SolidDigital

I'm looking at getting a dell xps 400 with the pentium D 830 and I do quite a bit of gaming, but not sure if it's worth going from the 128 to 256. here are the options I have:

128MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon X300 SE HyperMemory [Included in Price]

256MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon X600 SE HyperMemory [add $40 or $1/month2]

256MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) nVidia GeForce 6800 [add $150 or $4/month2]

Is the Geforce worth 110 more over the 256 radeon?

Joe

If you're a gamer, the 256 G-Force 6800 is the best one of the bunch and probably worth the extra money for the games out there now. That being said it's already an "old" card and sells for approximately $200, so you can see Dell isn't giving you a screaming deal on it but then again the ATI 600 is going in the $50/60 range - Of the three choices you have, I'd think if you're a gamer, you would be disappointed with the detail and texture quality of the other two compared to the 6800 - just my opinion.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Yes, get the 6800 one, then get NVIDIAs lastest drivers for it from their site and update it.
That is update after you have uninstalled the old drivers first.

SolidDigital

alright I'm going to go with the Geforce then.. I missed this one when I copied them: 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX [add $430 or $12/month2] but I'm kinda trying to keep this pc on the cheap side lol

Localmotion

have u condsidered building one yourself? It would be A LOT cheaper and you could build one better.

I am in RIchmond and could help you if you'd like

if not, go to www.fatwallet.com and look for dell coupons...there is a 10% off on xps.

NCSU-4runner

buying a pre-built system from dell is gonna cost you like 30% more than doing it yourself at the very least, computer components are easy to assemble. Do it yourself. If you need help choosing parts theres plenty of people here willing to give thier opinions.

SolidDigital

wow thanks for that link, that'll definitely help..
I built my current computer a couple years ago and let me tell you it was a pain. My friend helped me and he was rough with the mobo so that broke, had to get another.. messed up two cpu's trying to get the heatsink on em which ended up being the wrong size for it lol AND it's always run hot so I have to keep the side of the case off all the time which is loud.
The video card is either partly bad or the mobo cause sometimes it starts up like there's no card in it and I have to wiggle it to get it working again lol..

So instead of going through the hastle of building one, I decided to get a dell or something like it. It seems like a good deal for the speed of it.. I know someone that has had nothing but problems with his dell, mainly the video card drivers. So hopefully getting the better video card will work out better with compatibility also..

Localmotion

if you are going to go with dell..make sure it has a "aftermarket" mobo.

the dell mobos are made by dell and are junk

SolidDigital

doesn't look like there's an option to change that on their site though.. Think it'd have problems down the road with theirs then?

here's how I set it up:
Pentium® D Processor 840 with Dual Core Technology (3.20GHz, 800FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition
256MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) nVidia GeForce 6800
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs
80GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 48x CD-RW Drive
Video Ready w/o Monitor [subtract $100]
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy® ADVANCED HD Audio
Dell USB Enhanced Multimedia Keyboard
Dell Optical USB Mouse
Total Price $1,359.87

Localmotion

Ive always loved the AMD processors. I like the AMD 64 3800+ FSB 939... i will be getting that next.. Ive always loved AMD for gaming and overall durability/speed. I would get the smallest HD they offer and just buy another one and add it in. Ive heard of people wanting to upgrade and not being able to b/c of the mobo. Also a lot of people have mobo problems. For me, I like to have complete control of my computer, if somethign breaks, i wnat to be able to go and buy a new part on my own.

SolidDigital

Well if I get this comp and there are no problems with it, I'd probably only add more ram in a year or two and if it still works good after that, maybe a better video card. That'd be the most for upgrades though.

Thanks for all the help

Localmotion

the great thing about it is Dells warranty...it is rock solid.

Good luck.

Are you a gamer? if so which games do you want to run?

do you use a lot of editing tools?

SolidDigital

Just counter strike source, and going from that to multiple browser windows while downloading files and running trillian and aim. Also waiting for a new GTA game to come out.. san andreas was fun.

Localmotion

that should have NO problem running it. The XPS is overkill for just cs source imo. i am running an AMD XP 2200+ and run that game perfectly fine. I have a nvidia geforce 4200ti and it runs fine.

BTW: the ati or the nVidia would work fine...i personally like nVidia

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Have you played on www.allprogamer.com 's CS:S server yet?
That is the server I co-run, and it is ranked in the low 30s for the whole world for CS:S.

My friend Andy runs the CS:S side, and I run the UT2004 side of it.

SolidDigital

nope don't think I've played on that server yet, I'll have to check it out. Lately I've been playing the surf maps, it gets addicting.. that is after I practiced for about 20 hours trying to figure it out =p

Corey

iTrader: (1)

The server is full all the time.
Set up for 34, right now there are 33 in it.
Also there is a 64 slot running too, but I do not have the stats thing up for it yet.
http://www.allprogamer.com/monitor.html

SolidDigital

well I got the system exactly like I showed the specs above, and have been happy with it overall except for the long distance view in css.. I've tried about every video setting and resolution, but no matter what map it's always blury in the distance.. http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4..._final0001.jpg

Got the the updated driver off nvidia's web site too..