Need a new computer...

[CptRumGuy]

Hey Escapists, I know you've seen a lot of these topics, but this is one of those subjects that constantly changes with technology. So I made a new one to make sure I get as up-to-date info as possible.

I need a new computer (obviously) and I was thinking of getting a custom one/building one this time around. I'd prefer it to be a laptop if possible, but I also want to be able to play games on it. I know a desktop is always better when it comes to games, but I need the portability. Now, to be clear, I don't consider myself a "PC gamer" and I also don't need to be able to play Crysis 2 on optimal settings using the power of Christ. I just would like it to be pretty decent at playing games on normal or maybe higher settings.

Luckily, money isn't too big an issue here. It can't be anything obscene, but I can probably afford up to around 2000 USD. Maybe a bit more.

I haven't built a PC or bought anything custom made before, so I'm pretty new at this. I just want suggestions for things like parts, brands, and most importantly a good site or company to build it.

I know a fair amount about what's inside a computer and which parts are important and whatnot, but just to be safe, try to explain it like you would to someone who has no idea what's inside and it could be fairy dust for all they know. Maybe not THAT simply, but you know what I mean...

I appreciate any help guys

 

[swytchblayd]

OT: Building a PC anymore is pretty much just plug-and-play. All you have to do is screw everything in right, and connect the proper wires, and it's all a go. Many things are even color-coded for convenience! Some suggestions, based upon what I bought for our home computer, and what I know about the industry:

-Gigabyte for the case (if you don't build your own), maybe the motherboard (what everything plugs into, and what houses the processor).

-Asus motherboard, in case you're not comfortable with Gigabyte. There's other manufacturers, but these are the two that I've had experience with.

-AMD makes great processors, on-par with Intel's, but usually half as much. Try and find at least a dual-core, if not quad-core processors (more cores = less stress on the processor, since there's more than one handling any given job), and get at least a 32MB cache on it (again, bigger is better). If you get anything above a dual-core, however, I would suggest looking for a larger processor fan, if only because the ones that come with them are usually not that great in tight quarters. They also make nifty graphics cards, as good as - if not better than - nVidia's.

-If you can get it, Ultra makes this absolutely awesome modular power supply; just plug in the wires you need, and leave out the ones you don't. It even comes with it's own bag of connector cords: a bonus in my opinion

EDIT: Corsair makes some good RAM sets as well; though not exactly cheap, and you might have to send back a card or two since they don't work (not necessarily their fault, as shipping is hard on RAM), they'll last like Energizer batteries ^_~ There's other good brands as well, so shop around and look for what you think would fit your situation the best.

-Western Digital or Seagate for the hard drive, minimal of 500GB (probably want to go with 1 terabyte (1 trillion bytes) hard drive, since I'm sure they're cheaper by now). Those are just the two that I trust the most.

-Cooler Master is pretty much the best for anything fan-related - which will probably be the cheapest part of what you'll buy.

-For anything else (CD/DVD/Blu-Ray drives, other drives, flash card readers, etc.), just go with the brands that you either trust, or that have the highest ratings on the given site/most recommended from the store that you're buying from. Really, these can be replaced the easiest if they go bad, because they're less essential than they used to be.

I know I put down a lot, and I tend to ramble, so if something was really confusing, please tell me and I'll try to nail it down to something simpler @____@

Spoiler: sorta off-topic, but a little on, and VERY long

If it's anything for perspective, I built a family/gaming PC for under $1000 two years ago that ran Half-Life 2 quite nicely without an added graphics card (though I did eventually get a Radeon ATI HD 5200 series later on, since games newer than 3 years old wouldn't put up with running on the built-in graphics "card" and 4 gigs of RAM). However, you aren't going to be building your own laptop anytime soon, unless you're prepared to make it out of a backpack and have it be liquid-cooled or something :/

Essentially, anything with a dual processor and 4 GB or more of RAM will be able to run a lot of newer games, but if I were you I wouldn't go with a laptop for the simple reason that they just plain don't work out in the long run. I've had experience with two so far, and the current one is already beginning to show it's age. They just don't run well after a year, is all I'm saying; the nail in the coffin is the fact that, besides the hard drive and the RAM (the temporary memory), you simply cannot upgrade them. If you're still dead-set on getting one, just two things:

1) Avoid stores, if at all possible. Buy them online if you can, because stores will generally try to sucker you into policies and warranties that will just end up giving you the short end of the stick. If you have to buy from a store, go through the actual retailer's store (such as Gateway) that you want to buy your computer from, NOT through a major retailer (such as Best Buy). The former can give you discounts, and customize your computer to fit your needs; the latter are just looking to dump their inventory as soon and as quickly as possible, no matter what they say to you.

