Well, you guys are always the best with computer advice, so I’m coming here first. I want to get a new Dell computer, and a nice one at that, as I have been using a PII 266 for over five years now. I’d like something fast, with a large hard drive, and the capability to play all the latest 3D games.
I was looking at Dimension 4550 desktops, configuring them a million different ways, using my employee discount and everything. In the end, the best deals are always on the pre-configured models. Of course, those are usually configured for low-end, not high-end, or for some specialty I don’t need, like video editing.
Now I just happened upon a great deal on a Dimension 8250. It is pre-configured for medium level processor but with the nice touches I wanted, and it is a great price, cheaper than some 4550s. So I understand that the 8250 uses a different type of memory and has a few other differences from the 4550, but my question is this:
The 8250 setup comes with the awesome video card I want (Radeon 9700 Pro), but the processor speed is a little slower than I wanted (It’s 2.4 gHz with 512 MB RAM, where I was looking at 2.8s before). Everything else is perfect about this computer . . . but will I be missing out on anything because the processor is a little slow? I realize it’s very fast comparatively speaking, but considering they make faster ones, will my video card not be put to good use?
Provided I was looking at the correct systems, I really don’t think you’d see any difference between the 2.4 and the 2.8 systems. They both appear to have a 533Mhz system bus and a 512k L2 cache. Of course, I’m a developer not a gamer so I really don’t know all the ins and outs of what makes a good gaming machine.
2.4 Ghz is hardly a slow processor. I agree with the others here - you won’t see a difference between that and a 2.8 Ghz. Gaming wise, the video card is more important than the processor speed. Also, memory is important. Go for a Gig if you can afford it.
I have a Dell pretty close to what you describe. I’ve got a Ti4600 instead of the ATI, but it’s a Dell 8200 (basically the 8250, just purchased last August), with a 2.53 Ghz processor. Every game I’ve put in it runs at the speed of light.
As an avid gamer, I wholeheartedly agree that the difference between the 2.4 and the 2.8 is simply not significant. No PC games would make effective use of the marginal difference between the two games - a 2.4 GHz processor is way, way beyond most practical advantage. What matters is that you’re getting a powerful video card and lots of memory.
Yeah, I have a Radeon 8500LE on a 700mhz processor and don’t have any real problem with games–even Morrowind runs fine. Trust me, you’ll be very happy with that computer. Even Doom 3 will fly on that thing when it comes out.
Rock and Roll! Thanks guys. I post at 3:35 AM and wake up bleary-eyed to find great, knowledgeable responses. Sometimes the SDMB is like a magical wishing tree.
You talking about today’s deal?:
Powerful Desktop deal: Dimension 4550 P4-2.4Ghz (Faster 533Mhz bus) 128MB (Faster DDR333 memory)/30GB CD Geforce4MX video card, XP Home MS Works $619 - $50 coupon - $100 rebate = $469 shipped free.
4550 P4-1.8Ghz version is $509 - $100 rebate = $409.
