# Need PROFESSIONAL help on buying a new computer.



## audiobahn1000

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE POST CAREFULLY!  Please do not post if you are not going to read the whole post.  I cant afford any errors. 



Currently I have a Dell Dimension B110.  The graphics card does not support many games and there are no PCI slots like I thought there were so its useless.  So I am thinking of upgrading to either Dell's top of the line mid level computer or their middle of the line high end computer (XPS).

I asked someone else on a different forum if the current computer I have will work for gaming and I was told yes.  Well obviously he was wrong.  So please, if you are not a professional DO NOT REPLY to this thread.  I do not want to loose another $400 because I made the wrong choice.

I will be using this computer for some medium level gaming and Internet surfing.

Here are the two choices I was looking at.

Dimension E510:

Pentium® D Processor 805 with Dual Core Technology (2.66GHz, 533FSB)
OR
Pentium® D Processor 820 with Dual Core Technology (2.80GHz, 800FSB)
FOR AN ADDATIONAL $50

-XP Media Center
-1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz (2x512M)
-80GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/ 8MB cache
-16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability 
-19 inch E196FP Analog Flat Panel 
128MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon X300 SE HyperMemory 
OR
256MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon X600 SE HyperMemory[COLOR] 
FOR AN ADDATIONAL $40

-Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio Sigmatel STAC9220
OR
Integrated Sound Blaster®Audigy™ HD Software Edition
FOR AN ADDATIONAL $25
-310 watt PSU

Total base cost without any upgrades $679 



System option 2:

Dell XPS 400

-Pentium® D Processor 820 with Dual Core Technology (2.80GHz, 800FSB) 
OR
Pentium® D Processor 915 w/Dual Core Technology (2.80GHz,800FSB)
FOR AN ADDATIONAL $30

-XP home media center 2005
-1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs
-250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/ 8MB cache 
-16x DVD+/-RW with double layer write capability 
-19 inch E196FP Analog Flat Panel 
-128MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon X300 SE HyperMemory  
OR
256MB nVidia Geforce 7300LE TurboCache 
FOR AN ADDATIONAL $40
-Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
OR
-Integrated Sound Blaster®Audigy™ HD Software Edition
FOR AN ADDATIONAL $25
-375 watt PSU

TOTAL WITHOUT ANY UPGRADES $870 


So what should I do.  I dont want to go with the more expensive one if I dont have to but if its required then so be it.  I dont want to have to to upgade again in a year.

PLEASE check that the video card it comes with is compatable with current games.  I also need to know what upgrade are required for gameing.  PLEASE check that the audio card it comes with is fine for gameing.  Its an intergrated card.  Also I need to know if the porcessors that it comes with is ok or what not.

Once again please DO NOT reply if you are not a professional.  I cant afford to make this mestake again.

Here are the DETAILED specifications for each computer:

E510:

Level 1 (L1) cache
 16 KB

Level 2 (L2) cache
 1 MB for Pentium 5XXX processors

2 MB for Pentium 6XXX processors

(depending on your computer configuration) pipelined-burst, eight-way set associative, write-back SRAM 



Memory

Type
 400-MHz and 533-MHz DDR2 unbuffered SDRAM

Memory connectors
 four

Memory capacities
 256 MB, 512 MB, or 1 GB non-ECC

Maximum memory
 4 GB

NOTE: See "Addressing Memory With 4-GB Configurations" to verify the amount of memory available to the operating system.

