So I've had my current laptop for about six or seven years now, and its starting to sound like this. Obviously, I don't expect it to last a whole lot longer.
I haven't had a gaming rig since back in the days of my Starcraft ladder obsession (goddamn map-hacking Koreans!). Its been a while and I really don't know much about the current hardware, but everyone seems to think its way cheaper to build your own PC as opposed to buying a pre-built model. Back in the day I did some tinkering with my PC, really basic stuff like adding RAM and swapping out some drives, and I'm not really sure I'd be able to assemble a PC without fucking it up. Anyone who could shed some light on the difficulty or an online assembly guide would be very helpful. Also any tips are appreciated.
The usage will be split (hopefully evenly, but I doubt it) between gaming and school/work projects involving 3D rendering and computer modeling.
These are the two machines I'm looking at right now: $1300 and $1500. I am a bit concerning that the Mobo is a piece of junk (intel P55), other than that I think they look fine. Any advice or thoughts ? Am I spending too much? Could I do it at home for cheaper?
Please note: The only preference I have is that I will probably be getting the i5 or i7 processor as I had an AMD processor when I first got into PC gaming and had nothing but problems. I know it was a long time ago, but the memory and frustration sticks. Love ATI graphics cards tho. I think my first GPU was the RAGE Pro. That thing was badass =P
TLDR: I'm planning on buying a mid-range gaming PC: see if you can convince me its worth building my own, or make suggestions about alternate choices to the 2 I'm looking at.
Essay Pro