So who wants to help me get rid of a dell (I need something new)

My family's bought dell's all their lives so ive realized why a ton of people can't stand them.

I got a XPS GEN 5 back in june 2005 or so thinking it would keep its value for at least 3 years. Here are the specs:

Intel Pentium 4 CPU 3.20GHz

3.20 GHz, 2 GB of ram

Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS (WDM)

Radeon X1650 series (which was a replacement once i couldnt run rainbow six vegas with the card dell provided)

For some reason my device manage lists 2 CPU's under processos, But i dont have a dual core, someone said it was something about hyperthreading.

Anyway with my current set up S.T.L.K.E.R. runs choppy as hell, Supreme Commander is almost unplayable, same goes for neverwinter nights 2, and Rainbow Six even with the new (albeit mediocre) video card is still unplayable on the nice settings. Other games I cant remember always had to have the settings turned down too

I've realized finally that buying prepackaged dells with limited options is just a waste of cash, it's time I build a comp. So I was hoping you guys could Link me to some websites, let me know the most important parts, It would just be a gaming/music/movies computer.

I paid close to 4 grand I think for that dell that's already makign new games look like n64 graphics, and I've heard that building one is tons cheaper....I'm willing to spend 2 grand or so, (already have a decent monitor and surround sound) that's just what I figured a gaming pc built yourself would be close to costing) I'm not expecting to be able to play Crysis on very high with AA on, but it would be nice if the game looks better than far cry on my computer

Any links to sites with parts would be great, I just want to know what a reasonable upgrade would be over my comp

Newegg.com if you are in the US.

For about 1200-1500 you can get an excellent gaming computer. for 2000 you can get a super high end comp.

Some parts I'd recommend are

CPU: q6600 or E6750 and overclock it with a zalman or Tuniq HSF.

MOBO: p35 DS3L if you don't plan to have dual cards, and X38 based board for crossfire, or if you really want SLI an nforce 680i board.

RAM: 2gb of pc6400

A seagate or WD 500gb Hardrive. Some would recommend a high speed HDD, but i think those are more expensive than they are worth.

A good corsair, antec, OCZ etc... PSU with 500+ watts for a single card and 620+ watts for dual cards.

As for an operating system, people will tell you different things. My vote is for XP since it performs better and has fewer issues.

My family's bought dell's all their lives so ive realized why a ton of people can't stand them.

I got a XPS GEN 5 back in june 2005 or so thinking it would keep its value for at least 3 years. Here are the specs:

Intel Pentium 4 CPU 3.20GHz

3.20 GHz, 2 GB of ram

Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS (WDM)

Radeon X1650 series (which was a replacement once i couldnt run rainbow six vegas with the card dell provided)

For some reason my device manage lists 2 CPU's under processos, But i dont have a dual core, someone said it was something about hyperthreading.

Anyway with my current set up S.T.L.K.E.R. runs choppy as hell, Supreme Commander is almost unplayable, same goes for neverwinter nights 2, and Rainbow Six even with the new (albeit mediocre) video card is still unplayable on the nice settings. Other games I cant remember always had to have the settings turned down too

I've realized finally that buying prepackaged dells with limited options is just a waste of cash, it's time I build a comp. So I was hoping you guys could Link me to some websites, let me know the most important parts, It would just be a gaming/music/movies computer.

I paid close to 4 grand I think for that dell that's already makign new games look like n64 graphics, and I've heard that building one is tons cheaper....I'm willing to spend 2 grand or so, (already have a decent monitor and surround sound) that's just what I figured a gaming pc built yourself would be close to costing) I'm not expecting to be able to play Crysis on very high with AA on, but it would be nice if the game looks better than far cry on my computer

Any links to sites with parts would be great, I just want to know what a reasonable upgrade would be over my comp

hammer27

Dude, I feel your pain. $3500 for mine with exact same specs but had a 6800 and I thought it would last longer, but no. Put a 7900 GS into this and another GB of ram for 2GB.

To answer your question, the reason it shows 2 CPUs/Cores is cause of HT tech. with the Pentium 4.

With 2 grand, you could build a killer new rig with that money. Since you don't need a good speaker system and already have a monitor. A couple of parts I know that people are getting are the Intel Core 2 Quad, atleast 2GB ram, quality and big PSU, and a 8800GT *Get 2 and SLI 'em with a motherboard that supports it for more performance!* Other people at this board will be able to get you alot more help with specific parts for it.

