Either dell or build new comp

[sailpog]

hi i am needing a new desktop computer for doing work and playing games all for under £350 ( i live in the uk). i also need it to be fully upgradeable.I have 2 optoins they are:
a ready built dell:http://configure.euro.dell.com/dell...5115&rbc=D05115&s=dhs&sbc=ukdhsrsdimen_1100_3or (can the dells graphics card be changed or upgraded)
or these components put together by me:
Case:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp? WebProductID=136450£24
Motherboard:
MSI AM2 K9N NEO-F NF550, Socket AM2, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Prod...roductID=398863£58

CPU:
AMD AM2 Sempron 3000 Manila Core, 1.6GHz, 256KB Cache, Retail
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Prod...roductID=401088£52

RAM:
1GB Corsair Value Select, DDR PC2700 (333), 184 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 2.5
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=121624£56
Graphics card:
256Mb XFX 7300LE, PCI-E (x16), Mem Clock 550 MHz, GPU 450 MHz,4 Pipes, D-Sub DVI-I
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Prod...roductID=396723£41

hard drive:
120 Gb Seagate Barracuda 7200.7, SATA150, 7200 rpm, 8MBCache ,NCQ
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Prod...ProductID=58379£39

dvd drive:
NEC ND-4570A-GEN Ivory 16x16 DVD±RW/RAM Dual Layer DVD-Writer OEM
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Prod...roductID=353424
Your opinoins on which i should get please and if theres something in my price range(£350)which i could get as an alternative.UK sites only please.
cheers,sol

 

[dragon master]

Um, for playing games you may need alittle more than 512 mb ram. Depends on what you want to do. Personally, I would take the dell and customize it. Mostly to save money though...

 

[sailpog]

but can i change the graphics card on the dell?

 

[woot7800GT]

I don't see an option for graphics card on the Dell page you linked. This leads me to beleive that it has integrated graphics, in which case no, you can't upgrade the card unless you want to put in a PCI card, which would be pointless for gaming purposes.

I say......... Build your own.

 

[sailpog]

ok but surely any mobo will have a pci-e slot or agp? or dont they?

 

[zeppelinfan2009]

not all of them

My friend was dumb and just got a dell computer and it had neither agp or pci-e...

and they said it was for gaming....phew i hate dell! lol

 

[sailpog]

grrrr dell **** me off sometimes!!!

 

[IDProtector]

If you are looking to be fully upgradeable, then you will almost have to go with a "white box" build. That is the only way that you will know exactly what is in it and what you can and cannot replace. With a little bit of planning, the answer should be heavy on the can replace side and light on the cannot.

I looked through the specs on the link you provided to the Dell PC and do not see where they ever give you an option to upgrade the vid card. Since it is not listed as an option and is not specifically listed in the list of hardware, coupled with Dell's reputation for building machines that are obsolete in 18 months or less, I am going out on a limb and saying that you will not be able to do so easily.

Personally, I would always like to build over buy if possible. Of course, you still have to think of the cost of the software if you build. I fyou own it already, then no biggie. If not....

 

[julz]

If I were you, I'd build my own computer. Hands down. You won't have any problems upgrading in the future, since you will know exactly what's inside your PC. You'll usually save money too.

 

[Mentali$T]

Yeah definetly build your own pc that one is absolute b0ll0x.
and btw none of your links work. And because you live in the UK the best place to buy from is www.ebuyer.com here is what i have selected for you and is much better than what you were going to get

CPU: Athlon 3000 AM2 1.8GHz 512kb
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/111282

Mobo: MSI K9N Neo-F nForce 550 Socket AM2 PCI-E DDR2 Retail
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/110732/rb/19698608102

RAM: Corsair 1GB DDR2 533 Mhz
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/63631

HDD: Seagate 120GB 7200RPM SATA/150 8MB Cache
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/79955

DVD: NEC ND-4570 16x DVD±RW/RAM Double Layer Internal IDE
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/106561

Graphics Card: PowerColor X800 GTO16 256mb GDDR3 TVO DVI PCI-E (A lot better than what u suggested)
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/108606

Total of £350.07 (that is without a case though, because your link didnt work i didnt know what you wanted)

(graphics card can even be unlocked to X850XT)