Is this a dcent computer?

[Bob Kohm]

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0363484

I need a machine to surf, do some photo stuff, hold music, play games, etc-- general household "main" comp. Not sure on the capacity/reliability differences between the current iterations of Intel & Athlon chipsets, etc. This one is on sale as a refurb at MicroCenter-- I have no issue with it being a refurb, but do want a machine that won;t crap out in a year or two and which I can be reasonably certain will play a game if I buy one. Thoughts?

Thanks!

[TranaGreg]

http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0363484

I need a machine to surf, do some photo stuff, hold music, play games, etc-- general household "main" comp. Not sure on the capacity/reliability differences between the current iterations of Intel & Athlon chipsets, etc. This one is on sale as a refurb at MicroCenter-- I have no issue with it being a refurb, but do want a machine that won;t crap out in a year or two and which I can be reasonably certain will play a game if I buy one. Thoughts?

Thanks!

Hardware is way beyond typical software these days in terms of power capabilities, so yes, it's decent. 1TB (@7200 rpm) will hold a ton of stuff.

Of course if you wanted to run video editting software or anything like that, it would be different.

[Bob Kohm]

I know nothing about video cards-- is the one in this capable of handling recent games and such, or would I need to upgrade it?

[Stephen]

Not really recent games. You could probably handle something like World of Warcraft on a medium setting, but that is definitely not a video card aimed at gaming.

[TranaGreg]

I know nothing about video cards-- is the one in this capable of handling recent games and such, or would I need to upgrade it?

I hadn't noticed that - it is an older card and probably couldn't handle current game requirements, esp. the more intense ones (certainly couldn't handle the upcoming Call of Duty Moden Warfare 3).

[cardboardbox]

I kind of like these if you're getting a pc that cant play games: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-034-_-Product

Just add ram and hard drive and mount it to the back of your monitor.

[johnnya24]

Specs look good for an every day house computer ... you will need to upgrade the graphics card (and possibly the amount of RAM) in order to play the latest games. You can do that for about $50-$100 ... and the longer you leave that upgrade the better. Would be better to find a DDR3 unit in order to be future proof ... but for your needs it shouldn't really matter.

[Controller Jacobs]

When I browsed around recently (newegg, dell refurb outlet, etc), it seemed like I could get a good computer for around $650.

Here's an updated ranking of videocards, young and old: link That card is ranked 822nd.

[Bob Kohm]

When I browsed around recently (newegg, dell refurb outlet, etc), it seemed like I could get a good computer for around $650.

Here's an updated ranking of videocards, young and old: link That card is ranked 822nd.

How are you defining a "good" computer? Kinda starting from scratch here

[Controller Jacobs]

Hitting the Del outlet right now (typically refurbs), here are a few desktops:
I filtered by 1GB+ video, then found the last one by filtering on Core i CPU as an example of a higher-end CPU.

-------------------------------------------------------
Price: $439.00
Inspiron 580
Processor: Intel Core i3 550 (3.2GHz, 4M Cache, 2C/4T)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
Inspiron Desktop 580 MiniTower
500 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
4 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (4 DIMMs)
16X DVD +/- RW Optical Drive
1 GB ATI Radeon HD 5450 DDR3
-------------------------------------------------------
Price: $559.00

Studio - 540
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
Studio 540 Mini-Tower: Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q8300 (4MB L2, 2.5GHz, 1333FSB)
320 GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
16X DVD +/- RW Optical Drive
1024MB nVidia GeForce GTS 240
-----------------------------------------------
Price: $579.00

Studio XPS 7100
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 945 Processor (3.0GHz, 8MB)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
Studio XPS 7100 Desktop
1 TB SATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM)
4 GB DDR3 NON-ECC SDRAM 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)
16X DVD +/- RW Optical Drive
1 GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5450

-----------------------------------------
Price: $579.00

Studio - 540

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
Studio 540 Mini-Tower: Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q8200 (4MB L2, 2.33GHz, 1333FSB)
250 GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
8 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (4 DIMMs)
16X DVD +/- RW Optical Drive
1024MB nVidia GeForce GTS 240

-----------------------------------------
Price: $649.00

Studio XPS 8100
Processor: Intel Core i7-860 Processor (8MB Cache, 2.80GHz)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
Studio XPS 8100 Desktop
500 GB SATA Hard Drive 3.5in (7200 RPM)
8 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (4 DIMMs)
16X DVD +/- RW Optical Drive
1024MB nVidia GeForce GTS 240

[Controller Jacobs]

And here is PassMark's CPU Benchmarks for common CPUs: link

[johnnya24]

And here is PassMark's CPU Benchmarks for common CPUs: link

Handy ... bookmarked

[johnnya24]

Hitting the Del outlet right now (typically refurbs), here are a few desktops:
I filtered by 1GB+ video, then found the last one by filtering on Core i CPU as an example of a higher-end CPU.

