Hi, I want to buy a new computer. Problem is, I have no knowledge of computers and I want to get a good one. Can someone help recommend some nice specs for a new computer so I don't get ripped off! What brands are good (like gateway, or dell, etc...) or should I get someone to custom make me a computer??? any recommendations appreciated.

I recommend the following:

-AMD Athlon 2000+ or higher OR Pentium 4 2Ghz+, same things
-NVidia Geforce 4 Video Card at least 64 Mb, probably more, or a Radeon
-At least 512 Mb DDR Ram
-At least 80 Gig HD, probably more like 120 Gig would be better
-I dunno about a sound card, something new, moder, and shiny!!!

I do not really know enough about which brand to choose from. I got my computer custom build for me at the local university, they have a computer place. I spent @ $1,700 Canadian on it, this was October 2002. I reccomend a custom build machine, it is nice to be able to choose your parts. I assume you want a PC, If you want a Mac, I cannot help you very much. Make sure you get a flat screen monitor, or preferably the skinny led ones. I have not had a component failure, but I have had many a problem with Windows XP, although not as many as Windows 2000/ME. I would reccomend XP, it is easier to fix then 98, and 98 is ancient anyways. I do not know how much $$ you wanna spend on this. Also, it depends if you want this computer for gaming or not. If you want to do gaming on it, then that will change what you want drasitically.

Yea I plan on doing quite a bit of gaming. My computer will be used basically for games, internet surfing, writing, and music listening.

I don't really have a budget since my dad will buy it for me, I don't want to get ripped off though, I just want a top of the line computer that I wont have to call tech support all the time for. I'd say I want to spend like $2500 U.S or so.... that's just a vague limit though so if a good computer is more than that then I can get it... I just don't want to be ripped off. And I want it to be nice.

P.S. I definitly want a windows P.C. not a mac! I live in the heart of Microsoft country!!!

P.P.S. I want a really big and cool moniter... how much are those?

$2500?

holy crap you could buy the worlds best computer ever for that!

i got a 19" viewsonic crt monitor for about $350 AUS. should be a fair bit cheaper in yankee dollars. of course you might want a lcd one, which cost more.

but yeah, at least get 512MB Ram (i have 1GB), and a nice spicey processor - for cash efficiency you usually get the 3rd or so from the newest from that brand as the prices drop a fair bit after a while. If you have a lot of cash to splash, you might want to go pentium.

and get a 128MB video card at least.

RealGoober has given you some good advice on components, but if you've got $2500 or so, want a good machine and don't know that much about computers, by a Mac whether you live in the heart of the Darkside or not.

It'll be easier to figure out and maintain. The best software and games are available for Mac anyway.

Either way, spend the bucks on the box and not the monitor. Load it up with RAM and a good video card. Its the box that does the work.

I just had an idea... should I get like one really good computer or like 2-3 computers around $1000? which would be better?

Spend the bucks on one good computer!

If you're doing gaming, don't get an LCD. They look cool, but have problems keeping up with CRTs when it comes to some games. Civ3 shouldn't be a problem, but if you're doing Half-Life2 or Unreal, you'll notice it.

www.buyabs.com has some pretty cool computers on it. Their Ultimate X5 starts out at $1700, and is very tweakable.

i went to a gaming computer website of the comp makers "falcon northwest" and customized their nicest model with most of the best stufff i want and it came out to like 6200$... is this worth it???

Simply put, no. The same computer six months from now will run for 1/3 that.

6300? you are crazy!

Here is what I got, which is system that should satisfy 95% people

P4 3.2 - 290$
Radeon 9700 pro -225$
1GB of PC3200 RAM - $150
LIAN LI Al case- $120
Antec TruePower - $80
2x WD 80GB SE drives in RAID- $160
IC7 875P motherboard - $115
DVD ROM and CDRW - $100
17" LC monitor - $450
TOTAL- $1,700

you shouldn't spend more than that... everything is high end ( CPU, MEM, motherboard, PSU, monitor, case) except radeon 9700 pro, which is still more than good. So don't be anybody's sheep.

