Rate this Home PC set up!

[Mycanid]

...Good point about the two DVD drives - I hadn't thought of that but it makes sense....

Also, if one dies you are not out of luck. [btw ... external players/burners are also an option!]

I'd still go with the XPS system if it was my choice ... external hard drive is a GREAT way to go for backups. You should be fine in that regards.

Since you do a fair amount of gaming you might think about the whole question of Vista vs. Win XP. Bug subject I know, But it might be worth your while to think now rather than get "stuck" later on if Vista for some reason does not play game "x" well or even at all.... :\

 

[Thanee]

The second system (XPS) would run almost $250 more (most of that is the upgraded video card).

It's most likely worth it, considering you also want to game with the PC and the 6600 isn't quite up to speed these days. The Graphics Card is almost worth the difference alone, too, and if the XPS is better in general, as Mycanid says, then it's certainly the better deal.

Tom's Hardware recommends the Radeon X1950 XT over the GeForce 8600 GTS, BTW, which should also be a little cheaper, but it's not DX10 compatible, which isn't much of an issue today but might become one in the future (though that's not very likely, most gaming companies (other than MicroSoft) would be stupid not to support DX9 for a long while still).

Bye
Thanee

 

[Thanee]

Another thing to consider... what kind of PSU do these systems have?

Bye
Thanee

 

[Mycanid]

Another thing to consider... what kind of PSU do these systems have?

Bye
Thanee

You are right! I hadna thought about that.

Hmm ... I know the high end XPS machine comes with a 1000 watt PS in the option wise ... dunno about the 410 model. Hmm....

This may be another area where you could get stuck upgrade wise. Hafta shell out for a (hopefully) high end card that Dell special makes for their machines to work with their PS's.

Phooey! Hope that is not the case. :\

Any ideas Kid Charlamagne? If not then definitely get on the horn to Dell and torment them with spec questions.

Seriously though, I have always found them eager to help.

 

[drothgery]

Dimension E520 Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor E6320 (4MB L2 cache,1.86GHz,1066FSB)

I could go with one of the lower end XFS systems, like an XPS 410, but I'd lose about $50 worth of discount. Also, will I note that much difference between this processor and dual 2.4 E6600?

You should be fine with an E6320.

Memory 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs I've got 2 512 chips of DDR2 memory from my current system - assuming this box has four slots, which I think it does, could I add those? Or does all the memory still have to be of identical amounts?

It's likely that you've got 533MHz DDR2 (400 MHz DDR2 existed breifly, but nothing slower), but check. If it's 667MHz or 800 MHz, 3 GB can't hurt (you've got 4 memory slots; memory has to be added in pairs of identical sticks, so you can have 2 X 1 GB and 2 X 512 MB); if it's slower memory, then it's probably better to just stick with 2 GB.

Monitor 20 inch UltraSharp™ 2007WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
Any thoughts on this monitor would be welcome

I have the 2005FPW, which is the immediate predecessor to this one, at home, and really like it. 20" widescreens are about the smallest you want; they're about as tall as a 17" standard aspect ratio.

Video Cards Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3000
I'd buy a better card or swap my current card in - unfortunately I'd have to spring for the XPS to be able to add as good a card as I'd like to have

Well, a little checking says the E520 series does have a PCI Express x16 slot (which you have to check for when buying a low-end OEM PC; sometimes you get stuck with non-upgradeable integrated graphics), but only has a 300 watt power supply. So you probably don't want to try and put anything beyond a midrange card in there.

 

[drothgery]

Also, Dell often puts PROPRIETARY MEMORY in their Motherboards. Pain in the neck. :\

Huh? Both of my Dell desktops used bog-standard memory. My Dell laptop uses bog-standard notebook memory. They've been known to use oddball power supplies every once in a while (as have most major OEMs), but memory? There's no percentage in that; RAM's an insanely low-margin business, nobody is going to build anything proprietary in that space.

 

[Mycanid]

Huh? Both of my Dell desktops used bog-standard memory. My Dell laptop uses bog-standard notebook memory. They've been known to use oddball power supplies every once in a while (as have most major OEMs), but memory? There's no percentage in that; RAM's an insanely low-margin business, nobody is going to build anything proprietary in that space.

Really!

Hoorah! I was going on some knowledge and experiences I was told of a few years back. Perhaps I was misinformed! May it be so! All the better of a situation for the OP'er!

Thanks sir.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Another thing to consider... what kind of PSU do these systems have?

Bye
Thanee

The XPS only has a 375 W PSU. THat makes me a little nervous - my current box has the 550 Antec.

 

[drothgery]

The XPS only has a 375 W PSU. THat makes me a little nervous - my current box has the 550 Antec.

It's probably worth noting that the ratings for major OEM power supplies have a lot less fiction in them than cheaper aftermarket ones (though not than good aftermarket ones).

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

It's probably worth noting that the ratings for major OEM power supplies have a lot less fiction in them than cheaper aftermarket ones (though not than good aftermarket ones).

So do you think that PSU is adequate with an 8600 card added in?