+ST0RM 145 Posted April 30, 2007 Holy crap, the prices are crazy now. My desktop is way behind the current standards (by 4 years) and have decided to start looking at a new system. I'm pricing something that I can game with, plus run and edit my photos in Photoshop CS2 instead of using my laptop all the time. Even a mid-range system is at least $2K. How do you guys afford upgrades and new systems every couple of years? Maybe I'll try selling blood?!? Storm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BUFF 8 Posted April 30, 2007 if you build it yourself you should be able to do it for way less assuming that all you need is the system unit & not a new monitor/kb/mouse etc. too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gr.Viper 131 Posted April 30, 2007 Got a ready PC without the monitor today. Got Athlon 64 x2 Dual, ATI X1650 (256Mb), 1Gb RAM and a 250Gb hard-drive for about 800$. The components are not from the top manufacturers but still should work It manages to run stuff like Oblivion (bah!) at max settings... And my current PC is about 3 years old - half the standards used in it are off production lines for a year at least, so the poor thing is non-upgradeable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MigHound 0 Posted April 30, 2007 if you build it yourself you should be able to do it for way less assuming that all you need is the system unit & not a new monitor/kb/mouse etc. too. Agreed... buying the parts, separately and building the system yourself is much more cost effective, plus, you have the option of swapping useful parts from your older sytem into the new one, though it is less likely these days with the advent of SATA, PCI-E and about 50 different forms of RAM. What ever happened to the concept of "universal compatibility". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gerald14 0 Posted May 1, 2007 Yes, it is true just buy parts one at a time. See I got 2x 1950 512mb pro, 2 gb ram, AMD 62, 1000 wats, 700 gbs hard drive, water cooling, and logitech extreme3D pro and logitech Mx518 mouse. And no I am not that rich!! I just got money!! It took me about 3 years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Erik 1,812 Posted May 1, 2007 << interjects subliminal message into thread >> buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware << we now return you to your normally scheduled broadcast >> Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gerald14 0 Posted May 1, 2007 (edited) ... Edited May 1, 2007 by Erik Yeah ... we don't say stuff like that here. EVER. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eraser_tr 29 Posted May 1, 2007 Build it yourself, I went from what had become an average gaming PC to what would be a $4,000 beast had I not carefully bought the parts that mattered to upgrade for $600. $900 counting the video card which was a gift, still far cheaper. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xrearl 27 Posted May 1, 2007 Buy a issue of Computer Shopper(March If you can find one) How to build a gaming pc, At a price you can afford. PC also has how to build a good PC for a good price I'am about to try and build my own, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FastCargo 412 Posted May 1, 2007 Also, one way to save a lot of money is to buy parts that are one step below bleeding edge. It's the law of diminishing returns in reverse...90 percent of the performance for half the cost. FastCargo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JediMaster 451 Posted May 1, 2007 Just look at the price of the 8800GTX vs 8800GTS. I always upgrade in small stages myself, but my next upgrade will have to be a whole new system. I'm DDR/AGP/IDE right now, so next one will be DDR2/PCI-E/SATA. I do have SATA ports on my current mobo, but I've never used them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+ravenclaw_007 7,633 Posted May 1, 2007 (edited) to build your computer your self helps a lot in terms of mony i´m using coreduo E6600 and two nvidia 7900gt with asus p5n32-sli premium motherboard and a creative x-fi soundcard and i build the whole thing in 18months always step by step so far i spend around 2.000 euro and my next step will be two 8800gts hopefully this year Edited May 1, 2007 by ravenclaw_007 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DaSpungie 1 Posted May 1, 2007 well like others have stated look at the best then do a price vs performance analisis. i went with 2- 8800gts cuz nuthing is still close to challenging these cards in software terms I got an asus an8 32 sli delux socket 939 and if you good on e-bay you can pick up a fx-55 for under 300 bucks I know socket 939 is on it's way out but the fx-55 is still a smoking fast cpu get some good ram ocz is what i chose 2 gigs with copper heat sinks a pletor dvd burner i went the extra mile with an arnour junior tower by thermal take and an ocz 850 watt psu that and a 50 dollar cpu cooler and xp pro single 250 gig sata hdd grand total 2500 dollars compared to one iI built for a friend 2- 8800 gtx 4 gigs ocz pl 750 watt psu fx-60 dual core asus a8n32 delux plextor sats dvd drive 2-320 gig sata hdd in raid 1 sound blaster 2 pl and custome tower 4000 dollars plus 12 hourswork for me to get it all going Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Major Lee 18 Posted May 1, 2007 << interjects subliminal message into thread >> buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware << we now return you to your normally scheduled broadcast >> Wow, that was subtle... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+ST0RM 145 Posted May 1, 2007 << interjects subliminal message into thread >> buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware buy alienware << we now return you to your normally scheduled broadcast >> Yea, I tried them first and saw that everything on their site is way out of my price range. The USAF doesnt pay that well. I understand that periodic upgrading is the way to go, but my system is so old that it's not feasible to try and salvage anything from it. I'll keep looking around. Storm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JediMaster 451 Posted May 2, 2007 The USAF pays that well if you have the right job. CES chief, for instance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SayethWhaaaa 245 Posted May 4, 2007 Got a ready PC without the monitor today. Got Athlon 64 x2 Dual, ATI X1650 (256Mb), 1Gb RAM and a 250Gb hard-drive for about 800$. The components are not from the top manufacturers but still should work It manages to run stuff like Oblivion (bah!) at max settings... And my current PC is about 3 years old - half the standards used in it are off production lines for a year at least, so the poor thing is non-upgradeable. I'm going for a similar system, though I'm going 4gig ram, 500gig hard drive, it's only gonna set me back around $800-$1k AUD. I haven't settled for a video card yet, but even with a higher end one, that's only another $200AUD roughly. And I guarantee my GF will fill my HD with Grey's BLOODY Anatomy and Ugley Betty within a month.... Chicks, I dunno Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Redddevil911 0 Posted May 4, 2007 I'm getting a new rig this weekend and all I'm getting is the tower no need for for the extra's! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
