Dell Inspiron 560 Desktop: Yes/No?

Ladron De La Noche on 27/2/2011 at 20:37

(http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod1830329&navAction=) ZT Reliant Desktop, AMD Phenom 955, 500GB, 4GB DDR3

(http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod1830328&navAction=) ZT Affinity Desktop, 3.2Ghz, 1TB, 6GB DDR3

Those two looks excellent to me, onboard graphics meh. However, it should be good enough to run Oblivion on medium or high settings. When you are ready for more demanding games, upgrade the graphics and the power supply unit. Another $150 perhaps or less. Quad processors, plenty of RAM and ample hard drive space. I'd grab it along with an extended warranty. ;)

No monitor but that doesn't seem to be an issue.

lost_soul on 27/2/2011 at 21:12

Keep in mind though that if you have a friend help put a machine together, things don't always go as planned. Sometimes there can be issues with a freshly built machine, like random BSODs or reboots or something else. When it is a home-built machine, the user has to track down the faulty component themself.

If it is a pre-built system, all you do is hand it to the retailer and say "This doesn't work right, fix it."

Duncan on 1/3/2011 at 14:54

Quote Posted by lost_soul

Check out CyberPowerPC. I haven't bought from them, but you can customize the machine and the prices are more reasonable than a retail system.

CyberPower will use "repaired" parts in their machines where they can. It is not uncommon for these repaired parts to go faulty again. That is when you'll discover how piss poor CyberPower is when you find it impossible to get a hold of their tech support. I would advise people to stay clear of this mob. Not worth the hassle.

I think you should definitely have a go at building your own. The task can seem daunting at first, but at the end of the day they are not all that difficult to put together. Plus once you have done it once you'll never go back to factory built again.

Dia on 2/5/2011 at 14:15

Okay; still deliberating, but really need to get up off my dead ass & just go out & buy a new PC. Unfortunately, I don't have any close friends, acquaintances, or family members who are knowlegdeable enough about building one and this isn't something I'd be inclined to attempt on my own. So, it looks like I'm stuck just going out & buying one 'off the rack', as it were.

I liked what I read about the ZT Reliant ((http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod1830329&navAction=)), but also like what I've read about the Asus Essentio ((http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Essentio+Desktop+/+AMD+Phenom%26%23153%3B+II+X4+Processor+/+6GB+Memory+/+1TB+Hard+Drive/1700116.p?id=1218282102450&skuId=1700116)) at Best Buy. The only thing that gave me pause about the Asus was the customer who posted that he replaced the graphics card (ATI Radeon 3000 graphics) that came with the Asus with his own (Radeon HD 6950) and am wondering if I'm going to have to fork out for a higher-end graphics card if I buy the Asus or if the card that comes with it will be enough to let me play the likes of Skyrim & Deus Ex H.R.

Any thoughts anyone?

Ostriig on 2/5/2011 at 15:22

Both the ZT Reliant and the Asus Essentio you linked to list the ATI 3000 in their specs, which is an integrated graphics solution, i.e. bottom of the barrel stuff that's in no shape or form adequate for gaming. Another thing to bear in mind, the ZT Reliant specifies a 350W power source, probably a no-name brand, which is also not going to cut if you want to upgrade your graphics so that would have to go as well. I didn't see the PSU mentioned on the Essentio, so it's probably safe to assume it's also being powered by a low-end component that would have to be swapped out if you wanted to put in a proper graphics card.

Seeing as you don't have the option of building a rig I'd rather suggest looking to smaller, dedicated businesses instead of buying a big-name brand package from Best Buy or Sam's. At least that's what I did in the UK when I needed a machine asap and didn't have time to go parts hunting. I'm afraid I can't give some detailed advice, though, as I'm not from the US and I just don't know any shops there.

Nuth on 3/5/2011 at 12:17

Hmmmm...yeah...you're going to have to upgrade from that ATI 3000. I think people are just guessing at this point, but the graphics card requirements I've seen for Skyrim say GeForce 8800GT at a minimum. The recommended level of card is GeForce GTX460. Here's a link to a chart that will give you an idea of where the ATI 3000 falls in the performance hierarchy. (http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Radeon+3000) (edit--I don't know that much about graphics cards and that seems like a really low score for the ATI 3000, so that may not be the same card)

The GeForce 8800GT isn't on that chart but it has a mark of 966 according to this chart. (http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html)

I'm going through some of the same upgrade problems. My computer is still fast enough, but I've had to upgrade my 350 watt power supply in order to use a graphics card that is adequate for the games I'll be buying in the near future. Here's a link that calculates what size power supply you need for whatever set-up you want. (http://c1.neweggimages.com/BizIntell/tool/psucalc/index.html?cm_sp=Cat32_PowerSupply_left-_-PowerSupplyFinder030510-_-http%3a%2f%2fpromotions.newegg.com%2fproductfinders%2fpowersupply.jpg)

I still haven't purchased a graphics card yet.

Dia on 3/5/2011 at 15:20

Quote Posted by Ostriig

Seeing as you don't have the option of building a rig I'd rather suggest looking to smaller, dedicated businesses instead of buying a big-name brand package from Best Buy or Sam's.

