posted
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.
posted
I got a Dell last year. This basic model I think.
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 ]
-------------------- Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. ~ohn Adams
Once again the Bush Administration is worse than I had imagined, even though I thought I had already taken account of the fact that the Bush administration is invariably worse than I can imagine. ~Brad DeLong
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Registered: Mar 1999
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Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
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 ]
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted
A 3GHz Intel CPU and a Radeon 9800 Pro seems a little excessive, based on his two requirements, eh?
Registered: Mar 1999
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Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
*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.
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted
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...
Registered: Aug 1999
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I haven't had any problems with other high-end games that I play...so you could be right.
-------------------- Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. ~ohn Adams
Once again the Bush Administration is worse than I had imagined, even though I thought I had already taken account of the fact that the Bush administration is invariably worse than I can imagine. ~Brad DeLong
You're just babbling incoherently. ~C. Montgomery Burns
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Poor Snay.... Could build one through TigerDirect or a flea market for less.... having money for other stuff too....
Good luck Jeff.....
-------------------- "You are a terrible human, Ritten." Magnus "Urgh, you are a sick sick person..." Austin Powers A leek too, pretty much a negi.....
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-------------------- "It speaks to some basic human needs: that there is a tomorrow, it's not all going to be over with a big splash and a bomb, that the human race is improving, that we have things to be proud of as humans." -Gene Roddenberry about Star Trek
Registered: May 1999
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posted
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.
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
Registered: Mar 1999
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-------------------- "You are a terrible human, Ritten." Magnus "Urgh, you are a sick sick person..." Austin Powers A leek too, pretty much a negi.....
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