Best Gaming PC for $2000?

[beardo]

hey guys. im getting right to my point. I have $2000 set aside for a new GAMING pc. i would rather buy one already made (i buy power, alienware, falcon northwest, etc.) because i know nothing about building a pc, where to get it done, certain parts and shit. i want this pc to be able to play all the top games out very smooth such as half life 2, doom 3, and other big time FPS games. anyone have any recommendations on where to buy from? anything but Dell please... i have a Dell gaming pc right now, but its 4 years old and can play all MMORPGS, some FPS liek call of duty, but the more higher end games lag and crap put such as counter strike and battlefield. i wanna make this my microsoft office and photoshop pc, and the oterh for media and fun stuff. IDEAS ANYONE?

THANKS FOR THE HELP!:wave:

[Keenan]

Tell you what, I'll build you a computer that will blow anything you can buy ready made out of the water for $2000.

[PsiRedEye22]

If you buy pre-made, Dell would sadly be the best option. I am not knocking Alienware, because I have an Alienware, but you pay out the ass for labor (mine cost 5k). Definately do your research on graphics cards, 64 bit processors, and ddr2 RAM, and call up Dell, and custom order something yourself.

[asdfkjhg]

oooo exiting.

I love new PCs

anywho I heard ibuypower is a decent site if you're too lazy to build yourself or don't know enough. 2 gs is gonna get you a pretty sick computer though that's for sure.

best cpu for price = intel core 2 duo e6600 by far

you could probably afford an 8800 gtx video card as well. which will definitely max out anything out there today. (but I think it costs more than a ps3 though) . or if you don't need that much you could go with the 8800 gts 360 mb one. still pretty badass and is also direct x 10 compatible.

I don't know too much else about new parts so I'll stop before I give you bad advice.

[dysphunktion]

Learn to build your own. It's -really- not that hard, at all. You get all the parts you want, nothing you don't. Check out newegg.com or pricewatch.com

[Eloqution]

Learn to build your own. It's -really- not that hard, at all. You get all the parts you want, nothing you don't. Check out newegg.com or pricewatch.com

If you don't want to build it, but also don't want to get a prefab piece of junk, try a store like ibuypower.com.

[SyDias]

Good luck with your rig man... Wish I had 2k to drop on a new system.

oooo exiting.

best cpu for price = intel core 2 duo e6600 by far



Lets not start, this is about building a PC; not which opinionated fan boy wants to see 4 more fps or rip cds 10 seconds faster.

[asdfkjhg]

Good luck with your rig man... Wish I had 2k to drop on a new system.



Lets not start, this is about building a PC; not which opinionated fan boy wants to see 4 more fps or rip cds 10 seconds faster.

:uhoh:

sorry if I offended you. anyways it's a good cpu.

[Fag Boy]

Good luck with your rig man... Wish I had 2k to drop on a new system.



Lets not start, this is about building a PC; not which opinionated fan boy wants to see 4 more fps or rip cds 10 seconds faster.

sorry to burst your fag bubble, but intel's C2D line kills anything AMD has. Its not a "fan boy" thing, its pure facts, so stop being a queer. Intel is by far the best right now.

as for the people saying dont get dell get alienware. Their are two very dumb things about that, first off if you think buying alienware is going to get you a good computer, well yeah it will but you will pay 3x what it should cost for no damn reason and only an idiot would buy that crap. Secondly who do you think builds those computers?

DELL

[rand0m]

I don't understand how building your own pc is cheaper.

I mean you don't have to pay 'construction cost' however you have to buy all the other hardware through websites, shipping costs, software costs, garantees etc etc

While big companies bulk buy all the expensive compenents, sign deals with software companies and offer garantess etc etc

[appleb]

I don't understand how building your own pc is cheaper.

I mean you don't have to pay 'construction cost' however you have to buy all the other hardware through websites, shipping costs, software costs, garantees etc etc

I'd rather buy my stuff locally in case there are any problems with it. It usually works out the same as buying online+exorbitant shipping anyway.

Also, its better to know exactly what is inside your computer. If I want 2 gigs of memory, I could do that with one memory chip. If I was to order from a computer reseller, they might decide to just fill up all my ram slots with four cheaper 512MB chips, leaving me with harder upgrade options.

[silverspade14]

I don't understand how building your own pc is cheaper.

I mean you don't have to pay 'construction cost' however you have to buy all the other hardware through websites, shipping costs, software costs, garantees etc etc

While big companies bulk buy all the expensive compenents, sign deals with software companies and offer garantess etc etc

I remember I was looking up prices about a year ago, the stuff I wanted came out to about $1100. Then I went to a computer store to see what it would be if I got it there and it was $1500.

[Rapex]

I had no idea how to build a computer a few months ago but i ordered a bunch of stuff on newegg.com and from comp usa and now i have a functioning gaming computer. Plus, there's a great satisfaction knowing you assembled the computer yourself rather than some Chinese dude in a sweatshop making $2.50 a day. Imo, alienware and other prebuilt-gaming-computer companies are just ripping you off.

