Doom3 Capable Budget Upgrade? Update: Bought Xbox Instead, But New Dell Deal Linked

[AIWGuru]

Originally posted by: Cerb
It's a new game, and the original poster wants to be able to play it with decent quality settings. What part of that escapes you? Budget and brand new games don't go together.
Everyone's been using a 9800 Pro as video card to add, given the bang/buck.
$650 is what, $50 more than that Dell with a plain 9600 video card?
Did I say anything about changing the mobo? No.
Lastly, if he wants to play Doom3 at any decent framerate, he'll need a better video card and more RAM. Any game out now needs more than Anand's budget system to run current games beyond low detail settings.

No, you didn't say to change the motherboard but you said to get a 2500+ and suggested that it would somehow allow for incremental upgrades (which doesn't make sense.) You can't just add faster components because they're faster. They're also more expensive. That's why it's called a budget system.
Anandtech's budget system will easily run doom 3 at 1024x768 full detail. Hell mine, which is slightly slower, can run the alpha nearly fine (2 years before launch build) All of these people who think that yesterday's cutting edge technology won't run today's games are fools. Anandtech's budget system was really hot not that long ago. People around here seem to have this phobia about anything that's not absolutely cutting edge and think that it's suddenly been rendered completely useless.

The people who buy systems like these are the people that game designers target. The mass market. It's all about making a profit for them. They have to sell games to the masses to do that. The masses have systems like this. Take a look at the system requirements. Take a look at anandtech's budget system. It will run it just fine. If the alpha runs just fine on it, the final release will run spectacularly.

 

[batmanuel]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
I have only one comment to add that hasn't been said already. I just got a new Dell 2400 at work. This thing is a piece of crap! It goes crazy and I have to re-boot it. Several other people on my floor have the same problem. Two of them bought Dells for home, then wanted me to upgrade them, Then I looked at them and had to tell them, "sorry, it doesn't have a AGP slot, or no room to expand memory, or no room for another drive", etc.... And then they said, well could I just replace the motherboard, and again the answer was NOPE.

And I am a father with a teenager. If you don't take these peoples advice, don't get mad when you son tells you he has a piece of crap.

And you know that PCI-Express is just gonna make people's brains explode.

"I want to put in a new graphics card," a friend asks.

"You can't, you don't have a PCI-Express X16 slot," you reply.

"But the guy down at CompUSA told me this Compaq had PCI-Express on it!"

"Yeah, but those are 1X slots. Can't put a graphics card in those."

I can already feel the pain coming. I just know that this is gonna confuse the heck out of your everyday system buyer. We're gonna have to start some sort of Adopt a Geek program to help people cope.

 

[AIWGuru]

Originally posted by: batmanuel

Originally posted by: Markfw900
I have only one comment to add that hasn't been said already. I just got a new Dell 2400 at work. This thing is a piece of crap! It goes crazy and I have to re-boot it. Several other people on my floor have the same problem. Two of them bought Dells for home, then wanted me to upgrade them, Then I looked at them and had to tell them, "sorry, it doesn't have a AGP slot, or no room to expand memory, or no room for another drive", etc.... And then they said, well could I just replace the motherboard, and again the answer was NOPE.

And I am a father with a teenager. If you don't take these peoples advice, don't get mad when you son tells you he has a piece of crap.

And you know that PCI-Express is just gonna make people's brains explode.

"I want to put in a new graphics card," a friend asks.

"You can't, you don't have a PCI-Express X16 slot," you reply.

"But the guy down at CompUSA told me this Compaq had PCI-Express on it!"

"Yeah, but those are 1X slots. Can't put a graphics card in those."

I can already feel the pain coming. I just know that this is gonna confuse the heck out of your everyday system buyer. We're gonna have to start some sort of Adopt a Geek program to help people cope.

You're going to be able to buy PCI express 1x videocards. They have 533MB/sec each way. That's downstream equivllent of AGP 2X and upstream equvellent of AGP16x (if there were such a thing) Of course, that downstream bandwith for AGP only makes sense if nothing is being written upstream at the same time (since AGP can is not a duplex design) so a PCI express 1x slot will probably perform as well as AGP 4x especially when considering the point to point nature, and lower CPU overhead (agp still does a snoop pass through the CPU.)

But I digress. When PCI express is finally a reality and people start to buy these mobos and videocards (the ones without bridge chips), people will denounce AGP and declare that any lame AGP 8x system will never run Doom 3!

