How good are Dell for gaming?

[ShankerXV]

I currently have a comp with AMD FX-60, dual 256MB 7800 GTX, 2GB ram. Would I experience noticeable decrease in performance from a dell with Pentium D 3.2GHZ Extreme edition, 2GB ram and dual 512MB 7800 GTX?

 

[daBliggah]

You seem to have an excellent system now. Unless you want to have two complete gaming systems around to use, I would just spend the money to upgrade your graphics subsystem.

I would rate the FX-60 superior to the Pentium D 3.2GHz EE for a couple reasons (I assume you're talking about the Pentium EE 840). First of all, I don't own a FX-60, but I want to make a general statement about AMD vs. Intel processors. It's pretty much widely known that Intel 8X0 series has a power issue-high leakage currents-which is why the processor line is limited to 2x 3.2GHz only. Since the 840EE probably consumes much more power, it'll probably require a louder fan to cool than the FX-60. When I'm playing a game, I don't like to hear the processor fan rev up too loud. If you really want to spend over a thousand dollars on an Intel processor, why not go for the new 955EE anyway? It has a higher clock speed and, since it's made with a 65nm process, is pretty overclockable (so I've read).

As for Dell PC's, I find that you can find retail parts and build the same system for cheaper than they'll sell it to you. The only problem is that Dell probably has a higher shipping priority for the GTX 512 then say Newegg or some other E-tailer.

As I said earlier, I don't own a FX-60 or any Intel dual core, but from what I've read from other threads and THG articles, the FX-60 is an excellent processor which competes with Intel's 9XX series dual core. Since many games offload work to the processor, I would imagine you would see a performance DROP even with the GTX 512's.

I've never bought a Dell gaming PC, andI don't know what brand of memory they use. If you have 2GB of good ram, CL 2 or 2.5, then you might get stuck with CL3 in your Dell (I have 2GB of Samsung CL3 which I got in an Dell Optiplex GX270 system).

If you're comfortable working inside a PC, I would just try and upgrade your graphics subsystem only. I know its hard to find/get a single GTX 512 in online stores, so it might be hard to get two of them. I hope this info is helpful. Good luck.

EDIT: Here's the THG article which reviews the FX-60. You can see both the FX-60 and the 840EE in the benchmark results.
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/01/10/amd_athlon_fx_60_dual_core_assault/

2nd EDIT: Here's the THG article which reviews the Pentium D in general.
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/04/05/the_pentium_d/

 

[ShankerXV]

thanks for your response. The reason I'm returning my current and getting a Dell, is mainly for their financing. My current bought from tigerdirect needs me to pay in full within 6 months. I recently quit my job due to having some problems and can't pay 4000 dollars in 6 months. Dell has a financing option of no interest for 18 months. I don't know of this power leakage bug. The main reason I'm getting a Dell over my current set up is the financing. Do you know any other site that would offer no interest financing for longer than 6 months?

 

[daBliggah]

Ah, your situation is more clear to me now

I normally do not buy computers from companies like Dell, HP, etc. I buy the parts from an E-tailer (usually Newegg or TigerDirect) and assemble it myself. Because of that, I'm not too familar with financing options. I have seen ads for "Newegg Preferred Customers" which I think is a financing option for the parts you buy. But that's only if you can assemble them yourself.

Honestly, if money is tight, you might need to tone down the specs of the system a little bit. I have a single graphics card and I can play F.E.A.R, BF2, Quake 4, etc. with nearly all high settings. Perhaps set up a system that you can add on to later, like get a single graphics card and an SLI motherboard, and when the cash flow picks up, get a second graphics card if you want.

The problem with that is that I'm not sure if you can get a SLI motherboard without getting two graphics cards from companies like Dell. Let me know if building your own pc is an option. That'll save you some money, I think.