New computer help.

[Posher778]

I'm getting a new computer, and i need everyone's help. What is the best computer, under 1000 bucks, that i can get that has........

windows xp, etc.
- Great gaming capabilities and a decent videocard with it.
^^^that's the most important.


...actually that's it. I was looking at this, should it be a dell for gaming? How long will it probably take to ship to my house if i order it tonight?

http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/cto_xpsdt_410?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

^^I was looking at the one on the far left, is that good for gaming and stuff?

[mordrid]

Posh, the cheapest and best way to go is to build it yourself. You can get a great looking case for under 150, a big HD for under 150, motherboard/cpu combo from like newegg from 100 to 400, gig of RAM for under 100 and a good vid card from 120 to 250. The only issue would be XP, but I have a feeling you can get your hands on a legal copy for free.

[Posher778]

No, I have to buy it, and i have to buy it tonight. I just need to know if this particular dell will be good for gaming, can someone tell me that?

[mordrid]

Posh, check out this computer. They have entry level gaming rigs under $700, mid level at $800-900

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/?gclid=CPXzhL_NmIsCFQx1VAodwQRTXQ

[ManchestrMorgue]

The system that I guess you are referring to on the Dell site (the one for $999 or whatever) has a 7300 graphics card. This is very low end, and won't hold up too well for gaming. I would suggest you either get a nVidia 7900gs or ATI x1950pro if you want to use this thing for gaming, and want to get good resolution and most of the eye candy turned on. It also depends on what size monitor you intend getting. LCD's need to be run at their native resolution. If you are going for a 19inch, it will obviously need less performance than a 22inch with the same level of details turned on (due to the 22" having more pixels on the screen so more work from the graphics card)

E6300 is not a bad CPU and it can be overclocked substantially - but not on a dell. The dell bios revisions (at least the ones I have seen) don't have overclocking possibilities.

1 gig of RAM is sufficient if you are running XP. If you intend going Vista, get 2 gig.

HDD's are cheap - in Australia 320gig seems to be the sweet spot for price vs size. Seagate is a good one - the SATA II 320gig 7200.10 drive is very good.

Oh and another thing with Dell - they are fine if you want something that you are not going to add to or upgrade sigificantly etc. However if you are, be aware that they use non-standard motherboards and cases, so you can't swap in a different motherboard in a year or add better cooling (because - at least they used to - use different fan motherboard connectors than standard). You can add HDD's, graphics cards etc though.

I can't help with prices - prices are very different where I live.

[Posher778]

Posh, check out this computer. They have entry level gaming rigs under $700, mid level at $800-900

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/?gclid=CPXzhL_NmIsCFQx1VAodwQRTXQ

those look really fancy. I know, i'm really picky about this stuff.

Will the dell be a good computer all around? Like, gaming will at least be decent that there aren't many lag problems or bad frames or something? Just enough that it's perfect for basic gameplay? Is it a good choice for a computer all around? I need one that I can rely on for speed and graphics and stuff, not a hunk of junk like my dead one.

Xperiment, you said nothing for highend, and manchestr said that this one would just suck for gaming. Is there a dell that fits my requirements that's worth looking at? I have to order this thing tonight, and i'm running out of time. So, I don't get that dell i was looking at? What then?

[Posher778]

Also, are you guys sure that the nvidia 7300 won't be good enough? It seems like that comes with every model i can afford, on mordrid's link at least. I'm not a hard core gamer, but i need something that can maintain my Enemy territory online game with at least decent efficiency. It doesn't have to be top notch, but enough...

[ManchestrMorgue]

Just looking at that Dell system in more detail -

The case appears to only fit 2 HDD's, so think about that if you are the sort of person who does things that need lots of storage (eg have lots of music/video on your system). You only get a 250gig drive with it, so you can add one more drive and that's it.

With games installed, music, videos, pictures, and all the other stuff that gets on your computer, it would be pretty easy to fill this. Since hard drives are so cheap, it is nice to be able to add an extra drive when needed.

You won't be able to simply put this computer in a larger case if dell are still using non-strandard fit motherboards, so you will be stuck with the limitations of that case.

Also, if you want to upgrade parts with that purchase - their prices to upgrade things seem quite high. For example, they ask for an extra $200 to upgrade to a 7900GS, but you can buy a 7900GS from Newegg.com for $169!

[Posher778]

So, xperiment, you're saying that the dell i was looking at is fine for ET? And it will pull off good fps and not lag a ton? At least based by videocard...

[ManchestrMorgue]

Just looking at the system requirements: Enemy Territory should run fine. But I would'nt want to be playing any game that had come out in the last year that was at all demanding on graphics card with a 7300. Not if you want to be playing with any sort of graphics detail turned on.

I guess you have to think about the life expectancy you have for the computer. If you are happy just playing the same games for the life of the computer, then it will be ok. But if you are thinking that you may want to get any new games over the next year or 2, you might find that it struggles.

[Posher778]

Just looking at the system requirements: Enemy Territory should run fine. But I would'nt want to be playing any game that had come out in the last year that was at all demanding on graphics card with a 7300. Not if you want to be playing with any sort of graphics detail turned on.

I guess you have to think about the life expectancy you have for the computer. If you are happy just playing the same games for the life of the computer, then it will be ok. But if you are thinking that you may want to get any new games over the next year or 2, you might find that it struggles.

Ok, I think I will go with the Dell I looked at originally. I can always change graphics cards if this one gets too obselete, so that isn't too much of a worry. I'm really looking at short term. I only play enemy territory, occasionally rollercoaster tycoon 3, and half life 2 occasionally. But halflife2 is always on a lower graphic state, so it isn't special. All i need is enemy territory really.

