Yes, I'm getting a Dell. My budget is $1500, and that needs to include everything - including shipping charges.
Anyway, I took a "stroll" through Dell's website, and wow! Lots of options, and as you probably know, I'm not exactly the most technically saavy guy in the world ... "Defrag? Like what they did to officers in Vietnam?"
So ... what I'm looking for:
* Ability to play *top-notch* Counter-Strike * DVD-Player w/ ability to obtain screencaps and soundbites would be nice.
Any advice (or heck, just plain out telling me what to get!) would be absolutely so wonderful.
Thanks guys and gals and assorted odd people!
Posted by Jay the Obscure (Member # 19) on :
Can't remember what NVIDIA GeForce chip I got but I've had only 1 problem...I tried to play a demo of Far Cry and couldn't. Maybe it was a Direct X thing, but I don't know.
I play Medal of Honor: Spearhead online all the time now and have had no problems with graphics.
I like it...and with a base price of $698 you can upgrade the chips, the hard drive and the monitor. Comes in around $1,249 for the upgrades I think I got.
[ April 17, 2004, 11:42 PM: Message edited by: Jay the Obscure ]
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
I have deep misgivings about recommending a pre-assembled brand PC to anyone, but if you MUST buy a Dell, go for the 4600 (not the 4600c) or the 8300 base model and customize it like this (4600) or like this (8300). That's about as top-notch as you can get for $1500.
[ April 18, 2004, 04:05 AM: Message edited by: Cartman ]
Posted by Mucus (Member # 24) on :
A 3GHz Intel CPU and a Radeon 9800 Pro seems a little excessive, based on his two requirements, eh?
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
*shrug*
The entry CPU was a 2.8GHz, and the other available GPUs were an FX5200 and an integrated Intel thingy. Not a difficult decision, I think.
Posted by Manticore (Member # 1227) on :
Every time I read this, I wonder what you want with luncheon meats, and why you want to sell them...
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
I'm in the market for a new motherboard/CPU, thanks to the beneficence of the Department of Education.
And maybe a new monitor to replace the one scavanged from a basement.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Snay, if you're getting a brand PC then DELL is the way to go. I have a Dimension 8200, 1600Mhz/512RAM/32GbHD, I have never had to upgrade anything.
If you primarily need to play top-notch Counterstrike, all you need is a +1000MHz processor and 256 Mb RAM.
After the "1000 MHz/256 Mb RAM" level has been crossed, you can play Counterstrike in 1024*768 pixels and highest detail, no problem. The only bottleneck after that might be bad server-lag or a weak internet connection, none of which can be improved anyway by having a LEET SUPAH-SKYNET 40000GHZ CUSTOM RICER AND 6 GB DDR-BJ RAM WITH PADDLES!!!
As for DVD:s, the speed is irrelevant, what you need is good software. I use PowerDVD, but as has been said earlier in this forum, the "demo"-PowerDVD version included with a DELL lacks the screengrab-function, you need to either buy a virtual copy or, well I don't know...
Obscure Jay: I played the Far Cry demo too, it had more bugs than some place that has lots of bugs, like maybe Africa or something.
If there were more than 5 enemies onscreen or if that damn chopper came, the whole game lagged into slow-motion for like 2 minutes before recovering. So it's not your computer's fault, the game has stability issues, it's a radical new game architecture, very volatile. Maybe they'll fix it in the fourth or fifth patch...
Posted by Jay the Obscure (Member # 19) on :
Maybe.
I haven't had any problems with other high-end games that I play...so you could be right.
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
Poor Snay.... Could build one through TigerDirect or a flea market for less.... having money for other stuff too....
Good luck Jeff.....
Posted by Fleet-Admiral Michael T. Colorge (Member # 144) on :
Dude, I'll take the Dell guy...
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"Defrag? Like what they did to officers in Vietnam?"
If that were true, I think we would have had a lot less trouble over there.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Any CPU faster than 2 gig will play almost all of todays games with no problem. When you get to that speed, the graphics card is far more important than the CPU.
I would also custom build it. Especially for what you're going to use it for, you could get a PC that would do all you want and more for less than $700. But unless you have a mate who knows how to build them, then it's a bit akward.
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
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