How to build a gaming computer?

[Eusnon]

Alright so the cheapest Alienware i found on the site was the Aurora, which goes from 1k-1.2k i believe. I guess my budget would be at most 1 thousand dollars.


Will this budget be enough to get a pc that will equal/top an alienware pc?

EDIT: im using alienware as pretty a rule of thumb of the games i could play.

I don't even have to look and I can tell you that you'd be able to build something prolly more for less.You definitely wanna go with building your own tho. Alienware sucks bawls for how expensive they are, only thing you can't do is prolly have their case designs and all that.

[SnOwBunZz]

stuff you will need: Motherboard, Processor < really the only place where compatibility is really an issue.
Hard Drive - only one is needed, get a 1tb 7200RPM HDD with 32mb cache. Samsung is a good one lately, it's up to you if you want more
Video Card - nvidia gtx460 or ati hd5850/hd5770
Sound card < really not needed unless you have nice headphones and money to spend - seconded
RAM - DDR3 is recommended (or rather must), 4GB or 6GB depending on CPU
Optical Drives - a single DVD+R is needed, should be around 20eur/usd

Yes it would defeat a prebuilt alienware PC in terms of price. Speed might be different when you look at the expensive models, but those are exaggerated and may even cause a loss in speed.

CPUs are probably more of a personal choice, but intel holds the grounds in quadcore performance, though they are more expensive than AMDs. AMDs are cheaper and a bit less powerful than Intel, but that's pretty negligible.
Sixcores are just released thus not yet fully optimized for apps and the like. I can't make recommendations on this one other than the price as I didn't check performance charts on the sixcores yet.

A decent case is also needed. If you want a more top-of-the-line case, like the Antec 900/1200 or Coolermaster HAF922/933, be prepared to spend about 120USD.
You also just could go for an Antec 300 or CM Scout case, for about 60-80USD.

As for putting one together, it's pretty simple. If it doesn't fit it shouldn't be there.

[Cata|yst]

So lets say i get all the parts, what then? I'd have to buy an OS and install right?

What about all these aspects like BIOS and such? Is it really as simply as just putting them together and turning it on?

[Cata|yst]

Can you guys point me in the right direction with parts and such? (brands, pros/cons etc) and provide me of a build you would choose with my 1k budget.

Im looking at newegg right now and all these computer parts are just blowing my mind.

[Bad Hamster]

Can you guys point me in the right direction with parts and such? (brands, pros/cons etc) and provide me of a build you would choose with my 1k budget.

Im looking at newegg right now and all these computer parts are just blowing my mind.

Well with graphics card it's Nvidia atm (correct me if I'm wrong), but the HD5770 is actually enough for a gaming comp.

If we're talking about ram the best thing in my oppinion would be Corsair. The only thing I actually used to be honest.

CPU's. Even though Intel is better, I prefer AMD. It costs less and isn't really that bad. It performs slightly worse, but you don't really notice.


Just keep in mind that when you get a motherboard with slots for ddr3 and am3. That ddr2 ram won't fit, and am2 won't fit except if it's am2+.

The case is sort of important. Try to buy a hybrid type. With hybrid I mean that it fit's ATX and MicroATX motherboards. Some cases don't support it, but it's better to get one that supports both types.

[shofuji]

Well with graphics card it's Nvidia atm (correct me if I'm wrong), but the HD5770 is actually enough for a gaming comp.

If we're talking about ram the best thing in my oppinion would be Corsair. The only thing I actually used to be honest.

CPU's. Even though Intel is better, I prefer AMD. It costs less and isn't really that bad. It performs slightly worse, but you don't really notice.


Just keep in mind that when you get a motherboard with slots for ddr3 and am3. That ddr2 ram won't fit, and am2 won't fit except if it's am2+.

The case is sort of important. Try to buy a hybrid type. With hybrid I mean that it fit's ATX and MicroATX motherboards. Some cases don't support it, but it's better to get one that supports both types.

I believe Radeon is superior at this point and time with its 5970 card. It's the fastest single card out there, but I believe it's a dual GPU, so comparison to the GTX480 is a bit unfair.

That said, I believe they have similar power consumption, which is bad, because Nvidia's cards run hot and suck up a ton of juice. If you are concerned about external costs(i.e. electricity costs), Nvidia's GTX400 series is probably not going to be your best friend.

This, however, is probably superfluous to you. For your concerns, I'd say go Radeon if you plan to spend less than $200, and do some personal research if you plan to go higher.