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Porcelina

09-07-2009, 02:23 PM

I got the Pell Grant for school. After paying tuition and buying books, I have money left to get a computer. While the primary use will be for school, I'd really like it to be able to play this without a hiccup. This is the computer I'm looking at. My budget is around $1000. How would this one work out, is it a good deal?<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td><div>XPS 630 (Vista)</div></td></tr><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td><div><div><div><img title="Designed for hard-core gaming" src="http://i.dell.com/images/global/offer/icons/gamepaddle.gif" /></div><div><img title="Burns DVDs" src="http://i.dell.com/images/global/offer/icons/burn_dvd.gif" /></div><div><img title="<div class="cluetip-title-custom"><div class="cluetip-title-b1a"><div class="cluetip-title-txt">Burns CDs</div> </div> </div>" src="http://i.dell.com/images/global/offer/icons/burn_cd.gif" /></div><div><img title="<div class="cluetip-title-custom"><div class="cluetip-title-b1a"><div class="cluetip-title-txt">Ideal for Multimedia & Music experience</div> </div> </div>" src="http://i.dell.com/images/global/offer/icons/audio.gif" /></div></div></div></td><td align="right"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td ><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"><tbody><tr><td width="5" valign="top"><img src="http://i.dell.com/images/global/brand/ui/secondary.gif" border="0" width="4" height="17" /></td><td align="left" valign="middle"><a class="rg_lnk_desclink" href="http://forums.station.sony.com/content/products/RBIredirect.aspx?rbi=EESJuqJJunKzV5pVrEFOw3wYxiHXb 2uK9L/JIV67WOU3UkEJeYpQS9tWl0gNmEwJTIV4PG6HaI2Jo2Dj4+npD ieNXFA7CO4ZhLRvufulJ1CLPrYUFwNnCOuYGYWDXgdP+l8TSk4 LfppgFToS6DRLtKN2zfLzGbqCplmkUnFTL3k8KBld7GQAWpGyG KxTrVl6C89jg2bW++C/P9z7ZhVD7BKkJdaLx4uWYBRjErZfVT9AgqTnmZiQQDffE5LgKt rI">Add to Cart </a></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td><a class="lnk" href="http://forums.station.sony.com/content/products/RBIredirect.aspx?rbi=EESJuqJJunKzV5pVrEFOw3wYxiHXb 2uK9L/JIV67WOU3UkEJeYpQS9tWl0gNmEwJTIV4PG6HaI2Jo2Dj4+npD ieNXFA7CO4ZhLRvufulJ1CLPrYUFwNnCOuYGYWDXgdP+l8TSk4 LfppgFToS6DRLtDkt0/oouaf4Fxukrg7rQru2gBsKLIsu+vyibGq8zBkp0oPnXWItQrzY V0/IeldSeij2VMZfyX381BFyrjyZwSw="><img src="http://i.dell.com/img.aspx?p=RDxo95MAUg0YOTr9qJYKpr24xpRKPZDj9Cdz47v PCqDp%2fqjCQCHY%2bs5rOLLvwgO9oOHZ9VogydnKbCn175AHq KTnldRcI4aQxmgjq6HUFbXv%2bprbX2jT1NR1aLLvmVg%3d" border="0" vspace="4" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td valign="top"><div>Intel® Core™2 E8400 (6MB,3.0 GHz, 1333FSB) </div><div>Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-Bit </div><div>20.0" Dell ST2010 HD Widescreen Monitor </div><div>Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability </div><div>2GB1 Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM2 at 800MHz - 2 DIMMs </div><div>750GB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache </div><div>nVidia GeForce GTS 240, 1024MB </div><div>Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio </div><div>1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty,3 InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis4 </div><div><a class="rgSpecialBulletedList" href="#">Free 3-5 Day Shipping!</a> </div></td></tr></tbody></table>

Porcelina

09-07-2009, 03:09 PM

Here's the other one I was looking at. It's a bit more expensive...PROCESSOR Intel® Core™2 E8400 (6MB,3.0 GHz, 1333FSB)OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-BitCOOLING OPTION XPS Standard System CoolingVIDEO CARD nVidia GeForce GTS 240, 1024MBMEMORY 8GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz (4 DIMM)HARD DRIVE 1TB Performance RAID 0 (2 x 500GB SATA 3Gb/s 7200 RPM HDDs)GAMING ESSENTIALS Killer NIC Xeno Pro (????????)SOUND CARD Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Do I really need a terabit? And what's the killer NIC?

rexkwondo

09-07-2009, 03:17 PM

From my limited knowledge, I would recommend a better processor. I have the same one, and since EQ2 is so processor dependant, I would get a better one if I could.