Ok, so you can afford a top of the line computer then. Then, I reccomend:

AMD Athlon 3000+, P4 3.0 Ghz+
1 Gig of Ram
120 Gig HD zt least, for gaming.
NVidia 128 Mb at least, maybe a 256? Or a nice Radeon.
Good Sound card.

I reccomend a Windows PC as they can run the most games, and are used the most. Macs have their problems as well, they are not the best solution in the world either. I am going to split me computer, have Linux and XP, Linux for Internet, everything non-gaming, and XP for Games. I think that would work the best, as XP is the best for games, and Linux best for stability (or so I have heard). Definitely buy one computer, not 2-3. A labtop - I dunno. They are pricier, but you can take it with you, no stick with a tower computer, better for serious gaming.

And ya, as Plexus Stated, somputer depreciate in value fast. Mine that cost 1,700CDN$ (originally for a NVidia 64 Mb, AMD 1700+, 256 Ram, 40 Gig HD, now has 200 Gig HD, and 768 Ram) is probably not worht nearly as much, and you will find that technology is advancing so fast that your once nice., new shiny computer will be old very, very soon. *deep sigh*

See I had really no clue about what was good or not or whatever. I'll just try and get a custom one between 2000 and 3000.... is there anything in particular I can do to it that will make it easier to upgrade in the future when the technology becomes obsolete (which it probably will like 2 weeks after I get it lol)

What comraddict said is perfect. Looking at his list, everything there is what you want. Make sure you get a top-of-the-line video card, you have the money. Basically, print that, take it to a local shop that builds comptuers, make sure they are trustworthy, and get this thing built!!! It might cost you more to have it made, but then you can get the components that you want, instead of some crappy thing that is pre-made for you. I know here in Canada, A&B Sound does offer to build you a computer, but I do not know if they are in the States as well. They seem local. I was gonna go there to have my computer made, but the University was cheaper, and more fleixble. And you want an LCD screen. I was gonna get one, but I didnt, and I have been regretting it since.

Originally posted by Giotto
See I had really no clue about what was good or not or whatever.

This suggests to me you might buy a lot more than you know what to do with, because money's no object, today. Maybe better take it easy and make a conservative purchase, then six months or so later when you've got your bearings buy the software, peripherals, or upgrades you realise a need for.

No matter how you end up using your computer, you'll be staring at the monitor most of the time. So you can't lose by investing in a 19" or 21" CRT monitor. Just compare them (with identical screen images, preferably text) in the store - your own eyes know best.

Originally posted by Giotto
is there anything in particular I can do to it that will make it easier to upgrade in the future ?

Yes, but no computer aficionado who loves tinkering and plotting strategic upgrade paths will recommend it. All-in-one motherboards. These have the network, sound, video, etc. integrated on the main board, so everything works tolerably well together. Naturally, they're a lot less expensive than an assembly of various brand names. This will not be a cutting edge high performance board but a passing grade board for the year or two before you scrap the whole thing to buy a new one.

Definitely get your computer made at a local shop. If a salesperson earning commission hugs you at the door, walk out. Try to find a place that feels like an auto mechanic's; if you see customers bringing in their computers for upgrades, and waiting the fifteen minutes while it's done without charge or hassle on a front counter, then you're in the right place.

Originally posted by Giotto
i went to a gaming computer website of the comp makers "falcon northwest" and customized their nicest model with most of the best stufff i want and it came out to like 6200$... is this worth it???
you shouldn't need to spend more than say 2500 to get a computer that is high end and does what you need no worries.

Originally posted by Giotto
Hi, I want to buy a new computer. Problem is, I have no knowledge of computers and I want to get a good one. Can someone help recommend some nice specs for a new computer so I don't get ripped off! What brands are good (like gateway, or dell, etc...) or should I get someone to custom make me a computer??? any recommendations appreciated.

Take the easy way out get an XBOX. :lol:

You don't say what it is you want to use a computer for?

If you just want it for the usual Word/Office stuff, netsurfing and e-mail. Then you don't need anything fantastic.

You want to run high end games and media packages well thats a different scenario and one that will cost a few dollars.

Most likely you probably want something in between so you can play strategy games at least.

