Recommendation on PC listed Inside

I am buying a PC for my teenage boys and would like opinions as to whether the Pentium D 915 w/Dual Core Technology PC will work for "todays PC games". This is the system that I am looking at:

Dell E520
Pentium D 915 w/Dual Core Technology, 2.8GHZ
Vista Home
1GB SDRAM
250GB HD
256MB ATI Radeon X1300 Pro

 

how much are you looking to spend? we recently helped someone build a killer gaming rig for around $600 to give you an idea.

the pentium d isnt a bad processor but in comparison with the new core 2 duo processors which are pretty dang easy on the wallet, your money would be better invested in something a bit more future-proof

 

Money is not really an issue, BUT with the way PC's are changing daily, I really don't want to spend a lot. Just looking for a good gaming PC.

 

alright, thats always good

so i take it you're looking to buy a prebuilt?

i can configure a good one for ya if you give me a budget (or just a limit lol) even though you said money isnt an issue (you could easily spend $5k+ on a computer which im guessing you dont wanna do lol)

core 2 duo processors are very future-proof. hardly any of today's applications are multi-threaded or optimized to run on dual core processors which is the next step in software advancement. Also, a directx10 video card will be a good way to keep up with things for next-gen games

 

What's your cost on that Dell?

 

My recommendation would be to take that computer build to a local computer store and see what it would cost to configure it there... except...

Choose a motherboard that is ahead of your processor.. way ahead so that your processor is the lowest it is compatible with and will also be able to run the current latest and greatest Core 2 Duos.

Get the 1GB of Ram, but get it in 1 Dimm of popular value select memory so you can add another later in the future as needed to run dual.

Get a 500watt power supply to support future upgrades.

And get a mainstream graphics card now.

This way in a couple years you'll be able to swap out components as needed rather than start over from scratch. If you buy a Dell you'll be very limited on upgrades in the future. You'll need a new PSU for a DX10 graphics card. You'll likely have your memory in 2 Dimms. And your CPU might not be expandable to Core 2 Duo or the next processor series. Doing this also allows you to upgrade as needed throughout the life of the computer. Rather than starting from scratch a two or three years down the road you can do it progressively or just upgrade the memory (which will be super cheap then for the speed you're buying now), a new processor (core 2 duo's will come down in price some more) and a new graphics card (DX10 prices will drop as they go mainstream).

In other words, depending on the cost of that Dell, I would recommend pay a little extra to get a better motherboard and PSU so that you won't have to buy a whole new computer again in the future. You could even take in your current computer to the shop and ask them to reuse your harddrive, optical drives, floppy, case, etc.