buying a pc. gaming capability needed

[DeezNuts]

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I won't build my own because that takes more time than it's worth for me plus I want to have someone else deal with the problems.

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If you really are a gamer and are willing to spend that much money, you should at least learn how to install a video card and RAM. Those are the only two things you will need to continually upgrade to keep up with how crazy games are getting. It's very easy and will save you time(bringing it in someplace) and money in the future.

DN

[Voltron87]

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I won't build my own because that takes more time than it's worth for me plus I want to have someone else deal with the problems.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you really are a gamer and are willing to spend that much money, you should at least learn how to install a video card and RAM. Those are the only two things you will need to continually upgrade to keep up with how crazy games are getting. It's very easy and will save you time(bringing it in someplace) and money in the future.

DN

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cool, I will do that. I am computer saavy, so i could learn pretty quickly and im sure I could do it.

any online manufacturers to browse? is dell considered the best around in terms of price/reliability and upgrades? once i have a definite maker then i can start worrying about which vidcard options and stuff like that.

[Terry]

Dell is cheap for a reason and their higher end machines are not even inexpensive. Reliability tends toward iffy. Michael Dell has been quoted as saying something like “Anybody who would want to open up his computer and change something is some sort of fringe group lunatic.” so Dell’s are notoriously difficult to upgrade.

Monarch Computer is top rated with the tech savvy. egghead.com is also good.

[DeezNuts]

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Monarch Computer is top rated with the tech savvy. <a href="egghead.com" target="_blank"> egghead.com</a> is also good.

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I second Monarch Computers. Just bought one last week, top of the line. Bought my peripherals and vid card from Newegg.com. The total came to be around $1600+shipping w/o monitors.

Monarch will build and test it before shipping, so it takes a couple weeks, but you can get a great custom from there if you have a tech-savvy friend to help you with the specs.

DN

[YourFoxyGrandma]

I've had 2 experiences with dell, both complete opposites of each other--customer service being either great or as horrible as one could imagine. That said, they're reliable machines for the most part. If you're computer saavy enough, dealing with their tech support shouldn't be a big problem anyway.

Alienware is another top manufacturer known mostly for gaming machines, but they can get pricey, especially with top of the line hardware.

As an aside, processor speed is vastly overrated when it comes to gaming; I'd definitely go with 64 bit architecture, but you definitely don't need the best of the best. Spending an extra $75 for another 200 MHz is a waste of money in most cases. Your RAM and video card should be your 2 top priorities, so keep that in mind when shopping around and comparing prices.