video card, Vista Home Premium instead of Ultimate, a smaller hard drive, and dropping the floppy drive/card reader.
 
Thanks. The Quad core thing was confusing me a little bit as well, as I've heard people say it is generally overkill--while others tell me that if you want to be future proof you should get one now. So the over clocking makes sense.

I've looked at Avadirect, Velocity Micro, and Maingear so far. The mere fact that a rep from any of those companies even visits a forum is far and away more impressive to me than anything I have seen/heard from Dell.
Oh, and the $2000 doesn't really have to include a monitor. With a monitor it can go a lil higher than 2k, but I don't plan on getting a huge screen anyhow. I mean, I've lived with like a 14" CRT for five years now, so anything is an upgrade.
 
skip the quad and go for an E8400 or E8500, they OC very well, run cooler and for gaming you won't be disappointed.
 
Sunin said:
skip the quad and go for an E8400 or E8500, they OC very well, run cooler and for gaming you won't be disappointed.
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Well I would easily do that if I didn't feel like I could get screwed over later. Will a higher end Duo be able to run games a few years from now?
 
In a few years from now, you'll be buying a new computer. Even if the quad-core can handle games 3 years from now, the vid card won't. And likely, whatever vid cards are available 3 years from now won't work with the motherboard and power supply you buy now, so you won't be able to upgrade. So, really, there is no sense in trying to future-proof your computer. Buy a decent computer that will last you 2 years, and be happy with it.

And give some thought to building your own. I know it's scary. But really, it takes more time to install windows than it does to put all the components together. You just need to read up on stuff before you buy. Spend a few weeks reading these and other forums. That will give you the knowledge and confidence to build your own. It will also give you a good base of knowledge in case anything goes wrong so you can fix it yourself. Think of it this way: you can probably build your own for about 1/2 the cost of buying a pre-made computer. Thus, you can break damn near every component and have to buy a replacement, and still come out not too far behind the cost of a pre-built.
 
vassalofodin said:
Well I would easily do that if I didn't feel like I could get screwed over later. Will a higher end Duo be able to run games a few years from now?
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You are going to find that people have varying opinions on that, so you'll have to decide for yourself. If you aren't going to overclock, I would definitely say to get the E8400. But if you do overclock, I would say to get the Q6600. You're only looking at a difference of about $60 between the E8400 and Q6600.

I disagree with Luder on a couple of things. First, there is no reason a computer only needs to last two years, if you build it correctly in the first place. The computer in my sig is from 2003, and all I've done to it since I bought it is to upgrade from 1GB to 2GB RAM and upgrade the video card. I play MMORPGs and Strategy games, and except for Vanguard, my computer works well with every game I play. I have to lower the settings for Vanguard, but it still looks good.

Which brings me to my second point.. you'll be able to upgrade your video card in a few years if you need to. Just because the Nehalem architecture is coming out at the end of this year doesn't mean that components used in the current FSB architecture will all of a sudden dry up. Heck, AMD/ATI just recently made an AGP version of the HD 3850, and PCI-e replaced AGP in 2004! I just ordered an HD 3850 AGP card to see if it will help with Vanguard, hehe.

My last point is that just because very few games or other software doesn't take advantage of a quad-core CPU right now, doesn't mean they won't in the future. With all the companies programming cross-platform these days, they get a lot of experience using multiple cores on the consoles. I think that by 2009 we'll be seeing games that take advantage of four cores.

Oh, a friend of mine just ordered a computer from AVA Direct yesterday (he got the Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Quad-Core, 3.00GHz). He had priced out the parts at Newegg to see how much he would save if he built it himself, and found that if it wasn't for rebates, it would have actually cost more to buy the parts from Newegg. With rebates he would have saved around $300 on a $2800 computer.

Anyway, that's my opinion :)
 
God I wish people who know not what they talketh about would quit giving advice. Quad core is the way to Go for any new build. Most big game devlopers are currently working hard on supporting multi-core processors. I know Valve is redesigning their game engine for it. But that is just one example.