I'd recommend against getting a custom built one unless you are pretty sure on what it is you want to get.

Maybe some of your friends got a computer they want to sell cheap? Thats worth looking at.

Know of any Government auctions you can check out bit of a hit and miss thing.

Probably worth looking at buying one of those magazines in the news agent for rookies. Stuff like 'How to build your own PC' or something similar.

Plus brand names don't mean that much except as a measure of the level of service you'll get in regards to warranty's and customer service help lines.

You might also want to consider the PC or MAC option (I'm anti mac myself) but thats whole other area.;)

These days you really have to look at what it is your getting and if it can be upgraded without too much fuss. That can get a little technical with motherboards that have graphics and/or sound cards built in etc. Different cases for different motherboards - so don't be in a rush to make a purchase because thats how you'll get ripped off.


[edit] Monitors - well if you like your games you want a 17 inch digital monitor at least thats sort of a Gamer's base standard. Although a 22 inch one is quite nice but pricey!

The LCD monitors are quite good but it has been said they don't display game motion to well. I can't say if that is or isn't the case because I haven't played a game in quite a while on my LCD so I don't know. In terms of space saving and being quite easy to shift around LCD moniter's are excellent.

Plus do you want a wireless mouse and keyboard they seem to be real popular right now. You probably want to buy some computer magazine that reviews computers and associated peripherals. Down here (Australia) I use APC as my base line for computer tech reviews which are pretty good.

probably that systems he looked at have pentium 4 extreme edition, which is extreme waste of money..these CPUs cost $800-1000 and are better than regular P4, but they still run at same speed. not that better!

Firstly, build your own computer. Don't give Dell, Gateway or any other unpatriotic "shipping American Jobs to India" company your money.

At that price, I'd also consider waiting a few months, as we'll have PCI-Express and 939-pin athlon-64s to play with.

Originally posted by Arizona_Steve
Firstly, build your own computer. Don't give Dell, Gateway or any other unpatriotic "shipping American Jobs to India" company your money.

I assume you mean "have your own computer" built. The average person does not have the skills necessary to build their own computer. I would not know where to start, except with extremely detailed instructions, with plenty of pictures. I would reccomend having a computer shop build it for you, as had been above described. Trying to build it yourself is likely gonna be difficult, and you might make mistakes (actually, you likely will, if you do now know what you are doing). I only trust myself to install RAM, and not very much at that . . .

The most similar system to what I listed above costs $3,286.00 on Falcon Northwest...so they are getting about $1,500 profit per computer.

$2500 will get you a Dual 1.8GHz PowerMac G5 (http://www.apple.com/powermac/). Can't go wrong with the best processor and the best OS on the market ;).

Toasty, he said he wanted a gaming rig, not a tree-hugging artsy system. ;)

Originally posted by Plexus
Toasty, he said he wanted a gaming rig, not a tree-hugging artsy system. ;)

Ah, I see, so a Mac is for someone who wants to be productive with their computer, then :p?

not really, mac is an illusion of useful and good computer ( but only for less than 5% people)

G5-apple
duale 2ghz processerers
64 bit machine
up to 8 gigabytes memory
up to 500 gigabytes of hard-drive space
apple panther OS, based on UNIX
superdrive: CD read/write, DVD read/write

Originally posted by Toasty
$2500 will get you a Dual 1.8GHz PowerMac G5 (http://www.apple.com/powermac/). Can't go wrong with the best processor and the best OS on the market

The only problem with Macs is that they cannot play the same number of games that Windows can. I would have gotten a Mac in an instant, I would not even have considered a PC if Macs could play all the games that PCs can, but unfortunately they do not. Giotto mentioned he wanted a computer for gaming, and PCs are the best for that, if only that.

I agree that Macs are better the Windows in the terms of stability, durability, virtually in every aspect except the number of games they can play, then PCs.

powermac: two words combined that make no sense. :evil:

Originally posted by Comraddict
powermac: two words combined that make no sense.

Oh no, they make sense. Macs are quite powerful, much better to the Windows equivalent, their only problem is that Macs cannot play as many games as Windows can. Aside from that minor note . . .

