(OT) Shopping For Computer: Help?

[DarkJester]

My computer has about had it, and that really bothers me. I use my computer everyday and keep all my D&D stuff on it. My computer is a 433 mhz compaq and its pretty much garbage. I can't play hardly any games on it and it freezes constantly.

I've looked into both Dell and Gateway computers, I'm looking to get something with some umph to it, and they seem to be the two leading competitors (Or at least the best advertised, as I know NOTHING about computers themselves).

Anyone have any advice as to shopping for a computer? I don't want to spend an extra thousand dollars on a inferior computer or anything. The two I have looked at (So far) Dell Dimsension 8250 and the Gateway 500x. As far as I can tell the gateway one is 1500 bucks cheaper and has pretty much everything the dell has, am i missing something here?

 

[BadMojo]

In general, I would probably recommend Dell over Gateway. I didn't really compare the two systems you mentioned, but my personal bias is toward Dell (although it's something of a "lesser of two evils" thing).

I'm not sure what your budget is like, but you might want to consider one of the companies that specializes in high end gaming rigs. If Dell & Dimenion are your Ford and Chevy, Voodoo PC, Falcon Northwest and Alienware are your BMW, Mercedes and Jaguar (pre-Ford buyout minus the leaking oil).

http://www.voodoopc.com/systems/
http://www.alienware.com
http://www.falcon-nw.com/

Keep in mind that these computers will generally be more expensive than Dell or Gateway systems, but you will be getting more high end components in the Voodoo, Alienware or Falcon machines.

I know Falcon has a "budget" line of gaming systems, so that might be worth checking out. Voodoo & Alienware might have something similar. Everything I've read has said that these three companies have excellent support and service. I would seriously give these some consideration if they are anywhere near your budget.

 

[CrusaderX]

I'll be purchasing a new Dell system in January. Prices should drop after Christmas, so if you can wait a few months, you might get a better deal.

Dell is a very good name. For the very best performance, I'm going to get the following:

Processor speed - at least 2 GHz

Memory - a solid 1 GB

Video Card - 128 MB Radeon Pro

And I'm also getting a 120 GB Hard Drive. You probably don't need specs quite that high, but I don't mind paying a little more to get a very robust and capable system that can handle any game I throw at it.

And if you're getting Windows XP, you should probably get at least 512 MB of memory. XP runs much smoother with more memory under the hood.

Oh, and get a decent warranty, too. Peace of mind is one crucial "feature" that alot of folks overlook. IMO, peace of mind is the most important spec of all.

BTW, alot of folks will tell you to assemble your own system from scratch. Which is a good route to take, if you know what you're doing. If you don't want the hassle, though (even though the process is fairly painless), I'd highly recommend a Dell, and just let them do all the work and worrying for you.

 

[Eridanis]

For the love of Pete, don't buy a *laptop* from Dell. I've bought three for work in the past year and a half, and every one of them has needed major work (ie, replace HD, mobo, or monitor).

The Dell desktops have been more reliable, but if you have the cash, I'd suggest going with on of the boutique builders mentioned above.

Of course, building your own is the most fun, but not for the faint of heart, the inexperienced, or both.

 

[Darkness]

You must be planning to buy a quite incredible computer, given that you started this thread in Sci-Fi Discussion...

Moved to GD.

 

[DarkJester]

Again, I know nothing about computers. I went to the Voodoo site and checked there stuff out. It's within the outer limits of what I would be willing to pay for a pc..... just barely. I through one together based on what some of my friends told me and other Input.

