Gaming Computers - Should You Build It or Buy It?

Gaming computers come in all shapes, sizes, and prices. The gaming industry is growing every year and has become big business, so the need for gaming computers has grown along with it. As computer games become increasingly detailed and graphics oriented, the demand for faster and more powerful hardware has become more of a necessity than an option.

With the increased demand comes a higher price tag. That being said, if you are in the market for a gaming computer, read on as we take a look at your options for buying the perfect gaming computer for you and how you can save yourself some cash.

When buying a gaming computer or any computer for that matter it is important to determine how much you are willing to spend and how good of performance you want.

Gaming computers can range in price from $600 to $7,000+ and come with a variety of options. But whether you buy a low-end gaming computer or a high-end gaming computer there are ways to save yourself some money.

You basically have three options when it comes to buying a gaming computer. You can buy a pre-built computer right of the shelf, or internet. You can have someone build your gaming computer to your liking, with the hardware that you choose. Or you can build it yourself. All three of these are viable options, and of course each have their upside and downside.

Buying a pre-built, of the shelf computer is by far the the fastest and easiest route to take. When buying a gaming computer this way you will have access to tech support in case you run into problems with your system. Your computer should also be covered by the warranty for a certain amount of time if something was to break. There are however a few downsides to buying a pre-built computer. You will almost certainly pay more for less. Also you will be extremely limited in choices on the hardware that you want.

You can save yourself some money by having someone build your gaming computer for you. Going this route will provide for greater flexibility in your choices on hardware and can have your gaming computer customized to your specifications. Having a computer built for you will take longer than buying a pre-built one and all though it will be cheaper than buying a pre-built computer, will still be more expensive than your third option, building your own.

Most people think that building their own computer is far to difficult and complicated, and in reality it is a lot easier than they think. All though it does require a little knowledge on how to do this, this information can easily be obtained online. This option will take you the longest time to complete but can be very rewarding. Buying your hardware and assembling your own gaming computer can save you a lot of money and you can build it with whatever hardware you like. Of course there is some downsides to this option as well. You will not have any tech support or warranty, except through the individual hardware companies. Even with this downside, having built your computer from scratch, should help in solving most of your tech problems on your own.

Which ever option that you choose, make sure you do your research and are not overpaying for a gaming computer that you could have for a lot less.

HP Computer Problems

By Andrew Summits

A slow computer can be so frustrating, slowing down to a snail's crawl whenever you need to get some work done. Is your HP computer having problems? I will go over a few great and free ways to get your computer running quickly again.

Clean Up Disk Errors

Whenever a program on your computer crashes or your computer is abruptly shut down, errors are created on your hard drive. Eventually, these errors will slow down your computer. Your HP computer comes with a free utility to clean any errors on your hard drive.

Click on Start -> My Computer -> Right click on your hard drive (usually the C-drive) -> Properties -> Click on the Tools tab -> Click Check Now in -> Check all boxes and click Start -> Click Yes

Next time you restart your computer, a disk check will be automatically run. This can take more than an hour depending on hard drive size and number of errors. I would recommend running this process once per month.

Remove Temporary Files

Whenever you're on the internet or working on programs such as Word, temporary files are stored on your hard drive, which take up hard drive space and slow down your HP computer. Your HP computer comes with a free tool to delete these unneeded temporary files.

Click on Start->My Computer -> Right click on your drive (probably the C-drive) -> Properties -> Disk Cleanup -> Click OK

I would suggest repeating this process once per week.

Defragment Your Computer

Just like a room, a computer can get unorganized with much usage and little maintenance. Your hard drive often writes the same single file to many different sectors of your hard drive, filling in wherever it finds space. This is called a fragmented file, and they result in slower computer speed, as your computer has to search through your entire hard drive each time it needs to access one of these fragmented files. Your HP computer comes with a free utility to defragment your computer.

Click on Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter

This brings up the Disk Defragmenter. Before running this program, I would suggest closing down other programs and waiting to begin the process until you are not going to need to use your computer. Once you begin, the process can take many hours depending on the size and fragmentation of your hard drive, and it should run uninterrupted. Once you are ready, click on Analyze, and then on Defragment once it is done with analysis. After completing these steps, you should definitely notice at least a small performance increase. Good job, and good luck with resolving your HP computer problems.

HP Pavilion a6200n Computer Review

By Glenn Lamb

I have several computers for my small insurance and mortgage business. The computer I bought previously was a HP Pavilion a1540n, 4200+ with 2 megs of ram. I had it for a year and it was a nightmare. The main problem was a defective hard drive. HP tech support suggested reinstalling the OS several times destroying all my information multiple times. When I went to get a replacement for this machine I wanted anything but HP! However I found a great buy on a HP Pavilion a6200n. It was $609 less a $180 rebate or $429 net (if I actually get the rebate). This was an Office Depot advertised special. So I decided to take a chance on another HP machine.

The a620n has an Athalon 5000+ dual-core processor and 2048MB of system ram. I was worried that Vista would run slower than my previous Windows OS. However it is faster. I liked the fact that the computer was not loaded with trial software. It was not hard to get used to Vista. So far the computer seems very stable.

My biggest problem with the HP Pavillion a6200n is that is has a substandard eathernet port. On start up I usually have to plug and unplug the internet cable multiple times to get a connection. A second a6200n purchased has the same problem and other computers pluged into the same line connect without problem. HP says to ship the machines back to them and they may be able to fix the problem. (I have replaced the eathernet cable and the problem persists when the machine is pluged into other connections that are know to be good). If anyone has an idea for how to remedy this problem please send me an email. That makes three HP machines in a row that have had serious flaws!