HI..I have come to the conclusion that I need a new computer and wish to buy a gaming computer because I have heard they are great for graphic programs. So..I have been researching lots of gaming computers and reading reviews. Everytime I decide on what computer I want and then start reading reviews on the company and then I get scared. Are there no good computer companies Out there? I have looked at Alienware, CyberPower, DigitalStormOnline, and Northwest Falcon. Northwest Falcon seems pretty good but MAN..Expensive!!
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks!

Perhaps you should "Build one"..Or have one built for you, to your specs.

I'm not sure I'd agree that a "Gaming" computer is particularly suited for "3D" Graphic's applications.

Typically...Gaming (Especially Video cards) are especially good at displaying "Already Rendered" graphics, and handle textures and refresh pretty good...but depending on what kind of 3D work you do...You might be better off with a box "Especially "Graphic Adapter" that handles "Object s" better..such as the mathematical calculations needed to handle vectors and OpenGL.

Just my opinion of coarse...but a gaming card doesn't necessarily mean it's suitable for modeling, or displaying models appropriately.

I'd suggest researching Graphics Adapters, and compatible CPU's..and sink my money into that..rather than a system with some slick looking case without the necessary elements under the hood, to handle my needs.

Best of Luck.

Tom

The number one and two most important things are CPU speed and  AMOUNT OF MEMORY.

Operating Systems.

For Windows XP, I recommend at least 1GB of memory to get the best out of a new computer.
For Vista, probably more.  For MACs and Linux, I don't know enough to say.

Not a gaming machine.

Gaming machines are often centered around a very souped up single core CPU (Pentium 4 Extreme Edition, AMD Athlon FX). Expensive, the fastest you can get in single core, which is good for games, since many games cannot handle dual core systems well.
Gaming machines sometimes come equipped with two graphics card in SLI (nVidia term) or Crossfire (ATI term) mode. Which means that the cards work together in rendering the 3D scene graph, effectively doubling the graphics performance. Not needed for 3D modeling.

No, what you want is a powerful dual core or quad core CPU, oodles of RAM, at least 2 GB (though I recommend 4 GB or more), and a good graphics card with excellent OpenGL support.

If I were building a 3D graphics workstation right now, I'd use the following components:
Intel QX6700 quad core CPU
Intel BadAxe 2 mainboard
8 GB of DDR2 RAM, as 2x4 GB modules
nVidia 8800 based graphics card.
Seagate 7200.10 series hard disks (probably 2 disks)
DVD burner
2 flatscreen monitors, 19 inch, 1280 x 1024
Windows XP Pro 64 bit

In the Netherlands, this setup would cost around € 3500, including taxes.

Hi Digitell,
I'd love to be able to afford such a machine as svdl wants.
However, there is still a lot of hardware without 64-bit drivers, which may never have 64-bit drivers [ especially with Vista available now ].
So, unless you are willing to buy 3+GB of memory, and want Microsoft OS,
staying with WinXP standard (ie. 32-bit) or going to Vista will be better in the long run.

I suggest that you have a look at what PC magazines are available where you live.
Look up there web sites to see if they have hardware reviews.
PC World  Magazine at www.pcworld.com/reviews/hardware does - it has a "top 10" for both Power PCs and Value PCs.
The technical specs and brands of these can give you some indications of which brands
and models of PC , motherboard, graphics cards are best for your budget.
Logging on to www.dell.com and doing a "custom build" of a PC can be a handy comparison too, both price-wise and specs-wise.

32 bit systems are going to go the way of video tape when DVD came out. If you're getting a new pc, 64 bit is a must IMHO, the amount of RAM you can have with 64 bit makes it a must have on it's own without the other benefits you'll see from it in the next few years!
In my relatively short time here, I've come to respect Steven's [svdl] on pc specs a lot, he really knows what he's talking about!

Thank you for your suggestions. So I guess a gaming computer is not what I really need. I have considered building my own but I am afraid I wouldnt know what I was doing. I went to a place called Computers Plus and this fellow was showing me around and HE said he built his first computer when he was 12!!!! MAN! I am thinking...if a 12 year old can do it  .....I can do it!! But me thinks he must be a genius or something! I would love to have a system like svdl described! "The Fixer..question..you mention a 64 bit system...doesnt some programs not run on a machine with 64?? Seems like I read that somewhere..was it Carrara?? And I have also heard that Vista wont run some graphic programs too so I have planned to stay away from Vista...anyone know the true facts on those issues?? Thanks so much for your helpful suggestions!

