Gaming comp which company is best

[New guy]

Im looking to buy a new comp and spend no more than $2,000. Can someone suggest a company to buy from. I have looked at cyberpower, ibuypower, digital storm, alienware. Any suggestions and which of these companies should I avoid.

[hitokiri2486]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113101

[pditty8811]

The best company computer is a well known company called CUSTOM BUILD!!!!!! lol

They make the best computers, because you get all the parts you want and the right brands. The only way to go. lol

In essence. Buy the parts at newegg, or google shopping put them together, or have someone you know build it. The best way to go. You may learn a thing or to, and its probably the best bang 4 Ur buck, if you shop around you can end up with a beast of a rig for cheap.

[Socrates1]

If you don't trust yourself to build a comp though there are plenty of sites out there that will be happy to build you a beast for $2000. I'd say take a look at lesser known companies, or just let NewEgg do the searching for you... I can only say do not go with HP or Alienware (the rest of Dell is ok).

[Okuto]

custom built gentlemen. But if you must, I'd say alienware and asus. I personally have a asus laptop and I can run empire pretty well, 18000 troops=no lag for me. My desktop's custom however, built off a asus as well.

It's not too difficult to build your own rig, actually it's alot cheaper

[Socrates1]

But if you buy alienware a lot of the money is going towards the brand name... I'll back up the Asus opinion; they're a nice company.

[New guy]

Thanks for the info will check out Asus, As far as building would not have a clue lol.

[Totalheadache]

Goto www.guru3d.com/forums if you want advice on a new build.

newegg in the states or if in uk ebuyer or overclockers. building your own isnt hard and it's fun, better value for money, learn more, more future proof.

[New guy]

This is what I came up with. Any advice on this particular configuration.

FTW PROMOTION 1Pre-Built Force Recon T7 FTW Promotion $900+ Instant Rebate (Already Included in Price)FTW PROMOTION 2Free Shipping $100 Instant Rebate (Already Included in Price)FTW PROMOTION SHIPPINGSpecial FTW Deal - Ships in 72 Hours with Free Shipping within U.S. (ex. AK & HI)PROCESSORIntel® Core™i7-920 Quad-Core Processor 2.66GHz Factory VIGOROUS Overclocked to 3.6GHzRIGVigor MAMMOTH Screwless Chassis powered by Antec w/TornadoTM Air Ventilation SystemRIG COLORBlackRIG STYLEMetal Mesh Side with Window for Improved VentilationRIG COOLINGVigor ArgonauticaTM CPU Liquid-Cooling System (Powered by Asetek) w/Single 120MM RadiatorRIG POWERVigor Orion 900 900W Powered by Topower Multi-GPU Ready 900Watt Power SupplyRIG DIMENSIONS8.40" Width X 20.20" Depth X 22.90" Height.MOTHERBOARDMSI X58 Pro-E Intel X58 Triple Channel DDR3 w/1600MHz/ Gen 2 (2X16+1X4) 3-Way SLI & CrossFireXMEMORY6GB OCZ Gold OCZ3G1600LV6GK CL8 DDR3 1600MHz Memory (3 X 2048MB)OPERATING HARD DRIVE 11TB (1000GB) SATA II 7200 RPM Hard DriveOPERATING HARD DRIVE 2None.RAID SETTINGNone.DATA HARD DRIVE 1None.HARD DRIVE COOLER 1None.DATA HARD DRIVE 2None.HARD DRIVE COOLER 2None.RAID SETTINGNone.3+ GPU REQUIREMENTS 1GTX 200 Family Requires a Min. of 1000W Power Supply3+ GPU REQUIREMENTS 2See motherboard (Core Logic) description for 3 way SLI support. GTX 295 is not 3 way SLI supportedVIDEO CARD SLOT 1ATI Radeon HD5850 1GB @725MHz w/PCI Express, DVI and TV OutVIDEO CARD SLOT 2None.VIDEO CARD SLOT 3None.OPTICAL DRIVE 1SONY/NEC Internal SATA AD7240S 24X Dual Layer DVD+/- RW + CDRW Rewritable DriveRECORDING SOFTWARERoxio Easy CD & DVD Creator 6 Basic DVD/CD RW SoftwareSOUNDDigital High Definition 3D 7.1 8-Channel SoundNETWORK PORTOnboard Gigabit (10/100/1000Mbps) PCI Network CardWIRELESS NETWORK PORTNone.I/O PORTS1 Parallel, 1 Game/Midi, 1 IEEE 1394 Firewire and 6 to 10 USB ports (Varies by Motherboards)MONITORNone.SPEAKERSNone.KEYBOARDNone.MOUSENone.CARD READER DRIVE3.5" All-in-1 Card Reader DriveEXTERNAL FLOPPY DRIVENone.OPERATING SYSTEMMicrosoft Windows 7 Premium 64-bit w/Original DVDSERVICEStandard 3 Year Limited Parts and Life-Time Labor WarrantySTORAGE MEDIANone.SOFTWARE BUNDLENone.ADDITIONAL SOFTWARENorton Anti-VirusPrice:$1719.00 without tax and shipping.

