New Gaming Comp: Build or Buy?

[OneTwoThreeROBOT]

I want to play the new wave of games, (Supreme Commander, Unreal III, C&C III), and I want to run them as near to flawless as possible.

I've done some research, and decided that I need a nVidia 8800 video card, a dual core processor of some kind, at least 2 gigs of RAM, etc.

What's my best option here? I've bought computers from Dell before, and I've always liked their service and price, but from what I've heard, they're not always the best for computer games because they use cheaper parts. Does anyone who owns an XPS want to speak for or against Dell on this?

I've also looked at eBay for buying. The gaming computers that are being sold running between $1500 and $2500 are within my price range, and look pretty good. My only worry about them is getting a less than adequate computer or getting ripped off from a no-name computer company. Plus they don't have the service that Dell would have. Did anyone buy their computer off eBay, and if so, what was your experience?

The other best option I can think of is buying the parts off of newegg and assembling it myself. I've built a desktop before, and it wasn't the greatest experience. I didn't know a whole lot about grounding myself to protect from static damage. I didn't know about compatibility issues between processors and motherboards, etc. It took a long time, and cost me extra because I made some ignorant mistakes.

What I learned from that experience would help me in building my new computer, but I'm not sure if it's worth going through the trouble if I can buy a comprable one on eBay or somewhere else for only a little bit more money.

Question 1: What should I do?
Question 2: How awesome is Supreme Commander, and how is it different from TA, besides the obvious graphics improvements?

[Shadowrun]

if you have the ability to build you should.

otherwise i would buy, buy i avoid dells

[Prodigy54321]

I bought an XPS 710 that should be arriving today (monday) or tommorrow...

XPS 710 Black
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6600 (4MB L2 Cache,2.4GHz,1066 FSB), Genuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition with re-installation CD
XPS 710 Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6600 (4MB L2 Cache,2.4GHz,1066 FSB)
[222-7049]

Memory 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs

Video Cards 256MB nVidia GeForce 7900 GS
[320-4806]

Hard Drive 250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™

cost me $2100..

I'm sure that I could have gotten better for cheaper, but building one myself I don't think was the best idea..because I'm a moron

the 7900 vid card was the lowest option...I may be getting the 8800 eventually, but buying it from dell would be a mistake.

[goofyballer]

I just built a computer by buying stuff from Newegg for about $1740 (incl tax and shipping). Stats:

- Core 2 Duo E6600
- 2GB RAM
- GeForce 8800GTS vid card
- 320GB HD
etc

tbh I could have saved about $200 if I didn't decide to overclock - I have the 2.4 GHz processor running at 3.33 GHz, and from what I understand that's on the low end of how high you can generally overclock an E6600. If you didn't want to OC then you could go with cheaper parts and prob pay about $1500 for the same machine I got - overclocking made me get a more expensive case/power supply/RAM/heatsink that I didn't otherwise need.

[thedustbustr]

[ QUOTE ]
1 Discount FOR 27-152-055&17-132-017
Item #: COM $-8.00
Item(s) shipped from CA Tracking Number: #x
Track 1 SILVERSTONE SST-ST56F ATX12V / EPS12V 560W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817163112 $128.99
Track 1 RiDATA 4.7GB 16X DVD+R 50 Packs Disc - OEM
Item #: N82E16817132017 $22.99
Item(s) shipped from NJ Tracking Number: #x
Track 1 DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813136152
DFI (510)-623-5010 $122.99
Track 1 CorePad EP24510 Mouse Pad - OEM
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Track 1 ATI 100-435801 Radeon X1900XT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814195002
ATI Service: 905 882 2626 $503.00
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Item #: N82E16827152055 $41.99
Track 1 Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard - Retail
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Track 1 Razer Copperhead Tempest Blue 2000 dpi Gaming Mouse - Full Retail Multi Language - Retail
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Track 1 CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWINX2048-3200C2PT - Retail
Item #: N82E16820145575 $189.00
Track 1 Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3250824AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822148111
This item is serviced by the SeaGate. Please call 800 -732-4283 for service. $94.99
Track 1 Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion DVD-ROM DVD Edition PC Game 2K Games - Retail
Item #: N82E16832205901 $42.99
Track 1 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 2.2GHz Socket 939 Processor Model ADA4400CDBOX - Retail
Item #: N82E16819103546
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Subtotal: $1,871.90
What's this?Tax: $0.00
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[/ QUOTE ]
this is what i bought in march to play oblivion
runs ut2k3 flawlessly obv (its an older game by today's standards, ut2k3 runs great on a 9800 pro)

