Got 1 of my 2 machines from these guys

www.digitalstormonline.com/compblackops.asp

Found a tower in the dumster and built the parts then added it. Costed about $250 and it runs all the latest games.

Like pretty much everyone else has said, build it. I shopped around for about a month, at all the standard companies, even Alienware. In the end, I bought the parts from Newegg and built it myself. Never built a computer before, it was no big deal. And I love my new rig. I saved a ton of money on the markup and got the satisfaction of doing it myself.

Basically any retailer may have what you need/want,so check any of them.

What you want is a system that CAN be overclocked.You want it to be able to O/C both FSb and the Multiplier.You want the fastest RAM you can get,I'm not sure what that is right now ,i have not been in the market for a few years now.

You also want the fastest chip HZ you can get, example a 3.2 or higher GHZ chip.This puts you up to date and can be overclocked later,when you feel it is time for an upgrade.This keeps you from having to upgrade as often,that is why i stress Overclocking capabilities.

IMO go for 8mb RAM if you can afford it,make sure it's the fastest you can get.

To be honest i am still running the 800 series GPU,so i cannot give you any information on how good the newer HD Graphic cards are.IMO i would go for the HD cards,and look for software that makes sure you get the most out of the cards abilities.Games and programs like the Ageia PhysX,are going to be using the power of GPU's a lot  more than past games,so you want a good card,again this can be Overclocked later when time for upgrade,again bypassing that costly upgrade.

Last point,is you can have a PC tech completely O/C everything for you right now,that way you are set for a few years and will not need any upgrades at all.Even if you do not O/C right away as it can wear out your components faster,you are ready to rock when you do want to O/C.

You need to weigh your option for O/C and cooling now or later based on ,it wears out your components faster and ,will the cost of an upgraded cooling system be cheaper now or later.I say this because although costs rise as years go by,you could buy older stock that is the same as you could buy right now and get it much cheaper later on.

Originally posted by Wizardry

Basically any retailer may have what you need/want,so check any of them.

What you want is a system that CAN be overclocked.You want it to be able to O/C both FSb and the Multiplier.You want the fastest RAM you can get,I'm not sure what that is right now ,i have not been in the market for a few years now.

You also want the fastest chip HZ you can get, example a 3.2 or higher GHZ chip.This puts you up to date and can be overclocked later,when you feel it is time for an upgrade.This keeps you from having to upgrade as often,that is why i stress Overclocking capabilities.

IMO go for 8mb RAM if you can afford it,make sure it's the fastest you can get.

 

Ram speed has very little effect on performance. Better to put the money elsewhere where it actually helps.
 

I grew mine on a tree.

Originally posted by grunt187

Got 1 of my 2 machines from these guys

www.digitalstormonline.com/compblackops.asp

Those are really good desktops, with decent price range.
Also they look cool XD

I have never bought a premade computer, I build them all myself because it is cheaper and you get to customize it however you want it. It can also be kind of fun too...but of course you need to know what you are doing in order to make it work

Originally posted by havok527

I have never bought a premade computer, I build them all myself because it is cheaper and you get to customize it however you want it. It can also be kind of fun too...but of course you need to know what you are doing in order to make it work

Spot on. My local repair shop relies for most of its trade on over-clockers and self-builders. I have spent a lot of time over the years manning technical support boards and it has never failed to amuse me when people are reporting major technical issues with games but add "I know it can't be my machine because I built it myself"!

 I'm on the third incarnation of my self-built PC.