As far as a computer boutique goes I think Velocity Micro] Or Maingear] are the best. However if you want to save some money and still get a good gaming machine you could look at dells XPS models. You have plenty of options. You can call a sales rep at Velocity Micro though and get a good deal as well. Just never ever buy Alienware.
 
IF i was to buy from a boutique i would go with velocity micro.
HOWEVER, you really should reconsider building your own rig.
I built my first one last fall and I couldnt be prouder of my rig.
I learned a lot about pc's.
You have a very supportive community here in hardforum that can help you.:D
 
velocity micro's reviews in the past 4-6 months has gone down alot, many bad reviews are appearing and they're scaring me lol.
 
FlyinBrian said:
God I wish people who know not what they talketh about would quit giving advice. Quad core is the way to Go for any new build. Most big game devlopers are currently working hard on supporting multi-core processors. I know Valve is redesigning their game engine for it. But that is just one example.

As far as a computer boutique goes I think Velocity Micro] Or Maingear] are the best. However if you want to save some money and still get a good gaming machine you could look at dells XPS models. You have plenty of options. You can call a sales rep at Velocity Micro though and get a good deal as well. Just never ever buy Alienware.
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Thanks. I think I'll go with the Quad core. I remember when dual cores came out, and you cannot even buy singular cores from places like Dell now...so I want to just be safe and get something that can last a lil while--even if I may need to upgrade in the future regardless.

Also, why would you recommend Dell and not Alienware? Does Alienware have even worse support than Dell now? Either way, I'm not really looking at either of those companies because I'd rather spend some more money and talk to a person who knows what they're doing. :confused:
 
Well, I've been looking around and I'm still a little bit unsure about what I want to do.

Avadirect and Maingear both look nice to me, although Avadirect is a bit more flexible and cheaper.

On the flip side, I almost feel like I should just make the thing myself. Then I can buy things separately that I need and not have to ship an entire PC someplace if it breaks....are there usually warranties and returns available on every single part needed? I just really don't want to splurge on something and have it not work--or make something and not have it work.
 
Yes each part is warranted separately.
We can help with any issues :)

I dont know how how long a warranty you will get on the components in the US though.
In the UK, its a minimum of 1 year.
Perhaps someone else can help here?
 
cleve said:
IF i was to buy from a boutique i would go with velocity micro.
HOWEVER, you really should reconsider building your own rig.
I built my first one last fall and I couldnt be prouder of my rig.
I learned a lot about pc's.
You have a very supportive community here in hardforum that can help you.:D
Click to expand...

Folks the OP has stated twice that he doesn't want to build his own rig....so let's stop trying to shove "you should really build it yourself" advice down his throat. I agree the community here is very helpful, but is the community going to chip in and reimburse OP if this project does not work out?

If you have the ability to build your own that's great, not everyone possesses the time and or skills necessary to build their own rig.
 
CTT3 said:
Folks the OP has stated twice that he doesn't want to build his own rig....so let's stop trying to shove "you should really build it yourself" advice down his throat. I agree the community here is very helpful, but is the community going to chip in and reimburse OP if this project does not work out?

If you have the ability to build your own that's great, not everyone possesses the time and or skills necessary to build their own rig.
Click to expand...

Before calling us out, read what the OP said in his last post :)
On the flip side, I almost feel like I should just make the thing myself. Then I can buy things separately that I need and not have to ship an entire PC someplace if it breaks........
Click to expand...
 
vassalofodin said:
On the flip side, I almost feel like I should just make the thing myself. Then I can buy things separately that I need and not have to ship an entire PC someplace if it breaks....are there usually warranties and returns available on every single part needed? I just really don't want to splurge on something and have it not work--or make something and not have it work.
Click to expand...

Yes the individual parts do have their own warranties:
- Non-OEM Intel CPUs have 3 year warranties. OEM models have only a 90 day warranty
- Depending on the manufacturer, motherboards can have anywhere from a two year to lifetime warranty
- Every RAM manufacturer I know of has lifetime warranty on their RAM
- Depending on the manufacturer, video cards can have anywhere from a one year to lifetime warranty
- Most hard drives have a 3 to five year warranty
- Depending on the manufacturer, good power supplies can have anywhere from a one year to five year warranty
 
I only needed a phillips screw driver to build mine, its not hard these days, specially if you buy a case with plenty of thumb bolts.
 