BIOS address
 F0000h



Computer Information 

Chipset
 Intel 945G Express

RAID Support
 RAID 1 (Mirroring)

DMA channels
 eight

Interrupt levels
 24

BIOS chip (NVRAM)
 4 Mb

NIC
 Integrated network interface capable of 10/100 communication

System clock
 800- or 1066-MHz data rate



Video

Type
 Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 (GMA950)



Audio

Type
 Sigmatel STAC9220



Expansion Bus 

Bus type
 PCI 2.3
PCI Express x1 and x16

Bus speed
 PCI: 33 MHz

PCI Express:

x1 slot bidirectional speed - 500 MB/s

x16 slot bidirectional speed - 8 GB/s

PCI


connectors
 two

connector size
 120 pins

connector data width (maximum)
 32 bits

PCI Express


connector
 one x1

connector size
 36 pins

connector data width (maximum)
 1 PCI Express lane

PCI Express


connector
 one x16

connector size
 164 pins

connector data width (maximum)
 16 PCI Express lanes



Drives 

Externally accessible:


 one 3.5-inch FlexBay (may contain an optional floppy drive or an optional Media Card Reader)

two 5.25-inch drive bays

Available devices
 Serial ATA drives (2), floppy drive, USB memory devices, CD drive, CD-RW drive, DVD drive, DVD-RW drive, DVD and CD-RW combo drive, and Media Card Reader

Internally accessible:
 two bays for 1-inch high serial ATA hard drives



Connectors

External connectors:

Video
 15-hole connector

Network adapter
 RJ-45 connector

USB
 two front-panel and five back-panel USB 2.0-compliant connectors

Audio
 five connectors for line-in, line-out, microphone/ side-surround, surround, and center/subwoofer connector (LFE channel); two front-panel connectors for headphones and microphone

System board connectors:

Primary IDE drive
 one 40-pin connector

Serial ATA
 two 7-pin connectors

FlexBay Drive
 one USB 10-pin header for optional Media Card Reader (3.5-inch bay device)

Floppy drive
 one 33-pin connector

Fan
 one 5-pin connector

PCI 2.3
 two 120-pin connectors

PCI Express x1
 one 36-pin connector

PCI Express x16
 one 164-pin connector



Controls and Lights 

Power button
 push button

Power light
 green light — Blinking green in sleep state; solid green for power-on state.

amber light — Blinking amber indicates a problem with the power supply inside the computer. If the system cannot boot and there is a solid amber light, this indicates a problem with the system board (see "Power Problems" in your computer Owner's Manual).

Hard-drive access light
 green

Link integrity light (on integrated network adapter)
 green light — A good connection exists between a 10-Mbps network and the computer.

orange light — A good connection exists between a 100-Mbps network and the computer.

off (no light) — The computer is not detecting a physical connection to the network.

Activity light (on integrated network adapter)
 yellow blinking light

Diagnostic lights
 four lights on the front panel (see "Diagnostic Lights")

Standby power light
 AUX_PWR on the system board



Power

DC power supply:

Wattage
 305 W

Heat dissipation
 1039 BTU/hr

Voltage (see the safety instructions in the Product Information Guide for important voltage setting information)
 90 to 135 V and 180 to 265 V at 50/60 Hz

Backup battery
 3-V CR2032 lithium coin cell



Physical

Height
 41.1 cm (16.2 inches)

Width
 18.8 cm (7.4 inches)

Depth
 43.9 cm (17.3 inches)

Weight
 14.3 kg (31.4 lb)



XPS500:

Cache
 2 MB



Memory

Type
 dual-channel 533- and 667-MHz DDR2

Memory connectors
 four

Memory capacities
 256 MB, 512 MB, or 1 GB

Minimum memory
 512 MB

Maximum memory
 4 GB

BIOS address
 F0000h



Computer Information

Chipset
 Intel 945P

DMA channels
 eight

Interrupt levels
 24

BIOS chip (NVRAM)
 4 Mb

NIC
 integrated-network interface capable of 10/100/1000-Mbps communication

System clock
 800- or 1066-MHz data rate



Video

Type
 PCI Express



Audio

Type
 internal 7.1 channel or PCI option cards



Expansion Bus

Bus type
 PCI 32 bit
PCI Express x1, x4, and x16

Bus speed
 PCI 33 MHz

PCI Express 100 MHz

Bus throughput
 PCI Express:

