extreme edition for not so extreme price

[dafink]

Ok, well I had originally decided not to get a new pc whether by build or buy till may. Going to school part-time so i'm not working full time and it'd just be easier to concentrate on what I wanted then.

One of my friends however knew I was starting to look at a new pc and said he had a work friend who's selling his because his new position has him traveling alot so he's getting a labtop.

The pc he got sounds pretty sweet and is damn cheap for what you still have to pay retail, but I won't buy anymore without talking to the experts first, with all the help and advice you've given already (you're experts to me!)

It's a Dell extreme edition so one of those nice silver/blue paint jobs.
Intel Pentium 4 3.2 ghz extreme edition w/ hyperthreading
2GB of RAM
250GB SATA drives with RAID config options
PNY NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT Graphics Card
DVD top bay
Dual Layer DVD burner 2nd bay
Audigy 2
500W Power Supply

Grand total for all that....$800

From what Dell used to charge for that pc and prices i've been able to find online for the processor alone, it's not just a steal but a gift from the gods.

I was wondering how it'd handle for current games and future proofing. With this it would definitly allow me to play all the games I can't because of that 2nd hd that crapped out on me.

What about with regards to Supreme Commander, Crysis, and any other games that are taking use of dual core. Yea they're not exclusively that yet but they do run most fluidly under that setup.

Would I be having to look at upgrading this in two months time because it can't handle dx10, vista or some of the games coming out in the near future? Or would the pc be great for a while and then when it's time to upgrade whether by new processor or mobo that'd it be worth it?

[saphalline]

I wouldn't go higher than $650 for that hardware.

It's decent enough for gaming, but the only thing that comes to my mind when I see those specs is UPGRADE! Not that you'd need to upgrade everything right away, but when the time comes, you're looking at a partial core upgrade. Pentium Extreme Edition? Intel spat upon the Pentium name when they released the Core's. For gaming performance, I'd put my money on a C2D E6300 (which you can get for less than $200) with appropriate platform any day! And the mobo/chipset? That's gonna have to go at the next upgrade cycle. It most likely can't handle Conroe, much less Penryn due for release later this year. You'll also need to check the RAM. Is it DDR2-667 at the very least? If not, that will need to be changed as well.

Some other minor upgrade issues include the vid card and sound card. I'm sure you're aware of the vid card's role in gaming ;) so that upgrade down the line is obvious. But the fact that it's an old 6800 GT doesn't help its case in 2007. It's getting a bit gray on top these days, easily beaten by a modern $200-250 vid card, although I'd suggest waiting for a suitable value version of a DX10 vid card. The sound card is also merely decent. Audigy 2's pale in comparison to the mighty X-Fi in all its incarnations, and moving forward into DX10 & Vista territory only makes it all the more necessary to have an X-Fi. An X-Fi is near the top of my current upgrade path, as well. Put it on your list. ;)

Overall, it's a nice high-end system from 2 years ago, but certainly not worth $800 compared to today's hardware. Most of the problem is that the upgrade path is non-existent (assuming you consider upgrading in 6-9 months). You'll be looking at a new CPU, mobo, and vid card at the very least. You can barter down to $650 if you want. But personally, if I were in the buying market, I'd cap it at $600. It simply needs too much upgrading in the 2007 gaming hardware market.

[dafink]

Hey Saphalline, upgrade is definitely what came to mind as well with it.

Not sure what the mobo is or if it'd even be upgradeable to a higher processor. Mobo's are hard enough to replace on a pc you build, but on a Dell who knows. The XPS lines are supposed to be more upgradeable but Dell's never been known for fully upgradeable pc's either...which worried me.

Didn't even think to ask about the RAM specifics but I will, good question.

As for the graphics card, soon as I googled it and saw reviews going back to '04 I knew pci-express was out of the question. Any new mobo i'd get would require a new card because express is on all them, but i'd get a new card regardless.

Sounds like i'd end up putting more cash into upgrading this after already paying $800 then to just get a whole brand new one myself.