Lets talk computers..

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Old 12-28-2005, 05:04 PM
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Lets talk computers..

I am looking to spend 1.5k-2k on a computer..

I am leaning towards self-built. (I know how and can get parts cheap/reliable from newegg.com)

I do a lot of 3d modeling and cad rendering solid works kinda stuff..
But i also want to be able to play games 3d first persons shooter type stuff such as counterstrike and battlefield 2..
What card should i get?

Also i looked into alienware pc's they are smoking machines but i think i can build and match their prices or am i on crack? Anyone built this high-end of a machine and have any input. I can't decided to build or buy. You get monitors/mouse/keyboard for cheap if you buy from alienware.. ( i hear dells suck nowadays..)
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Old 12-28-2005, 05:04 PM
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lets not...
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Old 12-28-2005, 05:06 PM
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e-machine.
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Old 12-28-2005, 05:08 PM
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woo snappy reply's within minutes useless information
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Old 12-28-2005, 05:09 PM
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seriously dude, if you have that much corn to spend and you are already doing all that 3D stuff and gaming, you should be telling us what to get.
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Old 12-28-2005, 05:10 PM
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Originally Posted by psoper
seriously dude, if you have that much corn to spend and you are already doing all that 3D stuff and gaming, you should be telling us what to get.

werd.

Just get a dell.
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Old 12-28-2005, 05:26 PM
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Originally Posted by scustoms
I am looking to spend 1.5k-2k on a computer..

I am leaning towards self-built. (I know how and can get parts cheap/reliable from newegg.com)

I do a lot of 3d modeling and cad rendering solid works kinda stuff..
But i also want to be able to play games 3d first persons shooter type stuff such as counterstrike and battlefield 2..
What card should i get?

Also i looked into alienware pc's they are smoking machines but i think i can build and match their prices or am i on crack? Anyone built this high-end of a machine and have any input. I can't decided to build or buy. You get monitors/mouse/keyboard for cheap if you buy from alienware.. ( i hear dells suck nowadays..)
it would be dumb to buy an alienware, they are cheap pieces of **** that cost a lot because of how they look.
build it yourself.. for the price of the top of the line alienware you could build your own for about 30% less.

get an invidia with SLI technology.. their best one is about 1k and it rips it up, some people prefere ATI but with that its a never ending arguement as to which is better nvidia or ATI.. every ATI ive had broke, every nvidia ive had still works just a bit outdated for what i do. so i am hands down nvidia.
get corsair xms 3200 ram its awesome. my friend has the best invidia card, with 1gb of corsair xms 3200 ram and a raptor 10k rpm sata harddrive and that computer rips it up.
just my opinion..
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Old 12-28-2005, 05:42 PM
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Originally Posted by evsoul
it would be dumb to buy an alienware, they are cheap pieces of **** that cost a lot because of how they look.
build it yourself.. for the price of the top of the line alienware you could build your own for about 30% less.

get an invidia with SLI technology.. their best one is about 1k and it rips it up, some people prefere ATI but with that its a never ending arguement as to which is better nvidia or ATI.. every ATI ive had broke, every nvidia ive had still works just a bit outdated for what i do. so i am hands down nvidia.
get corsair xms 3200 ram its awesome. my friend has the best invidia card, with 1gb of corsair xms 3200 ram and a raptor 10k rpm sata harddrive and that computer rips it up.
just my opinion..
Don't forget about the bus speeds. The higher, the more you can push through it.

+1 for nVidia, my Dad works there and he gave me the scoop: Playstaiton 3 is going to be using nVidia technology for their graphics processor.

Use a SATA drive, no one uses SCSI anymore, even I switched out. Make sure the drive has at least an 8 meg buffer and it will run fast. It'll run even faster with a 10K RPM & 16 meg buffer. The larger the buffer, the better.
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Old 12-28-2005, 06:13 PM
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+1 for www.tomshardware.com so you can learn allllll about what parts are t3h b3stest!
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Old 12-28-2005, 06:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Onizuka
Don't forget about the bus speeds. The higher, the more you can push through it.

+1 for nVidia, my Dad works there and he gave me the scoop: Playstaiton 3 is going to be using nVidia technology for their graphics processor.

Use a SATA drive, no one uses SCSI anymore, even I switched out. Make sure the drive has at least an 8 meg buffer and it will run fast. It'll run even faster with a 10K RPM & 16 meg buffer. The larger the buffer, the better.


anymore inside info on nvidia? are they firing/hiring people? it would be a good time to buy some nvidia stock, looks like they are beating ati.
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Old 12-28-2005, 06:59 PM
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I just built a machine pretty cheap for the power, might work for what you are doing. 600W SLi-ready power supply, amd 3200+ 64, 2 gigs of pc3200 ddr, 2x70g 10k RPM sata HD, 2 x 7800GT 256mb running in SLi, and an Asus a8n-sli nforce4 motherboard. Look up all the prices up on Newegg and its not as bad as you think, definately not close to Alienware prices.
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Old 12-29-2005, 12:19 AM
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What software are you gonna use? 3D Studio Max, Lightwave, etc? I'm behind on the 3D programs since I was primarily a web/print designer in art school. Haha. I just remembered a friend of mine had issues with his ATi 9800. He was using 3D Studio Max. The last time I even touched a 3D program was back in 2000 when I briefly learned how to use Bryce 3D (that program's gawd awful, I don't even know why we wasted part of our class time learning it).
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Old 12-29-2005, 12:23 AM
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I was hearing a while back that SLI is only good for high benchmarking scores, and was just as good as every other setup while playing games, etc.
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Old 12-29-2005, 12:51 AM
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also, check out www.tigerdirect.com

I buy from them all the time on all the builds I do...great guys
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Old 12-29-2005, 02:49 AM
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I built my own back in high school. Best way to go, I will never buy a prebuilt again. Still have it till this day and on it right now , almost 4 years old. Just give it a revamp about once a year (hdd, soundcard, ram, fans, ETC). As far as gfx card just researched and find which one suits you best.
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