Help with new computer shopping

[prplchknz]

I need direction. What I want is a good gaming computer that can hold a fair amount of music on top of that. Someone suggested I build one but I know that will end in disaster I do not know my price range I'll have to think about that. I'm trying to hold out til christmas/birthday so my parents will get it as a gift. but I don't know if this computer will last til than to be honest.

I'm willing to invest more money in it to have it last longer than getting a lower range one and have it dead after a year/out of space.

 

[Haven]

1. go to newegg.com
2. find a good processor, either amd or pentium should be fine
3. pick out a motherboard that the processor will fit on
4. pick out a graphics card that fits the motherboard (the card should say the type of slot it fits, and the mobo should have that kind of slot on it)
5. pick out some ram the fits the motherboard
6. pick out a hard drive (or two if you want one for backup, I keep all my music on a separate hard drive in case I want to install a different operating system so I don't have to move the music around to an external hd)
7. get a case that can fit everything inside of it
8. get a power supply that can power your processor and graphics card and can fit in your case
9. get a sweet monitor that works with your motherboard (it should use the right kind of cable)
10. put it all together

or yea you could just go buy a premade one.

 

[Sparrow]

Macs are the best! Less prone to receiving virus's too .

 

[Rail Tracer]

You'll want a medium-high range computer (if you really are going to buy from a vendor instead of making your own.) Usually want $800-2k. If you can take a good enough care with your computer... it can last you anywhere from 4-6 years (though by then... there would be new technology on your way.) During that time, it is possible to just upgrade the parts rather than completely buy a new one. Take note of what processor you are using.... you don't really need to have the latest processor or the "Best of the best." Intel's latest processors widely used by home computers are the I7 Core Processors. As for AMD processors, you have to research it a bit yourself. (I'm an intel fan when it comes to processors.. but am an AMD fan when it comes to graphics card.)

Biggest things are, the processor speed and the graphics card. You won't go too far with a bad processor speed. You won't really go that far with a horrible graphics card either. You would want at least 2GB(might want to go a bit higher than the minimum requirement) of RAM if you plan on running Windows 7 64 bit.

Most gaming computers can function as video computers(such as video editing.)

 

[JocktheMotie]

I need direction. What I want is a good gaming computer that can hold a fair amount of music on top of that. Someone suggested I build one but I know that will end in disaster I do not know my price range I'll have to think about that. I'm trying to hold out til christmas/birthday so my parents will get it as a gift. but I don't know if this computer will last til than to be honest.

I'm willing to invest more money in it to have it last longer than getting a lower range one and have it dead after a year/out of space.

Macs are the best! Less prone to receiving virus's too .

Oops.

As for OP, need to know your budget.

 

[Randomnity]

bf just got these parts from newegg for a gaming computer (I think he made a slight change to one of them since then):

GeForce MSI GTX 570 $319.99
Intel i7 2600k $309.99
Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3 $169.99
Corsair TX850W $149.99
OCZ Agility 3 600GB $129.99
Samsung DVD-R $21.99
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit $109.99
Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz 8GB (2x4GB) $89.99

Total: $1,301.92
Shipping/Receiving $9.59
(HST 13%) $170.51

Total: $1,482.02

Seems to work great so far (he put it together a few days ago). He's a pretty big gamer (and does website design work too) and seems to think this setup will work a lot better than his old computer (which for reference, already runs starcraft2 and similar games perfectly well)

 

[Eckhart]

It pays off to build your own PC, because premade computers are usually overpriced, have not always good components in it and usually bad balanced. Usually it is relative simple to put one together alone and you shouldn't be afraid of it, but if you really don't want to do it yourself many Online-Shops offer to build it together for you (although you have then to buy everything at the same shop, and it costs a bit).

I helped people often in the past with telling them what parts to get in some Hardware Forum and wrote guides, so I could give you advice too if you want, but I would need more info what you exactly do with your computer (you say it should be a Gaming Computer, what kind of games do you play?), what parts you already have and could keep and how your budget is. And obviously you would have to tell if you are ready to build your own system.

 

[OmarFW]

Do not buy a pre-built machine no matter what you do. And stay away from Cyberpower or other similar custom computer makers. Stay away from most big brand laptops as they lack sufficient cooling because they're made cheap.

Buy from ebay where small time custom computer builders make their living. The prices are usually good and the computer I bought from there runs great. It didn't come with OEM windows or some lame recovery disk but a real copy of windows. Essentially it's the same thing as building your own computer but you don't have to do any of the work.

as for music, I suggest you buy an external hard drive so it doesn't sap away that precious OS drive disk space. that way you won't have your computer won't become a music vault if it dies as you can just plug the drive into another machine.

 

[prplchknz]

I already have an external hard drive it's partitioned for back ups and music.

 

[Rail Tracer]

bf just got these parts from newegg for a gaming computer (I think he made a slight change to one of them since then):
GeForce MSI GTX 570 $319.99
Intel i7 2600k $309.99
Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3 $169.99
Corsair TX850W $149.99
OCZ Agility 3 600GB $129.99
Samsung DVD-R $21.99
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit $109.99
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz 8GB (2x4GB) $89.99

Total: $1,301.92
Shipping/Receiving $9.59
(HST 13%) $170.51

Total: $1,482.02

Seems to work great so far (he put it together a few days ago). He's a pretty big gamer (and does website design work too) and seems to think this setup will work a lot better than his old computer (which for reference, already runs starcraft2 and similar games perfectly well)

Nice, but I heard Intel has another line-up coming around Q4 of this year.... which... uses another motherboard. Supposedly it "replaces" the generation 1 high end processors. It definitely does beat the older processors (current one... not the LGA 2011.)

But really, I've been using this computer.... and it's nearing its 4th(might be 3rd) year now and it still works better than most computers (yes it can play Starcraft II perfectly.)

 

[Octarine]

I'm willing to invest more money in it to have it last longer than getting a lower range one and have it dead after a year/out of space.

You mean it's better to buy a mid-end high value computer, than a low end computer that you will have to upgrade regularly, or a high end computer that will ultimately be slower more expensive than regular mid-end upgrades.

What games do you want to play exactly? Laptop or desktop?