 

[mechBgon]

I'm not really much of a Dell fan, but I followed the link Ornery gave, and the 4600 deal he's looking appears to be based on the i865G chipset, featuring dual-channel DDR, four DIMM slots and an AGP 8X slot, so I had to put my rotten tomatoes away after all. link to specs

I would still rather build a system from parts, but I'm just crazy like that Could be a fun father/son project...

 

[AIWGuru]

Oh come on. Socket T, socket 939, and PCI express are all coming. When those are released you know it will absolutely cripple that dell and make is it can't even play Serious sam

 

[mechBgon]

Hehe!

By the way Ornery, I did work on what I believe was a Dell Dimension 4600, and even Dell has now resorted to (gasp) 250W power supplies: photo The mobo is distinctly proprietary, which didn't turn me on at all (the forward pair of DIMM slots are heavily angled to fit under the drive cage when the case folds shut, for starters).

 

[skipper2]

Hey Ornery,

I think you should listen to some of these guys in here. Look at my posts under skipper2 on page 2 of this forum. I have ALWAYS used Intel, even before the Pentium days. I also always use dell's. If you don't believe me contact me via private email and ill give you access to my dell account that shows 8 top of the line Dells that I have bought just in the last 4 years (over $25,000).

I have done a LOT of research here and at ZD and other boards and you will see at least 3 tests on this site alone that have been done comparing the top of the line Pentium 4 EE to the AMD and AMD FX. In most cases the AMD was much more superior. If you do not overclock the AMD and you buy the retail version it will not burn out.

This is from a person that has never before had an AMD and have talked other in the past out of buying them.

Go with the facts, do some research on here and you will see for yourself. But, it is your money.

Skipper

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: AIWGuru

Originally posted by: Cerb
It's a new game, and the original poster wants to be able to play it with decent quality settings. What part of that escapes you? Budget and brand new games don't go together.
Everyone's been using a 9800 Pro as video card to add, given the bang/buck.
$650 is what, $50 more than that Dell with a plain 9600 video card?
Did I say anything about changing the mobo? No.
Lastly, if he wants to play Doom3 at any decent framerate, he'll need a better video card and more RAM. Any game out now needs more than Anand's budget system to run current games beyond low detail settings.

No, you didn't say to change the motherboard but you said to get a 2500+ and suggested that it would somehow allow for incremental upgrades (which doesn't make sense.)

Not getting the Dell, but rather building it, allows for better upgrading

You can't just add faster components because they're faster. They're also more expensive. That's why it's called a budget system.

Yes, but especially for gaming, it's very much worth it. Not only that, but all the 1900+ CPUs I've seen have been Pualominos, sou will rn hotter than the 2500+ as well.

Anandtech's budget system will easily run doom 3 at 1024x768 full detail. Hell mine, which is slightly slower, can run the alpha nearly fine (2 years before launch build) All of these people who think that yesterday's cutting edge technology won't run today's games are fools.

I'd love to see that. Full detail? There must be some amazing programming going on. My PC (1800+, 512MB RAM, 9600 XT) can barely pull off SS2 at full detail...and that's 800x600. At 1024x768, no way.

Anandtech's budget system was really hot not that long ago. People around here seem to have this phobia about anything that's not absolutely cutting edge and think that it's suddenly been rendered completely useless.

A 1900+ was hot about 2 years ago. That's a long time. The video cards suggested were never hot.

The people who buy systems like these are the people that game designers target. The mass market. It's all about making a profit for them. They have to sell games to the masses to do that. The masses have systems like this. Take a look at the system requirements. Take a look at anandtech's budget system. It will run it just fine. If the alpha runs just fine on it, the final release will run spectacularly.

...I'll believe it when I get the game and can get 30+ FPS at 1024x768, 4xMPAA, 4xAF, and max detail. If my system can't run year-old games at full detail, no way it will manage Doom 3 at them.
I'm not saying it won't run, but not looking very good.

 

[Ornery]

You don't seem to be getting it. It's really very simple. THERE'S NO FRICKING AGP SLOT! YOU CANNOT INSTALL THAT RADEON!

Originally posted by: mechBgon
I'm not really much of a Dell fan, but I followed the link Ornery gave, and the 4600 deal he's looking appears to be based on the i865G chipset, featuring dual-channel DDR, four DIMM slots and an AGP 8X slot, so I had to put my rotten tomatoes away after all. link to specs

I would still rather build a system from parts, but I'm just crazy like that Could be a fun father/son project...

So, the Dell 4600 I configured is correctly priced, and should perform comparably to the other systems listed? Still wating to hear how nick is going to build a 'better' system for that price, let alone two!

