Best site to buy pre-build gaming PCs?

[simpliztik_]

Is it best to buy pre-built gaming PCs online? Are they reliable? I found a site called newegg.com and it sells some gaming PCs that I THINK are good. The price ranges are also good too but I haven't got a single clue what a good gaming PC costs.

edit: I know building one yourself is cheaper and probably recommended by most people. Problem is that I don't know a thing on how to build one ground-up. So far I've got to the point on what I need for a decent gaming set up. If I knew someone who could build it for then I would take this to consideration. I would do it myself but its risky.

 

[MustISO]

Newegg sells pre-built systems but there are actually companies that let you configure one to your specific needs and price point.

iBuyPower and CyberPowerPC are two of the larger companies.

Check with friends or people at work/school. I'm sure someone near you can build a PC. It's quite simple once you see how it's done.

 

[Schadenfreude]

Or, if you have a price point that you're looking at you should be able to get some help on the General Hardware forums . . . it's surprisingly easy to physically put one together, and the people on the board will tell you what to get/what's compatible, etc.

 

[Cheesetogo]

There are lots of websites that explain how to put together a computer. Assuming that you're capable of using a screw driver and plugging things in, you shouldn't have any real problems.

If you do buy a prebuilt system, you're probably going to pay a substantial premium on it. I was looking at the IBuyPower website the other day, and they were charging nearly double the actual cost on some of their systems. I'm sure you can find other brands that are more reasonably priced, but you're still going to be throwing away a good amount of money.

 

[BladeVenom]

The hardest of building it yourself is probably picking out the parts, and you can get help here with that. Putting it together is easy.

 

[Skott]

Its true building your own is getting easier all the time but that first time of doing it can make you feel overwhelmed if you know absolutely nothing about PCs and how they work. For a first timer I'd say its best if you have someone with you who knows what they are doing help you. There are many people that simply are unable to do a DIY project like building a PC by themselves. You need to know how to troubleshoot and solve issues when they come up and they do come up in a build sometimes. I don't want to discourage anyone from trying to build their own but we also need to be realistic and practical as well. Not everyone is cut out for it.

To answer your question about online vendors, yes, there are some good ones out there that are reasonably priced. Checking with resellerratings.com will help you find out who has the best ratings for customer satisfaction and quality builds. Also don't neglect to check out your local PC shops. Often they can provide the best customer service. I've known some that had taken the time to go over things and explain how it works and why they did something a certain way.

Edit: Also check for any local computer clubs that you could join. Being a member would give you the advantage of having knowledgeable people you could go to for help. Cant hurt looking into anyway and you would make some new friends too. Just a thought.

Edit2: I hear Ava Direct and Cyberpower are two good online vendors to use. I'm sure there are many more.

 

[wuliheron]

Ditto, whether you buy from someplace like Cyberpower or assemble it yourself the hard part is knowing what parts to buy. Name brand computers tend to cut corners with things like cheap power supplies because people usually don't have a clue about power supplies. Customizable websites like Cyberpower tend to have somewhat better parts, but its still best to know what you are buying.

Assembling it yourself takes about a day with no special knowledge or skill required and can easily save hundreds, but DIYers often prefer to most of the savings back into buying high quality or more powerful parts.

 

[simpliztik_]

Right. Thanks for the advice, people. I would ask a friend if they knew anything about PCs but sadly, they're all console gamers. If there's anything they use their PC for its pr0n. But yeah, I finished customizing my PC at cyberpowerpc and here's was I got:

Processor - Intel® Core™ i5-2500 3.30 GHz 6M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155
Memory - 4GB
Video card - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 2GB 16X PCIe with EVGA
Hard drive - 1TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
Motherboard - Biostar H61MH Intel H61 Chipset DDR3 mATX Mainboard w/ Onboard Video, HDMI
Power supply - 700 Watts

Any concerns or suggestions? I chose what I thought was good enough to run high-end PC games of this generation and it's price. I watched some videos on the graphics card and processor I chose and they ran smoothly on games such as Crysis 1 and 2.

---Also, I'm concerned about the motherboard I chose.

