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.

build your own PC. You will save several hundred bucks.

This

Did you build yours? Any tips if you did?

Problem is, I have very little knowledge about individual components and can't tell whats a quality part, what is compatible and what isn't.  So I'd basically be ordering the parts listed for pre-built computers and assembling them myself. 

I would definitely prefer to save a few hundred that I could spend on a new monitor (I've got an ancient LCD), but I am having problems even putting together a comprehensive list of what I need.  Kinda seems like a lot of work =/

Whats your price range?

You'd be able to build something more cheaply (and/or more powerful) than a pre-built one. Just depends on what you want. Building isn't terribly complicated and you can find lots of guides or ask questions for assistance.

Depending on where you live, you can also take advantage of getting a student discount on Windows 7 Professional. I picked up Windows 7 Pro 64-bit for $30 back when the student deal for it was new, but it's gone up to around $60 now (and the US price, I don't think it's available in Canada). However, it'll probably be the upgrade version so you might have to do a little work around like I did and install it twice for the product code to register correctly.

If your school has access to MSDNAA you could try to get into that to get certain Microsoft programs.

Build your own and don't gimp on the case.

MAX I would spend would be $1500. But that owuld take some convincing.  I'm comfortable with $1200-1300.

Thats a good idea, I think there is something like that at my school. I'll have to look into it, that would save me a bunch right there.  Thanks!

Build your own man. I built my current rig about 2 and a half years ago and still love it. You can easily save several hundred bucks and it gives you a nice feeling knowing you built the whole thing.