The OS included, is a copy that can be sold, if not used here. I've got two PCs on Win98, and two on WinXP Pro, so I could use it. The warranty might even have some value to it.

Now, I'll see what Anand configured...

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: Ornery

You don't seem to be getting it. It's really very simple. THERE'S NO FRICKING AGP SLOT! YOU CANNOT INSTALL THAT RADEON!

Originally posted by: mechBgon
I'm not really much of a Dell fan, but I followed the link Ornery gave, and the 4600 deal he's looking appears to be based on the i865G chipset, featuring dual-channel DDR, four DIMM slots and an AGP 8X slot, so I had to put my rotten tomatoes away after all. link to specs

I would still rather build a system from parts, but I'm just crazy like that Could be a fun father/son project...

So, the Dell 4600 I configured is correctly priced, and should perform comparably to the other systems listed? Still wating to hear how nick is going to build a 'better' system for that price, let alone two!

The OS included, is a copy that can be sold, if not used here. I've got two PCs on Win98, and two on WinXP Pro, so I could use it. The warranty might even have some value to it.

Now, I'll see what Anand configured...

Well, the Dell as configured was $499 with the following specs:

P4 2.8B (533MHz bus)
256MB PC2700 memory (two modules for dual-channel)
onboard video
onboard audio
WinXP Home
Plain CD-ROM drive
40GB 5400rpm IDE hard drive

With a 5400rpm IDE drive, no Hyperthreading, a slower 533MHz frontside-bus speed, slower RAM, software audio... plus being a Dell... I doubt that its performance under gaming conditions is going to be quite what it could be. And obviously there are some upgrades needed to complete the package if you're going to play Doom III on it: a video card and some more RAM at minimum. I figure you're close to $800 when you add tax, shipping, a $135 Radeon 9600 Pro, a $35 Lite-On CD-RW drive and another two 256MB PC2700 memory modules for a total of 768MB.

My pick for components to compete against that: Newegg Wish List for you Here we have 1GB of PC3700, a 2.8C with Hyperthreading and 800MHz FSB, a nice quiet fairly-powerful case/PSU, an Asus full-sized i865PE board, WindowsXP Professional, a 7200rpm hard drive, and industry-standard everything. And if you weren't already aware, you can probably OC this to 3.2GHz+ as it stands

Bigger picture: we're a long, long way from the $399 range of that pathetic Dell Dumbension 2400, or the $499 for the baseline Dimension 4600.

 

[Varun]

Anand Mid range system, 640 shipped with no moniter or speakers. That includes a 9600 pro, Athlon XP 2800+, and 512MB RAM.

Midrange sytem

The 4600 deal is over, and even when it was on it came with crappy integrated video, sound, and only 256MB RAM.

I just can't see how you can get a P4 for less than an Athlon right now for a good budget system.

You could easily knock some more money off that mid range system by going with a 9600 non pro, smaller hard drive, and maybe a 2500+ instead of the 2800+ and ditch the Plextor burner for a cheap optical drive.

I know you have a thing for Dell, but you really should consider what everyone on this thread has told you.

 

[Elcs]

Im English and its early in the morning. Just going to Newegg.com and configuring a nice system as of now. Using Newegg exclusively because Im too lazy to find any other US supplier.

Lite-On Beige 52X32X52 CD-RW Drive, Model LTR-52327S BEIGE, OEM - $34.50
Western Digital Special Edition 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD800JB, OEM Drive Only - $71
2x Buffalo Technology 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-2700 - OEM - $78
ABIT nForce2 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "NF7-S" -RETAIL - $101
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor - Retail - $80
ANTEC Solution Series Super Mid Tower Case with 350W Power Supply, Model "SLK3700AMB" -RETAIL - $60
SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9800PRO Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP -BULK - $210

Get yourself a keyboard and mouse and you are set. That comes to $635. I personally wouldnt consider getting less than that apart from Id consider dropping down to a Radeon 9700 Pro for $189 or so. As I said before, your best bet is to wait unti Doom3 is out and THEN buy.

 

[XRdirtHead]

i"m all for newegg.....go for it.

