Well, I am planning on getting a new lab top or computer soon, I don't have a price range, I just need something that is suitable to hold lots of games, such as Fallout 3, ect. I rather not go into Alienware because the more people talk about it, the more tempted I am to get it Thanks in advanced.

Building it yourself will get you the best for the price. Alienware isn't that good, it looks amazing and it's the most modern hardware available but that doesn't mean the best.

Low Budget PC - $400


All out PC -$1000

Overpriced RAM. 2x2GB DDR2 800 kit would be better performance.
That PSU will /work/ but it's not an optimal choice. They're not efficient either. I just gave mine away.
A HD4650 512MB-GDDR3 would be a better choice though there are HD4670s close in price as well.
There are better drives for only a few dollars more.


Most expensive =! best
Actually a good choice for chassis, though be ready with electrical tape to cover the LEDs on the fan.
You may still get a bad Barracuda 7200.11, and there's the newer 7200.12 series that runs cooler, faster, more reliably.
Why an open-box mobo?
HD4850 would be cheaper and perform equally or sometimes even better.
Again 1GB sticks? Try a few 2GB sticks instead.
What's the point of the high-end processor? For the price, a Core i7 setup's better.



$1070 (and a good bit faster) Core i7 920, 6GB DDR3 1600 CL9, HD4850 1GB's in CrossFire, Corsair 650TX, 500GB hard drive, easy-to-overclock on Auto settings (and surprisingly tight yet stable settings).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDet...st=Combo.198749
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820220365
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDet...st=Combo.204106
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814161275
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817139005
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822152112
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811129042
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827106289
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835186020
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835100010


$560 Pentium E6300, 4GB DDR2 800 CL5, HD 4850 1GB, Seasonic SS-500ET, 500GB hard drive, fast at stock, faster overclocked.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819116091
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128380
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820159021
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814161275
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817151069
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822152112
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811129042
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827106289
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835186020
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835100010

$415 AR Celeron E1600, 4GB DDR2 800 CL5, HD 4670 512MB, Corsair 400CX, 500GB hard drive, another easy-to-overclock setup for gaming.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819116092
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...82E16813130185R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820159021
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814121274
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817139008
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822152112
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811147110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827106289
(2x) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16812123181
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835186020
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835100010



The Core i7 setup I outlined could actually be underclocked and gaming would still be nice and smooth while gaming. Neither the E6300 nor the E1600 setups would /need/ to be overclocked, though both will get a bit of a boost. The E6300 also supports Intel's Virtualization, which will alllow you to run a second OS (perhaps Windows XP) inside of a virtual machine. When Windows 7 launches officially, all copies will include a WinXP Pro VM.

I wasn't even sure if the mobo supported DDR2.
What is an open box mobo?
I prefer 1GB sticks... it somehow seems as though the data can be shared more equally, and there's no point in having two empty RAM slots It's complete rubbish, i know, but it's just personal preference.
Meh, I have no idea. I hate Newegg, the price may be good but that's all. It took me ages to find anything, so i didn't/couldn't be bothered to do research on the products.
But for gaming, i would stick with the Phenom X4. Intel and AMD are pretty much the same, but AMD are cheaper and slightly better at gaming. Intel are more expensive but slightly better at multi-tasking.

The motherboard doesn't support DDR2--DDR3 only.
An open-box motherboard is one that has been returned, usually because the prior purchaser was an idiot and did something like buy the wrong processor or just didn't know what they were doing. OR it's incompatible with other components. There's a refund policy if they ship you a bad one (they claim to only sell good boards) so it's not that bad.
That is rubbish. And you leave empty slots because you may want to upgrade later. You don't need even 4-6GB today, but when you need it (or more) tomorrow, buying more another 4-6GB later will be a better choice long-term. You can't double double-channel: 2 sticks or 4 sticks is still double-channel. It puts more stress on the memory controller as well as power system as now you're driving 4 slots instead of 2 slots. Space, price, time, and future upgrades are what counts, which is why filling up immediately is typically a bad idea.
True somewhat, but any Phenom II-based processor works pretty well. On the other hand, Core i7 has a lot of potential and would be seen as the longer-term choice, and supposedly will stay Intel's high-end socket so future processors (like the later Core i9's) will be a drop-in upgrade.

Here's a video that I made, you can change the GPU but depending on the GPU that you choose you may have to get a different power supply like the 550W one thats suggested or go for a Corsair 550W.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA3dwutrMN0