x1 slot bidirectional speed — 500 MB/s

x4 slot bidirectional speed — 2 GB/s

x16 slot bidirectional speed — 8 GB/s

PCI


connectors
 three

connector size
 120 pins

connector data width (maximum)
 32 bits

PCI Express


connector
 one x1

connector size
 36 pins

connector data width (maximum)
 1 PCI Express lane

PCI Express


connector
 one x4

connector size
 98 pins

connector data width (maximum)
 4 PCI Express lanes




PCI Express


connector
 one x16

connector size
 164 pins

connector data width (maximum)
 16 PCI Express lanes



Drives

Externally accessible:


 two 3.5-inch drive bays (FlexBay)

two 5.25-inch drive bays

Available devices
 serial ATA drives (2), floppy drive, USB memory devices, CD drive, CD-RW drive, DVD drive, DVD-RW drive, Media Card Reader, and DVD/CD-RW combo drive

Internally accessible:
 two 3.5-inch hard-drive bays



Connectors

External connectors:

IEEE 1394
 one front-panel 6-pin serial connector (with optional card)

Video
 15-pin VGA connector

28-pin DVI connector

Network adapter
 RJ-45 connector

USB
 two front-panel and five back-panel USB 2.0-compliant connectors

Audio
 five back-panel connectors for line-in, line-out, microphone, surround, and center/Low Frequency Effects (LFE) channel; two front-panel connectors for headphones/microphone

System board connectors:

Primary IDE drive
 40-pin connector

Serial ATA
 four 7-pin connectors

FlexBay Drive
 USB 10-pin header for optional floppy drive or optional Media Card Reader (3.5-inch bay devices)

Fan
 two 3-pin and one 5-pin connector

PCI
 three 120-pin connectors

PCI Express x1
 36-pin connector

PCI Express x4
 98-pin connector

PCI Express x16
 164-pin connector



Controls and Lights

Power control
 push button

Power light
 green light — Blinking green in sleep state; solid green for power-on state.

amber light — Blinking amber indicates a problem with the power supply inside the computer. If the system cannot boot and there is a solid amber light, this indicates a problem with the system board (see "Power Lights").

Hard-drive access light
 green

Link integrity light (on integrated network adapter)
 green light — A good connection exists between a 10-Mbps network and the computer.

orange light — A good connection exists between a 100-Mbps network and the computer.

off (no light) — The computer is not detecting a physical connection to the network.

Activity light (on integrated network adapter)
 yellow light — Blinking indicates activity on the network.

Diagnostic lights
 four lights on the front panel (see "Diagnostic Lights")

Standby power light
 AUXPWR on the system board



Power

DC power supply:

Wattage
 375 W

Heat dissipation
 1280 BTU/hr

Voltage (See the safety instructions in the Product Information Guide for important voltage setting information.)
 90 to 135 V and 180 to 265 V at 50/60 Hz

Backup battery
 3-V CR2032 lithium coin cell



Physical

Height
 46.48 cm (18.3 inches) 

Width
 18.54 cm (7.3 inches)

Depth
 45.42 cm (17.88 inches)

Weight
 15.4 kg (34 lb)


----------



## The_Other_One

First off, you should realize basically noone on here is a "professional".  So if you're determined to get such advice, you should go elsewhere.  However, from what I've seen, most of us know more than "professionals" elsewhere...at least at places like Best Buy and such!

So basically out of this whole post, you want a computer that can play games decently, right?  Nearly all of this is based upon your graphics card.  Unless you get one of Dell's high end system's, their graphics cards are very low end, and probably won't be any better than your current machine.

My suggestion would be to either build a computer, or get a Dell and purchase a graphics card from somewhere like Newegg.com.  The card I have in my computer was only $160 and it's MUCH more powerful than a 7300(which is probably the best of the few you posted)

Now, if you must get everything from Dell for some reason, your best bet would be the 7300GT.  However, it's still a very low end card.


----------



## Burgerbob

One- you dont need a pro to help you, almost all the members here can help you. 
Two, dont get a dell! you will hear this from almost every poster!