Nenu said:
Before calling us out, read what the OP said in his last post :)
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Sorry...it really wasn't my intention to call everyone out. However, I think we all need to be cautious about giving that build it yourself advice. Some folks may not have the skills to do so, but may inadvertently feel "pressure" to engage in an activity they are not qualified or experienced to complete. If you read some of the posts on this board you just get the impression that there are no real risks of building your own...but the truth is there are risks.

I don't doubt there are a number of helpful folks who frequent this board who could help out if there were issues, but there is also that chance that you could wind up spending a good chunk of change on a rig that will never work.

Sorry if I offended anyone.
 
Sorry if I sounded fickle and got anyone into trouble. >_<

I really just want a decent gaming system that will run. So I'm trying to look at all the options. I configured a PC through Avadirect, but I haven't actually ordered it yet. I configured it similarly to the previous poster's avadirect pc.

I guess I just have to come to terms with that fact that anything can break. Dell, Avadirect, or home built machines. So, because of that I'm leaning a little bit more towards avadirect with a good warranty on the entire thing. If I have to ship it back or whatever, I will--as long as it ends up running like it should.
 
The reason I said not to go Alienware is because of their tech support and quality control. About a year ago I did a Lan party, I usually do about two per year. Out of about 30 people 3 had Alienware machines.. and ALL 3 of them had problems. One guy had the money is no object model and his Raid 0 crashed in the middle of the lan party so I was stuck doing tech support on those machines instead of enjoying myself. This is my personal subjective experience.

What is odd is Dell who owns Alienware doesnt seem to have the same problems. Their XPS or gamer systems seems to run very well and are a bit cheaper than a smaller boutique.

The option is up to you. Before deciding on any of them I would call a sales rep at velocity micro/Dell/Ava-direct and tell them your trying to get the best build possible for your money and see which of them offers you the best deals.

If you have the knowledge to fix potential problems then of course a custom build is a good option as well. You just have to be aware there is a certain risk in doing so.
 
lol thats too much sorry for 2 posts.
CTT3 makes a good point (eventually ;)).

However, you have a lot of expertise on tap here to resolve issues.
If you have basic electrical skills (ie you know why you need to connect a light bulb to both terminals of a battery) and can use a screwdriver safely, you shouldnt have any trouble.

Only one issue can make it difficult but this applies equally to solving issues with a pre-built machine so they will accept an RMA.
You dont want to piss off your supplier by sending back a machine that has no fault or is easy to fix as there will come a point where they wont listen to your problems any more, I've seen this too many times, even from the best companies if you end up with an unlucky machine.

If you have a faulty component, it can sometimes be hard to determine the cause without other bits to swap in or another PC to test parts in.
Once you have started to build your own PCs, you end up knowing others who have too and develop your own stock of spare parts.
The thing is you have to start somewhere, now is a good time

Another bonus part of building your own is that it can be a lot cheaper and you can get better performance to boot.
If you keep some of the cash you have saved aside in case you need to buy anything cheap for testing purposes, you will still be ahead of a pre-built machine and start to develop your own PC workshop, essentially for free.

Thats it really.
If you are prepared to learn about putting a PC together well, we can guide you and get you going if there are any issues.
 
0mega said:
Take a look at velocity micro, maingear, and puget. All three of those vendors provide consistently amazing support and offer great performance to go along side that. As well, all 3 have reps on this forum. Randy Copeland, CEO of velocity micro, Wallace (I believe... ) of maingear, and Heather Taylor of puget :)
Click to expand...

If you have any questions for any of us, please ask. I think Peter does the forums for Maingear (he's the marketing guy). Also, Misha from AVAdirect is on here periodically.
 
Heather Taylor said:
If you have any questions for any of us, please ask. I think Peter does the forums for Maingear (he's the marketing guy). Also, Misha from AVAdirect is on here periodically.
Click to expand...

Eh, I personally don't like AVA... every big AVA build ive seen on here has ended in tragedy.
 