The worst was when my first Dell couldnt even play half life 2 : (

I really appriciate the info guys, Im not too experienced in taking apart or building pcs but I'd rather not buy a pre packaged one again, so any info helps.

Just be super-careful with those connectors! If, like me, you're a clumsy person, it's VERY easy to bend/break connectors (those little metal prongs that stick out) and once damaged, they're nearly impossible to repair. So watch out for that. This might seem like obvious advice, but don't sit/step on any of your stuff (this is harder than it sounds if you have computer parts spread all over the floor). And don't let any children under the age of 10 anywhere near where you're building your computer ;).

I once turned a $100 WD hard drive into a brick by sitting on it :(. So yeah, it's very important not to do that.

The others here have given great advice. One last piece: get Windows XP if at all possible :). Vista sucks, it really does, it chews up memory and doesn't give a darn thing in return. Worst investment I EVER made. Oh yeah and, if in doubt, don't install. Ask for advice, or have someone experienced do it for you. Unless you count yourself as a skilled computer builder, it's not usually a very good idea to muck about in your computer's innards if you have any doubts about what it is you're doing.

One final piece of advice: most parts snap into place like lego bricks. RAM cards only go in the RAM slots ... they don't fit anywhere else. Same with graphics cards. So, if it doesn't fit, don't force it!

Im just hoping I dont have to have some akward geeks on call guy come put it together and tell me I'm missing eight parts

I had to pay someone to install my radeon x1650 because i coudlnt figure out the inside of my xps, between his fee and the cost of the card I could have bought something much nicer:?

Just be super-careful with those connectors! If, like me, you're a clumsy person, it's VERY easy to bend/break connectors (those little metal prongs that stick out) and once damaged, they're nearly impossible to repair.

Opalescent

Yeah i knocked off a tiny piece of of metal off a tiny peg last time I messed with my comp, I hope it wasnt anything important :D

You shouldn't even need that much for a good gaming box, even if you go fairly overkill. I'd say figure around $1200 for a very solid build, including a quad-core processor, single high-end graphics card, motherboard with plenty of options for expansion, Seagate 7200.11 hard drive, sound card, quality power supply, good case you like the look of, and 2-4GB of RAM.

You shouldn't even need that much for a good gaming box, even if you go fairly overkill. I'd say figure around $1200 for a very solid build, including a quad-core processor, single high-end graphics card, motherboard with plenty of options for expansion, Seagate 7200.11 hard drive, sound card, quality power supply, good case you like the look of, and 2-4GB of RAM.

RayvinAzn

Where's a good place to buy all the stuff I need, should I get it online or at a best buy or something

thanks a ton man ive been checking out newegg.com and zipzoomfly.com and they seemed tons cheaper than the stuff ive seen at best buy. I'll compare the prices at the sites you gave me and hopefully wont end up spending a fortune like I thought I would.

sorry to keep bumping this thread..could you explain what you meant by "and X38 based board for crossfire, or if you really want SLI an nforce 680i board." I asssume the dual card thing related to using multiple monitors, so i dont plan on that.

another thing confused me a little too = / "A good corsair, antec, OCZ etc.."

Sorry I took a long break from computers and missed a lot :D

Intel's new X38 chipset is the (Intel-based processor) Crossfire king, while the nForce 680i chipset is the best one for SLI. Crossfire and SLI are a technology that alllow you to use two graphics cards in conjuction with each other for anywhere between a minimal to a fairly substantial boost in performance. It has nothing to do with using multiple monitors (strictly speaking), but it is best used on monitors with higher resolutions, as that's where the biggest gains usually are. Crossfire is what ATI uses for its dual-graphics card technology, and it's probably the better of the two technologies right now, as it scales a bit better and is more flexible, wheras SLI is a bit more restrictive, but Nvidia does have the better higher-end cards on the market right now. The power requirements for an SLI or Crossfire setup are high though, so unless you want to spend closer to your full $2k budget, you won't be considering one of these setups.

That second part was referring to power supplies, although I'd drop OCZ and Antec from that list and replace them with Enermax, Seaxonic, and PC Power & Cooling. For a single-card setup you should be shopping in the 400-550w range, and for a dual-graphics card setup, 620w+ is where you want to be.

Newegg.com if you are in the US.

For about 1200-1500 you can get an excellent gaming computer. for 2000 you can get a super high end comp.