Amamoass

09-07-2009, 03:54 PM

The second computer would probably make better use of the 64 bit OS due to the higher memory. For the hard drive size it would depend on what you're studying. Things like video and graphic design can use up space really fast.The killer NIC is just the network card. Since it's a gaming one it's probably gigabit with some optimization to give traffic from games a higher priority than normal browser traffic.

Ldarax

09-07-2009, 09:29 PM

For info on the Killer nic you can look here <a href="http://www.bigfootnetworks.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.bigfootnetworks.com/</a>

MurFalad

09-08-2009, 07:53 AM

I guess you are in the US so its hard to give recommendations on the best computer to go for, I'm personally not a fan of Dells myself since they tend to have a lot of middle of the road components in them (for example both of the computers you mentioned there have processors with 1333Mhz front side busses, but neither of them have memory clocked anywhere near in frequency, I know DDR2 is limited but it can do a little better, also I'd try and aim for DDR3 if the budget allows). But saying that their normal machines are still good value so you can't go too far wrong and if you like them then sure go for it, that system there would be decent for EQ2.The second system looks to not be worth the upgrade though, same processor and sames graphics, but an unneeded amount of memory (that's still a bit slow, 4GB looks to be plentiful right now). And the kill nic networking card is supposed to lower pings for connection speed, but every review I've seen of it has said its not worth the money, the only times I've seen a worthwhile improvement demonstrated in a review is when a system has been running multiple online tasks at once. In this case if you were getting poor connection speeds while playing EQ2 its much cheaper to just stop the background downloading while you play <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" /> And the 1TB raid is nice, but you would get better performance returns for your dollar from a faster processor, faster ram or a faster graphics card before you need to consider that. I'm guessing the second PC shown was alienware, its my opinion but you seem to pay a premium for performance from them.My advice would be to have a long look around, the processor and graphics card are key, and if the company gives more information about what's inside its normally a good sign, I'd recommend using this list as a good rule of thumb to judge how good the graphics card is <a href="http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/best-graphics-card,review-31661-7.html" target="_blank">August toms hardware graphics card summary</a>.The GTS-240 looks to be a renamed 9800 GT which is still a solid looking card, just beware of a system where you are paying $1000 for something with a $50 graphics card, that probably won't work out too well in the long term unless you are planning to upgrade the graphics anyway.And, good luck <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" />

MurFalad

09-08-2009, 08:00 AM

One other thing, if you end up going the route of buying a monitor seperately then I'd certainly recommend checking out these guys for a monitor review, zoom to pay 15 or so of each monitor review and they talk about gaming giving the latency of the monitor if you are an absolute perfectionist, or just have too much spare time on your hands <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" /><a href="http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/reviews.html" target="_blank">Prada monitor reviews</a>One other thing, there is a stickied thread above where people have posted in their computer spec's and how EQ2 runs for them (in a particulary busy spot), it should give you an idea of what you can achieve with particular hardware.

Porcelina

09-08-2009, 10:27 AM

Wow. Thank you for the replies. Both computers were Dell. Though Alienware has been owned by Dell for some time now, that particular one was JUST a Dell. Dells Alienware computers start at 3k and that's WAAAY too much for me.Ok, I'll look for something with a better processor and a better video card. The reason I went with so much Hard drive and Ram was because... The computer I'm on now, I got in 2001. I plan on having my next one for just as long and I don't want to be 5 years down the road going, "wow... I only have 500gigs?" I will keep in mind that with my curent requirements that is a lot of extra space and maybe I can cut that down to free up money to upgrade other things...Thanks again <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Porcelina

09-08-2009, 03:10 PM

Does anyone have a suggestion of where I could buy a nice computer? I go to Dell and there's no place to full customize. I click on their "gaming computers" and think they were refering to solitare with the cheap comps. When I find a bundle with a decent Video Card, the processor sucks. When I find one with a decent processor the video card sucks, or it's like 1 gig of ram. I want to be able to mix and match them. Nice Video Card, nice processor and a lot of ram.Thanks again! <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> I'm kind of computer illiterate (as far as posting in the tech forums goes) so I appreciate the help.

TSR-KenC

09-08-2009, 07:43 PM

I'd have to recommend Newegg once again for computer shopping as I've had nothing but great experiences with them. Though your options with them are either to pick up an already built system with little to no customization or buy everything part by part, which would likely be a bit cheaper. User reviews are helpful as well.Alienware systems, however, have broken quickly and efficiently for any buddies of mine that thought to buy one. While I can't say with 100% it's Alienware's fault (User error is user error!) it seems to be too common a trend. Though there may be other customers here who have had better experiences.