Thanks for the input guys. Are these the kind of small-business computer stores you're referring to, Ostriig?
(http://harbor-pc.com/shop/-c-25_27.html)
(http://www.computer-adventure.com/hardware.htm)
(http://milwaukeepc.com/ViewSystems.asp?SPTID=191)(I especially liked the modifications you can do online with the basic ready-to-go models with this store - not that I understand which modifications I'd really need to make, mind you)

I'm more than willing to upgrade the graphics card - I figure I have enough know-how to do that basic task (maybe ;) )

Quote Posted by Nuth

I'm going through some of the same upgrade problems. My computer is still fast enough, but I've had to upgrade my 350 watt power supply in order to use a graphics card that is adequate for the games I'll be buying in the near future. Here's a link that calculates what size power supply you need for whatever set-up you want. (http://c1.neweggimages.com/BizIntell/tool/psucalc/index.html?cm_sp=Cat32_PowerSupply_left-_-PowerSupplyFinder030510-_-http%3a%2f%2fpromotions.newegg.com%2fproductfinders%2fpowersupply.jpg)

Thanks for the links, Nuth. I'm now a tad more knowledgeable about PSU's and will have to ask intelligent-sounding questions when I do go somewhere to buy a new PC. Sounds like when I do go out & buy a ready-made PC, I'll still end up having to replace some of the stock stuff it comes with.

Major request: could someone post the minimum specs I need to know when I go PC shopping? Keep in mind that I'd like to keep the total price under at least $1000, though I still need the PC to be able to handle new games like Skyrim & DE:HR. I really do appreciate all the input & advice!

P.S. Right now I wish one of you guys lived in the area so you could go PC shopping with me! I feel so totally ignorant! :(

june gloom on 3/5/2011 at 17:18

Geforce 8800 at a minimum?

God damn it. Looks like I got work to do.

Ostriig on 3/5/2011 at 18:57

Quote Posted by Dia

Um, that's the direction, I guess, but I think those websites themselves look a little bit "cheap" and at a glance those systems on offer are ancient. Here's an example of what I'm thinking of, though obviously in the UK - I got that rig I told you about some four years ago from (http://www.cube247.co.uk/) Cube247, and I've been going for parts to (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/index.php) Overclockers and (http://www.aria.co.uk/) Aria.

Quote:

I'm more than willing to upgrade the graphics card - I figure I have enough know-how to do that basic task (maybe ;) )

It's not that big a deal, with the card itself you just slot the sucker in the PCI-Express slot and connect the 6pin PSU lead(s) - either one, or two, depending what the card requires. The only thing that could get tricky is if you have a modular PSU, then you have to figure out which rail to connect it to, etc., but if you have an old-school non-modular PSU in there it's all as easy as lego. If you get a modular PSU maybe there's someone here who can run you through the process, all I know is that you need to balance out the power draw between the rails, but I've never installed one myself so I'm a bit out of my comfort zone there.

Quote:

Major request: could someone post the minimum specs I need to know when I go PC shopping? Keep in mind that I'd like to keep the total price under at least $1000, though I still need the PC to be able to handle new games like Skyrim & DE:HR. I really do appreciate all the input & advice!

Ok, this is not minimum by any means but if I were in the market for a solid (not an absolute top-of-the-line, but definitely high-grade) rig to last me for the next, say, 4 years for quality gaming, I'd be looking for something like (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-176-OE) this. Now, if you select the 8GB RAM and the GeForce 460 upgrades (at least the latter you should), that takes you up to £800 (~$1300), which I know is past what you want to spend, however I'm also under the impression that computers and parts in the US are supposed to be a good deal cheaper than in the UK. I'd suggest have a look around, you might be able to find something thereabouts for the just under $1000.

Another point is that, yes, going for an AMD CPU over an Intel should make a notable improvement to the final costs, but I haven't kept up with AMD at all lately and you'll need someone else's advice on what would be a good model to get. Another possibility, would be to go for a pre-Sandy Bridge iteration Core i* Intel CPU (Sandy Bridge launched in January this year), the one I linked to earlier is a SB CPU. Obviously, won't be the same thing as the latest generation, but I'd expect it should cover you well enough for the next 3-4 years too. You can tell the newer Core i* generation from the old one by the fact they have 4 digit indicatives, such as Core i5-2500K, as opposed to 3 digits, like i5-760.

Also, I'm guessing you have a copy of Windows and a screen, that's not something you need to worry about, right?

I'll try to get back to this thread in a couple of days, between work and studies the next 48 hours are going to be hell for me.

Nuth on 4/5/2011 at 01:04

How about this one? (http://www.cpusolutions.com/store/pc/configurePrd.asp?idproduct=1901&qty=1)

You could bump the graphics card up to a GTX460 1GB and bump the RAM up to 8GB. Adding a monitor still keeps you close to $1000. I think you'd be okay with the 500W power supply, but if you wanted you could bump that up for not much $, too. (I went with overkill on the new power supply I bought, figuring that PSU technology probably isn't going to change that much and that I could just switch it over if I end up buying a new computer in the future that comes with a puny power supply.)

I haven't poked around the CPU Solutions website much (and don't really know the virtues of the competing CPUs.) You might want to fiddle around with their customization options and see what you can come up with.