The time has cometh for me to upgrade the dinosaur that I am using as a computer atm. My current specs are:
1.8ghz processor
764mb RAM
256 nvidia 5200fx card
Soundblaster
60gb Hard drive
17" not flat monitor

The computer is about 4-5 years old now & just doesn't cut it when it comes to gaming now

So I need advice please, does anyone know of a good place for purchasing a computer (cheeply). I can't afford to pay much more than £850 atm, so thats what I'm setting my computer price at. I have looked around a wee bit & found this:

Dell 9200

Components
PROCESSOR = Intel® Viiv™ Core™ 2 Duo E6400 Processor (2.13GHz, 1066MHz, 2MB)
OPERATING SYSTEM = Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 (Incl Operating System Re-installation CD) - English
VISTA UPGRADE = MCE to Vista Premium Upgrade
SUPPORT SERVICES = Collect & Return, 1 Year Service only
MONITOR = Dell™ 19" Value Flat Panel (E197FP) - UK/Irish
MEMORY = 2048MB Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz [2x1024] Memory
HARD DRIVE = 320GB Serial ATA RAID 0 Stripe [2x160GB 7200rpm drives with DataBurst™ cache]
OPTICAL DRIVE = 16x DVD +/- RW Drive
GRAPHICS CARD = 256MB nVidia® GeForce® 7900GS graphics card

Accessories
SOUND CARD = Sound Blaster® X-Fi Xtreme Music PCI Soundcard
SPEAKERS = Dell™ A525 Speakers with Subwoofer
KEYBOARD = Dell™ Entry Quietkey USB Keyboard - UK/Ire (QWERTY)
MOUSE = Dell 2 Button USB Scroll Optical Mouse - Black
FLOPPY/MEDIA DRIVES = Internal 13-in-1 Media Card Reader & 1.44MB Floppy Drive
MODEMS = No Modem (I have external DSL anyway)
TV TUNERS = Free Analogue TV Tuner & Media Center Edition Remote Control

Services & Software
SECURITY SOFTWARE = No Security/Anti-Virus Protection
MICROSOFT SOFTWARE = Microsoft® Works 8 - English (have office already)
PHOTOGRAPHY SOFTWARE = No Photo Organising & Sharing Software/No Photo Editing Software (& photo software)

Also included with your system
Gedis Bundle Reference List D01925a Dimension 9200
Shipping Documents 9200 Documentation with UK Power Cord
Adobe Reader Adobe Reader 7.0.8 - English
Order Information Dimension Order - UK
Standard Warranty Collect & Return, 1 Year Service only
Dell Internet Order Dell Internet Order.
Promotions Hidden Option Class Free Upgrade to Microsoft Media Center from XP Home
NETWORK ASSISTANT Network Assist 1.2 - 90day
SYSTEM MEDIA Resource CD - contains Diagnostics and Drivers



So basically this would be 2-3x processor, 2-3x RAM, Better GX card & Sound card, 5x HD, & biggerr monitor 2" more flat monitor. With current offers available for the next few days the above package is £870, which includes £110 off (internet), some free shit, Free shiping/delivery (save £60).

What do you guys think? help needed. Should i go for something like this, or can you come up with a reliable computer for gaming as cheep as poss without cutting back on gaming.

I have a number of options on this package for upgrading aswell, is there anything that it really needs that I haven't listed there?

Do you really want the media center edition? I think a downgrade to Win XP Pro would do fine too. Unless ofcourse you're gonna hook up your machine to cable then leave it.

Also get a 3 year warranty plan, it's a few quid more probably but seeing your old rig lasted for over 4 years it might be wise to increase the length of you're warranty. Maybe even go for an onsite warranty pack.

Other bits look pretty decent and future proof.

Looks shit hot for the money tbh

My only query would be the refresh rate on the 19" flat panel.

I'd ensure it's under 16ms, preferably under 12 ms if you want to avoid any kind of ghosting. My 17" is 12ms and I get no ghosting at all in games. I have an old dell 19" flat panel that's 20ms and that gives me ghosting

M

Monitor is 8ms response time. Input is analogue. Nice specs. Have you considered whether you might want a widescreen monitor?

Nice responses guys thanks, it makes me feel a little more confident about the package. It has been quite some time since I kept up with computers & system anaylsis. Here is the direct link to wear I built the PC http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&kc=DFS00002&l=en&oc=D01925a&rbc=D01925a&s=dhs&sbc=ukdhsftdppdesktop2, Its kinda fun to build PCs all day long & see how much money you don't have to spend

Do I really want the media center edition? Well, MCE uprade comes free with this package & I didn't see the point in going for the downgraded version which would be same price. Also the Vista upgrade is another free thing to upgrade the MCE... so again I figured why not?

The basic cover packages are 1 year min, included in price
2 year £95
3 year £153
Standard packages (includes accidental damage)
3 year £200
Premium (above & theft coverage)
3 year £223

I am reluctant to get cover packages even though Dell have great support cos essentially its another chunk of cash to a system that is already expensive for me.

On to monitor, my computer desktop cabinet is only 18" hieght by 24" width, this 19" would look quite small in comparison to the 17" chunky monitor I have now. Would I get much out of a widescreen? the cheapest one is 20" & £83 more. After that yer looking at £100s more to get larger screens

Goose, this is specs for the monitor:
current price £181.01
Features & Benefits
Monitor size and type : 19" (48.3cm) active matrix TFT
Resolution : 1280 x 1024 (SXGA)
Response time / Brightness / Contrast Ratio : 8ms / 300cd/m² / 500:1
Dimensions (h x w x d) : 401 x 413 x 144 mm
Weight : 4.1 kg
Inputs : Analog
Audio capability : Optional AS501PA soundbar
VESA mounting compatible / Security slot : Yes (100mm) / Yes

I have toyed with the next lvl up for monitor to a 19" digital/analogue, but I don't know if thats worth the extra £40

Other features I have been thinking about are:
Wireless mouse & keyboard +£30 (other than minor freedom, I can't see me needing to leave the desk & take keyboard with . No I don't want to play WoW on the toilet)
Web Cam +£20 (Not essential)
Belkin 6-Socket SurgeMaster® with Telephone and AV Protection +£16 (Is this essential?)

Thanks again guys

if it's free I'll stfu

Analogue vs digital is a noticable difference, not sure if it's worth that tho. 8ms is a good response time tho, and won't get you any noticable ghosting.

IMO if you're gonna spend antoher 40 quid go for the digital screen rather then wireless keyboards and stuff, at that price the quality and latency (on the mouse especially) is probably gonna annoy the hell out of you.

Computer on order, should get it around the 10th

I decided just to stick with the basic monitor, depending on what happens with TV in the near future I might just upgrade it in a while when I have saved up some cash again.

I'm all excited its been a long time since I got a new toy, I think the last was PS2 when it came out.... 3 years ago??

Id advise some form of UPS tbh.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Mod ... &doy=31m12

thats on mine and theres an APC500 on lollys.

You never know when the powers gonna drop