As for now, Vista does not fully support OpenGL. And OpenGL is one of the things you DEFINITELY want to have when using 3D graphics programs.

Some antivirus programs don't play nice with XP Pro 64 bit, since they're developed for the WinXP 32 bit code base, not for the 2003 Server code base (which is what XP Pro 64 bit is derived from). Sounds bad. On the other hand, XP Pro 64 bit is much less of a target for viruses, trojans and worms, those nasties focus on XP 32 bit. So if you don't run p2p software, if you don't allow your kids to click on just about every rancid URL out there on the Internet, and as long as you have a decent (hardware based) firewall between your machine and the Web, you shouldn't have too much trouble.

Another problem with XP Pro 64 bit is lack of drivers. ATI may have corrected the issue, but for a very long time they either didn't have 64 bit drivers at all, or very crappy betas. nVidia has always had good solid 64 bit drivers, for both chipsets and graphics cards.
Then again, you wouldn't want an ATI graphics card anyway. The hardware is fine, but the OpenGL support is traditionally crappy with ATI. If you want OpenGL, you want nVidia.

Applications that don't delve as deep into the OS as antivirus software does runs just fine on XP Pro 64 bit. I'm running 64 bit XP on one of my workstations, and everything just plain works. Fast and reliable.

I do not know for certain whether Intel provides good XP Pro 64 bit drivers. Intel does have a reputation to uphold, however, so I expect they do. Nevertheless, if you're going for an Intel setup, check the driver support before you go for it.

One thing is for certain: if you choose a mainboard with an nForce chipset, you will have good XP Pro 64 bit drivers. 

I don't know if you have certain requirements for sound. For me personally, sound is not a major factor in computers, the onboard AC97 sound systems are sufficient for what I do. 
Many mainboards use a Realtek AC97 sound system, and good XP Pro 64 bit drivers exist. One of my machines has a Creative Live 24 bit system onboard, as part of the nVidia chipset, so it also had a good 64 bit driver.

The only piece of equipment that I haven't found a final XP Pro 64 bit driver for is my printer. The beta driver provided by HP works fine, by the way, so I'm not complaining.

You don't really need to build your own, Digitell, just decide on the most important specifications.  The remainder can be negotiated at the store.
Research what you can eg. OS, graphics cards,  memory, etc. that you want, then go to a store that custom builds PCs and just tell them what you want.
In my country, Australia, these are usually small, so you should check that the store has a
long history behind it, in case you need to use their warranty in future [ and find out first how long the warranty lasts ].  These stores usually give out  price lists of parts and of PCs with "recommended_configurations" and provide free quotes for your preferred PC configuration.

You can save money on keeping your current monitor, keyboard, and mouse, too.

HI Mccoyneil,
That would be great if I could find a store that would do that. Not sure if there is any here locally that would do that tho. My best bet would probably be to find one online that does that.  I will be buying another monitor also because I have been wanting to upgrade that as well. Another big expense.

In Australia, one telecom built all the telephone landlines, so we only have one phone book per city and it has everything in it.  So, all I have to do is look up Computers in the business section of the phone book and the computer shops are all listed there.

Yahoo Directory has a page for "computer retailer", Indiana at:
http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Shopping_and_Services/Computers/Retailers/By_Region/U_S__States/Indiana/?o=a

Regarding monitors of the LCD type, if you want to watch DVD movies and/or do video editing,
monitor response times of 4ms (milli-seconds) or less are required for clear displaying of scenes containing fast moving objects (eg. car chases) [ smaller = quicker response].  Such monitors are expensive.
If you only need graphics for pictures and still photographs, you can still find monitors with excellent crisp displays and graphics rendering, but with slower response times of 8ms or 16ms.  These are much cheaper, relatively speaking.
Look out for the "native" pixel resolution - this is the resolution a monitor looks at it s best.

Just Googled this via query [ +indiana +"cusron built PCs" ]
I know nothing about this company which custom builds PCs,
but I am impressed by the varietyof options displayed on its web site.

If I played games, which I don't much, though I enjoy game art, my computer of choice, given no cost limitations, would be an Alienware Area 51. Period. It's also the computer I wish i had for doing my art. Failing that, building your own is the next best choice.

I have heard bad reviews on Alienware..as far as customer service goes. I have heard alot of horror stories about people getting computers that dont work and getting the cold shoulder when contacting customer support.
Mccoyneil..are you speaking of Circut City?? They sell stuff pretty cheap but I am not certain that the one here by me has the high quality I am looking for. I would like to build my own but me scared to try!!
I am looking at Northwest Falcon...