2) DO NOT BUY DELL!! I don't care if there's a "fire sale" going on; just DON'T. Dell = shit. The second laptop, the one I'm using right now, was bought by my mom, who didn't really know what she was doing. Within three months, the hard drive has failed. On top of that, the computer's layout is, quite frankly, confusing; the function keys require an extra button to be held down, which is very irritating when trying to play games. If you don't, most of the buttons have secondary functions, which will activate. Trust me, it's very annoying to be trying to use emotes in an MMO, only to have the music in the background stop playing, the brightness go up, and the wireless adapter shut off.

The PC our church uses is a Dell. So was the last one, which had more problems than any I've ever encountered. For perspective, we also have a Gateway PC that was bought when I was back in high school. It still runs, and quite nicely for being about eight or nine years old, with only the RAM, hard drive, and power supply having been replaced/upgraded. As well, my old laptop was an HP Pavilion, nicely equipped, ran it hard, and it gave out within three years with minimal issues (the only problems mostly being software related, and usually my fault) when the hard drive controller gave out, essentially making it into an ugly paperweight XD


*cough* anyhow... sorry about that, but I couldn't just erase it, so I put it down here

 

[CptRumGuy]

Thanks! Some good advice there, don't worry about long posts. I guess my other question is what is a good website or service or whatever where I can find a good custom comp?

 

[swytchblayd]

Well, many parts distribution websites (the sites that sell pieces for computers and such) sell full systems as well, usually for less than you'd find in stores. I usually look at either Tiger Direct or Newegg.com for stuff, but a Google search can direct you to the cheapest places. Just use common sense, however; if something looks too good to be true, or feels even the slightest bit off, don't go buying from there.

As for pre-built custom PCs, eMachines is probably the best-known brand for that, but most manufacturers (HP, Compaq, etc) will offer some flexibility when it comes to having your machine, such as whether you want a bigger hard drive, more RAM, a graphics/sound card, etc. It's just that you'll generally be paying more for their brand name and the warranties they offer than for the actual PC parts. Still, places like Gateway (yeah, I use them a lot, but it's the one place I've had decent experiences with >.<) offer basic computers for decent prices.

Still, any hard-core gamer knows the best PCs a person will ever own are those they build themselves ^-^ Sure, there's more time spent, no overall warranty after the ones on the individual pieces expire, and the risk that you'll completely fuck up and melt everything into a gooey little pile - but when it's all said and done, there's just something about anything you make/build yourself that just says "This is mine. I made this", and it feels good ^-^ Besides, there's more than a few guides online to help you if you get stuck somewhere, so it's much more foolproof nowadays than it used to be.

I would still recommend not tossing out your old comp until you're absolutely sure you're done building the new, though; nothing like having a hard drive crash on ya to bring reality back into focus >.<

UPDATE: Whoops! Forgot to talk about RAM ^^; Added a section to my previous post.

 

[MercurySteam]

I haven't built a PC or bought anything custom made before, so I'm pretty new at this. I just want suggestions for things like parts, brands, and most importantly a good site or company to build it.

Good thing you live in the US. You have access to one of the best websites for this task - Newegg.com [http://www.newegg.com/]

Here are my opinions on what brands to go for:

Cases: Antec, Coolermaster, and even Thermaltake make great great cases. They're all worth looking at.

Power Supply: Antec and Corsair male some of the best PSUs ever. Apparently Seasonic make the best but also the most expensive.

Motherboard: Asus, Gigabyte and MSI make the best ranges of mobos on the market.

CPU: If you're on a budget them AMD is the way to go. As you aren't, you can go straight to Intel if you choose.

RAM: Corsair makes memory for both Intel and AMD systems and are a good choice. My personal preference for AMD is Kingston and for Intel is G.Skill.

Graphics Processor: Don't let people fool you; ATI cards are no worse than Nvidia cards, just depends on what you're looking for. Nvidia is a good place for a rookie to start. Good manufacturers for GPUs are again - Asus, Gugabyte, MSI and also EVGA. If you're going ATI then XFX is also worth a look.

Hard Drive: I'll only recommend the very best, considering how important this is - Western Digital and Seagate.

If you need help with specifics, then feel free to ask.

 

[CptRumGuy]

I see...this is some good stuff here. I suppose my next question would be, what would you say are the "numbers" I should look for in a fairly decent gaming laptop? What I mean are things like the amount of RAM I'd need, or GHz in the processor and the like...

 

[Hairetos]

An interesting idea for speed. Solid State Drives are extremely fast, but very expensive for the amount of storage you get.

Take a look at RAID 0 hard drive configuration. It uses two hard drives to stripe data and use both drives to read/write, increasing speed similarly to that of an SSD. Just something to consider.

Also, make sure you always backup your data if you do this. If one hard drive in a RAID fails, your data might be unrecoverable. But the speed is amazing.

One last note, I don't know if it's been mentioned, but building isn't the most important part. It's making sure your parts like CPU are compatible with your motherboard.

 

[SirDeadly]

I'm in the same position as you but I have a much smaller budget. I've looked around and can put together a decent pc for less than $700. Just go for what you need, there's no point in buying excessive amounts if you're not going to use it!