So, is this a good price/good PC?

Originally Posted by northwind

I don't much like messing with PCs, to be honest... This one will be fairly stable, I think. It's got another 2 ram slots, which should be sufficient I think. I'm not overly converned about drives for the moment either, it comes with a DVD/CDRW combo and like I say, 80gb is huge compared to what I'm used to. Though I appreciate the thought.

So with the Dual Core... I suppose my 2 real concerns are which is better for games right now (since that's all I need the power for, really) and which will be better for games in, say, a year. This isn't solely a gaming machine, but nothing else I'll use it for will be all that demanding.

Be careful about the graphics card, if you're looking at games (and like almost everyone said in the other thread) you'll be needing some power. GeForce 6600GT are great cards, albeit more than 1 year old (probably 2 years now ) and I'd still put one in without a doubt. Stay clear of the new generation budget cards like nVidia's TurboCache series, since it's nothing more than vamped up video memory sharing with the main system. Basically what you get is a card with a limited amount of dedicated graphics memory (16, 32, 64 or 128 MB), but with the capability to address more from the main system if need be. Of course you'll be most likely to need it during heavy games, which is when you surely DON'T want anything slowing down your bus! I don't know if ATI's Hypermemory is the same, I'd bet it is but I might be wrong.

If you spend the dosh for something better, beware of the power supply that comes inside the computer. GeForce 6600's or similar, together with current generation P4's (single or dual core) draw current like there's no tomorrow, and I'd bet the standard PSU won't hold it for much long, if it boots at all... once again, you pays your money, you takes your choice

HTH... really

[northwind]

Good stuff, I was going to move onto "Which graphics card" once i get the PC nabbed There's a breathed-on Dell 5150 with the P4 3400 and some manner of mighty graphics card, so hopefulyl that won't be too much of an issue... I'd been warned off the Turbocache, but it's always good to get a reinforcement. I won't be getting anything bleedign edge, never worth the money.

Out of curiousity, anyone know what the odds would be of wedging in a bigger supply should it become an issue? My brother's old video editing machine still has its atomic power source in it which I reckon i could steal. Er, salvage.

Originally Posted by northwind

Good stuff, I was going to move onto "Which graphics card" once i get the PC nabbed There's a breathed-on Dell 5150 with the P4 3400 and some manner of mighty graphics card, so hopefulyl that won't be too much of an issue... I'd been warned off the Turbocache, but it's always good to get a reinforcement. I won't be getting anything bleedign edge, never worth the money.

Out of curiousity, anyone know what the odds would be of wedging in a bigger supply should it become an issue? My brother's old video editing machine still has its atomic power source in it which I reckon i could steal. Er, salvage.

Technically, I guess no problems at all... dunno about your warranty, though After all it's an after market part you'd be fitting, and I've dealt with a few brands that will void your warranty (or at least give you a hard time over it) if you even open the damn case, let alone change bits and pieces

[TSM]

Many manufs use custom size power supplies which are very hard to source. Usaly this is more the case with office models. Not always though.

If its office model i am guessing its the Optiplex series.

Note that your HDDs will probably never fit as the new motherboards usaly only have 1 IDE port for the CDROM as the HDD is now SATA on most systems.

Its not a problem as you can always add extra controler cards to support more HDDs or just get external ones.

Manufs cant void your warranty any more for adding things like memory or HDDs. Dell dont do that anyway on their office models.

Also old GPUs might not work anymore if the MOBO you have is probably based on the new PCI-Express standard not the old AGP one. Check that.

[northwind]

Originally Posted by TSM

If its office model i am guessing its the Optiplex series.

Also old GPUs might not work anymore if the MOBO you have is probably based on the new PCI-Express standard not the old AGP one. Check that.

Nah, tis a Dimension 5150, the bottom end one. Home office rather than office, which really just means "a home PC that's not very good at games" as far as I can tell

I'll definately not be using the old graphics card I have, it's an ATI Xpert@work 4mb... PCI, I think. Not a shining example, though then again it's lasted longer than most marriages. I think there may be one of the very first 3DFX cards in there too. Suffice it to say, we won't be transferrring very much hardware out of that PC.

ive jus found sum good deals at pcoption.co.uk dunno if its worth getting one from there dont supose any 1 has any experience with them?