----------



## Geoff

If you're going to be using it for moderate gaming, you're going to want a card better then the x300 or 7300.  

The difference between the two isn't great.  If you think you're going to use alot of storage with videos, music, photos, ect, then get the 2nd computer.

Because the only major difference between those two, are the CPU and Hard Drive.  And the price difference for the 2nd one, in my opinion, isn't worth the extra money.

So if I were you, I would go with the first one, but I would consider upgradeing the hard drive if you need more storage, and upgrading the video card if you can.


----------



## codeman0013

My dad just bought a similar computer to your second option. Its an XPS 400 and he bought his own graphics card on my suggestion and with 2 gigs of memory and that graphics card he can play some very intense games on their highest setting its your call man get what you want buy from what i get in your post you will not be happy no matter what we tell you.


----------



## apj101

> Two, dont get a dell! you will hear this from almost every poster!


not from any that know what they are talking about, there systems can be excellent value for money, plus not all user are looking for the same thing


----------



## JFHuff

i have had 2 dell systems in the past 2 years. The first worked well enough. the second i got would not work. After troubleshooting found out the ram was faulty and dell refused to do anything about. Then you get down to the fact that Dell messes with everything in the case (including the case itself) to make sure there is no way to customize or upgrade later. They want you to buy a new one instead. they normally only give you the smallest amount of pci slots so you can only fit what they put in. Then they make there motherboards so that it cant be put anywhere else. No piece of it works with anything besides a dell. I used to like dells but there really ruining there image and now that they bought alienware i see that going down hill as well.


----------



## audiobahn1000

Ok well I decided to go with the XPS 400 because I get free financeing on it.  So now the question is do I go with the 256MB nVidia Geforce 7300LE TurboCache card or spend the extra $200 for the 256MB nVidia GeForce 7900 GS?  Is it worth an extra $200 to go with that second option?  How good is that second option?  Is it a good card?  How much better is it then the first option?  Would I be better off going with the stock card and buying my own second one?

Also do you think 2GB of RAM is equired or will 1 GB cut it for games if I do not run things in the background?


----------



## audiobahn1000

Also what other manufacturers do you suggest for a gameing system under $1,000?  The only thing is they would have to have a financeing program.


----------



## DKdeadly

DO NOT GET A DELL

DELL JUST SUK I HAVE ONE RIGHT NOW THEY GIVE YOU THE CHEAPEST PARTS EVERY AND CHARGE TWICE WHAT IT COSTS.

The system in my sign costs right now about 1550.When you go to dell 

1.Will have to wait couple of weeks for it.
2.Will OVERPAY LIKE CRAZY.

The same system that i got in my sign costs about $2300 from dell.

Now do the calculations.

Another example memory

2gb they charge 110 BUT they system allready has one gb 

from newegg.com 

You can get very good DDR2 800 from CORSAIR XMS2(and the DELL has ONLY 667 and probably for a crappy company) for about $180 
Look at this for example:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DXPS700B1&s=dhs

The cpu part 

They charge 300 for conroe e6600 

But the system allready has a 930 which costs 179 at NEWEGG.com

so  $300+$179=$479

Now from zipzoomfly.com you can get the e6600 for 339 and from newegg at 379

So now $479-$339=140

140 dollars in you pocket ONLY ON ONE PART


----------



## Calibretto

Yes, You get better satisfaction if you don't get a manufactured PC. If you can, just build a PC yourself. It's cheaper and and it's made by someone you trust....yourself!

And like others said, people here are are just as smart as, maybe even smarter than professionals at Best Buy, CompUSA, etc.


----------



## codeman0013

Yea considering i went to best buy and asked for a ps/2 converter to usb and they took me to the playstation's and i tried to explain what i wanted was for a computer and 10 minutes later i just said screw it and went and found it myself sheesh they are stupid as hell! Oh yea and make things worse that was the geek squad!!


----------



## bebopin64

the X600 will out play the 7300LE so choice 1 is superior.  And it would be worth the extra $200 for the 7900GS anyway.