I highly suggest going for an intel processor. E6600 is super powerful and won't disappoint you. For video cards definitely go for DX10 compatiable cards. Right now only the 8800gtx and gts are on the market. But really soon (if not already) radeon will release its new line of dx10 cards, possibly driving the 8800's price down.

[LegendaryU2K]

If i had 2000 just sitting around, buying a freaking computer would be the last thing on my mind lol. Dude you can get a good rig for like 500 or 600 dollars.

[silverspade14]

If i had 2000 just sitting around, buying a freaking computer would be the last thing on my mind lol. Dude you can get a good rig for like 500 or 600 dollars.

... I hope your joking.

[CheeseOnToast]

If i had 2000 just sitting around, buying a freaking computer would be the last thing on my mind lol. Dude you can get a good rig for like 500 or 600 dollars.

Shouldn't you be off saving the planet or something?

[bonenator]

If i had 2000 just sitting around, buying a freaking computer would be the last thing on my mind lol. Dude you can get a good rig for like 500 or 600 dollars.

u2k shuuuutuuuuup

[ramstein]

For those who's going to DIY your own comps, definitely should get a antistatic strap and a mat. They cost about $30-40, but totally worth it --- I am speaking from the experience...

[SIKKENT]

i dont think you should go prebuilt, they give you (most of the time) a shitty mo-bo and graphics card and make it look good by giving you a 20inch screen and 2gb ram.

get a friend who knows about computers or go into an independent store and ask what you can get for 2k, most of em are pretty good.

should be a killer machine anyway

[SyDias]

Any real gamer knows processors only allow zones to load faster and prebuilt gaming rig companies (Dell & Alienware) focus around processors.

Actually fast 10k+ rpm harddrives also help with load times too...

If you want real performance, I'd go with a mid-end dual core processor in the $100.00 - $200.00 price range and while most will argue, honestly it doesn't matter if it's an AMD or Intel chip, because both are suitable and their main lines are practically similar during game play. That said, once you find a good processor for a reasonable amount of cash, you should focus the remaining loot on high-end optimized gaming memory ( 2gigs - 1024 x 2 ) and 2 8800s (which ever model you can afford) running in SLi.

Case, Motherboard, and Power Supply are all up to you! Again, whatever good deals you find on quality products that support your rig.

sorry to burst your fag bubble, but intel's C2D line kills anything AMD has. Its not a "fan boy" thing, its pure facts, so stop being a queer. Intel is by far the best right now.
DELL

You see, asdfkjhg, this is what I was trying to avoid. Someone semi hi-jacking a thread based on biased reviews of what they read over the internet. :)

Intel > AMD > Nvidia > ATi > Xfire < SLi.

[rand0m]

I'm not talking about buying pc's of the high runners (alienware and co) because they do over price, im talking about buying gaming pc's off smaller less known companies.

I've built pc's up on these sites then built them up with the individual compenents and the sites price is always about £400-500 cheaper.

[SlOtH]

Instead of going with Dellienware and getting raped, check out http://www.pugetsystems.com/.

They are pretty respected, so you shouldn't worry.

[Burningnun]

Why all the bashing of U2K? I totally agree with him. Especially if the rig needs to run HL2 and Doom 3 dropping $2000 on it seems quite excessive.

Brisbane 3600+ - $65
Motherboard - ~$100
8800 of some description - ~$300
2GB RAM - ~$120
HDD - ~$120
Case - varies
Vista Ultimate - $120

If you really want the extra processing power get a conroe for an extra $150.

Sorry if my prices are wrong I usually do this in GBP. I made some fairly conservative estimates though.

Tell me which games that rig will not run.

For those who's going to DIY your own comps, definitely should get a antistatic strap and a mat. They cost about $30-40, but totally worth it --- I am speaking from the experience...

An antistatic strap costs about £3 - £5 here, so about $10 tops. Why do you need a mat? Just assemble it on the antistatic bag that came with the motherboard.

[OLIAX]

premade: MESH or DELL

[Not Registered]

I built my computer up for about ~800-900 bucks in January. I got everything from NewEgg, and it was cheaper than what I could have bought it for in the store. I definitely suggest that if you are gonna game you should build it yourself.

I also went with the Intel C2D e6600 like someone mentioned. It hurt me to get a Intel as I was such a die hard AMD fan until now, but this processor was better than any AMD for the price at the time. My next computer if AMD comes out with a similar performing/price processor I'd get it.

[rand0m]

where the hell do you Vista Ultimate for $120

[Burningnun]

where the hell do you Vista Ultimate for $120
No idea, but I think the UK price for the OEM version is about £120.

Quite often with computer gear the price in USD is very similar to the price in GBP, but I stated in my post that the prices could be inaccurate.

So the price is more like $250 which suprises me since things are usually very much cheaper in America.

[emoisgay]

you can find a friend who know something to build it cheaper and better. I have a friend who builds pc's and charges 100 dollars in labor gets you any programs you want and everything for free.

[rand0m]

oh shit i just realised half you guys dont live in the UK.

Ok fair enough, however here its probably cheaper to buy off a distributer like dell or compac.

[YankeesSuck]

I bought this new gateway gaming pc it owns. It was less than $2000.