Looking at PC graphic cards...

[Rig]

My friend is looking at buying this PC, and he loves him some PC games. He wants to play newer high-end games, like Doom 3, and Half-Life 2. What would he need to add to this to make these playable. If he needs new stuff, like a graphics card, I would appreciate it if you could give a good brand, model number, etc. I am a hardcore console gamer, not PC, so I don't know much about them! Thanks guys....

The PC he most likely will get:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=D47F4&s=dhs

[RaekwonThaChef]

it's a shame they don't offer a better vidcard in a computer as decent as that. Depends entirely on how much money he wants to spend on making a suggestion as to what kind of card.

Edit: Is that the exact config. he's gonna get? If so consider changing to 1gig of ram. That would be good. And, I think it's safe to suggest a Nvidia Geforce 6600GT. Great card for the price, Doom and HL2 will run well, and something a whole lot worse than that isn't really taking advantage of the rest of the comp.

[Rig]

Um....I'm sure if he could play games like Doom 3 and such, he would drop a bit...any suggestions at all? I'll show him all prices...

[RaekwonThaChef]

edited ^^^^

And if he's willing to spend a lot of money, $400+, go for the 6800GT or even ultra. It surely isn't gonna hurt, Doom 3 and HL2 will look real purty ;)

[mtxbass1]

Too bad he wasn't looking last week. I posted a deal for a 6800 for under 200 bucks. I would recommend the 6600 or 6800.

[Rig]

edited ^^^^

And if he's willing to spend a lot of money, $400+, go for the 6800GT or even ultra. It surely isn't gonna hurt, Doom 3 and HL2 will look real purty ;)

Thanks for the suggestions so far. Anyone else?

[thealternakid]

i hate to trounce on prebuilt machines but if you built the computer yourself you could save a ton of money, according to pricewatch, that exact computer (minus the dell case) would be half that cost around 650 with monitor. so if he budgets 1000 for a computer that comp is not worth it. seriously pricewatch.com is the place to get components.

[thealternakid]

for 1000 dollars you could put together the following PC
athlon 64 3000(939)
1gig ddr pc3200
16x dvd burner
52x CDR/16x dvd combo
17 inch monitor(LCDs are really bad for gaming)
case/ power supply
ATI x800 pro,
200 gig HDD
all for 996 according to my quick search
just a thought i suppose

[Rig]

True, but he is too lazy! :D He'd never build his own, although he does know of the price difference...thanks though!

[CaseyRyback]

ask spyhunterk19 where he got his at. He got a 6600 with DOOM 3, SCPT, and something else (Far Cry maybe) for less than 200.

Pretty good deal when you factor in all the games he got with it

[rockhero]

I have the 6800 GT and it is very sweet, I would highly recomend it. A slightly cheaper option would be the 6600.

[jalu6]

I second the 6600 series of cards. Personally, i have a 6800GT, but that might be more of an investment than hed like to spend.

also, about the RAM, id upgrade to a gig, but I wouldnt do it through Dell. You can get an extra 512 MB stick for about $70 online and its super easy to install yourself.

[Ruined]

pci express cards are kind of expensive these days

this is the best value i've seen in stock:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-127-149&depa=0

its a 6800nu with 256mb of ram, not bad! Won't be as fast as a 6800GT but it will be faster than a regular 128mb 6800nu and much faster than a 6600GT. Plus later down the road you can buy another and get speeds faster than a 6800U!

[rickc25]

If he's completely sold on the dell tell him to watch fatwallet or some other deal forum and wait for some good coupons to come up. If you get a good deal, it's sometimes possible to get a dell for close to, or maybe even less, than what it costs to build yourself.

Edit: Might also want to tell him to look at dell small business. If you buy there you can downgrade the warranty further and remove stuff like modem and speakers to further reduce the cost. Plus, they often send out dell sb %off coupons via weekly emails.