General Discussion

Sorry in advance for no doubt asking a question you gurus already have seen so many times. I am a veterianrian, not a computer guru, so I want to be able to play MMOs for 2008 and beyond, but $2400 is my limit. Any advice?

$2400 is a LOT of money and you do NOT need to spend nearly that much to get a badass computer.

You'd be better spending $1200-$1500 in my opinion and then simply buying a whole new computer, or upgrading in 2-3 years as technology increases so fast that even if you bought the absolute best today, it would be obsolete in just a few years.

A few questions for you so we can offer you some help and maybe some choices to consider:

A) Are you going to build this computer yourself or looking to buy an already built PC?

B) I'm assuming you wanna buy a desktop, not a laptop, but be sure you tell us if you want a laptop instead

C) Do you want to buy a flat screen monitor? If so, how big? Do you want a widescreen or regular sized monitor?

D) Do you want/need a printer?

Answer those questions and we can assist you a lot better, and in my opinion, you don't need to spend nearly as much money as you are suggesting. ;-) With a $2,400 budget, we can get you a bangin' desktop and leave you with plenty of cash leftover to even buy yourself a new PS3 and some games (or whatever you may want instead)

- Zaxx

thats a lot of cash.....

Go to Fry's electronics to buy the pieces and build it yourself. There is plenty of info online that can walk you through it and with that kind of money you can build a computer that would run Crysis on high settings.

Thanks for the prompt response all! Especially with your patience of my newbness. I just was perusing through the Alienware website and thought 4-5k was waay out of my league, but I can stomach $2400.

When i try to compare components against the Alienware site to other stores, I get dizzy because I do not know what is comparable.

I am a technicial idiot, so the less tinkering I do on a computer the better . :)  My compter skills stop after putting in video cards and adding RAM memory sticks.

I am looking to replace my desktop yes.  I am satisfied with my monitor, logitech keyboard/ mouse and printer.

I am looking for a computer that will handle the MMOs that are coming out this year and hopefully won't have to buy one for several more years.

Is assembling a computer easy? I am one of those types that need a video to explain how to use the manual.

Something like..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227055

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229016

may work for you.  It's basically all the parts you could buy from Newegg but already assembled.

Wow I hafta say for all the flack people say about this community,  I can't imagine to many sites have members that would do this for other members.

Thank you again all!

Price for what you get, its pretty hard to beat cyberPowerPC.  Like this one here.

Gamer Infinity XLC is probably the top build for a gamer PC.  At a price thats close to building it yourself.  However, its good to remember CyberPowerPC does have customer support issues.  If you end up getting something Dead on Arrival.  You are pretty much gonna have to deal with a bunch of bullshit to get it replaced.  If you do decide to go this route, I would drop the 2nd 9800 GTX, then get a non-onboard soundcard and Network card.  I would also drop the speakers.  Then buy the speakers and Monitors seperately from Newegg.

A PC with something like this will be very fast and within your budget

CPU: Intel e8400(dual core) or Q9450 (quad core)
Memory: DDR2 800 or higher with more than 2gigs of ram. If using Vista 64bit, most desktop motherboards support 8gigs of ram

Motherboard: P35 is one of the most reliable. 780i if you want the ability to SLI

Graphics card: 8800gt, 8800gts 512mb or 9800GTX
Sound Card: If you have a good audio system/headphones get the Asus Xonar DX

Hard drive: Western Digital SE16 640gb They are currently one of the fastest all around hard drives. Get more if you need the space.

OS: Vista 32bit or 64bit since DX10 is only available on Vista.
Monitor: Get a 24 inch Dell Ultrasharp or other good 1920x1200 resolution monitors.