Now Micro$oft Work$, those two works do not belong anywhere near one other. Quite the oxymoron, or whatever (that thingie that is the two words meaning the opposite of one another, whatchamacallit . . . )

Bah! Windows XP has NEVER crashed on me.

OS9 on the other hand...

Originally posted by Plexus
Bah! Windows XP has NEVER crashed on me.

OS9 on the other hand...

OS9 is an unfair comparison (they used the same kernel as Apple had been using for God-knows-how-long), and Mac school systems are notoriously poorly maintained. And I know you've only used a Mac in school :p.

I am going to agree with everyone and say - all of the big brands - Gateway, Dell, Compaq/HP, ect, are shoddily built and overpriced. Stay away from them. If you don't have the skills to build your own machine, then find a local business, and have them get build it for you. I reccomend comparing the prices of the parts they sell you with www.newegg.com - they are probably the best online computer parts retailer, and make sure they don't sell you parts for way more than they are worth.

Checking on www.newegg.com, you could get a complete system with the following for a total of $1599.

Athlon64 3000- $223
Right now Athlon64s are the best for gaming - the 3400 model cost ~$410, but is as fast in most cases as $800 Pentium4 Extreme Editions. The 3000 model will still have very good performance, in many cases matching 3.2Ghz Pentium4 when it comes to games.

1Gig Corsair PC3200 DDR-SDRAM - $164
Stick to Corsair or Crucial RAM, best brands out there.

Motherboard with built-in sound/LAN - $95
The audio should be good enough, might want to get a sound card later if you don't like it.

Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro 128Meg video card - $210
Right now, Ati's cards are dramatically outperforming Nvidia's at new games; the GeforceFX series just can't do DX9 very well. Just STAY away from any card made by Powercolor.

DVD burner + DVD ROM drive - $91.50, $30.
LiteOn and Plexor are good brands here.

120GB SATA Hard Drive - $105.50
I would stick with Western Digital or Seagate brand drives.

Antec Case with 400 Watt Power Supply - $92
Make sure you get a a good powersupply - Antec and Thermaltake are brands that have a good reputation.

19" PerfectFlat Viewsonic CRT monitor - $214
Monitors are more personal things, you definatly want to check these out in person.

Logitech z-680 5.1 channel speakers -$279
I have a friend with these, they work very nicely; but speakers again are a matter of prefernce; Altec Lansing and Klipsch also build very good speakers as well.

WindowsXP Home Edition - $95
You need Windows if you want to play most games; most people don't need the more expensive Pro edition; only get the Pro edition if you need the extra networking features or if you end up getting a dual-processor machine, other wise Home and Pro are identical.

Originally posted by Toasty
OS9 is an unfair comparison (they used the same kernel as Apple had been using for God-knows-how-long), and Mac school systems are notoriously poorly maintained. And I know you've only used a Mac in school .

Well Plexus, I have had nothing but trouble with any Windows product, which is why I whine so much. Maybe it is just me . . .

And ANYTHING in school systems are poorly maintained, including the teachers (no offense, could be one of my teachers in disguise on here . . . ). I remember our Macs in Elementary school working much better then our PC's in High School. NT is CRAP, when in School computers. And never try to run VectorWrosk on a 200 Mhz Computer, pratically impossible . . .

1Gig Corsair PC3200 DDR-SDRAM - $164
Stick to Corsair or Crucial RAM, best brands out there.



1GB in one stick? I would get two 512MB ones and a motherboard with dualchannel.

That is 2x512Meg set that I had up there; I should have mentioned that.

3 months ago I spend $3200 on a new system, custom built of course. :D

Pentium 4 3GHz /w hyperthreading and 800MHz FSB
1024mb OCZ gold pinned DDRRAM (2x512 for dual channel)
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro /w 128mb RAM
120gb Seagate Barracuda SATA hd
Soundblaster Audigy Soundcard
Lite-On 8x DVD burner
Logitech MX700 Cordless Desktop
Logitech z640 5-point surround speakers with subwoofer
Samsung 191t+ 19inch flatpanel moniter with 750:1 contrast
Asus motherboard with gigabit ethernet
Antec Sonata silent piano black case with extra Zalman 120mm super quiet fan.