[Socrates1]

That looks like a new system to me. You could actually drop another ati 5850 in there and fall near your $2k budget range. lol. And the motherboard is crossfire enabled... I wouldn't, one is plenty. Looks good to me. I'm sure people will argue to buy the components separately and build your own pc for cheaper but I have no idea how much you'd save. Actually you might want to take a look at that. Spend a little time and see the price difference. Easy to do since you have the spec list right there.

You won't be sorry if you buy this system, unlike another thread on this board where a user complained of a "new" comp not playing empire up to speed (their "new" comp had a 2 year old entry level graphics card). The system specs you outlined will tear apart empire, much like a cannonball tears through a person.

And what site are you buying from? It looks like a fair price for those specs (to my untrained eye). And for fun you could compare those specs to alienware and see how much they mark up their tech because of the brand name.

[New guy]

Found this at a company called Vigor computer.

[Totalheadache]

post at guru. people there eat/live/sleep hardware.

personally i agree with socrates. however i'd perhaps tweak a few things. learning to build yourself and overclock yourself is much better in the long run.

that processor is listed at 3.6ghz. if its a DO (two types of 920 chip CO and DO) it should do 4.2ghz on a decent air cooler.

currently i am on 3.8ghz no issues but I have a CO so might not get it over 4.0ghz.

thing with pre-built systems i dont trust others to overclock for me...but 3.6ghz is pretty easy, you might only have to change one thing in the bios and leave rest to auto. so you are paying for a very simple thing. dont buy it unless its a DO (u can check code SLHBJE)

also they tend to cut corners on the quality of hard drives and if you buy your own case its generally a lot better.

however that said its not a bad build. but i wouldnt buy anything unless it had a 5850/5870. actually a 5870 doesnt rip through empire @1920x1200. perf is great but i still get dips to 45 fps or so...perhaps i am fussy but i like to run above 60fps. below 60 i start to notice things.

but am pretty sure tha 22inch screen a 5850 is perfect. if you are running 24inch i'd say 5850 is enough if you overclock it a fair bit (which in fact the 5850's do very well). so if you want to save cash i think the 5850 is def the card to go for. with hindsight i might have got one and not the 5870.

however i am going to re-do the paste on my 5870 soon and hopefully temps come down 10c.

anyways enough of my rambling. if you set me a budget i'll link you a pc ordered from www.newegg.com and you can compare the two.

moss

[New guy]

Thanks for the info. I will be spending no more than $2,000.00

[New guy]

No more than $2000.00

[Totalheadache]

that include a monitor? whats your current?

[New guy]

No monitor. I have a Dell 19" flat panel monitor. Would like to get a bigger monitor if it will fit within the $2000.00 budget

[Socrates1]

NewEgg does have some better options for cheaper. Just head over there and take a look at their pc options. Use the price filter and go for the $1500-$2000 filter. There are a few options that have a slightly better processor and comparable Nvidia graphics for less than the rig you found. I hate to steal Totalheadache's thunder but methinks the best option from NewEgg would be one of the iBUYPOWER rigs. Specs:

• Recommended Usage: Gaming
• Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 965(3.4GHz)
• Processor Main Features: 64 bit Quad-Core Processor
• Memory: 8GB DDR3 1333
• Hard Drive: 1TB SATAII
• Optical Drive 1: 22X DL DVD+/-RW Drive
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 1792MB
• Audio: Sound card - Integrated

For just $1555. Empire looks good on a gtx 295.

And yes you can get a new display if you'd like. Your cheapest 1080p option (21.5 inch screen) from newegg will run you just $160.

[Totalheadache]

Originally Posted by Socrates1

NewEgg does have some better options for cheaper. Just head over there and take a look at their pc options. Use the price filter and go for the $1500-$2000 filter. There are a few options that have a slightly better processor and comparable Nvidia graphics for less than the rig you found. I hate to steal Totalheadache's thunder but methinks the best option from NewEgg would be one of the iBUYPOWER rigs. Specs:

• Recommended Usage: Gaming
• Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 965(3.4GHz)
• Processor Main Features: 64 bit Quad-Core Processor
• Memory: 8GB DDR3 1333
• Hard Drive: 1TB SATAII
• Optical Drive 1: 22X DL DVD+/-RW Drive
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 1792MB
• Audio: Sound card - Integrated

For just $1555. Empire looks good on a gtx 295.

And yes you can get a new display if you'd like. Your cheapest 1080p option (21.5 inch screen) from newegg will run you just $160.

hehe steal away!!

here's what i would go for..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001337

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119138

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115214

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131594

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145263

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227394

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136317

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608014

and cant find any 5870s in stock but that would be my choice. have owned the 295 and wouldnt recommend it all with empire. 5870 runs it much better.

you can play around a bit to get cheaper stuff i.e case etc or i could suggest a amd build which again might shave off $100.

but that's a pretty killer rig so far and should last you at least 3-5yrs.

[ForlornHope.]

Build your own. Or contract me i could build a great system for half that.

[Dynamo11]

Build your own!
I recommend:
CPU - AMD (Phenom II X4)
GPU - nVidia BFGTech (9000 Series)
Motherboard - Anything from Gigabyte or Asus
RAM - Preferably DDR3 but I good maker no matter what is Kingston/Corsair
PSU - Anything from Corsair... for a powerful build like this then we are talking 700W+
Case - Anything so long as it is big, ones with fan options are preferable.
Monitor - Flatscreens from HANNS-G are fantastic!!!!