i am looking at the dell inspiron 530 intel core 2 duo E4400 windows XP 2MG memory 320GB harddrive and a geforce 8300gs video card. i have heard that this graphics card is not very good my wife wants to be able to run second life... and my son does some online gaming... will this still work ok for us? i have read that i should upgrade to the 8600gt... but dell doesn't offer it in a windows XP computer (my wife does not want vista)... any computer whiz out there who can guide me in the right direction?..
also... could i one day add a better graphics card?
2007-09-23 10:11:26 · 4 answers · asked by joshufett 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
this system i am looking at has 2GB ram...
2007-09-23 11:04:57 · update #1
and they want about $800... another $100 would get me 4GB ram...
2007-09-23 11:06:12 · update #2
you could always buy an upgraded card from an online store such as newegg.com, they're not terribly expensive, think $150-200 for a decent card.. and they're a snap to install.
2007-09-23 10:18:06 · answer #1 · answered by John Titor 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
get a desktop as it is much easier to upgrade. The graphic card is good for what you want it for. Stick with the fastest card for XP( that one will be decent for now). You can always take that card out later and put something new in it. keep in mind though that the warranty wont let you change anything until it runs out. So buy a year warranty. Warranties do not mean much most of the time. Get at least 1 gb (or better) of ram ( at least 2 gb for vista)as that has become sort of the minimum for many games. Some of the newest mature games require at least 1.7 ghz CPU. Stay away from integrated graphics.
2007-09-23 17:34:12 · answer #2 · answered by cgi 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would not place a dell on my desk even if it was given me... Dell after sales support is not the best in the world their reputation is very poor.. If I was you I would do an in depth research for your own benefit.
The best thing to do is go to a local small computer shop and have one built to your own speck. that way you will get a better after sales service. local computer shops will set you up with windows XP.
or you can have one built by this company, I can recommend this shop personally check out his website click on the link below..
You could always go for.. Linux to keep the price down, with Linux you will get all the software you will ever need it all comes free. check out Linux also...click on the link below
2007-09-23 17:40:24 · answer #3 · answered by Carling 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do not get the 8300. I'd also advise upgrading to an E6-series processor if possible. Yes, you could get it and upgrade graphics later, but it really won't be worth it. How much were they going to charge you for it, and how much RAM does it come with?
2007-09-23 17:20:03 · answer #4 · answered by Nate K 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