Beauty!

Gah! I want that computer, newfangle!

Originally posted by Plexus
Gah! I want that computer, newfangle!

What he said. Dang, this make my computer look pathetic. You have a very nice machine newfangle, very very nice indeed. I assume that is U$D, btw . . .

Newfangle: If that rig is 3 months old it time to upgrade. Switch that R9800Pro to 9800ProAIW or get few more 120GB HD's for a RAID.

Who'd want a M$ product? Buy a mac, you'll get a much better comp with the same money...

Originally posted by Ankka
Who'd want a M$ product? Buy a mac, you'll get a much better comp with the same money...

I hope I am not being repetitive here, but Macs just cannot play all the same games that PC's can. I agree, M$ $ucks, Macs are MUCH better, but they cannot play all the games that PCs can, and besides more people own PCs , which make them more convenient . . .

I agree on the games part.

But PC's more convenient? What the ****?!? I say, there are thousands, even millions of viruses for PC. None for OS X. What's convenient now?

Viruses are written for majority, not for up to 5% of users. Whoever says Windows is bad, needs to master Windows first, then I take their word.

I recommend a Dell computer www.dell.com

Dell machines(and all the large computer makers - HP, eMachines, Gateway, ect) are full of propeitary parts,and in general are poorly constructed. For a decent one you will pay a couple hundred more than one you build yourself. And if you don't want to build it yourself, you can still get it built cheaper at a local computer store, and out of better parts too.

Originally posted by Ankka
I agree on the games part.

But PC's more convenient? What the ****?!? I say, there are thousands, even millions of viruses for PC. None for OS X. What's convenient now?

I mean conveniece as if If I burn a CD for a PC friend, no problem, but if I burn a CD for a Mac friend, then they often cannot load the information onto their computer, and it is a pain. Occaisionally, they can, but usually, they cannot. VERY inconvenient.

More viruses for PCs, but also more programs to help stop the viruses also . . .

2 way road, my friend . . .

And do NOT go Dell, stay away from the Big pre-builds, as has been stated here. Get yours built, trust me, my parents bought a Compaq, and my oldish Oct. '02, which should be a tich slower, is actually a fair bit faster, cause it was built with the piece i selected (this is comparing with equal amounts of RAM). Build it, bon't buy pre-build.

What I'd recommend is the following:
AMD Athlon 2800+ or Pentium 4 2.8ghz (it's always a holy war between the fans of the two brands)
A good reliable motherboard (Asus is the only one I trust)
2X512 megs of RAM
120 or 160 gb hard disk (it depends on the price difference)
A really good monitor: you'll find yourself changing your computer every 2 to 4 years and about the only piece of equipment that you'll keep is your monitor, do yourself a favor and buy something good! Samsung, Sony and Mitsubishi are brands you can't go wrong with, they're a bit more expensive than some El Cheapo brands on the market but you'll notice the difference!
A DVD burner (it's so cheap nowadays...)
An Antec or Lian Li case (Standard cases are a real pain in the ass to work with as they have sharp edges that will make sure you cut yourself when playing inside the computer and they're not as efficient as the reputable brands for airflow (cooling of your computer) and quality...

You won't end up paying too much and the money you just saved could be spent on upgrading sooner. Besides, the cost is exponentional when you look at the performance and what's bottom line now is what was top of the line only 8 months ago, shelving the big bucks won't give you a better system in the long run, it may extend its life by a couple of months that's all...

Of course it's a matter of personal preference but you'll be glad in a year that you don't have spent too much on an obsolete piece of equipment...

if you want to play games, get a decent graphic-card. don't fall for the low cost card like radeon 9200 or regular 9600 or nvidia fx5200

get at least a 9600xt or better still get a 9800 (or if you can still buy the older 9700pro do it)

Originally posted by RealGoober

I mean conveniece as if If I burn a CD for a PC friend, no problem, but if I burn a CD for a Mac friend, then they often cannot load the information onto their computer, and it is a pain. Occaisionally, they can, but usually, they cannot. VERY inconvenient.