Porcelina

09-08-2009, 09:23 PM

Cool, thank you. Sorry to keep nagging <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/2786c5c8e1a8be796fb2f726cca5a0fe.gif" border="0" />So, of these... which would you chose. I'm not real savy on brand names and what's better. The only thing I don't think I like is the integrated soundcard. I don't know which has a better combo of processors, video cards and ram. Which one gives more bang for the buck? I wish I could rent one of you guys... All of these are within my price-range. Which one is better for running EQ2? ::cough:: and Vanguard ::cough::COMPUTER 1 (939.99)<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2">General Spec</td></tr><tr><td>Brand</td><td>CyberpowerPC</td></tr><tr><td>Model</td><td>Gamer Xtreme 1022</td></tr><tr><td>Recommended Usage</td><td>Gaming</td></tr><tr><td>Processor</td><td>Intel Core i7 860(2.8GHz)</td></tr><tr><td>Processor Main Features</td><td>64 bit Quad-Core Processor</td></tr><tr><td>Memory</td><td>4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333</td></tr><tr><td>Hard Drive</td><td>1TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 7200RPM HDD</td></tr><tr><td>Optical Drive 1</td><td>22X DVD±R/±RW Dual Layer Drive</td></tr><tr><td>Graphics</td><td>ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB PCI Express Video Card</td></tr><tr><td>Audio</td><td>Sound card - Integrated</td></tr><tr><td>Ethernet</td><td>Gigabit LAN</td></tr><tr><td>Power Supply</td><td>700W</td></tr><tr><td>Keyboard</td><td>Xtreme Gear USB Keyboard</td></tr><tr><td>Mouse</td><td>Xtreme Gear USB Mouse</td></tr><tr><td>Operating System</td><td>Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit(With Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon)</td></tr><tr><td>Special Features</td><td>CoolerMaster Elite 310 Gaming Case</td></tr></tbody></table> COMPUTER 2 (529.99)<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2">General Spec</td></tr><tr><td>Brand</td><td>iBUYPOWER</td></tr><tr><td>Model</td><td>Gamer Power 513</td></tr><tr><td>Recommended Usage</td><td>Gaming</td></tr><tr><td>Processor</td><td>AMD Athlon II X2 250(3.0GHz)</td></tr><tr><td>Processor Main Features</td><td>64 bit Dual Core Processor</td></tr><tr><td>Cache Per Processor</td><td>2 x 1MB L2 Cache</td></tr><tr><td>Memory</td><td>4GB DDR2 800</td></tr><tr><td>Hard Drive</td><td>500GB SATA II</td></tr><tr><td>Optical Drive 1</td><td>22X DL DVD+/-RW Drive</td></tr><tr><td>Graphics</td><td>NVIDIA GeForce 9500GT 1GB</td></tr><tr><td>Audio</td><td>Sound card - Integrated</td></tr><tr><td>Ethernet</td><td>10/100Mbps Ethernet</td></tr><tr><td>Power Supply</td><td>480W</td></tr><tr><td>Keyboard</td><td>iBUYPOWER USB Deluxe Keyboard</td></tr><tr><td>Mouse</td><td>iBUYPOWER USB Mouse</td></tr><tr><td>Operating System</td><td>Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bitFree MS Windows 7 upgrade</td></tr><tr><td>Special Features</td><td>NZXT Alpha Gaming Tower</td></tr></tbody></table> COMPUTER 3 (749.99)<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2">General Spec</td></tr><tr><td>Brand</td><td>CyberpowerPC</td></tr><tr><td>Model</td><td>Gamer Ultra 2011</td></tr><tr><td>Recommended Usage</td><td>Gaming</td></tr><tr><td>Processor</td><td>AMD Phenom II X2 550(3.1GHz)</td></tr><tr><td>Processor Main Features</td><td>64 bit Dual Core Processor</td></tr><tr><td>Cache Per Processor</td><td>2 x 512KB L2 Cache</td></tr><tr><td>Memory</td><td>4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333</td></tr><tr><td>Hard Drive</td><td>500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 7200RPM HDD</td></tr><tr><td>Optical Drive 1</td><td>22X DVD±R/±RW Dual Layer Drive</td></tr><tr><td>Graphics</td><td>NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 1GB PCI Express Video Card</td></tr><tr><td>Audio</td><td>Sound card - Integrated</td></tr><tr><td>Ethernet</td><td>Gigabit LAN</td></tr><tr><td>Power Supply</td><td>700W</td></tr><tr><td>Keyboard</td><td>Xtreme Gear USB Keyboard</td></tr><tr><td>Mouse</td><td>Xtreme Gear USB Mouse</td></tr><tr><td>Operating System</td><td>Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit(With Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon)</td></tr><tr><td>Special Features</td><td>AZZA Orion Gaming Case</td></tr></tbody></table> COMPUTER 4 (959.99)<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2">General Spec</td></tr><tr><td>Brand</td><td>CyberpowerPC</td></tr><tr><td>Model</td><td>Gamer