Custom PC recomendation

Blkcasanova247 · May 31, 2007, 07:32:24 AM

Hey guys,
Recently I bought a PC from a company called IBuypower and was burned by them something fierce. I won't go into details but needless to say that I returned the system that I bought and am in the market to get a new PC. Does anyone have a recomendation as to where I can buy a good custom PC? My budget is about $1300 more or less.

BlueBard · May 31, 2007, 08:25:36 AM

I guess the first thing I'd have to ask is,

If it's a custom PC, what do you want in it and what OS(es) do you need to run?

Or to put it another way, what's it for and why does it need to be a custom PC?

77 · May 31, 2007, 09:09:42 AM

http://www.alienware.com/

Blkcasanova247 · May 31, 2007, 09:15:00 AM

Well the OS I'm lookin' to run is XP pro or Vista home Premium and the usage is gaming, Graphic Design Software (CS3, Painter X, Poser 7, Max 9 and my brand new Intuos 3) and for work as well.

Lunarman · May 31, 2007, 10:42:18 AM

XP SP2 and Vista (get 'em both if you can afford it and switch between them for different tasks)
512mb Direct X 10 graphics card (Nvidia is best)
2gb of ram
400gb HD
3ghz duel core processor
at least 8 USB ports
Make sure it's got a full sized tower case

That is my dream PC, although I have a feeling it will cost more than your budget. But it's just an idea. :)

BlueBard · May 31, 2007, 11:09:18 AM

Yeah, if you're going high-end graphics on a Windows platform I'd say Alienware too. No direct experience with them, but as far as I know they're reputable.

Seems to me that one of the major tech retailers was also stocking Alienware boxes, but I can't recall which one.

Blkcasanova247 · May 31, 2007, 11:36:16 AM

I think Alienware is a little above my budget. The system specs of the PC I bought were AMD Athlon x2 6000 (3ghz dual core), 2 gigs DDR2, 160 gigs HD x2, ATI Radeon 1900xtx, Vista Home Premium and a few other bells and whistles for $1307. I guess I'm a little gunshy right now so I was hoping if somebody has had a good experience with a specific builder I might feel a little better about ordering another PC online again.

zuludelta · May 31, 2007, 12:42:26 PM

I know they're not exactly a real custom PC builder, but if your hardware tastes don't run into the exotic, try ordering from Dell. Their gaming-quality PCs (I think they're the Dimension 9200 models... with the base units costing around $1200 Canadian) consistently get good reviews from industry magazines and websites. We ordered a couple of their high-end models for the lab I used to work in and they worked okay, with decent tech support and product documentation.

thalaw2 · May 31, 2007, 09:34:09 PM

You may want to see if there is a decent computer fair in your area. If there is then you can go there and have someone build you a system while you wait, or shop around. If you're like me then you'll want to get the parts you want and put it together yourself...

Lunarman · May 31, 2007, 11:18:02 PM

It's true, I'd say building it yourself is the best bet. You don't have to be a computer buff, it's like lego or a 3d jigsaw. It actually does make sense :)

lugaru · June 01, 2007, 05:33:58 AM

I agree with Zulu, I read a lot of computer shopping magazines and Dell has really turned a page. Likewise you can build one with the following specs:

1 tower case
1 motherboard (preferently a nice modern one)
1 dvd burner (about $30 bucks these days)
2 1 gig sticks of ram
1 512 meg graphics card (200 - 350, your most expensive part)
a 2.7+ processor or 2.2 dual
One or two big hard drives (I bought a 450 gig one for 140 and that was a year ago, probably costs less now)

That was the specs of my computer (minus the video card, I went integrated and bought it latter) and my computer came out to about 900, so with the video card the price should be right. Get a mother board with space to grow, like at least 4 slots for ram, dual core capability and oh, oh... dont forget a good strong power supply.

Blkcasanova247 · June 02, 2007, 09:18:22 AM

The problem I have with dell is the power supply issue. Their systems have a 300 watt PS except for the XPS systems which don't configure to my specs. I really wanted to go with Dell...but no dice. I'm a little bit "petro" about building my own.

zuludelta · June 02, 2007, 02:58:20 PM

Quote from: Blkcasanova247 on June 02, 2007, 09:18:22 AM
The problem I have with dell is the power supply issue.

Here's a solution. PC Power and Cooling makes power supplies that conform to Dell's non-standard wiring (check the site here), anything from 360 watts all the way up to 470 watts. Replacing the power supply would probably void your manufacturer's warranty, though, so it's a bit of a trade-off. Of course, if you're concerned about a 300 watt power supply being inadequate, that leads me to think that you're considering upgrading your machine yourself moving forward, in which case you'll be voiding the warranty anyway, so you might as well go and get the bigger power supply.