New Computer

Right, it's that time when I need to buy a new computer, since my present one seems to be getting rather slow and tired. I need something well priced (not over-priced or super-cheap), but has excellent performance. So, does anyone have any computers they can recommend? I prefer Dell desktops, just to let you know.

Hmm, well anything Alienware is amazing, I think you can even get alienware laptops, but thats a bit on the expensive side. They are owned by dell I think actually.


Can't really be of help. we have our Alienware, the HP with duel quad core (actually better than the alienware) and I have my hp laptop, and I haven't been looking at new computers for a while.

Before Andy has the opportunity.
Get a Mac.
Expensive: Yes
Reliable: Yes
Well made: Yes
Good Customer Support: Yes
Great software: Yes
User Friendly: Yes
Looks Cool: Yes

I could go on...

You could get a basic Mac for the same price as a pimp'd out Computer. Just sayin'


Alienware is generally brilliant, but still on the expensive side. To be honest I'm not great with computers and my friends aren't on this forum, so, I can't do much other than say have something with high RAM and a good graphics card.

You are better off getting a Custom-Built one.
Also factors which need to be considered is that:

Are you going to be running a 32-bit or 64-Bit System?
Are you going for Compatability or Power?
What are you specifically going to operate with your new Computer?
What is your Price budget?
Is there any specific model of Computer you are looking at for the moment?

Xaesheir wrote:You are better off getting a Custom-Built one.

Yamchas are sometimes risky. If the person building your computer is incompetent, they may use parts that aren't properly compatible with each other.

Thats what happened to us. We bought two yamchas, both burnt out within 6 months of buying them. Make sure if you get one built to go to someone who knows what they are doing.

LordRemington wrote:

Xaesheir wrote:You are better off getting a Custom-Built one.

Yamchas are sometimes risky. If the person building your computer is incompetent, they may use parts that aren't properly compatible with each other.

Thats what happened to us. We bought two yamchas, both burnt out within 6 months of buying them. Make sure if you get one built to go to someone who knows what they are doing.

Companies like Dell and PCspecialist let you do it online and usually recieve great reviews.

Xaesheir wrote:

LordRemington wrote:

Yamchas are sometimes risky. If the person building your computer is incompetent, they may use parts that aren't properly compatible with each other.

Thats what happened to us. We bought two yamchas, both burnt out within 6 months of buying them. Make sure if you get one built to go to someone who knows what they are doing.

Companies like Dell and PCspecialist let you do it online and usually recieve great reviews.

ohh you meant through the computer company itself. oh I was talking about private businesses that build them for you. Yeah actually our alienware is custombuilt, but I think alienwares are all custom.

Yeah, Alienware's are just Dell PC's that use flashy cases and charge extra because of the name in general. A normal Custom-Build compared to an Alienware at the same specification is that the Normal Custom would be cheaper for said reason if you built both of them through the Dell store. PCspecialist and other trusted companies will do it even cheaper, but will take a little longer to build and usually charge more for Damage Cover and Data Backups.

Thanks for replying, it seems Alienware is a good path to go down. However, custom computers have got me interested.

Are you going to be running a 32-bit or 64-Bit System? I'm not too sure.
Are you going for Compatability or Power? Power
What are you specifically going to operate with your new Computer? Designing software
What is your Price budget? Up to around £800
Is there any specific model of Computer you are looking at for the moment? Not at the moment, no.

Naturally, as Ben suggested, I would recommend a Macbook Pro, or iMac if you want to go cheaper. If you still have a stand-alone Windows installation disk, you can easily install that as well and dual boot without complications. If you care for such things, the next major OS upgrade will come later this year, so plan accordingly.

As for custom-built PCs, I've only heard the worst from Dell. I would go for an HP, they also have a touch-enabled all-in-one computer, so has Acer. But if you're aiming for a supercomputer within the realm of gaming, I would suggest Alienware.

In the end, it all depends on the tasks you demand of it. Just remember, desktops are always cheaper even with the same sophisticated hardware.

It's a no to Mac's, I'm afraid. I simply hate their OS. I need something powerful and quick, and I will be using the computer to design stuffs.

What are your current PC specs?

Manufacturer: Dell
Model: Inspiron 530S
Rating: 3.5
Processor: Intel Core TM2 Duo CPU E8200 @2.66GHz 2.66 GHz
Memory (RAM): 2.00GB
System-type: 32-bit OS

Dude. Your PC is slow? Mine has almost the EXACT same specs and is fine :/

A few questions:

a) How much space on your hard drive is there remaining?
b) Run task manager, and look at the small box that appears next to your clock at the bottom. How much green is there?
c) Start > All programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup. How much memory does it say you can save? Exclude internet stuff.
d) Do a disk defragment, and tell me how fragmented your C Drive is


With a PC like that, I am VERY suprised it's performance is dipping.

Trickatel wrote:It's a no to Mac's, I'm afraid. I simply hate their OS. I need something powerful and quick, and I will be using the computer to design stuffs.

