Here are the specs of a comp Im considering getting.... I need to know if this would run games without lag, if it'll run cod4 and crysis, and if theres better gaming desktops to buy for the price of $1100

Operating Systems


* Windows Vista® Home Premium
* Windows Vista® Ultimate

Processors, Chipset & Memory


* AMD® Athlon™ 64 X2 5200+ Processor w/ HyperTransport and Dual Core Technology
* AMD® Phenom™ 9850 Black Edition Processor w/ HyperTransport and Quad Core Technology
* AMD® 790FX Chipset
* Up to 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz
* 4 dedicated SDRAM slots for Dual Channel DDR2 Memory

Graphics & Video


* Single Graphics Card
o 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 9600 GT
o 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800 GX2
* Connectivity
o Video Out 2x DVI
o With Dual Graphics 4xDVI

Storage


* Single Hard Drive
o 7,200 RPM - up to 32MB cache and 1TB storage
o 10,000RPM - up to 16MB cache and 300GB storage
* Optical Drives
o 20x Dual Layer CD-RW/DVD±RW
o Dual-Layer Blu-ray Reader

Networking


* Wired Connectivity
o Dual Integrated Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45

Audio


* 7.1/5.1 Digital High-Definition Audio (8 Channel)
* Connectivity Front and Rear
o 2x Auto-sensing headphone jack
o 2x Auto-sensing microphone jack

Peripheral Connections


* 8 Hi-speed USB 2.0 ports
* 2 IEEE 1394b (9-pin) port – Powered
* 1 E-SATA port

Case & Chassis


* Exclusive Alienware chassis design
* AlienIce™ 3.0 high-performance cooling
* Standard system lighting
* Optional AlienFX System Lighting
* Standard 750-watt Multi-GPU-approved power supply
* Tool-less front and side panels
* Height: 19.01”
* Width: 9.97”
* Depth: 25.02

Horrible for the price and the performance. I'd say just build one--a good P45 board, 4GB DDR2 1000, an E7200, and a HD4850 would run Crysis decently. Those parts alone? $130 for the board, $80 for RAM, $130 for the processor, $175 for the graphics card. Throw in a good power supply for $100, a 640GB drive for $85, Vista HP64 for $100, a decent case for $50-100, and your optical drives &c for $50... and you'd still have another $100 or so (after shipping) for more RAM, maybe a higher-end processor (e8500), a higher-end graphics card (hd4870), &c.

Would you be comfortable building a computer?

No not really... I'm too afraid to mess things up or it not working. I'd rather someone just point me in the dirrection of a pc.

Ok, well I'll first and foremost point you AWAY from Alienware. You pay 1/3 the price for a case that suggests you're rich. That may or may not be the case, but they're all just overpriced Dells now-a-days. By extension, it IS difficult to find a good gaming computer for $1100 that has strengths in all the right places. I'll take a look around--it'll probably be a $800-900 computer and a replacement graphics card however.

K thanks. I'm gonna lower my standards to atleast be able to run a game like Unreal Tournameant 3 and Halo 2.

Don't bother--I'll try my best but I do recommend building so you have the right strengths and weaknesses.

How about ordering a custom comp?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16883113062 plus http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814102715 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814102747

The Delta 400W PSU should be able to handle these cards just fine--the HD3850 easier but the HD4850 should be just fine as well.

I've never personally tried before but isn't building your own PC meant to be pretty simple?

And he's right, building one would get all the wanted specs, the only downside being they normally don't look all that.

The fastest and simplest solution for someone who doesn't want to build is to buy an inexpensive stock system and drop a good graphics card into it. They already have a fine processor, a lot of RAM, an OS, and support. Since the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, they are required to give support unless they can directly prove that the customer's modification or upgrade is what caused the problem. So long as you don't do anything stupid, you can upgrade almost anything.

Q6600
2x2GB DDR2
HD4850
400W Delta PSU
750GB hard drive
Vista Home Premium 64-bit

Overall cheap, strait-forward (only needs a screw driver really), and strengthens the major weak point of the system.