-------------------------------------------------------
Price: $439.00
Inspiron 580
Processor: Intel Core i3 550 (3.2GHz, 4M Cache, 2C/4T)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
Inspiron Desktop 580 MiniTower
500 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
4 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (4 DIMMs)
16X DVD +/- RW Optical Drive
1 GB ATI Radeon HD 5450 DDR3
-------------------------------------------------------
Price: $559.00

Studio - 540
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
Studio 540 Mini-Tower: Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q8300 (4MB L2, 2.5GHz, 1333FSB)
320 GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
16X DVD +/- RW Optical Drive
1024MB nVidia GeForce GTS 240
-----------------------------------------------
Price: $579.00

Studio XPS 7100
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 945 Processor (3.0GHz, 8MB)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
Studio XPS 7100 Desktop
1 TB SATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM)
4 GB DDR3 NON-ECC SDRAM 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)
16X DVD +/- RW Optical Drive
1 GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5450

-----------------------------------------
Price: $579.00

Studio - 540

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
Studio 540 Mini-Tower: Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q8200 (4MB L2, 2.33GHz, 1333FSB)
250 GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
8 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (4 DIMMs)
16X DVD +/- RW Optical Drive
1024MB nVidia GeForce GTS 240

-----------------------------------------
Price: $649.00

Studio XPS 8100
Processor: Intel Core i7-860 Processor (8MB Cache, 2.80GHz)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
Studio XPS 8100 Desktop
500 GB SATA Hard Drive 3.5in (7200 RPM)
8 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (4 DIMMs)
16X DVD +/- RW Optical Drive
1024MB nVidia GeForce GTS 240

Those are all lame (but adequate) graphics cards. However, the rest looks very solid, and certainly better than Bob's originally posted PC.

For an extra couple of hundreds bucks that bottom unit has the core components to be future proof for a very long time (i7 & 8gb DDR3 RAM). In a couple of years upgrade with a budget GPU ($50-80), which will be the equivalent of the fastest consumer models of today, and a 3/4TB hard drive, which will be about $60-80.

According to CJ's list, the CPU alone is worth $464.

[Piney Boy]

Those are all lame (but adequate) graphics cards. However, the rest looks very solid, and certainly better than Bob's originally posted PC.

For an extra couple of hundreds bucks that bottom unit has the core components to be future proof for a very long time (i7 & 8gb DDR3 RAM). In a couple of years upgrade with a budget GPU ($50-80), which will be the equivalent of the fastest consumer models of today, and a 3/4TB hard drive, which will be about $60-80.

According to CJ's list, the CPU alone is worth $464.

I agree with johnnya24. Go with the bottom one on the dell list. The one you posted has a graphics card that was an entry level chip back in 2004-2005. Stay away from it. Doubt your photo editing will be fun with that one.

If you want the 1TB HD go with the AMD Phenom II X4 for $579. Nice machine, quad core, but not as good as the Core i7 and the Geforce chip is better in it. The PassMark rankings give the GeForce 12.9 vs a 7.85 for the Radeon 5450.

[Controller Jacobs]

Here are two from NewEgg right now.

I filtered by
recertified
gaming

-----------------------------------
$624.99

Recertified: ASUS Essentio CG1330-05 Desktop PC Phenom II X6 1035T(2.6GHz) 8GB DDR3 1TB HDD Capacity ATI Radeon HD 5750 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Type: Gaming
Form Factor: Mid Tower
Colors: Glossy Black
Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 1035T 2.6GHz
Model #: CG1330-05
Item #: N82E16883220058
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy

-----------------------------------
$639.99

Recertified: ASUS Essentio CG1330-07 Desktop PC Phenom II X6 1045T(2.7GHz) 8GB DDR3 1TB HDD Capacity ATI Radeon HD 5450 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Type: Gaming
Form Factor: Mid Tower
Colors: Glossy Black
Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 1045T 2.8GHz
Model #: CG1330-07
Item #: N82E16883220070
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy