Talk Is Cheap

That jealousy thing was mostly joking.. the main reason is I don’t really want to feel responisble for any type of tech support for issues that come up with machines I’ve helped build LOL… seriously.

Not that I really mind helping out if somebody has a problem.. I just don’t want people to make the mistake of thinking that I’m some kind of computer guru with all the answers to every problem. With all the rigs our family has had and the issues that friends have had with theirs, yes, I’ve seen and fixed a lot of problems. That doesn’t mean that I have the answers to all =) In fact, I’ve done very little research into computer tech, parts, optimal configuration etc. lately that I don’t know what the best setup for the buck is. It all changes so fast nowadays and I have had little interest in it as I have had no need (couldn’t even if I did) to upgrade for some time.

The site I probably was talking about was probably http://www.sharkyextreme.com They have a sort of “best of” gaming computer build for three different budget brackets that has been very good in the past. Unfortunately at the moment the $1000 budget one is from May.. the $2500 one is from July and the unlimited one is from September. You could just assume that many of the parts recommended in the past just make their way down the budget grouping and figure that the July parts would be much more affordable now and will show up in the (probably) soon to be released new budget rig build. Seems to be every two months so look for a November’s “Value” build soon and the “High End” one in Jan to help guide you.

They don’t just take the cheapest parts, but prioritize where to spend that $1000 or $2500 the best. The Extreme one just takes takes the current best of everything and usually winds up being $4000-ish. I usually have a blend of old parts and new stuff so I don’t spend close to even the $1000.. but their recommendations are very good there.

http://www.tomshardware.com and http://www.anandtech.com are just two other great computer stuff sites. Many, many benchmarks and tests. They do get into the most nitty gritty aspects and can get very technical, especially anandtech.com. Usually does a good job of explaining what all the very technical stuff means for the parts though. I find myself looking at a few benchmark results and skipping to the conclusions section of many anandtech articles though.

Other good computer parts review sites are http://www.techpowerup.com, http://www.xbitlabs.com and http://www.behardware.com. There are plenty more but I’m about burnt out after a couple sites of reviews.

I always use Tom’s Hardware. It’s a good site with reliable info and testing. That’s what I used to determine what processor to use in my latest rig. I got a steal on NewEgg, which by the way has good reviews on it as well.