it runs supcom fine so far on a single montior, but it would def heave on double monitors at full res

if u bought a comparable video card and chip by todays standards a year later, u will have no problems if you can afford about this much money. obv u need a monitor too.

oh, and an operating system.

[Stellastarr]

Definitely build your own if you can. Have you checked out the special PC makers like Alienware and Vodoo? They might be a little more expensive but they much better then Dell.

[Moozh]

I know it's all about 'balla' these days, and I practically live on my computer, but I was able to put a solid one together for under $800.

Athalon 64 3200
nVidia nForce4 Ultra mobo
nVidia 6600GT (not as good as 6800, but much much cheaper)
1 Gb Ram
220 Gb Disk
Antec Sonata Case
Antec TruPower 380 Power Supply

I used my old 19" CRT monitor and have since added a Samsung 204b which I did not include in the $800 figure.

For a computer geek who really likes his gaming, my machine works fine. I run Oblivion, Half-Life 2, Supreme Commander, etc fine.

Summary: if you buy items one level down from the current tech peak, your computer will be at worst 80% as efficient and will cost around 1/2 as much. Given Moore's law of 18 months -> double performance, investing in the high end hardware is ridiculous even for a hardcore gamer as every system is going to degrade extremely quickly. That extra $1000 you're investing will keep you ahead of the curve for an extra 3-6 months. Is it really worth it?

[thedustbustr]

"computer will be at worst 80% as efficient"
this may be true but that extra 20% means a whole lot graphically, imo. if u can spring 2k on a near top notch rig, do it.

if you arent that baller, then sure, u can assemble your own pc for less than a g and it will *run* oblivion and supcom, but you will be missing out (and the graphics are half of the game, in say oblivion, whereas if i ever play supcom competitively ill probably run minimum gfx just so it doesnt get in the way.) .

[Dire]

[ QUOTE ]
Definitely build your own if you can. Have you checked out the special PC makers like Alienware and Vodoo? They might be a little more expensive but they much better then Dell.

[/ QUOTE ]

Never heard of Vodoo, but Alienware has been owned by Dell for quite a while.

[Moozh]

[ QUOTE ]
"computer will be at worst 80% as efficient"
this may be true but that extra 20% means a whole lot graphically, imo. if u can spring 2k on a near top notch rig, do it.

if you arent that baller, then sure, u can assemble your own pc for less than a g and it will *run* oblivion and supcom, but you will be missing out (and the graphics are half of the game, in say oblivion, whereas if i ever play supcom competitively ill probably run minimum gfx just so it doesnt get in the way.) .

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, I guess it's a matter of personal taste, so it's hard to argue one way or another. I agree that you're going to get some details my machine doesn't. I peronsally think you're overestimating the difference. Things like you being able to run at 1600x1200x32 vs me at 1280x1024x16 and me having the object and shadow culling distance reduced by 20% makes a difference, but I'm willing to live with it. I still get a good frame rate (as in not noticeable) and the games are still just as fun for me to play. Modern game programmers are becoming more and more adept at scalability. Most of the 2nd generation hardware plays modern games surprisingly well.

That said, there is a difference, so it really becomes a question of what you're willing to pay for that optimization.