hey there guys I basically am going to invest in a gaming computer pretty soon but have no idea what to get. if someone could give me some good specs i would appreciate it as i have no idea what i'm looking at. all i know is alienware are apparently quite good. I have a budget of about £2000 and that includes screen, mouse, keyboard and i want something that will play very recent games with amazing graphics at very high specs. any advise would be great thank you. Sam.

Don't buy alienware. If you are going to get a manufacturer comp get a dell. They put the same parts in for half the price. I, personally would build one. Here are the parts I would search for on newegg

i7 2.66

evga x58 sli motherboard

6-8 GB DDR3 (search 6 or 8)

300 GB western digital Velociraptor

1 TB western digital caviar black

CD/ DVD Drive 24x (shouldn't cost more than $30)

650W PSU

Any mid tower case will do, but I would recommend the thermaltake element s

samsung, hp, or dell 1080p + monitor (1920 x 1080 resolution or higher).

Bose 2 speaker system

wireless optical mouse

wired keyboard.

I'm at school for another hour and am running low on battery power. Start poking around looking for the different parts, I will have a more precise list at around 10 eastern time.

As intimidating as it may seem to BUILD it is much easier and safer than it seems. Plus you'll save $1000 that you can invest in better parts. Again, I can probably get you more for $2000 than is listed above, I just don't have time to check and add prices right now.

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EVGA x58 Classified, Core i7 Quad Core, 6GB 1066 OCZ Gold DDR3, XFX Radeon 4890 1GB, WD Velocirapter Boot, WD Cavier Black 1 TB Storage, Corsair 650TX

Off of newegg, I will pm you the links upon request.

Intel Core i7 Bloomfield 2.66 - 289.99

EVGA x58 3-way SLI - 284.99

Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600 - 169.99

XFX ATI Radeon HD 5850 - 359.99

Sony optiarc DVD RW 24x - 24.99

Western Digital Velociraptor (for OS/ Programs) - 159.99

Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB x2 - 99.99 + 99.99

Corsair 650TX Power Supply - 99.99

Thermaltake Element S - 119.99 + 24.99

AOC Piano Black Glossy 23" 5 MS 1080p monitor - 179.99 + 17.23

Bose Companion 2 Speaker System - 99.99

(I don't use keyboard and mouse, I do video editing, 3d Modeling, photoshop and regular word processing, web browsing ect. I have an apple wired keyboard w/ numeric keypad for the huge keys, and a regular $20 microsoft mouse, I game with a wired 360 controller)

Keyboard - Find a wired keyboard you like.

Mouse - Find a wireless mouse you like.

Mouse Pad - again, find one you like.


The parts W/o the keyboard, mouse, and mousepad total up with shipping and tax @ $2024.51. If you need it to be a flat $2000 I can do that also, but these are great parts, and it's worth flexing some. The first thing I would drop would be one of the 2 Caviar Black 1TB drives.

I can also instruct you through the process of building it. I don't know if newegg europe has Approx. the same prices... (I just now noticed...) but you can get an Idea of what you are getting, or what to look for in a manufacturer built computer. Again, if you do go this route... Dell = Alienware. they are the same company now, and build with the same parts, Dell however, is $1000 cheaper.

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EVGA x58 Classified, Core i7 Quad Core, 6GB 1066 OCZ Gold DDR3, XFX Radeon 4890 1GB, WD Velocirapter Boot, WD Cavier Black 1 TB Storage, Corsair 650TX

So I just read that Newegg Doesn't ship to europe, but a site called tigerdirect does. I'll try to put a list together from there if you'd like, but I would like to see a reply first to see if you intend to buy or build.

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EVGA x58 Classified, Core i7 Quad Core, 6GB 1066 OCZ Gold DDR3, XFX Radeon 4890 1GB, WD Velocirapter Boot, WD Cavier Black 1 TB Storage, Corsair 650TX

Hey there thanks alot for all the research you've put in I would be willing to build if i could get a better pc for cheaper out of it.

do you think theres any point in me getting the new ATI Radeon HD 5970? I know I'd have to buy a bigger case seeing as its a huge graphics card but it does look incredible. Cheers.

no, I hear it's buggy and it's $200 more than the card I have you slotted for.

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EVGA x58 Classified, Core i7 Quad Core, 6GB 1066 OCZ Gold DDR3, XFX Radeon 4890 1GB, WD Velocirapter Boot, WD Cavier Black 1 TB Storage, Corsair 650TX

Another thing. It is an enormous card, I don't know if it would fit in the case I have you in for. The website it guides me to when I click on the British flag is actually different than Tigerdirect, but it is the same kind of site. it's www.misco.co.uk I don't know if you have heard anything about this site, but it seems like it's run by the same people who do tigerdirect.com. I'll make you a list of parts. It should be around the 2000 mark with the same parts.

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EVGA x58 Classified, Core i7 Quad Core, 6GB 1066 OCZ Gold DDR3, XFX Radeon 4890 1GB, WD Velocirapter Boot, WD Cavier Black 1 TB Storage, Corsair 650TX

-Gigabyte Socket LGA1366 - 167.65

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/...Tab=2&NoMapp=0

-intel Core i7 2.66Ghz - 195.74

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/...420&CatId=3484

-Kingston HyperX Ram 1600Mhz - 133.61

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/...337&CatId=3297

-ATI Radeon HD5850 Overclocked 1GB - 219.57 x 2

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/...302&CatId=2697

Hard Drives

-300GB Western Digital Velociraptor for programs/ OS - 154.88

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/...158&CatId=3097

-1TB Western Digital Caviar Black for storage - 63.82

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/...055&CatId=3097

-Antec Signature 850W Continuos Power - 188.93

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/...492&CatId=3003

-Antec Sonata Designer 500 - 108.08

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/...281490&CatId=9

-LITEON 24x CD/DVD - 17.01

Thermal Compound - 4.34

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/...6817&CatId=655

Total: 1473.20

There's your list. You need one more thing though, an OS (preferably Win 7 Pro x64 or Ultimate x64, but absolutely a 64 Bit OS so it can use all 6 GB Ram). Then you are all set on ordering. I would have brought up the price buying frill parts, but honestly the performance boost wouldn't even be noticeable. I already gave you two 5850s which is RIDICULOUS. I know there may be a high sales tax rate over there as well, and shipping, I do not know what those are, so they are not totaled in. Also, I know tigerdirict.com is reliable, but I have obviously not ordered from this site before, so there is minimal risk involved in terms of RMA service and DOA products. It does seem on the up and up though.

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EVGA x58 Classified, Core i7 Quad Core, 6GB 1066 OCZ Gold DDR3, XFX Radeon 4890 1GB, WD Velocirapter Boot, WD Cavier Black 1 TB Storage, Corsair 650TX

You know what, if you want to spend the full $2000, or at least get closer, I hear this is a pretty substantial upgrade in hard drive speed.

Replace the Velociraptor OS/Program Drive with this

Kingston V Series Solid State Drive- 170.20

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/...982&CatId=3502

in total it shouldn't even be 20 more.

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EVGA x58 Classified, Core i7 Quad Core, 6GB 1066 OCZ Gold DDR3, XFX Radeon 4890 1GB, WD Velocirapter Boot, WD Cavier Black 1 TB Storage, Corsair 650TX