This is what I came up with:

Voodoo E-Class Gaming Personal Computer
Voodoo Standard LIFETIME Upgrade & Restoration Insurance
Voodoo Disaster Recovery System II
Black Voodoo 1.44 Megabyte Floppy Disk Drive
Voodoo Attack-Pad Mousing Surface
Voodoo Performance and Stability Re-Engineering
Voodoo Renowned Cabling System
Voodoo Koeskin System Binder
VoodooPC "Powerful Personal Computers" Tee-Shirt
IS09001:2000 Quality Control Standards
Voodoo E710 Advanced All Metal Chassis - Modified
Voodoo Obsidian Black E710 Advanced All Metal Chassis
Voodoo Electric Veins
Arctic Silver II Thermal Cooling Compound
Voodoo Custom Enermax 350 Watt FC
Intel Pentium 4 - 2.53GHz / 533MHz Bus
ASUS Intel RDRAM Motherboard with 10/100 Ethernet
Voodoo Approved 1024 Megabyte PC-1066 RDRAM Kit
Black LiteOn Tray Load DVD Drive - 16X DVD - 48X CD-Rom
80 GiG Western Digital 800BBSE 8 Meg Cache
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 128 Meg (Our Fastest Card)
17" NEC-Mitsubishi FE771SB Black Cabinet
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy
Logitech Z-340 2.1 - Speaker System
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Voodoo E-Class 1 Year Absolute Satisfaction Guarantee
Logitech Elite Gaming Keyboard
Logitech MX-500 Optical Mouse
United States Second Day Insured AIR Shipping
Total Price: 3809.67$ (Ouch)

Am I missing anything vital up there? Or anything that I wouldn't really need?

 

[Numion]

I bought a Dell 2.4 GHz system with GeForce 4 about two months ago and haven't regretted it. At least here it was much cheaper than all other systems. My friends have bought systems piece-by-piece and they're much more expensive. (My comp is also quiet and stylish compared to theirs, but thats beside the point, eh?)

Be sure to get 512 megs of memory straight from the beginning; I had 256 at first, and now that I have the 512 it's noticeably better. You'll see when you try to load Battlefield 1942, for example. I also had 40 gigs of HD, but it filled after three weeks (cable modem), and now I have 160 gigs total.

But then again people like to defend their choices no matter what when it comes to spending money

 

[Mystic Eye]

Try www.ibuypower.com. They make machine similar to Falcon and Alienware but are less expensive. Good service, fast deilivery and great deals. Get the new 8X AGP video cards like the Radion with 128 MB on board ans SB audigy with a good 5.1 surround sound speaker set.

 

[DarkJester]

40 Gigs full in 3 weeks? Wow.... I have 10 Gigs atm and its only half full. Guess I don't download much.....

 

[drothgery]

Err, there's a lot that you won't really need, but if you're going to spend that much, go ahead and get 2.8 GHz P4 and XP Pro.

Otherwise, here's a nice Dell setup, quite similar to what I'd buy if I were shopping today (instead of in 6-9 months, when I actually will be).

For a little less than $1400...

Dell Dimension 4550 Series: Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.53GHz with 533MHz system bus/ 512K L2 Cache
Memory: 512MB DDR SDRAM at 333MHz
Keyboard: Dell® Quietkey® Keyboard
Monitors: 17in (16.0 viewable,.25dp)M782 Flat CRT Monitor
Video Cards: New 64MB DDR NVIDIA GeForce4™ Ti 4200 Graphics Card with TV Out and DVI
Hard Drive: Save $40! (savings included in price) 80GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive
Floppy Drive: 3.5 in Floppy Drive
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
Mouse: Logitech® Optical USB Mouse
Network Interface: Integrated Intel® PRO 10/100 Ethernet
Modem: 56K PCI Telephony Modem
CD or DVD Drive: 16x Max DVD-ROM Drive
Sound Card: Integrated Audio
Speakers: New Harman Kardon® HK-206 Speakers
Software Bundles: Microsoft® Works Suite 2002 with Money Standard
Virus Protection: Norton AntiVirus™ 2002, 90-day introductory offer
Digital Music: Dell Jukebox powered by MusicMatch
Digital Photography: Dell Picture Studio, Image Expert Standard
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options: 2 Year Limited Warranty plus 2 Year At-Home Service
Internet Access Service: 6 Months of America Online Membership Included
Protect Your System: Belkin Surgemaster Gold Power
CD or DVD Burner for 2nd bay: FREE Upgrade! 40x/10x/40x Max CD-RW Drive