PC Recomendations...

I've been round the houses with my machines. Some had custom built, some I've bought of the shelf, some I've pushed the limits by buying a top end machine with the latest and greatest.

After my travels I've decided from now on instead of buying great machines, I'm just going to by mid level spec from a decent bulk provider, so yes maybe alienware. But it will be one of their more basic machines.

Simple reason being:

1: Even their basic is good.
2: Their top end will be basic in 6 months anyway.
3: If I spend under £1000 on a machine I won't mind buying a new one a couple of years later, that would not likely be the case if I bought one that was well over.
4: Rebuying basic machines more frequently will mean on average I have 'better' machine.

Right now I'm waiting for Quad cores to settle in and a vista service pack, and then I'll get something.

I pretty much go for the mid to lower high range machines. Like you said, you can spend a lot less money each time and get a faster machine more often. I've found the top-of-the-line stuff usually isn't a whole lot faster, but it's a lot more expensive, only to be surpassed by the next generation mid-range system.

I did that three times. I found it frustrating, Here's why:

1.Everything runs fine, until Microsoft updates the OS

2.I am tired of becoming basic every three years.

3.I may not have money at the time to upgrade the thing

4.Programs begin to cease to function optimally, For instance: GalCiv2

5.What is a mid-range PC? Halfway between $200 and $32,000?


(and yes, this is just to get more feedback from other people, you know, bring it up on the recent list...)

Unfortunately, things move that fast. It would be nice if they didn't, but that's how they part us from our money. Could you imagine if your TV or your stereo was useless after three years? It's a racket I tell ya

Hehe, if I was going to spend $16,000 on something, it wouldn't be on a personal computer with the way they depreciate. Anyway, I think we're talking around $800 just for the box since monitors can usually last through a couple, or more if you replace/rebuild your box every year or two.

I run Gal Civ II on

AMD thunderbird XP 2.0 GHz (cira 2000) running windows 2k sp4
1 GB of DDR 266 ram
ATI 9800 pro 128 MB

And a nice VP2030B Viewsonic monitor at 1600x1200

Seems to run fine you could get a PC far better than this for £200 here in uk ~$400 so unless you like games like crysis (that no pc can run on max settings) then you do not need to spend much.

I would say:-

AMD X2 4400+
2GB DDR2
250-320 GB HD
Ati 1950 pro if you want a cheap directx 9c card or nvida 8800 GT 512 if you want a decent Direct X10 card that runs 9.0c well
Windows XP pro 32 bit - far better than vista for games

Actually you can get away with a very old computer if you don't *have* to have the latest anything and only use it for the basics. My wife uses her computer for nothing other than email and web browsing and it's going on 7 years old now. It's plenty fast enough for her and she has no complaints about it. Of course, I keep in top running condition. I've done a few small upgrades like more memory and a faster hard drive, but it still has the original motherboard and processsor. Also, it runs Windows 2000 SP4 which is faster for an older system.

If you have trouble finding a new box with Windows XP, I second the comment above about waiting until Vista SP1 is out.

I will ad to this by saying that there are more than enough fantastic old games to keep you busy and away from the shelves in the shops where you will find the new power hungry games. All the new games are comming out missing the capability to run on more than 1 machine nowdays rulling out at home LAN games, so they can shove it.

I will be upgrading my machine to run X3 better this year and then thats it, i will be sticking with old games from then on.

Hi,

Right now, is the best time to buy new hardware. You can buy it from Gateway,
HP or Dell. You should be able yo get a good mid range system for under $800
with a LCD screen.

Here in Australia, Dell do not sell computers. What they sell are computer packages that are missing an option not to take a monitor. I actually wanted to by my computer from Dell but since i already have a perfectly good monitor, i am forced to look elsewhare. It is parculiar to me that dell are happy to turn away customers because they want to force them to take monitors weather they want one or not??

Those $800 Dell and Gateway computers with monitor included are really poor quality. You'll likely have component lifetime issues or just defects right out of the box. The big makers buy volume, often custom designed components as cheap as they can. They strong-arm their suppliers into meeting contractual price and quantity obligations resulting in poor quality control. They also broker deals for off-the-shelf hardware that is really bottom of the barrel. You *can* get a quality system from Dell or Gateway if you have it built to your specifications, but you'll pay more than if you just bought a system from a smaller, quality maker. Support those little guys and spend a little more for a much better system. Or, just build one yourself and support those component makers that cater to us enthusiasts.

