Hi all, I am about to buy a new gaming PC - this site has been great for figuring out exactly what I want. I initially thought I would build my own, but after doing some research it seems there are a few places that can give me exactly what I want and beat the price on components. I am wondering if anyone has experience with any of these makers (in the order in which I am considering them)
- Monarch (http://www.monarchcomputer.com)
- ABS (http://www.abspc.com/)
- Polywell (http://www.polywell.com/us/index.asp)
- Velocity (http://www.velocitymicro.com/)
All of these seem to be able to sell me what I want already assembled for about the same price (or a bit less) than I can get the parts at Newegg. (Specs follow)
I also looked in to some "high end" builders. These can also sell me what I want, but there seems to be a significant premium attached:
- Voodoo (http://www.voodoopc.com/)
- Hypersonic (http://www.hypersonic-pc.com/2001/index.asp)
- Falcon Northwest (http://www.falcon-nw.com/)
- Alienware (http://www.alienware.com/)
However, as far as I can tell they charge a healthy premium and the main benefit is slick looking cases.
I am wondering if anyone has good or bad experiences to share about any of the first 4 builders, or can give me reasons to consider the more expensive ones. I am also open to recommendations of others.
What I am after (probably)
- SLI motherboard (prefer Gigabyte from what I have read)
- AMD 3500+ CPU
- 1Gb RAM (not sure what to buy here - very confused on how to match performance of other components)
- Nvidia 6800 GT (one for now)
- One 74 Gb Raptor drive for system
- One large storage drive for music, pix, and video (about 250Gb)
- Dual layer DVD-RW
- Card reader of some sort
- Audigy 2 ZS soundcard
- Plenty of USB and Firewire ports (lots of gadgets)
- Thermaltake Tsunami Case (prefer silver)
- Whatever I can add to make it quieter without breaking the bank
I think this gives me a good upgrade path (faster processor, more RAM, additional 6800GT) while giving me strong performance right now.
The prices I am getting from the first 4 builders are around $2300-$2600. The latter ones seem to be around $3000-$3500. I greatly appreciate any experience or advice you can share.
- Monarch (http://www.monarchcomputer.com)
- ABS (http://www.abspc.com/)
- Polywell (http://www.polywell.com/us/index.asp)
- Velocity (http://www.velocitymicro.com/)
All of these seem to be able to sell me what I want already assembled for about the same price (or a bit less) than I can get the parts at Newegg. (Specs follow)
I also looked in to some "high end" builders. These can also sell me what I want, but there seems to be a significant premium attached:
- Voodoo (http://www.voodoopc.com/)
- Hypersonic (http://www.hypersonic-pc.com/2001/index.asp)
- Falcon Northwest (http://www.falcon-nw.com/)
- Alienware (http://www.alienware.com/)
However, as far as I can tell they charge a healthy premium and the main benefit is slick looking cases.
I am wondering if anyone has good or bad experiences to share about any of the first 4 builders, or can give me reasons to consider the more expensive ones. I am also open to recommendations of others.
What I am after (probably)
- SLI motherboard (prefer Gigabyte from what I have read)
- AMD 3500+ CPU
- 1Gb RAM (not sure what to buy here - very confused on how to match performance of other components)
- Nvidia 6800 GT (one for now)
- One 74 Gb Raptor drive for system
- One large storage drive for music, pix, and video (about 250Gb)
- Dual layer DVD-RW
- Card reader of some sort
- Audigy 2 ZS soundcard
- Plenty of USB and Firewire ports (lots of gadgets)
- Thermaltake Tsunami Case (prefer silver)
- Whatever I can add to make it quieter without breaking the bank
I think this gives me a good upgrade path (faster processor, more RAM, additional 6800GT) while giving me strong performance right now.
The prices I am getting from the first 4 builders are around $2300-$2600. The latter ones seem to be around $3000-$3500. I greatly appreciate any experience or advice you can share.