Dell PC for Gaming?

[Nukem]

I would definately build vice buy... It's cheaper that way AND the more important part.. you learn along the way... this way not only do you have the knowledge of building it... you can fix it if/when it breaks...

But please do the research first and ask questions... most people here will answer them openly... Albeit opinionated about some part or another but hey... but good on ya... if you don't use all of your budget, can I have the rest... ;P

 

[PZEROFGH]

CPU:Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Dual Core CPU $885
Motherboard:ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe $159
Memory:G.SKILL 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Samsung TCCD Dual Channel Kit System Memory $250
Graphics:Two Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX cards in SLI mode $1,100
Sound card:Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Professional $160
Speakers:Creative Labs Gigaworks S750 $439
Keyboard:Saitek Black Wired Eclipse $47
Mouse: Logitech MX510 $32
Hard Drive:2 x Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000 RPM $326
Hard Drive:2 x Hitachi 7K500 500GB, 7,200RPM $730
Optical drivelextor PX-716A $116
Case:silverstone TJ06 $140
Power supplyC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 850SSI $469
Floppy drive/media reader:Mitsumi FA404 w/ flash memory reader $20
Operating system:Microsoft Windows XP Professional (OEM) $146

total: 5019

 

[vaderpro]

Nukem has a good point, but this it what i suggest....you have the money, you will notice the greatness of that system for some time; get the 7800gtx, get the 600w ozc, get the nice 2gb of ram and the raptor drive...fine....the only thing I think is dumb is spending $800 on the freakin processor, 6months from now that thing will be like half the price, you can update the processor at any time, so spend less on it now and upgrade later. Its just too much $ for a processor and you probably would be very happy with a 3700 sandiego or something...


Thats what i would do.

I will get some processor links for you, then your done, great system.

Single core/better for games:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103529

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103497

Dual core if you must:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103547


If you buy one of the first ones I just saved you $500. Everyone here will tell you they would be more than good enough.

Heres a quote from a 4000 user:

This processor blows away anything youve ever used. Right now i am writing this review, burning dvds, and hosting a server in ut2k4. I have noticed no decrease in performance, this sucker takes it all and asks for more! Dont bother spending 300 dollars more on the fx-55, this is the same thing only (1) its 200mhz slower and (2) the fx 55 is "unlocked" for overclocking. 200mhz isnt a big deal, and you can unlock this processor and overclock for less.

 

[j4ckaL]

CPU:Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Dual Core CPU $885
Motherboard:ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe $159
Memory:G.SKILL 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Samsung TCCD Dual Channel Kit System Memory $250
Graphics:Two Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX cards in SLI mode $1,100
Sound card:Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Professional $160
Speakers:Creative Labs Gigaworks S750 $439
Keyboard:Saitek Black Wired Eclipse $47
Mouse: Logitech MX510 $32
Hard Drive:2 x Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000 RPM $326
Hard Drive:2 x Hitachi 7K500 500GB, 7,200RPM $730
Optical drivelextor PX-716A $116
Case:silverstone TJ06 $140
Power supplyC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 850SSI $469
Floppy drive/media reader:Mitsumi FA404 w/ flash memory reader $20
Operating system:Microsoft Windows XP Professional (OEM) $146

total: 5019

LOL, the guy just said that his top budget is around 3K not 5K!

btw, I don't see why XP Professional would be necessary for him. And that optical drive is a rip off. And he doesn't need a sound card but even if he wants to get one who would spend $160 on one? Why such expensive RAM? He will not be overclocking. Also I think the hard drive setup is major overkill.

All in all I think that system would be a huge waste of money for him.

 

[jowens]

I have read in some posts that Windows XP Home does not support dual core processors. Is this true? Will I need a different O/S? I think that I will wait on the sound card until the Creative X-FI is released. If you guys really think a slower processor is the way to go I am open to it. I just do not want slow/choppy performace out of current games or games in the next year at max detail settings. On the price side my company will reimburse me 20% of the purchase price of my computer - so a $3k system will only set me back $2,400. What memory would you throw in the system since I am not going to over clock it?

Vaderpro - I appreciate the links - what is the difference in the two single core processors? Would you pick one over the other. I currently have a P4 2.0 GHZ that is 4 Years old with 512MB of system memory and an invidia GeForce FX 5600 Ultra. Are these processors a vast improvement over my current processor and system? (I know this is probably a dumb question as I assume the answer is yes but I am behind on the computer tech curve!)

If I went single core I could always upgrade to the dual core using this same mother board in a year or 2 - correct?

If single core is really better for gaming at this point I might go with one of those processors and with the savings go with 4GB of Ram instead of 2 or get the second video card for SLI.

 

[j4ckaL]

What memory would you throw in the system since I am not going to over clock it?

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820146841

 

[vaderpro]

-Go with Xp Pro, it is better.
-Those 2 processors are similar but I think the clawhammer is slightly better.
-Yes u can upgrade with that mboard to a dual core CPU at any time
-I really dont think u need 2 7800gtx's yet. No games need that. Complete waste of money at this point. Buy another in a year or so.
-Those first 2 processors are more than twice as good as your p4. They will do very well for your needs unles you want to run 4/5 apps at once, which most people dont.
-Thats just the route i would go unless you really do have money to burn
-You could spend the extra money on a kickass LCD, did we discuss that yet?
-Let the other guys give some input, dont rush into this.
-Switch the memory to what jackal said, you wont notice a difference.

 

[jowens]

Thanks for the advice. I see the merit to it. Now that my system has been trimmed down from $3,500 to $2,300 I can consider a nice LCD. I currently have a Dell monitor P1130. Here is a link to its specs. Is it worth it for me to get a new monitor? I would only do it if the image is better - I definately like the wow factor of an LCD and space saving nature of it but if my current monitor is good I will keep it.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/monitors/p1130/g_englsh/specs.htm?c=us&l=en&cs=19&s=dhs

 

[j4ckaL]

If you do decide to get an LCD I think you should go for a 19" or smaller because I believe the response times on the larger ones are too high for gaming. You need 16ms or lower response time for gaming or you will see "ghosting" in your games.

Then again the response times are not always a good indication of a monitors performace because different manufacturers report their response times differently. Some will tell you the time it takes for a pixel to turn from full on to full off and others will tell you how long it takes a pixel to turn from on to off and then back on again ect.

There are other things to consider when buying an LCD aswell such as making sure that the screen does not show signs of internal light when on a dark screen.

Anyway my best advice is to read some reviews on monitors in your price range to see what is good.

 

[vaderpro]

Go with this, its the best:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824116277

Or a dell 2001FP widescreen, if you think you would like that.

Read up on it. If you have any friends who have LCDs, check em out to see for yourself. All I can say is there is a huge difference in color/depth clarity etc. And lcds like the one above is aewsome for gaming unlike older LCDs.

Their are lots of drawbacks of lcds, too, esp limited resolutions.

http://www.techist.com/showthread.php?threadid=63358&highlight=lcd