opinion on future computer purchase?

I think by Christmas you can get an even better video card for around $100. The processor is a bit on the slow side and 1GB of RAM is not enough for Windows Vista, so you might take those into consideration. You still have 3 months to shop around, so you can most likely pull off a better deal.
 
[quote name='SOSTrooper']I think by Christmas you can get an even better video card for around $100. The processor is a bit on the slow side and 1GB of RAM is not enough for Windows Vista, so you might take those into consideration. You still have 3 months to shop around, so you can most likely pull off a better deal.[/quote]


Vista runs fine on 1 gig of ram
 
[quote name='n25philly']Vista runs fine on 1 gig of ram[/quote]
You're totally correct, but for gaming, it runs much better on 2 gigs, partially due to the increased memory usage from Vista's Aero interface and Vista's superfetch.

Gaming in Vista
Videocards are still the most important variable in gaming within Vista, but system memory size does affect framerates as well as improving game load times. A good quick videocard will be impacted more by 2GB of memory than a flagship GPU will. On the whole, gamers will be best served with 2GB of system memory in Vista. If money is tight, 1GB is sufficient.

None of the benchmark applications require 4GB of memory, so the benchmark results do not indicate any performance boost when hitting the 32 bit memory limitation. We don't know any desktop applications that call for that amount of memory either, but that doesn't mean future programs won't. If you want a future ready PC, 4GB memory kits are available for a decent price from Crucial.com and Kingston.com.
As it stands right now, you'll get the best overall performance from Vista with 2GB. So there you have it. If you're contemplating upgrading to Vista, or already running it, that's all you need to know about its memory requirements. Do yourself a favor and use at least 1GB of memory, testing with 512MB was just painful...
Click to expand...
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2163&page=4
 
That power supply would need to be changed out for at least a 400watt unit or higher depending on your Vid card. Why does it have a modem?
 
At the very least, wait until Black Friday. If you can wait until January, you'll be even better off.

edit: oh, you're asking for it as a gift for Christmas. Thought it was coming out of pocket.
 
[quote name='Oktoberfest']the problem with that computer is that it doesn't say anything about having a PCI-Express slot... edit: although from the picture, it looks like it seems to have one... (the red slot)[/QUOTE]

Yeah, the red slot is PCI-Express X16.
 
As a gamer and system builder I would say don't waste your money on any closed architecture machine. Dell, HP, ACER, ect. Oh the parts I have and see from dead machines not worth fixing can fill a big warehouse. When you buy a machine built for you you get the best components, warranties, and can get a spare anywhere. The big guys OEM from the same companies - They just do it and make it expensive or impossible to fix and limit your expansion options in their BIOS programing.

I would suggest you consider building one. I am sure you can get some help with books or a mentor, and in forums - You will have a machine that you can keep for years and won't lock out your options. The cost is not that much extra and I never met anyone that regrets the decision.
 
You can turn off Aero to improve performance. Hell, my current XP setup looks exactly like Windows 2000. No sense in wasting precious resources for fruity menus and stuff (unless you're a Mac user :D)
 
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