I remember once I had a tech support call from "education something department boss" (i can't translate it to english) that his PC won't read a CD. He got it from local newspaper and it was supposed to have pictures in it. So I tried but no. Then I called to the newspaper and asked with what the CD was burned. MAC. Ofcourse it didn't occur to them that we didn't have a single MAC in our office...:goodjob:

Yeah... if you're gonna go with brands, Dell and Alienware are both good. I rteccomend custom-building, just lets you have more options, plus, if you do it yourself, you save money on labour...

I've always been an Intel person myself, so I'd reccomend a 2.8 Ghz or better processor, with HT of course...
Corsair RAM is awesome...
ATI 9600 Pro or XT willl do the trick for 99.9% of today's games, if you want to be prepared for the future, get a 9800 XT/ Pro...

ASUS Motherboards are good for custom-building and o/cing...

WesternDigital HardDrives are awesome...
WinXP is probalby the best Windows out there ATM, 2K isn't bad either though...
For sound, I'd reccomend and Audigy 2ZS sound card, and if you're going with speakers Creative's are good in the lower price range, if youve got mopney to burn, Klipsch is awesome...

I think that just about covers it...

If I were to build a cost effective PC from scratch I would use the following:

AMD Barton 2500+
ASUS NF7 (Nforce 2 M/board with raid/net/sound/fiwi/SATA
1Gb twinmos mem
Maxtor 120GB SATA HDD
Coolermaster Aluminium case
Enermax PSU
Papst case Fans
Aero 7+ cooler or Jet if I was going to clock above 3000

Vid card and optical drives could be anything.
For gaming I'd prolly go ATI now despite the rubbish drivers, but if I was going to use professional graphics packages or CAD then an NVIDIA graphics card is needed as the ATI drivers will fall over.

Completely agree with other posters, that long term you are much better off building your own PC.

Don't be frightened of spending a few quid on a decent case and PSU

I'd use WinXP home for the OS, though I actually dual boot with Linux.

EDIT: If you are a serious Gamer then you won't want an LCD monitor. Buy a decent CRT.

Enermax is too noisy, try get one of those 120 mm fan PSUs. Pabst is great, very silent.

I have a Lian Li aluminium case myself, really nice.

Edit: review with pics available at DansDataLianLi Pc60 reviewed at DansData (http://www.dansdata.com/pc60.htm)

That's just one of their (older) cases, the got lots of other models.

Originally posted by Hakim
Enermax is too noisy, try get one of those 120 mm fan PSUs.

Especially the ones with two fans. Avoid them.

Review:
http://metku.net/index.html?sect=view&n=0&path=reviews/nb_forton400/index_eng

Anandtech has few good buyers guides and are keeping them up to date. http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.html?i=2014

BTW Giotto, have you got that new computer yet?

For Hard Drives:

A WD Raptor is a really good drive for gaming and for loading huge files, since it has a 10K RPM... I bought one for my new custom-built computer a while ago and its pretty carned good, only 37 GB of space though I think they have a 100 GB model out now... not sure though.


EDIT:

As for Macs....

It was specifcally stated that this computer is meant (sp?) for gaming, MAcs, while powerful, efficient and stable, are not gaming machines. Please take Mac (vs. PC) discussions elsewhere,

Thank you. :)

Well, I got it!
I don't know all the little details but IIRC it's a pentium 4 2.8 GhZ
160 gb hard drive
a crap load of RAM (2x512mb I think)
a bunch of other stuff I can't remember

It cost somewhere around $3k or so, I think most of the money was from the moniter and the speaker system

I basically asked some people for the names of some custom computer places that can be trusted, and went into one, and told them to make the best comp they could using parts over 1 month old (because I figured that would make it so I didn't end up spending a huge amount of money on something that would quickly become obsolete) It's really nice, and it has a ginormous monitor and surround sound. I have it in my room, I just need to get my dad to call the cable guy and get him to install the internet on it.

Is there any way to hook a computer up to a TV? Because I want to put a gigantic flat panel TV above my bed on the ceiling so I can watch movies and surf the net from my bed.

Yep, its possible, deneds on your video card...