----------



## audiobahn1000

Ok well I went with the XPS 400.  Here is what it's got.

-Pentium® D Processor / Intel VIIV 820 with Dual Core Technology (2.80GHz, 800FSB) 
-1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs
-250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/ 8MB cache
-16x DVD+/-RW with double layer write capability 
-19 inch E196FP Analog Flat Panel 
-256MB nVidia GeForce 7900 GS 
-Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio 
-Genuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition with re-installation CD 

So how does it look?  Do you think it will perform good with games?  I went with the $200 video card.

I have a question though.  What is this Intel VIIV stuff?  So is it a Pentium D or a Intel VIIV processor?  And is the Pentium D better then the Pentium 4 HT for gaming?  Also what exactly is the advantage of having a dual core processor?


----------



## DKdeadly

how much did you pay for the system?

You went with a 200 dollar card??WOW as i said you got ripped off.

you could of gotten for $139 the 7600 KO 580 mhz  and 1500 mhz 

But its your money that went to garbage.


----------



## bebopin64

i thought you were going to buy it on newegg but adding that on to the $40 card is a serious rip off.  For future reference cyberpowerpc.com.


----------



## apj101

> DO NOT GET A DELL
> 
> DELL JUST SUK I HAVE ONE RIGHT NOW THEY GIVE YOU THE CHEAPEST PARTS EVERY AND CHARGE TWICE WHAT IT COSTS.


i cant be bothered to explain how stupid that comment is, i just hope most people ignore it


----------



## DKdeadly

its not stupid its the truth.

At least from my experience with dells they suk for me and that is my Opinion.


----------



## codeman0013

Hmm i have had 4 dells through the years and i have a laptop now from dell and i cant say i could ever complain about any of them. There must be some reason they are the number one manufacturer of pc's in the  us right now and possibly the world i'm not sre on that one!


----------



## apj101

> its not stupid its the truth.
> 
> At least from my experience with dells they suk for me and that is my Opinion.


Well if its your opinion, then please make sure that you make it !clear! that it is only your humble opinion, so that our more impressionable members know to give it the correct weight. Making huge sweeping comments like that is likely to get you branded a fanboy (or an anti-fanboy in this case)


----------



## codeman0013

I agree ajp this is total crap he probably had one bad expirence and then hates them for ever stupid people!


----------



## Iluvpenguins

I personally would never buy a Dell,my dad used to get them,but after poor customer service and overall poor performance compared to other computers,we said screw them.We were dishing out too much for them and ended up getting a cheaper computer that was way easier to upgrade and also saved us a good bit,also performed equally or better.Dell is not something i'd go with.And for that graphic card,don't get it from them,purchase it off newegg or any other site who have cheaper prices and install it yourself,it is not rocket science.


----------



## FairDoos

apj101 said:


> i cant be bothered to explain how stupid that comment is, i just hope most people ignore it



Never mind ignored i cant even find it? LOL


----------



## FairDoos

Audiobahn that must be the longest post i have ever seen on this Forum haha but anyway.

My opinion because i have had a bad experience with Dell i wouldnt recommend you buying one. Why not just build your own PC it would probably work out much cheaper?


----------



## vroom_skies

Are you serious?
This thread is from 2006.

Please refrain from moves like this in the future.


----------



## FairDoos

vroom_skies said:


> Are you serious?
> This thread is from 2006.
> 
> Please refrain from moves like this in the future.



Haha owell its 7 in the morning i dont care =[ i dont really check dates on threads when i post so i wouldnt know if it was haha


----------



## vroom_skies

Well you might not care, but we don't need dead threads brought back.
Please do us a favor and check the dates before replying.

Thanks


----------



## FairDoos

vroom_skies said:


> Well you might not care, but we don't need dead threads brought back.
> Please do us a favor and check the dates before replying.
> 
> Thanks



Ok Very sorry ill check in the future.


----------



## vroom_skies

Thanks for understanding.


----------

