Which brands are the best for desktops?

[Sandform]

My original posting was going to be that at the bottom, but instead I'm changing it, though your opinions on the bottom are welcome. Which brand names are the best brand names to go to for desktops? I really need a new computer, this one is actually beyond function any more. So which brand names are good to with? I would go with a gateway but the laptop I'm using right now is a gateway an apparantly this model is known to malfunction in the way it is malfunctioning for me now, and is reported as being designed that way on purpose. I'm in need of a fairly good graphics card and at least 2 gig ram but I think I can get that with any brand name. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is going to sound like a stupid question...but I'm thinking about purchasing a computer from Ebay, looks pretty good and the guy has sold stuff for 8 years now with zero negative feed back. I'm wondering though, what if I want to reformat the computer...it says that the system comes with a microsoft vista home premium operating system, and the computer itself has more than enough ability to handle vista. I asked him about it, along with other questions, he answered some of the questions but didn't answer others. I know little about computers really, I mean...I know a lot but also little at the same time. My question basically amounts to if I ever have a crash with the computer because of a bug or something software related that means I have to reformat the computer, will I be able to reformat it? Can I just by a new OS if he doesn't send the cd's and etc and install that and let that run? Should I ask him again if when he says that vista is included he means he will send the necessary items with it? It would be pretty crappy of him not to include whatever is necessary for the OS if he is saying the OS is included in the computer but not with the computer... The bidding price of the computer is pretty cheap, $500 for something I would think should cost far more, but the buy now price is $950.

[dsr]

You can get the best parts for the best value if you assemble your own computer. You can probably build a computer with a 3.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 1000GB of hard drive space for under $1000 USD. If you don't need such crazy specs, you can probably spend about $500. Buying a preassembled computer is generally a waste of money.

[ninja9578]

You will need the installation CD to reformat. What do you want to do with your new computer? Media (movies, audio, web) / dev - Apple Reliability / dev - IBM Gaming - Alienware Linux - Dell That's just in my own experience and with my friends.

[slayer]

I don't think you'd want to get Alienware. It would be a lot cheaper to build your own computer, or have someone build it for you.

[Sandform]

You can get the best parts for the best value if you assemble your own computer. You can probably build a computer with a 3.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 1000GB of hard drive space for under $1000 USD. If you don't need such crazy specs, you can probably spend about $500. Buying a preassembled computer is generally a waste of money. 1000$ is within my budget. I don't think you'd want to get Alienware. It would be a lot cheaper to build your own computer, or have someone build it for you. I've heard alieneware is notoriusly bad, though I'm not sure whyit is bad. What I need is a computer that is good enough to let me play games without much difficulty but has a focus on being able to do things I might need for school. I'm not looking for much media usage but that might be a possibility. How hard is it to build a computer? I don't know very much about what parts I would need or where they would go really... I sincerely would like to go the build my own computer route,but I don't know much about it, I guess everyone has to start with building their first one though. Has anyone here built a computer before and would anyone be willing to share their insight on how to do so with me? I'm looking at how stuff works right now. Most importantly where would I go to make sure that the pieces I'm selecting are compatable with each other? My stepfather has assembled lap tops...but I don't know how similiar one could call that to desktops. Also, dsr, that 1000$, does that include the OS and the monitor? The OS only runs about 84 dollars for the cheapest vista but about 124 for the second cheapest I think. I just found out earlier to day after posting that some money I have had set aside in the bank since I was four or five years old is going to be coming to me from when I was in a car wreck and someone nearly killed us (hit is from behind). It was 2000$ at the time put away though I don't know the amount it is know because of interest. So I mean I have that much money to blow, I would save it for other college costs except if things go according to plan most of my college is paid for on scholarships.

[Sandform]

Should I be weary of buying the cpu refurbished or is that a good way of shaving off the price? What I'm looking at has a 90 day warranty.

[archdreamer]

Should I be weary of buying the cpu refurbished or is that a good way of shaving off the price? What I'm looking at has a 90 day warranty. If it's someone reputable, you should be okay, but unless you trust the seller, I'd be wary. dsr is right, you are better off building a computer yourself. You'll get significantly more bang for your buck. These days, putting one together is almost foolproof, but, of course, you need to make sure that the components you buy are all compatible with each other.