I'd go with Avadirect, they are who I just ordered my new computer from and they have done a great job of working with me and my picky questions. The proof is in the pudding though and I haven't received my rig yet so I can't review it or how well (or bad) it runs but I am really comfortable considering they have great reviews both here and on resellerratings.com
 
vassalofodin said:
I configured a PC through Avadirect, but I haven't actually ordered it yet. I configured it similarly to the previous poster's avadirect pc.
Click to expand...

Like I mentioned earlier, my friend would only have saved around $300 on his $2800 system by buying the parts and building it himsef instead of buying from AVA Direct. Now consider if $300 is worth the time it takes you to put the system together yourself, and the 3-year Warranty that AVA Direct has.

vassalofodin said:
I guess I just have to come to terms with that fact that anything can break. Dell, Avadirect, or home built machines. So, because of that I'm leaning a little bit more towards avadirect with a good warranty on the entire thing. If I have to ship it back or whatever, I will--as long as it ends up running like it should.
Click to expand...

That is it exactly. How good is the company's service when something goes wrong is the measure of the company. There are posts in this forum from people who have had problems with their AVA Direct, Maingear, or Velocity Micro machines, but the companies have always solved the problems. There are also posts from people who didn't have anything go wrong :)

Oh well, just like the quad-core vs. dual-core debate, everyone here has an opinion on build-it-yourself vs. buy-from-manufacturer. Just weigh all that you read, and make your own decision :)
 
Well, thanks everyone. I made up my mind and just took the plunge and bought from Avadirect.

I turned away from buying the parts and building it myself mainly because this is sort of being purchased for me as a gift, and the person who was buying it said he felt more secure if it was built by a company and given a warranty. So that pretty much made my decision for me on the built/prebuilt front.

I chose Avadirect even though I read some not-so-great stories about them on this forum. Every company is going to hit some snags, but Ava still seems to have much more good reviews than bad--even on Reseller ratings. Plus, they were pretty cheap and a bit more flexible. So I'll see how that goes, maybe post my experience with them and the computer when it gets here in awhile.

Once again, thanks to everyone who answered my plea for advice. When I do go ahead and build my own rig, I feel more comfortable knowing that there are communities like this to help me out. :p
 
vassalofodin said:
Well, thanks everyone. I made up my mind and just took the plunge and bought from Avadirect.

I turned away from buying the parts and building it myself mainly because this is sort of being purchased for me as a gift, and the person who was buying it said he felt more secure if it was built by a company and given a warranty. So that pretty much made my decision for me on the built/prebuilt front.

I chose Avadirect even though I read some not-so-great stories about them on this forum. Every company is going to hit some snags, but Ava still seems to have much more good reviews than bad--even on Reseller ratings. Plus, they were pretty cheap and a bit more flexible. So I'll see how that goes, maybe post my experience with them and the computer when it gets here in awhile.

Once again, thanks to everyone who answered my plea for advice. When I do go ahead and build my own rig, I feel more comfortable knowing that there are communities like this to help me out. :p
Click to expand...

Congrats, I hope it works out for you. I ordered from AVADirect myself a week ago and am expecting my system in the next week and a half or so.
 
vassalofodin said:
I chose Avadirect even though I read some not-so-great stories about them on this forum. Every company is going to hit some snags, but Ava still seems to have much more good reviews than bad--even on Reseller ratings. Plus, they were pretty cheap and a bit more flexible. So I'll see how that goes, maybe post my experience with them and the computer when it gets here in awhile.
Click to expand...

It would be great if everyone who bought from one of the boutique vendors that frequent this forum will post their experience, for good or bad. Of course, the good reviews generally have few responses and quickly drop off the forum. The bad reviews seem to stick around forever, hehe.

There are four people I know of that have ordered from AVA Direct recently... vassalofodin, shaunh20, Jaysaid, and one of my friends on our online gaming guild forum. I'll be asking my friend to post his experience, and I hope the other three on this board also post.
 
I'll post my experience with them as soon as my order goes through. Right now, I'm pretty much just waiting for my payment to go through.

Good or bad, I'll make sure to make a little log of my experience so I can either write a recommendation--or warning. Hopefully it won't be a latter.
 
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