I'm looking to get a new computer under $1000. I would prefer this computer to be a laptop, with a decently long battery, with a built-in microphone. However, all of those things are kinda optional, especially the microphone. Primarily, its use would be for gaming. I would like to be able to run new games on high settings. Any ideas, DLP?

One a side note: some people I knew also create their own rigs. I'm completly oblivious to how diffucult or time-consuming this would be or even if doing so I would be able to produce a product overall cheaper then the same product if I had straight-up brought it. My experience with computers beyond the normal stuff you would expect is very little to none. I don't expect I am going to go down that path, but if DLP had and would like to share their little secrets on how to approach building your own computer, that would be awesome.

 

Currently in the market for a desktop myself. Personally, I'm going to avoid building my own due to my total inexperience. However, spending a great deal of time working out the optimum specs for the price is definitely useful.

In fact, what I'm looking for is rather similar to what you are, Cull. Budgeted at about £1000, looking to have mid-range i5 or better, 8GB RAM and nVidia GTS 450 or better. 2TB of ROM would be nice, too. Oh, and Blu-Ray playability in 1080p (already got the monitor for that sorted).

Any recommendations DLP? Outside of fiddling around with the Dell XPS 8300 customisation options on their website, I've only looked briefly at building from the ground-up (computerplanet.co.uk).

 

Checked out that site for you, turned out with this:

No mouse, keyboard, speakers, monitor and OS.

That Vat is killing you (I suppose it's some kind of tax in the UK).

 

The Asus G-series laptops can be had in the vicinity of $1000 and are capable of playing most games on medium/high settings.

That said, unless you really need portability, building your own desktop will give you better bang for your buck.

 

Holy crap that's good value, far more for your money than Dell can provide. The 3 year warranty and support is reassuring, too. And I'm not concerned about keyboard, mouse, and speakers, as I already have all the ones I need there (5.1 ftw). 24" 1080p monitor on the way helps too.

Thanks for that. I have absolutely no clue with regards to power supplies, motherboards and cooling systems, so that gives me some perspective. I'm amazed a solid-state hard-drive could be squeezed in for that price, too.

And yeah, VAT stands for Value Added Tax... kills everything, it does. You pay it on every good you buy.

EDIT: As for OS, that can be solved.

 

Never used AMD processors, but my last Radeon was awful

 

This, basically. I built my computer at around the same time (Cheddar's thread was immensely helpful for another PC-building newb like me), and following the advice people gave her, as well as asking around some of my friends who were into this sort of thing really helped out.

My PC turned out okay, despite the fact that my aftermarket cooler wasn't compatible with my Motherboard (there was a latch on the back that wouldn't close because of a nut on the mobo).

In any case, as any other person will tell you (and as others have already said), build a desktop unless you really, really need the mobility.

 

You could, but you get what you pay for nowadays.

 

For a gaming desktop an AMD processor would be fine. There's nothing wrong with them except for being significantly outclassed by Sandy Bridge processors.

If your primary use will be gaming the Phenom II 955 BE would save almost $100 on the i5. Processors are rarely the bottleneck in a system, and the 955 is more than capable of playing every game out there with ease.

Strictly speaking an i3 is better for gaming, but lags behind the 955 when it comes to multitasking, so it can't easily be recommended, especially as it costs more.

If money isn't an issue the i5 outstrips everything except the i7, which is far more power than a majority of consumers will ever need during the life of their desktop.

AMD and Intel cater to different audiences. Intel sells to enthusiast consumers looking to be the best parts possible, AMD caters to the bang-for-your-back types, and as a result Intel is almost always "better" than AMD.

You really should build your own computer though. If you can read an instruction manual, you can put one together. Making sure you always ground yourself and aren't forcing anything is the hardest part. Watch some videos of people putting computers together. It really is just Key A into Slot A, and Key B into Slot B.

 

sandy bridge i5's match all current intel processors clock for clock unless you're doing heavily multithreaded work (ie: video encoding).

There is 0 difference between a i5 2500k and a i7 2600k (at the same clocks) in a program that uses 4 or less threads.

Anyway more to the topic, I can't recommend an AMD cpu for anything other than a budget system, which this build is most definitely not.

Get an i5-2400 for the cpu. For graphics we'd really want details of your monitor (ie: what resolution you'll be gaming at) so we can recommend the right card, but a 560ti is very good value for money and will probably be suitable.

 

What about for a 1920 x 1080 monitor resolution, for example?

 

560Ti is great for that. The main worry would be if you planned to do multi-screen gaming.

 

Note that the 560 won't let you max the new games. You'll be able to play everything fine, but AA and AF are going to be best left on low settings, if used at all, and some particularly demanding games or notably bad ports may require one or two of the "normal" graphical settings to be reduced a notch or two.

Of course, if you don't mind playing ~30FPS, you'll be able to max about everything. It doesn't bother me much, but a lot of people become riled when their FPS isn't hovering right around 60, and is very noticeable under any circumstances if you're playing FPS games.