[Sandform]

If it's someone reputable, you should be okay, but unless you trust the seller, I'd be wary. dsr is right, you are better off building a computer yourself. You'll get significantly more bang for your buck. These days, putting one together is almost foolproof, but, of course, you need to make sure that the components you buy are all compatible with each other. Yeah, I have been learning about assembling a computer since I made this thread. One of the things I was worried about was the PCI slot not supporting a modern graphics card, none of the motherboards I could find had AGP, which I thought was the one that came after PCI but it turns out that PCI express is completely compatible with the nvidia card I plan on getting. At least that is what it looks like. RAM will be easy, and so will the SATA Hard drive, as in for deciding what to get, it is the CPU and the graphics card that is getting me. Many of the motherboards I'm seeing come with built in graphics abilities, but I'm pretty sure they are able to be upgraded using the PCI express slots, I haven't found any using AGP. This would be my first time building a computer and I haven't really studied computer assembling before so I'm having trouble understanding exactly how graphics cards interact with the system. This is the type of CPU I'm planning on getting. http://www.centralcomputers.com/comm...=1228562118937 I ended up deciding that the refurbished one I was looking at wasn't for me. I found it on some site called geek something, and it had a 90 day warranty so I'm sure it probably wasn't a lemon. Or whatever you would call a crappy computer piece. The mother board will need to be compatible with 775. I plan on getting a vista, I hear they are RAM eaters so I will have to see after using the computer for a while if I want to upgrade more ram or not. I found some videos on how to assemble the computers, and I was worried about that mainly because of the heat sinks and other cooling apparatuses. Hopefully that video will be able to help me get that done.

[Sandform]

Ok so I changed my mind, this is the CPU I'm getting. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115036

[Grod]

Building a computer is incredibly easy. It is almost all 'OK, I plug this in here. This goes in this slot. This sits here'. As said before, you also save really hundreds of dollars for an equivalent machine or spend the same amount of money and like double the specs. Don't get Vista if you can help it without getting at least 4 Gigs of RAM. But if you've got 4+, it'll work great.

[slash112]

alianware is probably the best, but i dunno if you will get one as cheap as $1000 my freind is getting a £3000 one, thats like $5000 or sumthin (not sure what exchange rate is right now) last year it would be approx $6000

[Sandform]

Thanks everyone for the help. I need a little bit more help though. These are the parts I've decided on. I need help figuring out if my PSU is compatible with everything. I don't know where to look for that compatibility. My PSU needs to compatible with the graphics card, I'm almost positive it is. $187.99 - CPU (Know this one fits) CPU Socket Type LGA 775?** $119.99 ($104.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate ) - Motherboard CPU Socket Type LGA 775 ** (RAM info Number of Memory Slots: 4×240pin * Memory Standard: DDR2 1366+/1066 *) (Case info Form Factor: ATX ##) PCI Express 2.0 x16 1 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128359 $54.99 ($24.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate ) - (RAM Type 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM *) (I know this one fits) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145184 $22.99 - Optical Drive (don't know if it fits) Interface SATA http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106263 $129.99 - Hard Drive (I'm almost positive this fits) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136284 $159.99 ($149.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate ) - Nvidia graphics card. (Almost positive this one fits) Interface PCI Express 2.0 x16 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130339 124.99 ($99.99 after $25.00 Mail-In Rebate ) - Power Supply Unit (PSU) (I know it will fit some of the requirements for everything else, but the other requirements are bothersom.) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703009 $800.93 - $80 in rebates = 720.93 Still need frame. If anyone could go through this and just make sure that everything fits (or at least just make sure my PSU, graphic card, and optical drive are compatible, from what I've read I think they are but it is confusing to me as to where the compatibility area comes in, I'm positive that my hard drive will do...I mean the motherboard says storage device is SATA gb/s (eight of them? what does that eight mean? Lol I'm illiterate.), and the hard drive says its interface is SATA 3.0Gb/s so I'm assuming that is where to look for compatibility. I'm really worried about the PSU and the graphics card. I'm pretty sure they will be compatible with each other but I don't know for sure. If a requirement is 12V at 24 Amps and I have 12V at 60 amps is that alright??

[cuddleyperson]

alianware is probably the best, but i dunno if you will get one as cheap as $1000 my freind is getting a £3000 one, thats like $5000 or sumthin (not sure what exchange rate is right now) last year it would be approx $6000 poor guy, Dell owns alienware.. that £3000 pc could probably be built piece for piece for £2000 if not cheaper and in fact you'd probably be able to buy better quality components, i mean my self built PC cost roughly £840, on alienware if i spec up the same computer it costs.. £1366, i didn't have much choice when it came to components(couldn't even choose the motherboard or branded power supply) but I'd say it roughly balances out, probably more like £1280-90 since i chose a GTX280 when i have an HD4870 but then again they didn't offer the good ram and power supply i got so can't be sure. But anyway it costs AT LEAST £400($650) more using alienware and you have a crappy plastic case and a computer you wont be able to upgrade or overclock( knowing Dell it'll be a dell motherboard with a locked BIOS)