Oops, sorry Digitell, I see I left out the link.

The web site I saw is  www.velocitymicro.com/index.php who actually seem to be in Virginia.
Under their 'Systems" tab you can choose "Gaming" PCs,
or "Digital Media" PCs, which is perhaps the type of PC Build you have been looking for.

I have never built my own PC.  I do NOT recommend it, if you have never seen it done before.
Best to learn how by uprading old PCs by replacing motherboards and/or adding memory to them.  Figuring out what board goes where can be like a nightmare from IKEA as there is little or no labeling on them.
Some main gotchas are:
(i) Remembering to earth yourself to the PC via a cable with a clip attached to the PC case at one end and your wrist at the other.  [ We usually build up static electricity on our body, by rubbing and especially just by walking on carpet. ] Without the strap you can zap a PC board dead without even knowing it.  Any PC store will have them in stock.
(ii)  Not bending the pins on the end of some boards when you plug them in.  Be gentle but firm.

And getting a PC Case without enough slots is incredibly easy to do.
EG. we need lots of USB ports these days -  can be all of printer + keyboard + mouse +external backup drive + external audio speaker system.

Bigger fan(s) mean quieter PCs ( I've read somewhere).
There are full height and half-height slots, full and half-height hard disks.

When you get a configuration, post it here and then maybe svdl or another expert will make a detailed recommendation you can proceed with,
whether you build it yourself or order a custom-made one.

Attached Link: http://www.pugetsystems.com/

http://www.nwcomputersupplies.com/ 

Try this company. They ship state wide and are also wholesalers to smaller shops around the state.

They have a very good reputation.

Bonestructure..thank you! I have checked out this website..very useful!! I  like it that they ask you what you want to use the computer for and what your budget is. I filled that out and am waiting for a reply. Probably not till next week since this is a weekend. Thanks!
Vikinglady...I visited  the link you gave and they are updating their store and posted to come back later :(..I will look at it again later. Thanks so much for all your help! :)

Can someone tell me if this sounds good or not?   Motherboard ASUS M2NPV-VM  
CPU AMD Athlon 64 (AM2) x2 3800+  
Ram 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR2-800 1024MB  
Video Card XFX GeForce 7950GT 512MB Silent  
Storage Hard Drive Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATAII

Comments: Primary drive. Primary drive.
 
CD / DVD Lite-On 52/16x CD-RW/DVD-ROM (black)  
Case / Cooling Case Lian-Li PC7H+ w/ Window
Power Supply Seasonic 550W High-Efficiency Power Supply  
CPU Cooling Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro (AM2/939)  
Additional Cooling Arctic Silver Ceramique  
Accessories Accessories System Restore DVD  
Services Warranty: Lifetime Labor, 1 Year Parts
Peripherals Monitor CTL 195UW - 19 inch Widescreen LCD: Black  
Software OS Windows XP Home OEM SP2  
Software: Multimedia CDBurnerXP Pro CD/DVD Burning Software

I have another 200GB External hard drive I plan to use too.
Thanks!

I'd recommend a few little changes, which will keep the compter at about the same price.

• Use DDR2-667 instead of DDR2-800. 3D programs hardly profit from the faster RAM (we're talking 1%-3% performance gain here). Saves you $54

• Spend those $54 on a faster CPU: Athon 64 AM2 x2 4200+. 3D programs WILL benefit from the faster CPU.

I also would have recommended exchanging the 7950 GT for a 7900 GT (saves about $60-$80) and spend those dollars on a faster CPU (Athlon64x2 4600+) but Puget doesn't seem to carry 7900GT graphics cards. 

If you can afford it, I'd definitely recommend going for a faster CPU, a 4600 or 5000.

As for the monitor, a 1440x900 widescreen seems nice. But....
for many graphics and 3D programs a dual monitor setup is nothing short of ideal. I have 2 19" 1280x1024 LCD screens hooked up to my main workstation, and it's perfect for Poser and Photoshop - one screen contains the full scene/image, the other contains the toolsets.
If you're considering a dual monitor setup (don't know if you've got the desk space for that!) maybe non-widescreen is easier to work with. 
One of the drawbacks of the widescreen is the relatively low vertical resolution. Long menus, such as the Poser body part lists, will disappear offscreen.

