Gaming computers

[Flogger23m]

Intel makes the faster CPUs.

Unless you are looking at CPUs below $260, Intel is typically better than AMD.

That being said, I will upgrade my 9950BE to one of the faster AMD quad cores, or might hold out for the 6 cores to drop to $180 or so...


Also, get an extra hard drive as a back up drive.

[loose_electron]

the clocking rate of computers has been frozen for a while and technology has gone to parallel path to boost speed. So, needing the new and shiny machine every 18 months doesnt need to be done anymore.

Include a backup strategy, that is a must have!

[draconianruler]

Thanks for all the advice. I already have a 360 and wii for the kids but unfortunately I do not have much time to play them. I'm hoping with a new gaming computer I will be able to make some more time playing games

I'm leaning towards building one and will read up more on the new tech like sandy bridge.

[p.ro]

Dell/Alienware M11x.
Great price for what it is.
No cd-drive, but for the price, you can afford to buy an external reader if needed.

http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-m11x/pd?refid=alienware-m11x&~ck=mn

[erik_26]

SSD's are not as efficient for small jobs as they are for big ones. Put your Operating system on the SSD and possibly heavy programs on it as well, but for general storage keep it on a seperate hard drive.

This is very true. Installs of large programs are fast. Booting is a little faster but not "WOW."

I only use my SSD for AutoCAD, video editing, MS flight sim X and other large applications. Like Lilium said they aren't all that fast for coping pictures or email.

The more I think about this the more I lean towards saying.... Get a PS3 a Xbox 360 and a Nintendo Wii. All those together are well under $1500. Plus you can play almost every game on them.

Windows 7 64-bit is very stable. I love it. Go iCore 7 because it doesn't sound like you upgrade frequently. Go latest and greatest so it lasts a few years.

[rkt88edmo]

If you are looking for a laptop, Dell XPS 15s are right around 12-1500. I7, 6gigs of ram, 640mb hd (ssds are like 400 from dell, lame) and the newer nvidia gt435m, which will play crysis at medium settings. Best part is you can take it with you easily, I attend lan partys so this is a plus for me!

I just bought a Dell XPS 15" that should arrive next week. Went whole hog and spent more than 1500, but you would still get a GREAT system at 1500, probably i5, 6GB memory, 1gig Nivdia grfx. What put me over the top was i7, bluray drive and screen upgrade, but if you are mainly going to play off your existing monitors and don't need bluray you can probably get to 1500 with tax and delivery.

[ldivinag]

try this:

http://dealnews.com/HP-Pavilion-Elite-Core-i7-6-Core-3.2-GHz-Desktop-PC-for-1-480-free-shipping/429592.html

[xenophobe]

Agree with the above, but I tend to go top of the line because it goes obsolete a little slower...

I actually got 10 years out of my windows XP box, avoided Vista, and finally got a new machine last year.

The funny thing is I usually do as well.

I was surprised to find out that my 3+ year old C2D E6850 @ 3.6 GHz and my 8800 GTX haven't been totally outdated. Of course new processors will beat it. However my 8800 GTX is still better than at least half the cards on the market now.

Gaming is mostly being held back by console technology. Until the next gen of consoles come out, computer games aren't going to require the newest technology unless you want to run max settings at 25x16.

[Matt C]

I build gaming computers (I've done a few builds for calgunners), I can build one to your specs or recommend a configuration, and I offer 2 year warranty. They are built in a professional server assembly facility, not a garage (not there is anything wrong with that!).

$1500 is actually quite a bit to spend, probably overkill for most things, especially if you have a current tower I can salvage for some parts.

Also, on SSD I thought it would be cool too, so I built an SSD system. I was very underwhelmed by actual performance. SAS or even the SATA 6gb 10k RPM drives are far superior (and much cheaper).

[loose_electron]

Agree with the above, but I tend to go top of the line because it goes obsolete a little slower...

I actually got 10 years out of my windows XP box, avoided Vista, and finally got a new machine last year.

[xenophobe]

In the last 3 years, processing power has increased significantly, but a Q6600 quad core is still plenty for gaming even now. Games have not exponentially increased in system requirements as to need top of the line hardware.

Get a cheap Intel quad core. Get a 460 GTX... Fry's recently had these on sale for $89 after rebate... they're quite a value. Get 4 gigs of RAM, 8 if you're feeling spendy.

SSD drives need Windows 7 for trim support. Do not get a SSD if you're not running Windows 7.

You can build a gaming rig that will play all modern games with most popular monitor resolutions at full graphics settings for under $800.

You only need real horsepower if you have a 22" or greater monitor running very high resolutions.

The top of the line processors now are not needed. Go i3/i5. i7 is amazing, but it's unnecessary.

[loose_electron]

Nobody wants to suggest specifying a build over at Dell?

I would suggest also 2 hard drives in a RAID configuration where one backs to other up - do it right -- 2TB per drive.

Lots of RAM, as much as it holds, I got 8GB in RAM so I am not swapping to disk. (very much)

SSD hard drive? Probably a good idea for booting the OS off of, and high use stuff, but storage space is cheap on hard spinning disks...
Double flat panel displays, good GPU card, good sound system, and toss the mouse and keyboard that come with the system and find something better quality.

[noob_tube]

Toms hardware has a lot of good articles, reviews, and benchmark tests done on a lot of hardware components. Good way to get technical info and make an informed decision. http://www.tomshardware.com/us/#redir

BTW, on techie forums an Intel vs. AMD question is the same as a Glock vs. XD for us

[d4v0s]

Just looked at pricing for the new sandy bridge i5's and their benchmark, I retract my go with amd comment, INTEL FTW!

Intel core I5
Asus Sabertooth
G.Skill PI 4gb ddr3 1600
Evga GTX470
Cooler master Haf 922
Cooler Master hyper 212+
asus dvd/cd burner
Gskill phoenix series ssd (with sandforce sf-1200)

Right around 1100 so far, with no powersupply as i already have one. I will be ordering this tonight ha ha ha I already have monitor (vizio 32inch hd tv) and speakers (creative 5.1) Raf mouse, and logitech G series KB. mmmmmm cant wait for some new tech! good bye intel c2d and 8800gtx hello sandy bridge!

[copenhagen269]

Looking to buy a gaming computer for games,some light graphic editing, business use, and of course checking out calguns Does anyone have any recommendations of places to buy one? I'm looking to spend around $1500ish.

I would recommend building your own system, for $ 1,500 you could build a pretty nice rig. I would check out the new Sandy Bridge processors that just came out, I've heard that they over clock like a beast on air.

Oh, and get a an Nvidia Gpu if you ever thought about folding (think about it ), ATi's aren't working out so hot in that department.