Sorry but that last sentence did just sum up what Macs are good at, in fact one of their specialisations.
But i can understand that some people aren't keen on their current OS.

I hate Macs.....our school bought roughly 50 of them for the music department, and 10 have already broken due to an internal system failure. I was working on the 8th one, when it shut down. The music technician came over and told me not to worry, as "the memory just epically failed and broke your Mac". I love that guy He's so awesome

How about custom-made computers?
My comp has 4 gigs of RAM and is fast as a cheetah.

Trickatel wrote:It's a no to Mac's, I'm afraid. I simply hate their OS. I need something powerful and quick, and I will be using the computer to design stuffs.

I run Photoshop CS5 and the rest of the Adobe Pack great on my MacBook, if it was that you meant by "designing stuff" :]

Alienware are too overpriced for what you actually get, of course the best way to get a decent computer at a relatively low price is to build it yourself.

sjhorm wrote:How about custom-made computers?
My comp has 4 gigs of RAM and is fast as a cheetah.

4GB is standard these days. You should try 16 GB on a Mac with a solid state drive. Warp speed ahead.

When is the last time you thoroughly maintained your PC, Trick? I suggest you run a program like Advanced SystemCare and see if there's improvement.

And as others already mentioned, macs are made for photoshop, design and editing. You may not like their current OS but this from someone who is still trying to figure out the jump from XP to 7 when using a PC.

Trickatel wrote:Thanks for replying, it seems Alienware is a good path to go down. However, custom computers have got me interested.

Are you going to be running a 32-bit or 64-Bit System? I'm not too sure.
Are you going for Compatability or Power? Power
What are you specifically going to operate with your new Computer? Designing software
What is your Price budget? Up to around £800
Is there any specific model of Computer you are looking at for the moment? Not at the moment, no.

On a £800 budget, it'll be pretty tough getting anything special. I can recommend you what you can ideally get for that budget. Be aware that this will be more Hardware based and I will not include certain things for specific reasons told later on.

Intel I7-2600 Quad Core, 8MB Cache + HD Graphics (More cores is better when going for Editing).
Asus P8P67: USB 3.0, SATA 6GB, Crossflex support (Ideal, not too expensive).
4GB Samsung DDR3 Dual 1333MHz (2 X 2GB) (Maximum a 32-bit system will support).
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460, Direct X 11, 3D Vision ready (Good enough for most Graphical work).
2X 1TB Serial ATA 3-GB/S, 16MB CACHE (7,200rpm) (Solid State will tear apart your Budget limit. These ATA's are suprisingly cheap).
24x Dual Layer DVD Writer (Standard with most PC's nowadays anyway).
Internal 52 in 1 Card reader + 1 USB 2.0 Slot (for £4, it can read the more commonly used cards and it gives you an extra USB 2.0 slot).
600W Quiet Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (System will be running roughly around 450-500W of power, plus spare power is needed just incase).
22dBA Triple Cooling Heatpipe CPU Cooler (Also needed).

-Onboard Sound Card- (Too expensive for such little difference).
-Onboard GIGABIT LAN PORT- (The expensive ones are for fussy pro-gamers).
-Onboard or No Operating System (Look below for details).
-No case- (Unless you want to go about £30+ over your budget or you want to make your own).

The thing about the Operating system is that since you will be using it mainly for Editing only, then I personally think you are alot better off running a Linux-based OS more specialised towards this kind of thing like Ubuntu Studio than forking out £80 + for a Windows 7 OS. If you want to run Photoshop on it, then a compatability layer like 'Wine' would be your best option. It comes pre-installed with a damn-load of Development and Editing software. You can check it all out on Ubuntu Studio's website. Linux-based systems don't have to run loads of background applications at once and it benefits greatly from powerful hardware, unlike Windows most of the time.

-Total Price: £812-

Mine is custom built. I read through all the parts details myself and they were all compatible with each other. The only issue I had was that the power supply fits VERY snuggly in my computer case. Not a big deal though. The speed and reliability have been stellar. To get a similarly equipped Mac would've cost me $4k. Yeah right.

I think PCs get a bad rep because people order sub standard systems from huge companies like Dell and HP and/or they don't do basic routine maintenance to keep the system clean. All my comps over the years have been custom built and all still run with zero flaws. They just became obsolete. Windows 3.1 anyone?

Mac is a big no no. Ive had so many people say that they are unreliable and almost impossible to find replacement parts for (in Australia anyways).

Alienware is dope, albeit extremely pricey. Custom built is the way to go. Cant really say anything about companies. All my comps to date have been custom built by either myself or a local supplier.

As for me i have a custom built. Same PC but ive rebuilt it a few times over the years. Currently runs 8gb of RAM and a 2gb GPU (GPU fan is broken so i have a portable fan strapped to the side at the moment ). I need another upgrade but im a a bit short on cash these days. I think ill have to just start over from scratch again with a new mobo.

I've had an iMac for roughly three years now and it's still in top shape. I had Windows laptops that gave up in half the time.