Where to get a PC

[KrAzY WaRRiOr]

In searching for a new PC that won't shut down WC3 as i'm about to win, i've wondered : are places such as cyberpowerinc.com and ibuypower.com as good as places such as Alienware and Falcon Northwest. They are about 500$ cheaper on the system I want, with the same components except for the chassis.

If I buy the system from the cheaper places, will it crash and burn the second week I get it? Is it actually worth it to spend 500 more for a name brand computer?

O, BTW, here is what system I want.

939 Pin AMD 64 3500
120 GB Hard Drive Serial ATA Seagate
1 GB Memory
GeForce 6800 GT or ATI Radeon x800 Pro
19' Monitor CRT
2 DVD-ROM Drives
Windows XP OS

Motherboard and other stuff are the same, these are just the important parts.

[Desert_Eagle25]

No. Don't buy one. Build one. My PC was built for little under $1,600, and if I bought it Pre-Built from Alienware of iBuyPower, it would've cost me easily $3,500.

If you want, I could budget everything and give you a list. I do this as a profession now.

[Diskordjah]

ah, this shutting down of warcraft, is it along the lines of "memory could not be read" type of crash errors? and, when the first crash has come after say an hour of playing, and you start it up again, will the next crash come after 10-20 minutes or so?

[BraveLiver]

I'll give you my advice, but do realize I'm good with software and not hardware.

I get my PCs from IBM, because they're decent and extremely sturdy. I've had this comp for 4 yrs, with ME on it for 3 of those yrs, and it still hasn't crashed yet.

[HiroHito]

I'll give you my advice, but do realize I'm good with software and not hardware.

I get my PCs from IBM, because they're decent and extremely sturdy. I've had this comp for 4 yrs, with ME on it for 3 of those yrs, and it still hasn't crashed yet.

As long as you have internet, money and a lot of patience, building a comp doesnt take a rocket scientist.

I had to check the manual for hours to build my 1st custom comp, the most stressful part is when I had to put in the CPU lol !

[Desert_Eagle25]

Same here for my first comp. I've built around 20-30 since then though, so I know the whole deal ;)

[KrAzY WaRRiOr]

Me or my parents have no idea how to build one. If you could teach me, you would save me a shatload of money and have my eternal gratitude. I'm still afraid that it will break down though, i'm not good with my hands, in building computers, that is.

If you could, yes please give me a budget of all the items I specified. If I didn't specify the other stuff, fill in what you think would be good. The total cost can't come over 1.7k though. Thanks in advance.

The crashes say "Fatal Error", and i'm pretty sure its because of my old GeForce 3 Ti200 card. I try dling some updates for it, but it fails every time. It crashes as soon as I start a game, or 15-20 minutes into it. It alt-tabs to my desktop, then the "Fatal Error" pops up.

[entropy orc]

No. Don't buy one. Build one. My PC was built for little under $1,600, and if I bought it Pre-Built from Alienware of iBuyPower, it would've cost me easily $3,500.

If you want, I could budget everything and give you a list. I do this as a profession now.

That's bs. Maybe you saved that much as opposed to buying from alienware, but not from a retailer such as ibuypower or cyberpowerinc. Even if you get your parts from www.newegg.com which i find is the cheapest, you are not going save over half the price. Home made computers tend to be cheaper, but require more time and are usually slower even if you use the same components. As for the best outfitter, i personally think it is viciouspc.

[Desert_Eagle25]

I build PC's for a living and repair them. Not to mention I have one, ahve built 2 for my sisters, and built atleast 5 for my friends. Shut up before you post, idiot.

I'm running nearly the exact same system he wanted, and I bought the pieces whole sale, because I work at a computer repair and construction site.

It is, and always be, a well known fact, that building your own PC is far more superior than buying a prebuilt ever ordered and built for you.

[entropy orc]

calm down guy

im not doubting your skills, merely saying that you are probably exaggerating when you say it would cost that much.
Nor I am I putting down builiding computers at home. I just stated some things that are usually true people who aren't professionals and not really into building computers

[Desert_Eagle25]

Apologies, padawan. Blind rage indeed.

[antiKCG]

**** blindrage... entropy is just a n00b who doesn't know jack ****.

And yes Entropy, DE's computer would cost around 3500 to purchase via Alienware. Get his comp's stats from him with the cost of some of the software he has and then go to www.alienware.com and build an Aurora with those same stats.

[KrAzY WaRRiOr]

I don't know if a comp will cost double at ibuypower or cyberpowerinc though, those places are far cheaper than Alienware or Falcon Northwest. Not the point though,

Can you budget the items for me? And help me build my PC, DE?