 

[Skott]

Just off the top of my head...You dont need 700w and whats the name of the brand and model number of that psu? You may, depending on their offerings, save some money by getting a 600ish wattage psu. If they offer one. 600w-620w should be sufficient and have room for a GPU upgrade in the future. I have no clue about that Biostar mobo. They make some good products but you have to take it model by model when buying anything PC. Also, what monitor resolution you going to game with?

 

[dmoney1980]

Just off the top of my head...You dont need 700w and whats the name of the brand and model number of that psu? You may, depending on their offerings, save some money by getting a 600ish wattage psu. If they offer one. 600w-620w should be sufficient and have room for a GPU upgrade in the future.

what he said. Also, whats the total on that build? If you can lower the cost a bit with a 600 watt PSU you can get a better motherboard. Plus what brand of memory and what speed?

 

[simpliztik_]

Just off the top of my head...You dont need 700w and whats the name of the brand and model number of that psu? You may, depending on their offerings, save some money by getting a 600ish wattage psu. If they offer one. 600w-620w should be sufficient and have room for a GPU upgrade in the future. I have no clue about that Biostar mobo. They make some good products but you have to take it model by model when buying anything PC. Also, what monitor resolution you going to game with?

The screen resolution I'm going to be playing on is 1680x1050. The I'm going to be purchasing is an Intel 2nd gen Gamer Xtreme 1000.

 

[simpliztik_]

what he said. Also, whats the total on that build? If you can lower the cost a bit with a 600 watt PSU you can get a better motherboard. Plus what brand of memory and what speed?

Judging by my choices, I can't go any lower than 700 watts but what motherboard would you suggest? The one that I chose is a Biostar H61MH Intel H61 Chipset DDR3 mATX Mainboard. I could choose MSI H61M-P23 Intel H61 Chipset DDR3 mATX Mainboard because there's no cost difference between that and the Biostar h61mh. But if there's something else you would suggest then I'll happily take it. As long my PC runs good on any of today's high PC exclusive games and lasts long.

Memory: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)

 

[alcoholbob]

The worst idea is to buy a pre-built on a parts site like newegg lol...have to go somewhere else for product support.

 

[Skott]

The mobo is probably fine. The MSI may be better but you are not overclocking so its not a big deal most likely. I stick to ASUS and Gigabyte mainly because of their known quality and they seem to have the better mATX mobos which is what I'm into these days but I understand you are trying to save some money and keep to as low of a budget as possible. NewEgg sells it and of the their four reviews its considered generally good. Yeah, I know about NE reviews but there is not much info about this mobo I could find on a quick search.

If I'm looking at what you were looking at the XtremeGear is the psu, correct? Its probably fine but its not a brand I have ever used. I'd feel better if it was a known brand. Anyhow, 700w is plenty for any future single gpu upgrades I would think assuming the psu is of good quality. I would suggest researching that particular psu model though to make sure its not known for anything bad. A good psu is critical for the life of your PC.

 

[marmasatt]

So what was the price, or did I miss it? Can't really help you if we don't know what they are gouging you for.....

 

[Fenixgoon]

is the geforce550 any good? IIRC anandtech's review gave it somewhere around a "meh"

i could be wrong. kinda outta the loop these days since i dont swap parts on my system so much

 

[DominionSeraph]

is the geforce550 any good? IIRC anandtech's review gave it somewhere around a "meh"

i could be wrong. kinda outta the loop these days since i dont swap parts on my system so much

It's less powerful than a 768MB GTX 460 and costs more, thus the "meh."
With an i5 2500 I'd say a 1GB GTX 460 or 6850 would be a better fit.

 

[Gibsons]

The hardest of building it yourself is probably picking out the parts, and you can get help here with that. Putting it together is easy.

This. Just go to the General Hardware forum and read a few posts/threads over the course of a week or so. Ask questions once you've formulated a buy plan.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Here's how I'd run it:

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Mega_Special_III/

Cooler Master HAF 912 case +$11
Free Shogun 2
Maximum 120MM case fans (three more 120MM's for $9? Sure, why not.)
6850 +$49

Total: $868 ($972 with Windows 7)

If spending the money for i5 2500, there's really no reason not to spend the extra to get the i5 2500k and a motherboard that supports overclocking. The above has both.
You can save the $20 by going with the default case and no extra fans. With the liquid cooling and just a 6850, cooling shouldn't be a problem.

