I am getting a new computer. What hardware is worth getting and what isn't?

[Xandarb]

Hi!

I'm getting a new computer and I'm thinking of spending about 1500€ (2063$, 1284£). But this budget is more like a guideline, I can spend more than that if I feel like it.

I am also going to get a twenty-something inch HD monitor with multiple inputs and HDMI (one input for my computer and with a press of a button it changes input to my laptop's docking-station), and a monitor like that is maybe 200-300$.

I don't buy whole packages. I always "make my own" computers, selecting hardware and putting it together myself. Although, my computer is starting to get really old, so this time I am actually going to get a whole new computer. New chassi, new motherboard, new cpu, new everything.

My plan is to keep only the CD-station(s) and the hard-drive (HDD 7200rpm 1TB).

The power-supply and the ram's are working and are quite okay, but I am planning on getting new ones anyways.

So, my friend made me consider getting an Alienware, although I've got the picture of Alienware computers being ridiculously over-prized and not that good, they just look really cool.

But, after some internez-surfing I found out that the cheapest (and worst) Alienware computer is only 1300$. Although, this computer has some (in my opinion) terrible choices of hardware. It is very easy to customize it though. You just go to "Dell Online Store" and fill in what parts you want upgraded.

I ended up looking at the specs of an great computer, but it still feels kinda over-prized. I had upgraded some parts and the prize had rose to 1988$ (Including a monitor).

Specs for Aliemware Aurora (Some parts changed through Dell Online Store) 1998.00$:

Green parts are modified by me (To a better part). The sum in the (brackets) tells you how much more expesive that part is compared to the cheapest option.

Red are the "stock" parts, and also the cheapest available for this product.

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ i5-2400 (6MB Cache) Overclocked Turbo Boost to 3.6GHz

(+50$ from Intel® Core™ i5-2300 (6MB Cache) Overclocked Turbo Boost to 3.3GHz)

OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English

MEMORY 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz

(+30$ from 6GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz)

VIDEO CARD 1.25GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560 Ti

(+50$ from Dual 1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 545 - SLI Enabled)

HARD DRIVE 256GB Solid State Drive - SATA 3Gb/s

(+300$ from 1TB (2x 500GB) SATA II (3Gb/s) 7,200RPM (2x 16MB Cache))

MONITOR Dell ST2420L 24-inch Full HD Widescreen Monitor with LED (259$)

SOUND CARD Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 24X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability

So, I am kinda considering a Alienware Aurora, it's a cool looking machine with great hardware and it hasn't broken my budget. But I am still only kinda considering it. Alienware has got a bad reputation.

Anyhow I'd like some help getting a computer that is good, and worth the money. So:

Has Alienware improved on their ridiculously bad prize-quality ratio, or should I consider something else?

What in that case?

Oh, and if I take the Alienware, have I've done some stupid mistakes choosing parts?

Thank you!

Xandarb

[Alex03]

Well i just bought or uppgraded my computer to this;

• Intel DP67BG motherboard
  
• i7 (3,9gHz) quad/core(dont remember) 8mb cache
  
• 16 gb ddr3 ram
  
• 2 ssd discs in 0 raid
  
• 1 harddrive with 1tb storage space
  
• Asus GTS 250 1gb(not new)
  

I would recomend this to you. It costs some but atleast I can run Skyrim on Ultra(!!!!)(or could before the motherboard commiteed suecide )

Hoped that helpd??

[b2bomber]

Don't do intel! Do the AMD FX (Bulldozer) series. They have up to 8 cores in them. And could kill any task that you give it for the most part. Unless of course you are folding proteins or something. people are clocking those things to new levels...

-http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/processors/amdfx/Pages/amdfx.aspx

-http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/guidedSearch.asp?CatId=22&sel=Mfr;Mfr_66,Detail;112_479_74818_74818

[RedHawk504]

I also recommend you to get an AMD processor, its better than Intel. I have an AMD Phenom II 1055T x6 2.97 GHZ. And its already very quick! Alienware pc's are cool but remember you can also buy you're pc in parts and buy a look a like alienware case. like a Recom Backdraf or a Aerocool Sycloon II (link: http://www.google.nl/search?tbm=isch&hl=nl&source=hp&biw=1920&bih=971&q=aerocool+syclone+ii&gbv=2&oq=aerocool+s&aq=0&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=2644l9712l0l10673l19l17l0l2l2l0l190l1919l4.11l15l0 )

(Link Recom Backdraft http://www.google.nl/search?tbm=isch&hl=nl&source=hp&biw=1920&bih=971&q=aerocool+syclone+ii&gbv=2&oq=aerocool+s&aq=0&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=2644l9712l0l10673l19l17l0l2l2l0l190l1919l4.11l15l0#hl=nl&gbv=2&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=recom+backdraft&pbx=1&oq=recom+back&aq=1S&aqi=g-S2&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=44080l45594l0l46443l10l7l0l2l2l0l234l767l1.3.1l5l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=17b3e16aae483850&biw=1920&bih=971)

Also a possibility is an Asus vento 3600 (link http://www.google.nl/search?tbm=isch&hl=nl&source=hp&biw=1920&bih=971&q=aerocool+syclone+ii&gbv=2&oq=aerocool+s&aq=0&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=2644l9712l0l10673l19l17l0l2l2l0l190l1919l4.11l15l0#hl=nl&gbv=2&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=asus+vento+3600&pbx=1&oq=Asus+vento&aq=2S&aqi=g2g-S8&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=44378l45777l0l47735l10l8l0l1l1l0l271l1193l2.2.3l7l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=17b3e16aae483850&biw=1920&bih=971 )

I hope you can do something with this.

