Best computer for gaming and web surfing???

[ThatRoundHeadedKid]

Build your own computer.

[ThatRoundHeadedKid]

Originally Posted by doberman_52

I spent under $500 and got a 500 watt power supply, 1 gig of Corsair XMS2 series RAM, 250 gig Hard drive, asus motherboard (should spent a little more on this one), AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200, Asus X1550 PCI-Express video card, and a decent heat sinc, I have never had a problem with it yet as far as games go, Playing Halo nonstop for 8 to 10 hours I never saw the cpu heat go over 34 degrees celcius with all of my fans set on low, video card doesnt glitch and never had a problem with the game glitching. If I had a $800 budget, I would have gotten a better motherboard and maybe video card with another gig of RAM, but thats bout it. Building them is simply installing the pieces where they go, can tell by looking ussually, not to hard, then installing the opperating system and other programs, and to add the opperating system would probably be round 200or so there depending on which OS you want...

You spent under $500 for an X2????

[drunken monkey]

it's probably this one
they were expensive 2 odd years ago but these days they're cheap.
if i recall correctly, he also saved money on his build by not having to buy a case or monitor.

[CCriCr]

After reading all this i would have to say i am goin with a desktop instead of a laptop also is ther really ahuge dif. between x9 and x10?

[CCriCr]

been lookin at cases most cases r $100 & up. IS that reasonable or not ?????

[CCriCr]

Lookin at 250 gb hard drive what shuld i go with??

[ThatRoundHeadedKid]

Originally Posted by CCriCr

been lookin at cases most cases r $100 & up. IS that reasonable or not ?????

I spent $80 or $90 something on a CoolerMaster Centurion 532 that came with a 430 watt PSU from CoolerMaster. Not a bad deal so $100 is about the ballpark for a decent, and if you desire, stylish case. Unless I'm wrong....?

Originally Posted by CCriCr

Lookin at 250 gb hard drive what shuld i go with??

Western Digital Caviars are great. Extremely reliable and very responsive. Make sure you get an SATA 3.0GB/s interfaced hard drive for best performance.

[Oz]

I would go for a Western Digital Raptor 10K drive for the first drive, even if it sacrifices some capacity - they are FAST. Exactly what you want for gaming.

[ThatRoundHeadedKid]

Originally Posted by Oz

I would go for a Western Digital Raptor 10K drive for the first drive, even if it sacrifices some capacity - they are FAST. Exactly what you want for gaming.

Agreed. Only downside is that they're quite expensive, but you do get a lot of hard drive...

Also heard by some people who have Raptors that they fragment alot quicker than slower HDs and need to be defragmented more often. Maybe Oz can verify this.

[Shpyder]

Hardcore gaming is, by far, the most exhaustive activity that any computer can be subjected to. A true gaming PC is the ultimate PC, since the nature of hardware required to be a good gaming platform means the biggest and best of everything, from your clock speed, to your cooling system. Thus by default ,a good gaming PC will automatically be a good web surfing PC (especially since websurfing is really light stuff compared to gaming, and core requirements for a decent web surfing machine arent exactly what you might call "taxing").

I would seriously advise against a gaming laptop though, since I owned one. 6 years ago, I purchased a 2.4Ghz laptop, with a 17.1" UXGA screen, 1GB RAM, 100GB HDD, and a whopping 128MB dedicated graphic card. This thing was a powerhouse, and weighed about 11lbs. However, after a few months of intensive gaming, the laptop would regularly become so hot, that I thought the plastic might melt. The fans never turned off, etc etc, and it got worse. And I don't even want to mention the pricetag on this thing...Heat is the one major problem that gaming PCs face, and in a gaming laptop, where components are already crammed together and there is more compromise on every front, the destructive effects of heat are definitely amplified.

Desktops are certainly the way to go for gaming, and I really agree with a few on here, that you should try to mix and match, and build your own rig instead of feeding these corporations that make over-priced branded "gaming" PCs, like those Alienware and Dell are now churning out. No doubt they get the job done, but you'll be paying a ridiculous cost. Fry's has every single component you'll need for a powerful rig; but you have to do the research on what processor to get, what HDD is the best, graphic card, etc. There are tons of reviews online that should help you out.

[Oz]

Originally Posted by ThatRoundHeadedKid

Agreed. Only downside is that they're quite expensive, but you do get a lot of hard drive...

Also heard by some people who have Raptors that they fragment alot quicker than slower HDs and need to be defragmented more often. Maybe Oz can verify this.

File Fragmentation is caused by data being deleted and written to the drive.

So by the very nature of having a higher speed (10,000rpm VS 7,200rpm) of course Raptor drives are going to fragment faster - they're going to do everything faster. LOL

That said, I think your friend is slightly misguided in what he has told you.

There are several Third Party defragmentation applications available that can defrag your drive automatically when needed.

[l_eclipse_l]

The one downside to a Raptor drive besides cost is the noise it makes. I have a friend who bought one and it is the loudest HD he has ever used, but he does like the performance aspect of it. If you can sacrifice the cash and put up with the noise, then they are great drives.