Going Next Gen, Updating.

So, you want a high end machine but don’t have a fortune to drop for one?

Lately, and whenever any type of big update occurs (generation in API’s upgrading, etc), people (mainly gamers and people in the 3D realm) have been wanting to upgrade, but don’t have a huge pile of money reaching in the amount of 5 digits to just spend on upgrading or building a entirely new computer.

The first solution to this is to build a new computer, but do just that, build you own computer, there are many guides on the web that show how, and honestly, it’s like putting together a 20 piece puzzle or even a 10 piece puzzle, so anyone could do it without a sweat.

The reason I say build it entirely yourself is because sometimes when you even have a shop build it for you, they end up charging a lot more for the end product than what you could of paid for doing it yourself, and I can back this up due to the fact that I own one the only computer shops around my region, and in order to keep it running, I have to charge a decent price on some things, but I try to keep them down as low as possible, and most places don’t do this. So with that, I recommend you build it entirely yourself.

The next tip is to look in the right places. An obvious place to get parts these days would probably be eBay, which is great for most parts, and for the people that want completely brand new parts, with user reviews, and other bits of information, I’d have to suggest newegg, then tiger direct for a circuit city or Wal-Mart type approach to buying items.

The best place to get them, and this goes for double if you live a more rural area, is to wait for say a computer shop or just a store to go out of business, or maybe they are just moving and selling off their stock they had that location.

You can get great deals on these items, and they are usually (most almost always) brand new parts.

I got a Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB (has SLI, ) for 10 dollars, regular 700 or so (US Dollars), so I guess that really does prove the point, local auctions are usually the BEST way to get parts that are new for cheap.

Lastly, do research on what is coming up, and just what you’re planning on using the system for.

If you’re a gamer, I’d wait for the OpenGL 2.1 and mainly OpenGL 3.0 cards to come out, they’re going to be well worth the wait and last a good long while as well.

Usually you’re going to want a Dual Core processor these days, so find a good priced motherboard that supports a variety of Speeds of Dual Core processor sets, that way you won’t have to buy a new one sooner than later.

Memory goes along with the board issues as well, you would probably want to buy a board that can take at least 2 gigs of ram, but I recommend at least 4 gigs especially if you’re going to be using Vista in it (hopefully not at the moment).


I guess the main tip is use your brain, look for deals, and think for the future.

I hope this guide helps some of you guys and till next time,
~Toko