Putting up the ole' saddle for a new one

[Ubershank]

Hey fellas,

Not sure if I'm writing in the right spot or not.

Anyway I've had my gaming pc for about 3 1/2 years now and slowly every day her age begins to show more and more. She is a AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ 2.41 GHz and 2 gigs of memory and dual Gforce 7950s.

She still works damn good but more and more she struggles to run newer games and since I still use XP she can't use DX10. I've built it from the ground up and have been continuously improving, but now its becoming much more difficult to keep up. So its time for me to retire the old girl to my parents and grab a steed and jump into (gulp) the new Vista future.

I was thinking of building a new system from the ground up but right now with college, work and life in general I was thinking of just getting a pre-built system and nerfing the unnecessary stuff it comes with.

I have about a $5,000 budget for a new pc which I know will probably get me exactly what I need but I wanted to hear from you guys your opinion on what I should try I.E. alienware, dell etc. And also try to limit the spending since the extra could probably be used for something else (like gas )

 

[Pirran]

I'm really no expert in computers, though I have a Dell. I had to reinstall the OS on it when I first got it, because they messed it up. I've had it for about two and a half years. I've always wanted an Alienware because they're so pretty But they are extremely expensive for what you get, in my opinion. I've also had a good run with HP before too, though it was a work computer and not gaming.

 

[Whiffen]

You would be better off buying it custom. It is quite easy to build a computer on your own and you save some money by not buying a brand name. Not to mention with 5k you could basically own the best stuff in stores.

Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115051

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131321

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131274

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148187

Hard drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136260

Graphic: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130366

Power: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153053

That takes you to about 3.5K and there isn't really anything better than that. I'm not to sure about the power supply and I'm sure someone else here will be able to verify this list for you. Looking at you Zeno, or Kimsland xD

Case and peripherals are more or less your preference. It would have to be a full or medium tower though.

 

[Ubershank]

Thanks for the input, guess I'll try setting it up myself, luckily my bud is dropping by from florida and he can help me set up the equipment. And yes alienware is a beautiful piece of work too bad it puts the hurt on you're wallet :-(