Finally, overall, this computer won't set me back on anything my other one had? I had a dell dimension something desktop, pretty basic, nothing fascinating or special. This new comp will just be that and more.. Ok, then i'll buy it. Any last suggestions before i make the final cut?

[Posher778]

wait, should I get the nvidia 7300 one that comes with the comp, or the ATIradeon x1300 gs??

[ManchestrMorgue]

The only other thing is that this system comes with Vista installed. But you said you were going to use XP?

The only reason I mention this is that Vista will make the gaming performance worse (drivers are immature and vista seems to require more resources than xp did). Also older things aren't always compatible with vista.

So if you are going to wipe it and install XP, you will probably get better performance. (as long as the motherboard drivers etc will work in XP)

[ManchestrMorgue]

wait, should I get the nvidia 7300 one that comes with the comp, or the ATIradeon x1300 gs??

This:

ttp://techreport.com/reviews/2006q2/budget-gpus/index.x?pg=1

says x1300pro is better

As does this one:

http://www.sudhian.com/index.php?/articles/show/low_end_graphics_roundup_may_2006/
(but have a look at the gaming performance benchmarks in this one - will you be happy with either - considering you will be running at a higher resolution than they even tested (1280x1024) )

These guys say the x1300pro is better by a fair amount:

http://www.techzine.nl/exreviews/7162/Gigabyte-Radeon-X1300-Pro-at-LegionHardware.com.html

[Posher778]

The only other thing is that this system comes with Vista installed. But you said you were going to use XP?

The only reason I mention this is that Vista will make the gaming performance worse (drivers are immature and vista seems to require more resources than xp did). Also older things aren't always compatible with vista.

So if you are going to wipe it and install XP, you will probably get better performance. (as long as the motherboard drivers etc will work in XP)

I may need your help doing that. Is it easy to do?


Last question. is there a way i can get a faster delivery time? I don't want to wait until the 3rd. Is there anything on the site I can get it for 3 day delivery or something?

[Posher778]

wait. Should i get the nvidia or ATI card??

[ManchestrMorgue]

wait. Should i get the nvidia or ATI card??

I posted 3 reviews a couple of posts above - x1300pro is a bit better it seems, but look at the benchmarks to see if you would be happy with either.

[ManchestrMorgue]

I may need your help doing that. Is it easy to do?


Last question. is there a way i can get a faster delivery time? I don't want to wait until the 3rd. Is there anything on the site I can get it for 3 day delivery or something?

Installing XP is easy - provided your motherboard drivers etc will work with XP. I don't know the answer to that - would have to check with Dell.

But make sure you get the Vista reinstall discs with the system.

I know some HP systems did not come with an XP reinstall disc - they make you make your own by burning files from the hard drive onto blank CD's. This is ok as long as you make them before anything goes wrong, and nothing goes wrong with the discs you made.

But the game you are thinking of might work OK with Vista, so installing XP may not be necessary.

I have had mixed success with older games. Some work well in Vista, some don't.

[Spallalala]

I suggest if you want a gaming machine is that you buy anykinda computer and just add shit..Yeah for sure if I had the money I would probably buy some alienware shit cos its da bomb haha. But if you get the right parts you can actually have a better gaming machine then alienware. As for what to get. Would love to help ya but I wouldn't know where to start.

[Posher778]

Thanks everyone. I got the dell, with the ATI videocard, and a 20 inch flat panel, for a little over a thousand, not including 70 bucks of tax and 60 for 2 day delivery... dear God, bet my dad loves that one. it should hopefully be here friday since I sent the order wednesday night, but it could be saturday, assuming it is shipped here on a business day and then just delivered on saturday, and dammit i hope so, i can't post on this damn VISION anymore.

[mordrid]

Glad you got the machine you wanted Posh. The biggest I have with Dell's is cooling. Might want to take a look at a liquid cooling system for it.

[Posher778]

As long as it WORKS. I'm happy.

[ManchestrMorgue]

Cool. Let us know how it goes when you get it.

New computers are always exciting :cool:

[mordrid]

As long as it WORKS. I'm happy.
If not properly cooled, they tend to stop working. That is the problem with Dells.

[Posher778]

How hard is it to get a wireless internet working? I didn't do it on my old comp, so i dunno how to do it. Is it difficult?

[AsylumSeeker]

How hard is it to get a wireless internet working? I didn't do it on my old comp, so i dunno how to do it. Is it difficult?

I set one up on mine, Posh and I'm not exactly an expert. It was pretty easy. The hardest part was deciding with wireless router I wanted to go with and making sure that when I went with the super fast one that I got the plug in cards (even though all my comps had wireless cards) so that it could operate at the faster speed. The only problems I had were when I was setting up the security. It's okay if you're only using one comp, but if you try to set it up for more than that to use it regularly you have to go through a bunch of extra steps. The password stuff doesn't always work when you want to allow another on so you have to reset a bunch of stuff on the other comps to allow them to access the random IP address.

[Posher778]

I set one up on mine, Posh and I'm not exactly an expert. It was pretty easy. The hardest part was deciding with wireless router I wanted to go with and making sure that when I went with the super fast one that I got the plug in cards (even though all my comps had wireless cards) so that it could operate at the faster speed. The only problems I had were when I was setting up the security. It's okay if you're only using one comp, but if you try to set it up for more than that to use it regularly you have to go through a bunch of extra steps. The password stuff doesn't always work when you want to allow another on so you have to reset a bunch of stuff on the other comps to allow them to access the random IP address.

That doesn't sound too hard. We have the router and everything, i just have to set it up.

[ManchestrMorgue]

Let us know what network configuration you want, what components you have, and I am sure between all of us we can figure it out!:)