Ok, heres the scoop, i am 18 years old, have a Compaq Presario 7800 Laptop, but i encountered a problem when i went to a buddies to play some lan games, my comp wouldnt run them, it was either the video card, or processor was too low ( Come on people! Not trying to run Crysis on XP, lol ).

Anyhow, i have looked at:
alienware.com
dell.com
ibuypower.com
cyberpowerpc.com
velocitymicro.com
voodoopc.com

I have looked at people reviews on sites on alienware, ibuypower, and cyberpc, alot of bad some alienware, some good/bad on the other two.

What i want it for: I LOVE MMORPG's, DAoC, not so much WoW, would like to get into creating my own game server on freeshard for DAoC, but current comp run fast enough/have enough HD space ( 80gb with MMORPG's goes QUICKLY), i just want to be able to buy a computer and feel comfortable with my decision, and not have to worry about the same **** problem 5 years from now. I am semi-electronically smart, as far as building a comp, NO. Now i know that building my own is ALOT cheaper, and would do that if i could find a site that was a "guide" to doing it ( Come on, the internet is good for 3 things: Games, porn, and information.) As far as what components would make a nice gaming-desktop, preferably ( Laptop is going for school, with a few minor upgrades/xfers of files to external drive/new comp)

Now, i am sure i can find components for a custom built desktop on like ebay, or a computer parts site, have a few bookmarked for curiosity purposes, but is it something that i could do ? 18 years old, going to College for Computers ( Computer Infrastructure, or Developer ) I have basic knowledge, but it's nothing i have ever DONE before, and i am trying to stay around 600-850 if i buy, and building i would like to stay around the same area, but it not matter since i can buy alot of the parts cheap/a few parts at a time.

Anyhow, let me know what you guys think, PLEASE PLEASE, your my last hope before i fall into buying a comp on Alienware or something, and pay 2grand for a $700 comp!!!!!!

~Donovan

not have to worry about the same **** problem 5 years from now

But you'll have. The life expectancy of a gaming computer is between 6 month to 1 year.
After that, it goes from "top of the line" to "old crappy lagging junk".

Come on, the internet is good for 3 things: Games, porn, and information.

You put it nicely... :-D

Living outside USA, I don't know the prices by your place, but my advices would be:
1) buy fast memory: a low cost memory can drain your performances
2) Don't go for a quad core 3 Ghz cpu, if you plan to play 3d games, the video card is more important than the cpu in this case.
3) For the video card, looks at review site like http://www.tomshardware.com, they can help you to choose the right video card for your budget
4) The hard disk is the weakest point of the chain, the only mechanical device. I usually go with fujitsu or western digital drives. They have good performances without being too priced.

In my experience, motherboard are not that much important, as long as you don't go the overclocking way. But I did not tried to do that since my old p2 300 Mhz, so things are bound to have changed since then.

So your point to take care of are: memory, hard disk and video card.
For the rest, adjust them to your budget.

I've assembled last christmas a computer using a cheap asrock dual (support ddr1 and ddr2 memory) motherboard, 2Go of 533 ddr2 ram, a fujitsu 750Go hdd and a nvidia geforce 7300 gt for around 500$, using the case, mouse and keyboard I had before, and I was able to play Crysis in 800x600 at a correct frame rate. Bioshock, quake 4 and such are running nicely too.

It was surely not what the promo videos have shown, but I had fun anyway and the quality was good enough for me.

that helps me out alot actually, i was looking at:

Motherboard/CPU-- Intel DG35EC Motherboard CPU Bundle - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Processor 3.0GHz Retail $269.99 @ http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...BM-G35EC-E8400

Graphics Card:--ASUS EN8500GT SILENT MAGIC/HTP/512M GeForce 8500 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail $179.99 @ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814143119

Hard Drive:--Hitachi Deskstar P7K500 500GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM $64.99 @ http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&Sku=TSD-500H3

Computer Case:--Apevia X-Jupiter G Type ATX Full-Tower Case - Clear Side, Front USB and FireWire Ports (With LCD Temp Monitor) 179.99 @ http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&Sku=A107-1094

---Thermaltake Soprano RS101 Black Mid-Tower ATX Case with Clear Side, Front USB and Audio Ports (W/o LCD Temp Monitor) $69.99 @ http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&Sku=T925-4102

I spent a good 4-5 hours looking at parts last night, trying to build the internal for around $600, focusing on the expensive parts first, then getting the RAM ( would like to have around 3-5gb ram ) and other little things. Was trying to weasel a decent 3.0GHz CPU, and a 512mb Graphics card while sticking with Intel/nVidia, not heard alot of good things with AMD and performance, nice for house use, but i would like to play my MMORPG's without having a big worry on CPU/Memory usage being at like 3mb like i manage to do now with 1gb of RAM

would like to have around 3-5gb ram

If you don't go with a 64bits cpu, don't bother more than 4 Go.
It's the max memory adressable by a 32bits cpu.

And for the AMD cpu, I have not followed them a lot recently, but they are good cpu.
Since the core2, Intel has taken the lead, but before that, buying a p4 was not the smartest move. AMD cpu where more evolved.

Beside, you can get cheap AMD cpu today, and peoples telling you that they are incompatible with intel cpu are simply dumb and computer uneducated.

As I told you, can run wow, requiem online and "Elder's scroll Oblivion" with no hitch on my computer, and it's not even running a core2.
I have an old pentium E2140 conroe(dual core, but not built on core2) at 1.6Ghz.

well i advice you to get allienware. this device is good for playing online games. . . i have research this so far found a little bad review. but i still prefer this one.

Originally Posted by wchua24

well i advice you to get allienware. this device is good for playing online games. . . i have research this so far found a little bad review. but i still prefer this one.

Yes go for Allienware... machine is specially build for games... and have a good reputation

I have always looked at alienware and would love an alienware laptop but way too expensive for me

Well I think that you should never buy a computer from alienware. They are very overpriced, I think you can build your own computer for half the price.

My 2 Cents

In my opinion i use http://tigerdirect.com and http://newegg.com for the cheapest and most reliable parts.
I don't think its worth it to buy a very expensive case, though it your choice.
Also i found a GeForce 8500 for only 35$ at tigerdirect!
Make sure you buy a motherboard with 4 DDR2 slots so you can expand later.
Good luck

i will never buy a alienware, after they sold the company the customer service started sucking horribly. and the price you can build your own computer for way less, my friend had a $3,000 alienware laptop and it was the biggest piece of crap i have seen in my life. I built him a new top of the line comp for about $1,000 and he loves it so much more, even tho its not a laptop

I think that you should not be intimidated by the brand, just think what really suites you needs especially in specs of the computer!