[Desert_Eagle25]

Definitely. I'll have a list up in one hour, I'm trying to help my friend fix his comp xD

[KrAzY WaRRiOr]

Thank you very much. Your help is greatly appreciated.

BTW, tell your friend to stop d/ling porn, that's usually what screws up most computers. So many viruses and crap -_-

[Desert_Eagle25]

Processor: AMD 64 3500 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-463&depa=0)
- Price: $296

Motherboard: GIGABYTE "GA-K8NSNXP-939" (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-254&depa=0)
- Price: $204

RAM: Kingston HyperX (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-144-114&depa=0)
- Price: $261

Graphics Card: Sapphire ATI RADEON X800 XT Video Card, 256MB GDDR3, 256-Bit, DVI/VIV -OEM Bulk (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-397&depa=0)
- Price: $565

Monitor: SAMSUNG SyncMaster 997DF-Ivory 19" DynaFlat CRT Monitor (http://shop.upgradesource.com/product_info.php?products_id=1103)
- Price: $199

Hard Drive: 120 GB Hard Drive Serial ATA Seagate (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-148-022&depa=0)
- Price: $89

Case: The case depends on really what style into. I've easily cut it into two sections, however.

Simple, Sleek, and Stylish:

Aspire X-Navigator Aluminum Computer Case - Silver/Silver (http://www.xoxide.com/aspire-x-navigator-silver.html)
Cooler Master Centurion 5 with 350w PSU - Silver (CAC-T05-WWA) (http://www.xoxide.com/centurion1.html)

Complex, Techy, and Mechy:

MGE Viper Computer Case Black/Blue w/ 500W PSU - CA-Viper-KB 500W (http://www.xoxide.com/xgbox-mge-viper-kb.html)
Logisys Dracula Case (Silver) (http://www.xoxide.com/dracula1.html)
- Price At Minimum: $70
- Price At Maximum: $110

If you didn't really like any of those cases, theres a whole levy more at www.xoxide.com

Drives: NEC ND-3500A Dual Layer DVD±RW Writer (http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=3648375)
- Price: $80 (Depends on which merchant you choose)


Here it is, and it's all at about $1,700 - 1,800 range. Now, go ahead and look for a computer with the same statictics...and you'll be looking at much..MUCH more of a cost.

I could also look up some extra goodies...but I tihnk you can do that on your own.


EDIT: On building the PC, take all the parts to a store or something, and see of they'll build it for you. Call CompUSA or Fry's Electronics. Maybe they'll help you out. Otherwise, You should be able to by a Step-By-Step guide on it.

Here's some links to aide you!

http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20010115/
http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/index.htm
http://www.mysuperpc.com/build/pc_parts_list.shtml

[Desert_Eagle25]

My FX-53 cost a good $600 (1/3 discount for me) which will be about $900 for him. Thats +$700 or so for him >.<

[KrAzY WaRRiOr]

Thanks, DE. I'll probably opt out of the x800 XT and go for a GeForce 6800 GT though. That should shave 100 bucks off. Also, i'll settle for a non name brand memory, that should shave nother 100 off. So i'm looking at about 1.5k, not bad.

At cyberpower, the exact same stats would have cost 1800+. Thanks.

[mulratt]

Dont build a comp unless you know ppl who can give you advice. It's important that components work well together.
Spend more time finding the pieces that will do what you want then to check prices.

If you're in canada, check bbf.ca, tigerdirect.ca and bigfootcomputers

I knew little about comps and had my friends help me build one. Pretty satisfied, but it took patience. Also, now I understand computers better, just wont talk about it at a party, ya know

[Gleban]

Who's going to make it for him though?

[Kijola]

Aluminum X-Navigator CASE 500W & Window (BLACK)
(939-pin) AMD ATHLON64 FX 53 Processor
ABIT AV8 VIA K8T800 MAINBOARD
2GB (1GBx2) PC3200 DDR400 Memory (Kingston)
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM Serial ATA 150 8MB Cache WD740GD
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM Serial ATA 150 8MB Cache WD740GD
Radeon X800 XT 256MB 8X AGP
COMBO DRIVE(DVD-ROM & CDRW) (BLUE)
SONY DWD-22A DUAL FORMAT 16X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (SILVER)
ViewSonic® VP201 20.1 inch TFT LCD MONITOR (BLACK)
Creative Labs SB Audigy-2 ZS PLATINUM PRO 7.1




I want that computer...