c£800 on a Desktop i7 type system

[aeonf242]

This is a very empty forum :-)

I've finally decided to buy a pre-built gaming system for about £839

My eye is on the Dell XPS Studio 435

Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 920 (2.66GHz, 8MB cache, 4.8GT/sec)
Home Premium
6144MB (6x1024) 1067MHz DDR3 Tri Channel
1.5TB Hard Disk (7200)
Single 1GB Nvidia GeForce GTS 240 Graphics Card
Internal Enhanced Wireless 802.11n PCIe Card - Europe
DVD Drive

All for £839

Anyone got any better suggestions?

Thanks

[DavieJG]

This is a little unbalanced for a gaming build in my opinion.

You have £350 or so worth of motherboard and CPU and only £90 worth of graphics card which is your main component for gaming.

A £250 / £150 split would give better perfromance in games.

Something like an E8400 core 2 with a good p45 mobo and then get a GTX275 graphics. It'll be worse for video encoding etc but will give a marked improvement in games, especially if you're wanting to game at 1680 x 1050 or above.

[rushholme]

The GTS 240 is a horrible card for a new gaming system.

It is identical to 2007's Geforce 8800.

Go for a minimum of a HD 4870 1GB or GTX 260 896MB.

A quad core core2duo or Phenom II would save a heap of cash for a better GFX card and monitor, if you need one.

If you can wait a fortnight, prices and options should be much better.. core i5 ?

(ATi and Intel are both launching new flagship products this week)

[rushholme]

DinoPC do good looking systems: I just specced a similar model to the Dell, but with a HD 4890 for £750 (no monitor and Q9550).

No idea about their reputation, but they do have free 3 year warranty

Edit: I forgot to check Mesh - they have great products and prices are keen. www.meshcomputers.com

[aeonf242]

If you can wait a fortnight, prices and options should be much better.. core i5 ?

(ATi and Intel are both launching new flagship products this week)

Thanks, good idea.

I was also wondering if Windows 7 release would force a clear out :-)

[aeonf242]

New Core 15 system on Dell for £799..seems overpriced!

Components
Intel Core i5-750 (2.66GHz, 8MB, L3 Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 (64 BIT) - English
Microsoft® Works 9 - English
1Yr Premium Warranty Support
3072MB 1067 MHz Tri Channel DDR3 SDRAM [3x1024] (12gb RAM a £650 option!)
320GB Serial ATA (7200RPM) Hard Drive
512MB DDR2 ATI® Radeon™ HD 4350 graphics card

[rushholme]

Have you had a look at Mesh?

[aeonf242]

Have you had a look at Mesh?

Yes, I wasn't that impressed..seemed very similar prices to Dell and I know that Dell customer service and built quality is excellent (in the 3+ systems I've had over the last few years)

[rushholme]

How about getting a base i5 OR i7 system from Dell and putting your own GFX card in...

Re. Mesh, this looks good for £599

Intel® Core™ i5 750 Quad Core Processor
Windows Vista™ Home Premium - 64bit
Free Upgrade to Windows 7 Option
4GB DDR3 Memory + 500GB Fast Hard Drive
22" Iiyama Full HD (1920x1080)-DVI,spkrs,5ms
1GB ATi Radeon HD4870 Graphics
22x DVD Writer & 52-in-1 Media Card Reader
Stylish Midi-Tower ATX Chassis + 550W PSU - Silver
Plus additional feartures...

[aeonf242]

How about getting a base i5 OR i7 system from Dell and putting your own GFX card in...
Re. Mesh, this looks good for £599

Do you work for Mesh :-)
Sorry no trying to slur your help :-)
Thanks for the heads up, I'm not really impressed with Mesh...maybe I should be

How about getting a base i5 OR i7 system from Dell and putting your own GFX card in...

I've normally found it quite difficult to update Dell XPS systems as the boxes tend to be half height or oddly made...mind you I normally go for the compact boxes e.g. Studio XPS

Here's what Dell advised me:
Please check this link for the Studio XPS 8000 desktop It comes with
Intel Core I 5 Processor built on P 55 Chip set upto 1.8 GB Graphics card
which would be very good for Gaming you will also find an option
to go for the high tech wireless Glasses
and also a Samsung 3 D monitor

[Phage]

I saw that. The limitations of the Dells (and why I chose to build) was the single slot available for the GPU, so upgrading is severly limited. Of course the XPS 8000 is a i5 750 at that price. For the same money I built my sigged machine.
OTOH you do get some support and warranty. You pays your money - you takes your choice.

[aeonf242]

I saw that. The limitations of the Dells (and why I chose to build) was the single slot available for the GPU, so upgrading is severly limited. Of course the XPS 8000 is a i5 750 at that price. For the same money I built my sigged machine.
OTOH you do get some support and warranty. You pays your money - you takes your choice.

Thanks good points...
I must admit I haven't built my own PC in about 5 years and the range of option is mind boggling....

[Phage]

Thanks good points...
I must admit I haven't built my own PC in about 5 years and the range of option is mind boggling....

Give the 3XS team at Scan a call and see what they can come up with. I'll bet that it's better and/or cheaper.

[tasman26]

I would go with

Asus P8Z68
intel 2500K
8GB ram
Geforce 570Ti
1TB Hdd ( possibly extra 120GB SSD)
24 monitor

[UseItNow]

I would go with

Asus P8Z68
intel 2500K
8GB ram
Geforce 570Ti
1TB Hdd ( possibly extra 120GB SSD)
24 monitor

Why would you revive a 2 year old thread?

[abe46]

very nice!

I am looking at buying a system from Scan. One of their 3XS ones, or the overclocked bundles