Some parts I'd recommend are

CPU: q6600 or E6750 and overclock it with a zalman or Tuniq HSF.

MOBO: p35 DS3L if you don't plan to have dual cards, and X38 based board for crossfire, or if you really want SLI an nforce 680i board.

RAM: 2gb of pc6400

A seagate or WD 500gb Hardrive. Some would recommend a high speed HDD, but i think those are more expensive than they are worth.

A good corsair, antec, OCZ etc... PSU with 500+ watts for a single card and 620+ watts for dual cards.

As for an operating system, people will tell you different things. My vote is for XP since it performs better and has fewer issues.

shanelevy

Great recommendations, although if you want a great yet cheap CPU cooler i would recommend an Arctic Freezer Pro 7!

Good system for around 1100$. add in another100-150 for a cd burner, case, odds and ends and your pretty much set. If youdo not plan on reusing monitor and keyboard you can bump it upto 1500 or so. If you want to save some money, you can swap out some products and get a cheaper PSU/CPU/MBand save around 200$.

Motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127030

CPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115018

Heatsink

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154001

PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005

HD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152052

Memory:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

GPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130303

Thanks for all the help man

On the comments for the MOBO somoene said a con was they couldnt play crysis. Is that because of the motherboard or because the rest of his pc is probably crap?

Thanks for all the help man

On the comments for the MOBO somoene said a con was they couldnt play crysis. Is that because of the motherboard or because the rest of his pc is probably crap?

hammer27

unless his motherboard is dying or has issues it would not affect his ability to play crysis. its most likely something else, such as low memory, weak GPU/cpu etc, or just a poorly optomized system.

well the thing about dell is they offer some pretty good systems as long as you don't change to much but as soon as you start adding gpus, more ram bigger hdd etc they rip you off. here in nz over $300nzd to upgrade from intergrated video to a 8600gt what a joke.

basicly to build you own pc you will need

a cpu

dedicated graphics card (if you want to game)

ram

motherboard

case

power supply

hard drive

optical drive

operating system.

right now you'd be best to go with a dual core cpu, 2gb ram, midrange motherboard (cheap ones with intergrated vid tend to lack many feature which the really high end have features most people don't use unless you are interested in serious overclocking), 8600gt to run current game pretty well if your on a bugetbut the 8800gt/hd3870 are best bank for buck.

No one has mentioned anything about sound cards. If I get a core 2 quad will I need to buy a fancy sound card too?hammer27

NO, your motherboardwill have built in sound so another card isnt needed! Although if you did buy a semi-expensive sound card your sound quality would get huge increases!

NO, your motherboardwill have built in sound so another card isnt needed! Although if you did buy a semi-expensive sound card your sound quality would get huge increases!

daytona_178

Awesome, nice to know I can wait on that since money's tight in the winter.

Now how do I get about to connecting all this stuff together once i have it, is there some bundle package of basic pc cords/wires? Or does each part come with its own connections. Oh and any suggestions on cases? Or will most of the stuff on newegg fit almost anything?

Once again I really appriciate all the help and suggestions, I was expecting a bunch of "piss off noob" responses like what I usually saw on forums years ago before I gave up on em. :D

[QUOTE="daytona_178"]

NO, your motherboardwill have built in sound so another card isnt needed! Although if you did buy a semi-expensive sound card your sound quality would get huge increases!

hammer27

Awesome, nice to know I can wait on that since money's tight in the winter.

Now how do I get about to connecting all this stuff together once i have it, is there some bundle package of basic pc cords/wires? Or does each part come with its own connections. Oh and any suggestions on cases? Or will most of the stuff on newegg fit almost anything?

Once again I really appriciate all the help and suggestions, I was expecting a bunch of "piss off noob" responses like what I usually saw on forums years ago before I gave up on em. :D

Well iam getting this case http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=509814

Its cheap, super well built, very quiet and has good airflow to keep your components cool!

But as regards putting everything together you should be fine with all the bits that come with the stuff (i think).

[QUOTE="hammer27"]No one has mentioned anything about sound cards. If I get a core 2 quad will I need to buy a fancy sound card too?daytona_178

NO, your motherboardwill have built in sound so another card isnt needed! Although if you did buy a semi-expensive sound card your sound quality would get huge increases!

used to be true but the lack of eax support in new game makes the differnce pretty miminal now