Buying a good gaming computer can usually cost you a lot of money.  If you’re on a budget, you may feel like your options are really limited.  Fortunately, I know of a few ways that you can save money on a new gaming computer that can play all the games coming out right now.  Instead of having to spend $1000 or more on a good gaming computer, I can help you get a new for around $600.  I’ll give a fair warning that you will need to replace some parts inside your computer yourself (it’s really not that hard).  Buying and installing a few of the parts yourself can really save you some money (we’re talking saving you $200).

If you’re really uncomfortable with opening up a computer to install new pieces, you should consider some of the budget gaming brands offered on the internet.  My favorite company that offers fairly decent prices for a good gaming machine is iBuyPower.  Their computers are pretty up-to-snuff and are great for people who want a gaming computer without having to break the bank.  A good gaming rig from them start around $529.

Otherwise, if you’re like me, you probably don’t want to spend more money you have to.  This option involves buying either a basic home computer or a barebones kit and then installing the necessary gaming hardware inside of it (more RAM and a good graphics card).  Most home desktops sold online and in the store offer processors that are more than capable of playing new games like Modern Warfare 2 and Dragon Age. The HP Pavilion A6700F Desktop from Amazon is a great model to start with.  Right now it’s just over $450 and offers some great internal hardware.  Honestly, the only thing you need to do with it is buy a new graphics card.  A graphics card like the XFX Geforce 9800 GT which is also offered on Amazon will give you everything you need to get a solid gaming machine up and running.  Total, we’d be looking at $550 (without a monitor) to have a computer that can play most games released today at the highest settings.  Comparably, the gaming computer we would have built through Amazon will run circles around the cheap one offered from iBuyPower.

So it kind of comes down to if you like spending more money or not.  I guess if I was a millionaire I wouldn’t mind choosing a $3000 gaming computer from Alienware (they’re an awesome brand) but for now $3000 can be a little large for my wallet.  So, why spend more than you have to on a good gaming computer?  Labor wise, putting in a new graphics card is a 10 minute project.  On the scale of easy things to do, putting a graphics card in a computer would probably be a 3 out of 10.  Seriously, it’s a piece of cake.  So what are you waiting for?  Piece together your new gaming rig!

This post is tagged with: budget, dragon age, good gaming computer, graphics card, hp pavilion, ibuypower, modern warfare 2