$2000 for a Dell?

Posted by Extravisual on May 27, 2006, 12:09 a.m.

A bit of history:

'In 1976, the people of Alaska amended the state's constitution, establishing the Alaska Permanent Fund. The fund invests a portion of the state's mineral revenue, including revenue from the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline System, "to benefit all generations of Alaskans."'

-Wikipedia

Doesn't make any sense? Well it does you see, up until about 3 weeks ago I was a resident of Alaska, and got a chunk of that fund (everybody ages 0 and up gets an equal share). But still in October I get my last permanent fund dividend since I have moved to the east coast. In past years I have not been able to get mine, because my mom needed it to support us due to low wages in Alaska, but since this is my last, my mom has agreed to me having it (more like a “We’ll see what happens.â€?) My last dividend was around $900, so I figure this one will be a little over $800. I was planning on getting a low-wage job and combining funds to get a nice Alienware, but then while looking through a blog on this site I heard this astounding info:

“Build your own pc. It is cheaper, you know what you're using and it is just a matter of connecting some cables there and here.â€? – gml_josea

“With Alienware you pay around $500 extra because it says "Alienware" on itâ€? – DS

"'Brand' Computers also make it hard to upgrade your computer as most of their boxes are built so that unless you break it they won't open enough to work on your computer. They're a load of crap.â€? – RhysAndrews

“I don't even trust Alienware computers since Dell bought the company.â€? – melee-master

“Oh my godâ€? I thought “I didn’t know Dell bought Alienware!â€? I thought it might be false, but a quick Google search proved it to be true… unfortunately. So was going to do some research to find the best parts, methods, etc… to building a good computer, but then I got a better thought, why not ask the community here at 64Digits, I imagine out of the over 1000 members (Me, see badge [/boasting]), I’m sure somebody will have some good advice for building a custom computer…

So that’s what I’m asking for, advice for building a computer.

(And for anyone who was reading the comments on that blog, I am going for a legit copy of windows.)

EDIT: Also, I hope that all whom are quoted here don't mind me doing so.

Comments

Extravisual 18 years, 5 months ago

You mean ATI/Nvidia wars… their not starting as fast as I thought they would… oh well, and from what I read, I like the sound of the Nvidia's better than the ATI's. And I found a pretty nice motherboard from NewEgg here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131540

I'm not sure if that is good or not :(

Adventus 18 years, 5 months ago

Motherboards generally dont differ much. As long as they have the compatible ports and enough of them, then the price is the main factor.

Decide on you motherboard after you've chosen a GFX card and a CPU. I would personally recommend a AMD cpu and as a GFX card to get a Nvidia 7600GT or 7800GT if you can afford it.

Extravisual 18 years, 5 months ago

Thats what I was thinking, but I'm not sure I can afford it. I live in upscaled area with tons of rich people, so theres not many low wage jobs for poor kids like me. :(

takua108 18 years, 5 months ago

Lol yeah I meant ATI…and ATI has certain cards that are more powerful, but I generally like Nvidia cards because a.) I've always had an Nvidia card and b.) every non-Half-Life 2 game I've ever played has advertised them (UT2004, F.E.A.R., etc.) instead of ATI.

…Yeah, not very good reasons. Oh well.

takua108 18 years, 5 months ago

Oh, and as far as RAM goes…I've got 512 but my motherboard doesn't like it, which shows that I need a new motherboard (I'm saving for one). It doesn't like it because since I've added the second 256-stick Half-Life 2 (and, subsquently, all Source mods) won't play on my computer. I want my CS:S, dammit! [>>]

Also, if you've got the spare cashzorz, get 2 1GB sticks of RAM (hopefully leaving 1-2 open slots on your motherboard for later additions). You'll thank me when you play F.E.A.R. on this machine [^^].

And I remember freaking out when I saw a Half-Life 2 update saying it now had support for 4GB of RAM…isn't that crazy? Who would need that much, outside of rendering computers?

Extravisual 18 years, 5 months ago

4G? Me in 3D! (Makes no sense.)

Anyway, I found a reletivly local computer builder. I hope to get out there and see the cost for the computer I want to build…

V 18 years, 5 months ago

one good idea would be to get an AMD athlon processor if you have the money, they completly PWN intel, but intel is alot cheaper. AMD athlon would be 4 teh gamerz of course, so i have that. graphics card, i wouldn't know too much about that. graphics haven't always worried me. hard drive, i would get something that would have a good deal of space, so that way i won't have to run out of room any time soon. very useful if you download alot of stuff. i suppose that's all i could suggest for now.

Tyranic-Moron 18 years, 5 months ago

my computer cost about £300-£400. I don't know what that is in dollars, but here are my specs:

40GB hard drive (thinking of upgrading)

AMD Sempron Processor 3000+

512MB RAM

NVidia GeForce 6600 LE

ECS RS482-M754 Motherboard

DVD drive

CD Write/Re-Write Drive

4GB Hard Drive used for Virtual Memory

It can play things like Age of Empires 3, The Sims 2, Command and Conquer Generals, and Black and White 2 smoothly. I don't have a seperate sound card, I found the built in one on the motherboard worked fine.

Tyranic-Moron 18 years, 5 months ago

I actually meant £250-£350, sorry.

Extravisual 18 years, 5 months ago

I think that's about $500-$700, a good computer for pretty cheap…. Just the processor costs that much on the one I want to make….