What do you think of this PC build?

[Lieutenant Dan]

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...m=ecomm2.dell.com&c=us&l=en&cs=6099&pg=review

Click tab 1 to look at the prices of each component. There is an extra $50 coupon available that brings this down to ~$900. I'm not that willing to consider building my own, due to time and inexperience, but I would consider it if someone could show me how to build a similar rig for $500 or $600.

I will be using this computer for some moderate to heavy gaming and daily tasks. No video encoding or programming.

Specific questions:

1) Am I getting decent bang/buck out of the processor? I don't want to skimp and I want to future-proof somewhat, but am I being silly at all?

2) Same question for GFX card.

3) Do I need W7 professional or ultimate? I want this to play nice with my wireless home server, and I will be using Xbox Media Center to turn it into an entertainment hub.

4) Any other bottlenecks or factors that stand out to you?

5) I can't tell if this has HDMI out or optical audio out. How can I tell?

 

[tigerpants]

i get an error when i click on the link, maybe just write down the components with prices and we can discuss.

 

[crystalklear64]

What do you think of this PC thread?
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226363

 

[Lieutenant Dan]

[quote name='crystalklear64']What do you think of this PC thread?
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226363[/QUOTE]

I think I looked at this thread, and it appears like this build edges out the $900 build on the list, but the list is a couple of months old and I'm not entirely sure my GFX card beats the one on the list.

Hence, I am here.

Let me try to fix the link...

 

[Lieutenant Dan]

It's a studio XPS 8100, and it prices out to about $900


Intel® Core™ i5-650 processor(4MB Cache, 3.20GHz) [subtract $149.00]
Intel® Core™ i5-750 processor(8MB Cache, 2.66GHz) [subtract $100.00]
Intel® Core™ i7-860 processor(8MB Cache, 2.80GHz) [Included in Price]
Intel® Core™ i7-870 processor(8MB Cache, 2.93GHz) [add $280.00]

6GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs [Included in Price]
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs [add $60.00]
12GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs [add $620.00]
16GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs [add $770.00]

640GB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache [Included in Price]

16X DVD+/-RW Drive [Included in Price]
Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo (Reads BD and Writes to DVD/CD) [add $120.00]

No monitor

nVIDIA GeForce G310 512MB DDR3 [subtract $230.00]
ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB DDR3 [subtract $180.00]
nVidia GeForce GTS240 1024MB GDDR3 [subtract $100.00]
nVidia GeForce GTX260 1792MB GDDR3 [Included in Price]

 

[soulvengeance]

Seems kind of pricey for the video card they're including. Everything else doesn't look awful.

 

[RAMSTORIA]

considering the price of ram and the included OS its really not a bad price. the gtx260 is about $200 on new egg, so its a little cheaper there. but over all i think youd be hard pressed to make a comparable system for $900.

for questions 1 and 2, they both arent the tip top of the line, but theyre good enough for every game thats out right now and should be for a couple of years at least.

dont know which OS is better for the xbox, when i want to watch or listen to something i just pop it onto a flash drive. i have W7 home premium, its been fine for me and ive had no probelms with the wireless N i have.

nothing stands out as a big bottleneck, you could post the motherboard details and that will give you an idea of upgrading in the future, but for whats included it should do the job just fine.

youd have to get the specific video card they are using to see if theres HDMI out, there should be a ? or 'help me choose' link that will give you more details on the video card.