Ultra 2013</td></tr><tr><td>Recommended Usage</td><td>Gaming</td></tr><tr><td>Processor</td><td>AMD Phenom II X4 945(3.0GHz)</td></tr><tr><td>Processor Main Features</td><td>64 bit Quad-Core Processor</td></tr><tr><td>Cache Per Processor</td><td>4 x 512KB L2 Cache</td></tr><tr><td>Memory</td><td>8GB (4x2GB) DDR2 800</td></tr><tr><td>Hard Drive</td><td>1TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 7200RPM HDD</td></tr><tr><td>Optical Drive 1</td><td>22X DVD±R/±RW Dual Layer Drive</td></tr><tr><td>Graphics</td><td>NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 1GB PCI Express Video Card</td></tr><tr><td>Audio</td><td>Sound card - Integrated</td></tr><tr><td>Ethernet</td><td>Gigabit LAN</td></tr><tr><td>Power Supply</td><td>800W</td></tr><tr><td>Keyboard</td><td>Xtreme Gear USB Keyboard</td></tr><tr><td>Mouse</td><td>Xtreme Gear USB Mouse</td></tr><tr><td>Operating System</td><td>Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit(With Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon)</td></tr><tr><td>Special Features</td><td>Raidmax Sagitta II Gaming Case</td></tr></tbody></table> COMPUTER 5 (779.99)<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2">General Spec</td></tr><tr><td>Brand</td><td>CyberpowerPC</td></tr><tr><td>Model</td><td>Gamer Infinity 7520</td></tr><tr><td>Recommended Usage</td><td>Gaming</td></tr><tr><td>Processor</td><td>Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400(2.66GHz)</td></tr><tr><td>Processor Main Features</td><td>64 bit Quad-Core Processor</td></tr><tr><td>Cache Per Processor</td><td>4MB L2 Cache</td></tr><tr><td>Memory</td><td>4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800</td></tr><tr><td>Hard Drive</td><td>500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 7200RPM HDD</td></tr><tr><td>Optical Drive 1</td><td>22X DVD±R/±RW Dual Layer Drive</td></tr><tr><td>Graphics</td><td>NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 1GB PCI Express Video Card</td></tr><tr><td>Audio</td><td>Sound card - Integrated</td></tr><tr><td>Ethernet</td><td>10/100Mbps LAN</td></tr><tr><td>Power Supply</td><td>680W</td></tr><tr><td>Keyboard</td><td>Xtreme Gear USB keyboard</td></tr><tr><td>Mouse</td><td>Xtreme Gear USB mouse</td></tr><tr><td>Operating System</td><td>Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit</td></tr><tr><td>Special Features</td><td>Coolermaster Elite 310 case</td></tr></tbody></table> COMPUTER 6 (1,089.99)<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2">General Spec</td></tr><tr><td>Brand</td><td>iBUYPOWER</td></tr><tr><td>Model</td><td>Gamer Extreme 906i</td></tr><tr><td>Recommended Usage</td><td>Gaming</td></tr><tr><td>Processor</td><td>Intel Core i7 860 (2.8GHz)</td></tr><tr><td>Processor Main Features</td><td>64 bit Quad-Core Processor</td></tr><tr><td>Memory</td><td>8GB DDR3 1333</td></tr><tr><td>Hard Drive</td><td>1TB SATAII</td></tr><tr><td>Optical Drive 1</td><td>22X DL DVD+/-RW Drive</td></tr><tr><td>Graphics</td><td>NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 1GB</td></tr><tr><td>Audio</td><td>Sound card - Integrated</td></tr><tr><td>Ethernet</td><td>10/100/1000Mbps</td></tr><tr><td>Power Supply</td><td>700W</td></tr><tr><td>Keyboard</td><td>iBUYPOWER USB Deluxe Keyboard</td></tr><tr><td>Mouse</td><td>iBUYPOWER USB Mouse</td></tr><tr><td>Operating System</td><td>Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bitFree MS Windows 7 Upgrade</td></tr><tr><td>Special Features</td><td>NZXT Lexa S Gaming Tower</td></tr></tbody></table>

TSR-DanielH

09-08-2009, 09:51 PM

I would recommend computer 5 for a good price/performance balance. Computers 1 and 6 are more powerful but more expensive as well. If you aren't concerned about spending some extra money then those are good options.At the moment I would have a hard time recommending an AMD processor. Intel has been dominating the market for price/performance for a while now. If you are looking for a serious value then you could even wait and get one of the I5 intel chips.

TSR-KenC

09-08-2009, 09:54 PM

I'd have to concur with Daniel. #5 is probably the most price efficient power package of them all. Though #1 and #6 are certainly nice too. Definitely one of those three though, depending on how much you're willing to spend.

Porcelina

09-10-2009, 12:22 PM

Cool. Thanks guys, much appreciated! <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />