Need some adivce on computer

[BK-117]

Hey i was just wondering if someone could give me some advice. I am looking at buying a new computer and have been offered this by a friend for $1000. I am not brilliant with my knowledge of computer systems and was just wondering if someone could take a look at the following information and tell me if they think it is a good system and worth $1000. Also whats the graphics card like? I am wanting it to be able to fun FSX.
Any help would be awesome!

3.2Ghz Dell

Ultra sharp dell 24' inch flat panel computer moniter.

1GB DDR

300GB harddrive

DVD Writer Drive-Double Layer

Ati radeon graphics card

Dell Keyboard and mouse

Windows XP operating system

Cheers
Richard

[deaneb]

I can't really comment on the specs, but I do use a 24" Dell monitor at work and they are great. That in it's self is worth a fair bit of the price. Not sure if you can still get 24" dells but they were $1199. (A check of pricespy now has them at $999 as Dell have now released a 27" !!)

Other than that another GIG of RAM maybe the go.

Deane

[BK-117]

dean thanks for you're reply. atleast i know the monitor is good now. Yeah i think another gig of ram wud be good too. hopefully not to much..

[creator2003]

I would check to see if the motherboard is pci slot or pci express slot ,this will make all the difference in the future as you would be wanting a pci express slot ..
I cant remember exactly why i would think youd need to check this ,i just remember being told this was something dell does ..
ati radeon isnt really enough info to make a judgment on it for X, would need to know 256mb etc ...
other than that 300gb hard drive cool, hope is more than 7200rpm ?
24inch screen bonus

[BK-117]

mike thanks for the reply. i am trying to find out more about the graphics card. is there any other information i sud try and found out from them?
Cheers
Richard

[creator2003]

Well being a dell ,and being not that old by the sounds of it i would just ask if the had the invoice/spec sheet from dell when they got it ,this would help you more
what i can tell you right now is 3.2 ghz is ok ,this a single cpu . i have 3.0ghz ht cpu
graphic card ,truly i would be looking at right away replacing with a 8 series nivida card anyway
300gig h/d is more than enough room for a good install of X

as deane said another gig of ram ,also you cant really go wrong with a XP installed and a 24 screen

things id do to it
ram /bigger power pack and a pci express 8 series card ..

my system
3.0ghz ht p4
2 gig ram
8600gts
runs X sp2 just fine with payware addons

[deaneb]

the monitors run at 1920 x 1200 pixels so you will need a good graphics card to run FS at that setting !

[HardCorePawn]

For the graphics card, you need to know:

- Make (ie. ATI or NVidia)
- Model (ie. Radeon HD3850, Geforce 8800GT)
- RAM (ie. 256meg, 512meg, Shared)

Then we'll be able to give you some proper advice...

regards,
Jared

[BK-117]

ok.. thanks for all the replies guys. I have found out that it is a Radeon X1300/1550 series 256mb DDR2 PCI express. The hard drives rpm is 7200. If anyone could give feedback on that, that would be awesome!

Cheers
Richard

[creator2003]

Well thats pretty good news for you ,this means you have got pci express slot , not sure on that type of card but it is ok as far as i know but id still be looking at upgrading that part .
next the hard drive is fine ,,so far so good but wait for a couple more replys from others before you go buy it

looks like a good computer so far for the price
mike

[BK-117]

Mike thanks again for you're reply. Can you tell me what PCI Express slot is?
I'll wait for a few other replys too.
Cheers

[kiwibarguy]

i think this explains it all. All the best, sounds like a good deal to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express

[HardCorePawn]

Unfortunately, the X1300 series is about 2 or 3 generations old... and looking at the Toms Hardware guide, the X1300 series is down around the NVidia FX5900 and 6600GT series graphics cards in terms of performance...

You would definitely need to upgrade to something a bit beastier (8600 series or higher would be ideal) to get FSX humming... which will probably necessitate a new power supply, as modern graphics cards are very power hungry.

You'll probably want to upgrade to at least 2 gigs of RAM, but its really cheap these days so should not cost too much to add...

[brownbox]

Without the monitor, that system would probably go for a good 4-500$. The monitor though, adds another 700-1000$ onto the deal, so I would take it either way. Definately look at upgrading the graphics, an 8600gt should do, a new PSU (as mentioned), and another gb of ram. Good to see it doesnt have vista, which is definately a +

[BK-117]

thanks for the replys again. As im not a hardware guy how much would a 8600gt cost and where would I get it from. Also same with a new PSU?

[HardCorePawn]

Go and check out PriceSpy...

8600GT around $150 at the moment... I would check with your local comp store on the cost of a PSU... you'll want a decent one like an enermax or a silverstone... and at least 450W+... the 'generic' brands like Hyena are cr@p

[BK-117]

cool thanks ill check that out.

[brownbox]

get a 8600gt on trademe for $100 delivered. I sold my one for this much about a month ago

[BK-117]

cheers ill hav a look on trademe when i get round to buying new components. I just found out that it is a 2.2Ghz Dell not a 3.2Ghz Dell. How much difference does that make?

[brownbox]

if this is the case, it is most likely a core 2 duo processor, or an AMD CPU. (which is a good thing)