Grtz.

[Alex03]

Why are amd better than Intel? they have just same products!

[Xandarb]

Thank you, all of you! I will have to take a look at those things you mentioned! Thanks!

[RedHawk504]

Why are amd better than Intel? they have just same products!

AMD has more options with their Catalyst Center. You can easly overclock it you can change game settings and way more. Intel is just a processor wich will if it stuck give it a boost what will speed the CPU up and let you're pc react again. Further nothing. In combination with a good videocard like 600 euro's for a Geforce serie it will be good with the 2nd generation I7. Otherwise i prefect AMD. Also AMD is cheaper

[Xandarb]

Thank you guys. I didn't want to use ridiculous amounts of money (I don't know what I was thinking earlier ), so I bought a package with:

Asus P8Z68-V PRO Intel Z68

Nvidia GeForce GTX560 AMP

Intel Core i7 2600 3.4 GHz

250GB ssd harddrive <3

Windows7 Home 62bit

1333Mhz 8Gb ram

This was right under 1000€ (special discount), and it's definitely a better prize-performance ratio than that (ridicolously overpriced) alienware.

[Xplorer4x4]

Ok I am late to the party but time to clear things up...

Well i just bought or uppgraded my computer to this;

• Intel DP67BG motherboard
  
• i7 (3,9gHz) quad/core(dont remember) 8mb cache
  
• 16 gb ddr3 ram
  
• 2 ssd discs in 0 raid
  
• 1 harddrive with 1tb storage space
  
• Asus GTS 250 1gb(not new)
  

I would recomend this to you. It costs some but atleast I can run Skyrim on Ultra(!!!!)(or could before the motherboard commiteed suecide )

Hoped that helpd??

Intel brand Mobos are usually solid but lack in features making them a bit over priiced.

16GB of RAM is just stupid.

2 SSDs mean nothing with out mentions the brand. Not all SSDs are created equal. It comes down to the type of flash used and the controller used. I run 2xIntel X25MG2 80GB in RAID0. Early on Intel made the only good SSDs, and there SSDs are on the verge of supporting TRIM in RAID0. With out TRIM the performance degrades over time, and currently no SSDs can support TRIM in RAID, and you need Win 7 to support TRIM as well.

1 HDD? again not all brands are equal. Western Digital and Seagate make good hdds, but the Seagates tend to run hotter and need adequate cooling. Samsungs are starting to proove them selves to, but Toshiba well they have pretty much always made bad hdds.

Don't do intel! Do the AMD FX (Bulldozer) series. They have up to 8 cores in them. And could kill any task that you give it for the most part. Unless of course you are folding proteins or something. people are clocking those things to new levels...

-http://www.amd.com/u...ages/amdfx.aspx

-http://www.tigerdire...479_74818_74818

Cores are like post count, all it does is make your e-penies bigger. Well not directly alike but similar. Core count is negligible if you don;t back it up with performance. Now I haven't checked into the Octacore CPUs but I know when it came to AMDs Hexcore(6 Core) cpus, they were pretty well matched with Intel's Core i7 Quad Core(which are 4 cores with 2 threads per core), and I am willing to bet the same goes for the AMD Bulldozer. Bulldozer had alot of hype, but now that it is here, it disappointed just like AMD has done for years now.Intel is king in the performance world right now and that is a fact.

Why are amd better than Intel? they have just same products!

lol thats like asking why is Mercedes or Porsche or Audi better then a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord? They all make cars, how is one better then the other?

Thank you guys. I didn't want to use ridiculous amounts of money (I don't know what I was thinking earlier ), so I bought a package with:

Asus P8Z68-V PRO Intel Z68

Nvidia GeForce GTX560 AMP

Intel Core i7 2600 3.4 GHz

250GB ssd harddrive <3

Windows7 Home 62bit

1333Mhz 8Gb ram

This was right under 1000€ (special discount), and it's definitely a better prize-performance ratio than that (ridicolously overpriced) alienware.

Ok for $2K USD you could have done much better, but for $1,000 you could have done better. In the future ask for advice on a site like Afterdawn.com which is full of tech junkies, not a First Responders fan site. Tom's Hardware is a good one to.

First problem, ASUS. Sorry but ASUS, espically there NVIDIA chipset mobos, are junk. ASUS used to be known for quality mobos about 3-4 years ago but once they got a loyal following, they started subsidizgin and using low quality parts to increase there profit margins. As I said earlier, Intel brand mobos are alright, but Gigabyte,MSI, and Biostar make good quality mobos at good prices. The EVGA boards are good, but over priced like Intel, and ASRock, well see ASUS considering this is ASUS budget brand of mobos.

Nvidia, Nvidia cards are like Seagate HDDs, they run hot, and require adequate cooling to ensure a long life span. They also require more wattage then AMD/ATI cards and this is what causes them to run hot.

Intel Core i7 2600 is a good bet. I am not to familar with the Sandy Bridge CPUs but Intel makes great quality CPUs atm, and AMD shows no signs of over taking them and providing the high quality, high performance chips they did a decade or so back.

RAM, well I hope you didnt go with OCZ.I just can;t stand this company as all they do is make cheap products, althought the new Petrol SSDs seem to be worth while. G.Skil and PAtriot are making good memorey these days as is Corsair. Crucial offers SOME good models, but the three former companies deliver on a consistent basis.