Ah ha I now see your looking to blow loads of cash on pc well http://www.falcon-nw.com/ do expensive top end pcs that cost the earth and are faster than anything else inc alienware. Even the top end dell XPS nowerdays are not totally rubbish!

You can easily spend £5000 if you want to get all the best! Here is the Xtanto rundown of top components as I see them note I would never buy these as I have no monies.

CPU - intel 45nm QX9650 quad core
memory - DDR3 1800Mhz
HDD either WD raptor 150GB for top speed or Samsung F1 1TB for a fast 3 platter 32MB cache 1TB drive.

Either the 8800 GTX Ultra or 8800 GTS 512 MB (this is the new G92 65nm part groovy!)

I like Viewsonic VP2030b monitors - I have 2 of these and they run at 1600x1200 1000:1 contrast ratio and 8ms response time all nice.

Is that the sort of stuffs you were looking for?

Well you could spend $5000 on a brilliant computer but your freind who bought the $1000 dollar computer, who kept the change, then spends another $1000 in 6 months to upgrade will have a better computer than you already for only $2000 outlay!

Midrange PC

Ususally when a new part is released in is released in a series; Top, mid-range, and budget. Its a marketing thing. For example, there are several Nvidia 8800 styled parts, the GT, GTS, and GTX. The low end is for the mass producers and ppl on a strict budget. The High end is for those who spare no expense. The mid-range is for those who want Good performance, but can't break the bank. Generally, the midrange is more similar to the high end part, but lacks speed and some features (in the case of our Video card it would be core speed and number of those new fangled rendering units - can't remember thier name, stupid Dx10 changing technology on me, grrrr!)

hope that helps

Aye, but Dell bought Alienware. I do wonder if they are maintaining their quality levels under the new owners.

No actual feed back from OP? I wonder if he/she read any of this!

what is that, moore's law? computational power doubles every 18 months.



i will echo that 200%. i just upgraded from a less-than-2-year-old Dell that was almost totally dead, to a new PC i built myself. i spent $800 out of pocket, but this system is better than anything i'd get from Dell by paying twice as much. i would recommend a Dell monitor, but they're on sale right now. the $100 you'd save by buying it paired with a Dell PC isn't worth it; you'll save more money in the long run simply buying a Dell monitor on sale and getting a good PC somewhere else. just buy one of their monitors and let them market PCs to business consumers.

Craig (whom i quoted above) and a few others were an immense help in my decision-making process as i bought the components for my new PC. one warning about building your own: zero bundled software (no anti-virus, no DVD decoder, etc.). but even still, most bundled software is crap, and the stuff i do use, i'd prefer to pick myself for optimal performance.

if you want someone to build you a quality PC, especially if price is no object, i would recommend Puget Systems. they ain't cheap, but from what i've read their customer support is outstanding, and they'll basically build anything you want and work with you to ensure you get the PC you really want, regardless of your level of expertise. alienware is also good, but personally i can't stand their cases. they look childish to me. you can also find great deals on built systems on tigerdirect.com, and newegg.com is generally the best place to shop online for computer stuff.

good luck!

Yea, I really like Newegg. I've even bought other consumer appliances from them, i.e. my laptop and my TV. The service is impecible and their prices are pretty good.

Aye, i've been reading...

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I think 'll try going budget this time and just drool over other computers...
Did you know Apple's got an eight-core for market now?

Update: New Machine!

I just bought a new HP m8226x for about $6oo

Specs:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3.0GHz
Bus speed 2000MHz
3GB RAM
500GB Hard Drive
Vista Ultimate-loaded at the store (couldn't resist the price)

Going to take out the TV Tuner and probably replace with Dual GPUs!

Just wanted to thank all of you who posted on this thread!

I used to work for HP in Australia (dispatch).

Funny thing.... remember that Simpsons episode where Mr burns turns off the power plant? He goes through all that security to reach the off switch and then at the end ther is an open screen door to the outside!

Well similar thing at HP... i was working in dispatch, loading pallets of computers on trucks in an open whareouse with no security that anyone could walk in and out of! further down (same complex) in the assembly line area, the security was tighter than an airport terminal!!!

We were instructed to enter and leave work through security but during the day, everyone was walking out through the wareouse to smoke, or go to lunch.