 

[DominionSeraph]

For comparison:

And that has a better PSU.

So you're paying $140 for assembly. $185 counting rebates.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Go here to Anadtech PC Builders fill out the form and post in the General Hardware section and you will get the best help you can anywhere! Help us Help you!

 

[aphelion02]

Right. Thanks for the advice, people. I would ask a friend if they knew anything about PCs but sadly, they're all console gamers. If there's anything they use their PC for its pr0n. But yeah, I finished customizing my PC at cyberpowerpc and here's was I got:

Processor - Intel® Core™ i5-2500 3.30 GHz 6M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155
Memory - 4GB
Video card - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 2GB 16X PCIe with EVGA
Hard drive - 1TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
Motherboard - Biostar H61MH Intel H61 Chipset DDR3 mATX Mainboard w/ Onboard Video, HDMI
Power supply - 700 Watts

Any concerns or suggestions? I chose what I thought was good enough to run high-end PC games of this generation and it's price. I watched some videos on the graphics card and processor I chose and they ran smoothly on games such as Crysis 1 and 2.

---Also, I'm concerned about the motherboard I chose.

That build is poor, and I bet the price isn't nice too. For comparison, I could put together a list for you that would be probabliy $200 cheaper and also much better, with more balanced components. Or, for the same price, you could get a build that would curbstomp that cyberpowerpc build.

Building a PC is easy and quite simple to pick up. The hardest part is picking components (we can help you massively with that) and getting over the initial daunting feeling. There's pretty much only one place most components can go. So save yourself some money, post the general hardware forum and we'll put something together for you that will punk your console friends' expectations.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Its true building your own is getting easier all the time but that first time of doing it can make you feel overwhelmed if you know absolutely nothing about PCs and how they work. For a first timer I'd say its best if you have someone with you who knows what they are doing help you. There are many people that simply are unable to do a DIY project like building a PC by themselves. You need to know how to troubleshoot and solve issues when they come up and they do come up in a build sometimes. I don't want to discourage anyone from trying to build their own but we also need to be realistic and practical as well. Not everyone is cut out for it.



Thanks Skott for finally giving a reasonable response to those who continually post on this site making building a PC sound simpler than opening a can of pop or something. I have never built a PC, and dont know anyone that could help me if I run into problems. I feel comfortable picking the components, but have this fear of having all the components but damaging/not connecting something correctly or getting hung up installing windows or some driver.

Anyway in response to the OP, IbuyPower and CyberPower have the best prices. I have also seen some deals on Digital Storm that look attractive. Falcon Northwest probably has the best machines, but is very expensive.

And I know a lot of people will criticize me for this, but even Dell has decent deals if you find the right specials. For instance yesterday they had a free upgrade processor upgrade and a big discount on the XPS 8300.

 

[dma0991]

http://forums.anandtech.com/member.php?u=183651BTRY B 529th FA BN sent me here to help a poor soul.

I don't really like the build that OP have listed. I'm pretty sure you could get a better deal by having a pre-built unit or at least better choice of parts. It would be better if you would give a budget for the rig and you most probably could ask a friend or a local technician to assemble all of it together.

 

[mfenn]

Thanks Skott for finally giving a reasonable response to those who continually post on this site making building a PC sound simpler than opening a can of pop or something. I have never built a PC, and dont know anyone that could help me if I run into problems. I feel comfortable picking the components, but have this fear of having all the components but damaging/not connecting something correctly or getting hung up installing windows or some driver.

Making it sound like some near-impossible feat isn't helping anyone either. Never having done something before isn't really a good reason not to at least try IMHO. Who knows, you might even learn something!

As for the bolded: there is a whole forum full of people who want to help.

Here's how I'd run it:

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Mega_Special_III/

Cooler Master HAF 912 case +$11
Free Shogun 2
Maximum 120MM case fans (three more 120MM's for $9? Sure, why not.)
6850 +$49

Total: $868 ($972 with Windows 7)

If spending the money for i5 2500, there's really no reason not to spend the extra to get the i5 2500k and a motherboard that supports overclocking. The above has both.
You can save the $20 by going with the default case and no extra fans. With the liquid cooling and just a 6850, cooling shouldn't be a problem.

:thumbsup: Much better config IMHO.