Buying a new PC soon.

[Cyrix]

After i pay bills with my tax return i will be buying a new PC. And i want to know what the best bang for my buck is and where to look. I am huge into gaming so good vid/gfx cards are a must. I will have 1100 USD to spend. What are your thoughts? Been looking at Best Buy mostly. Let me know guys!

[iDante]

Build your own. Far cheaper and better deals.

[croat1gamer]

What he said.
Consult on some hw forums to get the best stuff for that money.

[Cyrix]

I was thinking about that. But i would prefer a lap top... So much easier for me. I want it to kick a*s.

[scout]

Not recommended to use a laptop for gaming. Its not worth, worse part is you can't upgrade laptops as much as you can unlike a desktop. Also, not many 'high-end' games can be played on the laptop, since it can really cook up lots of heat if pushed to its limits. Lots of fps lag will be experienced as well because of the 'limited' cpu resources it has.

If you want a hardcore gaming machine, create your own desktop, get bargains and stuff like that for the parts.

Im currently running

Intel Duo Core  E8400 @ 3.00ghz
2 gigs of ram
500gb of hardrive space
Nvidia 9800 GT, 512 ram  graphics card
Gigabyte EP43-DS3L motherboard
and a ThermalTake Xaser tower case.

all that for S$1300 SGD
which is $927.581 USD
(used a currency converter XD)

main point is, it all depends on who you buy from.

[10th_account]

Laptops won't "kick ass" for 1100 dollars. You'll need twice that amount. If all you want is to play games then get a desktop.

[Blue-ninja]

Laptops won't "kick ass" for 1100 dollars. You'll need twice that amount. If all you want is to play games then get a desktop.

Think Alienware laptops for easily twice the amount of $1100

The cooling system of laptops are CRAP. So seriously, you can build your own desktop, which is far easier, far more upgradeable and far less expensive than building a laptop.

[Cyrix]

I saw an Alien Ware PC that was sick looking. A bit more then 1100 i think. I have a buddy who will build me one. I want a kick ass case too.

[croat1gamer]

And dont forget, what the laptop can, the desktop can do it 10x times better.
And if you screw just one component, you can fix it by yourself (or with someones help) while the laptop is a "do not fix by yourself" type of product.

Also, looks=/=performance, so if you draw fire decals on your P3 desktop, it wont go like a dual core processor desktop pc.

[TBDM]

I saw an Alien Ware PC that was sick looking. A bit more then 1100 i think. I have a buddy who will build me one. I want a kick ass case too.

looking good doesn't mean it actually is GOOD...

[ds dude]

Yeah bro, they might look at shiny shiny, but sometimes they don't turn that way on the inside.

[croat1gamer]

Also, looks=/=performance, so if you draw fire decals on your P(entium)3 desktop, it wont go like a dual core processor desktop pc.

[Kazuki]

Cyrix, my advice would be to do a lot of research before buying a computer. Go to a retail web site like Best Buy and find the price of one of their PCs. Then look at its specifications. Next, go to newegg.com and add up the individual costs of all the parts that are inside. Finally, you decide whether the difference in price is enough for you to build it on your own or have them build it for you.

The thing that you have to be very careful of is that some manufacturers customize their PCs so that if something breaks, the only place you can get a replacement part is from them, at multiple times the cost. In turn, this also means that such PCs are not upgradeable. Take it from me. I bought myself a new video card and corresponding power supply. Then I ended up having to buy a new case and a new processor because the case simply wasn't standard and the parts didn't fit. A $150 investment turned into $450.

[Liber Lupus]

Yeah bro, they might look at shiny shiny, but sometimes they don't turn that way on the inside.

Heavy.

[Espadon]

It seems nobody knows Clevo makes the best laptops for gaming power computing. They're just marketed under various names [Sager, Falcon Northwest, you can also find them rebranded by iBuyPower and stuff]. They're cheaper than their counterparts from Alienware and Asus because they only pack the stuff you need, and the thing is, they're actually reliable with cooling. You can get a cooling pad if you want but I go to parties and play Crysis without one. If you hate using earphones and love beautiful speakers though, you're probably going to have to go with an HP or something like that. You'll also need something else if you want thin, light, and flashy. Clevo doesn't offer flashing LEDs and glossy plastic, but I know some people hate announcing to the world that they're a gamer.

When I bought my Sager 8662 [aka Clevo M860TU], it was the only 15" out there with a slightly overclocked 260M. Alienware's m15x had a 260M, but it also had heat and build quality issues. Asus' 260M/280M machines had the cards underclocked to keep the heat down [might as well buy a far cheaper 9600-equivalent laptop]. The Clevo machine however could even handle 280Ms and QX9300s stuffed into them. It was also the cheapest at the time; at $1500 flat, it was about $3-400 less than an Alienware and $200 or so less than an Asus.

If you do want to buy a laptop, don't buy from name-brand makers. They get their machines from Quanta/Compal, etc. In fact, the same factory that makes your cheap Dell is also churning out your overpriced Apple MacBook. Quanta/MSI/Compal/Asus/Clevo are the top 5 laptop designers and manufacturers, except you have one camp that focuses on doing contract work to turn out the cheapest laptop possible for brand names, and another camp that markets them more directly [Asus especially].

Otherwise a lot of people buy a nice desktop and either pocket the savings or buy a small laptop or netbook.

Most will name upgradability as one of the desktop's main advantages, but I've never known any of my friends to actually upgrade their box. They just end up building a new rig again.

[Fireman]

http://www.overclock.net/

Make a thread in a section for what component you want to buy or just look for benchmarks on the internet ( I did both though ) They helped me out alot, under 5 min at least a couple of replies.

Other than that just get a quad ( q9550 ) 4 gigs of ram, a gtx 260/gtx 275 or ati 4890/newer 5850's + good psu and mobo and you're good to go ( there's lots of more options than this, this is what I'd get but i can't D: )

This all depends on your resolution of your monitor ( or if you're going to upgrade ) for example on a 1650x 1050 22" you don't really need powerful stuff to play most games so you'll save some money. ( I got a 9800gtx+ e8400+4gigs and can play most modern games smoothly )

[Cyrix]

When it comes to a monitor i want it huge. Not to huge. 16" or something. I am going into a computer store in a couple days and i am going to talk with a guy about it. I dont care if i look like a gamer. I am one. lol. Like i said before. Vid/GFX are very inportant. Not sure if i want to run on windows 7 though... Heard some people dont like it. I have Vista now and love it. And i am glad someone named HP. Because out of the pre-built PC's they are the ones i liked the best. I am Currently have Dual-Core Desktop Processor, 4GB System Memory, 500GB Hard Drive, Intel GFX Media Accelerator. It works good for me but once i move i want something to hook a network up to. My room mate and my girlfriend both have computers. Torrents, here i come! Downloads of music, games, movies! Best buy throws in a router with some computers.

[Espadon]

lol get a fast computer runnin on dialup.

[Cyrix]

lol get a fast computer runnin on dialup.

Yea. where i live now you cant even get broad band because i live in BFE. But once i move into the city... WOOT! Check this case out. What you think?

http://www.atxcases.com/item.asp?id=498