The mainboard has an nForce430 chipset. There's a Windowx XP 64 bit driver for that chipset, so if you plan to do 64bit in the near future, you're all set. 
My personal experiences with Windows XP 64 bit are very positive. All programs I run on it (Poser 6/7, Vue 5 Infinite, Vue 6 Infinite 64 bit, Photoshop, UVMapper, 3D Studio Max 6) work out of the box as they should.

Hope this helps and doesn't confuse you any further,

Steven.

Just thought of something else. That mainboard has an integrated GeForce 6150 graphics chip. While it certainly doesn't have the performance of a 7950 GT, it's not a bad chip (my Media Center machine has a GeForce 6200, the predecessor of the 6150, and it performs just fine), AND it has dual outputs. So you could consider dropping the graphics card for now and spend the money on a second monitor.
Plugging in a graphics card later on is easy.

Check that the case has enough spare slots and connectors.
The case has only 2 USB front-side connectors mentioned in the specifications.

For example 2 x USB connectors is not enough for a USB mouse,  USB keyboard
and a USB printer connected all at once.

If two is not enough connectors, you will need either a spare slot that another USB card can be inserted into, or else a 4-port USB hub to plug into one of the USB connectors.

For example 2 x USB connectors is not enough for a USB mouse,  USB keyboard
and a USB printer connected all at once.

Hi! Thanks so much for your suggestions. I will most certainly relook the config. I do need more USB ports no doubt. I am surprised that the case has only 2! And the Widescreen is not good?? I have been thinking for some time about that. I thought for sure too a higher powered graphics card would be better than I higher end CPU..wrong again I was. I am so glad you are helping me on this! Thank You!! I have heard great reviews about Pugent computers!

Checked the mainboard again. It provides 4 backside USB connectors, plus an USB header that you can use for the 2 front side connectors in the case. Total is 6 USB connectors, which should be enough.

There's also a Firewire backside connector, plus a Firewire header. The case has a frontside Firewire connector, so you'll have 2 Firewire connectors.

As far as I can see, case and mainboard are well matched. The type and number of the front side connectors match nicely with the type and number of headers on the mainboard.

It's not surprising that the case has only 2 connectors on the front side, and none on the backside. The connectors on the backside are grouped in a fairly small area covered by a thin metal plate, the so-called backplate. The backplate comes with the mainboard, since the layout of the connectors varies per mainboard. Some have 2 ethernet ports, others have only one. Some mainboards have a COM port and a parallel port, others don't. 
The outer dimensions of the backplate are standardized and will fit in any standard computer case.

Hi svdl, Thank You..so you are saying that there are 4 USB ports on the back of the computer and 2 in the front? I guess I am a little confused here. If so that is great!

Hi Steven,
Its me again :)
So you are saying that the motherboard has space for 2 Graphic cards...meaning I can lower the G card and get a better one later? :)

Hi Digitell,
Sorry to confuse you -  I didn't notice the four USBs on the main board.
I think you have chosen a fabulous PC, one I would love to have.

I have heard suggestions that XP Home does not support multi-core CPUs,
(ie. it will only use one of the cores), so that you cannot get maximum H/W performance,
BUT that XP Pro does.

Steven, do you know if XP Home / Pro and/or Vista fully support multi-core CPUs?

Also, if you buy XP Home or Pro, check with the vendor if you are getting one of those "free Vista upgrade" licences that Microsoft is giving out.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention! I did not know about the XPHome not supporting multi-core CPUs. I will make sure to get Pro then. I am uncertain about Vista..not ready to switch to it yet. I have not been hearing good things about it..such as it will not run alot of graphic programs.
Thank You!! :)

XP Home can handle one CPU with multiple cores
XP Pro can handle two CPUs, each with multiple cores.
For more physical CPUs you need a Windows Server version.

Vista supports multiple cores, all versions.

I would be happy to be proved wrong,
but I have a friend with a multi-core single CPU and it only uses one core.
I also know some windows professionals in the IT industry who agree with me,
so it seems to be an issue in which there is a lot of debate about what is true.
I do know that XP Home can handle hyperthreading, which is a different thing of course.

It's not really clear indeed. I don't have Home myself, I only use Pro, which definitely makes use of multicore. Microsoft explicitly states that Pro handles up to 2 physical CPUs, each with multiple cores. So Pro should be able to fully use a dual Xeon quad-core (8 cores total) system.
XP Home is definitely single processor. But Microsoft did not state explicitly that Home can use multiple cores.
So it's probably best to go with XP Pro.