Expert: Bobbert - 10/21/2007

Question
QUESTION: I have been looking around for a god computer that i can use for gaming and music at a low price. I am looking at some dells but i can't decide what to buy. My price range is under $900 and i do not want to pay extra for a huge hard drive because i will never use 500GB anyway. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

ANSWER: Honestly, the hard-drive doesn't contribute that much to the price, 500GB drives retail for around ~$95, so I wouldn't be terribly worried about that (and if you don't need a ton of space, just go with whatever the default configuration calls for).

Which models, in particular, are you looking at?

-bob


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I was looking at the Slim 530/531s but i am not sure if those are good choices for games or not.

ANSWER: No, neither of those would be favorable choices for gaming, based on the available graphics processors that Dell lists for them. I would suggest looking at the Inspiron desktop series and the XPS desktop series, with the GeForce 8600 and 8800 series graphics boards.

-bob


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: So is the graphics card more important than the processor when dealing with games? If I have to pick another one which would be the cheapest while still having the complex-game playing capability? Do I have to worry about anything besides the graphics card?

Answer
To be honest, everything matters regardless of your application load, you shouldn't be ignoring component selection, generally speaking, because its all going to contribute to the price and performance of the system overall.

Gaming relies heavily on everything the system can give it, it needs a fast processor to handle the core elements of the game, it needs a fast graphics processor to handle the 3D rendering, it needs a capable audio codec to handle audio output, it needs enough memory to hold everything open, it needs enough disk storage and bandwidth to meet its storage needs, etc

As I've said, I'd suggest looking at the Inspiron desktops (530 and 531) equipped with the GeForce 8600 series boards, and the XPS desktops equipped with the GeForce 8600 series boards, or the GeForce 8800 series boards.

I would also ensure the system has at least 2GB of RAM, and at least 200GB of available storage to allow for games to be installed without worries (consider that any modern game is going to want at least 3-6GB of space to install, also based on your desire to store music, consider that a music library can grow very quickly).

-bob