 

[magomago]

wow i'm suprised by your "knowledgE" and you should go out and read more. It seems you are intent on getting a Dell regardless of what people are telling you, and you choose to bitch about it for no reason

But you seriously need to start from the beginning if you honestly think that the "pentium 4 has enough Ghz" to play Doom3 just fine. Then I supose I'll go out and buy a 2.8GhzP4C instead of that 1.8GhzAthlon64 because the Athlon is SOOO much slower....or even better, I'll get a 2.6Ghz Celeron vs a 2Ghz Northwood because we know its faster *sarcasm*


And by the way, it looks like Doom3 isn't out this year. Have fun asking the same question in 2005

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: Booster

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-119-029&catalog=7&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=0
This is the case Im getting for my new PC and nothing dell has even comes close to the sweetness of this case.

Yeah, that's a good looking one. But it's also $127...

It's amazing to work with as well.
PC Gamer UK used it for their mega PC a while back, it's superb. I have one myself, and I want to use it forever. (BTX might not allow that though )

 

[imported_Phil]

You know what guys? I think we're wasting our breath here.
The guy wants a Dell. Let him buy a Dell and experience the India-based Tech Support for himself.

 

[Ornery]

"Well, the Dell as configured was $499 with the following specs:

• P4 2.8B (533MHz bus)
  256MB PC2700 memory (two modules for dual-channel)
  onboard video
  onboard audio
  WinXP Home
  Plain CD-ROM drive
  40GB 5400rpm IDE hard drive

Here's the deal:

This deal is so outrageous, it can only last two days! For only $399, after $150 mail-in rebate2, you get an advanced Dimension 4600 desktop regularly priced at $549 with a FREE CD burner3, and your choice of a FREE Palm ZireTM 21 PDA, a DellTM Personal All-In-One A920 printer or a Largan ChameleonTM digital camera plus FREE 3-5 day shipping4! Hurry, offer is only available 03/02/04 and 03/03/04!

• Intel® Pentium® 4 processor at 2.8 GHz
  Microsoft® Windows XP® Home Edition
  FREE CDRW Drive!
  FREE PDA, Printer or Digital Camera!
  FREE Shipping!
  $150 mail-in rebate!
  Monitor not included.

On other 4600 systems, the cheap 40GB drive is able to be upgraded to Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive (7200 RPM) for $10.00. There are frequently free upgrades to 80GB 7200RPM, and free memory upgrades in other Outrageous Deals.

Now, listen CAREFULLY. I said in the original post, that if a viable upgrade could NOT be done for a reasonable price, I'd simply buy a Dell hot deal, be it the current 2400 with a PCI video, or wait for another 4600 deal to come along.

I was told that the 4600 could NOT take an AGP card, which has since been proven false. I was told the 4600 would cost $1,000.00, and it doesn't. Now I'm told it was actually $499.00 instead of $399.00. Again, not true. I was told Doom3 would require insane PC specs to run well, but the Minimum System Configuration is:

• 1GHz CPU
  256MB RAM
  GF1 or Radeon 7xxx series card

The 2.8GHz Dell can be brought up to speed with a $40.00 memory upgrade and video card, which can wait till the game is released.

In between the original post and this one, I have learned that since my last build, AMD has improved substantially, as well as the nForce chipset. Also, that I supposedly have a closed mind, unwilling to consider an alternative. Well, it seems nobody else is willing to entertain the possibility that the Dell, with a couple upgrades, just might be the best bang for the buck. Up till now, nobody has even been willing to admit to it's selling price 4 days ago, or even the fact that it can accept an AGP card! Yet, I'm the one with a closed mind?

I will now seriously consider the system configurations mentioned, and weigh them against the 4600 deal (with upgrades) mentioned several times...

 

[BenSkywalker]

I wish I would have seen this thread a while ago.

Why is everyone arguing over a 2500XP and P42.8 etc? Doom3 is going to be vid card limited overwhelmingly. In all honest I'd take a PIII 1.13GHZ(which Ornery could upgrade his son's rig to) paired with a FX5900SE over a lot of the configurations I've seen here for the game. I'm absolutely certain that DooM3 will scale nicely with processor speed at the lowest settings just as now Quake3 is heading towards tripple digit framerates. For DooM3 your biggest fear for massive slowdown in the game will be the video card hands down. Also, you are going to want 512MB of RAM for D3, you can get away with less but it would be akin to using the minimum requirements for either the processor or vid card.

As a generic configuration-

Asus A7NX-X- $73
AXP-2000+ Retail- $57
Crucial 512MB PC2100- $75
MSI FX5900XT- $185

That totals up to $390(I know it doesn't include everything, but you can go with whatever else looks good). From eveything I have seen listed in this thread so far that I can recall, this setup will likely throttle them all in terms of actually playing DooM3. Nothing against an Intel solution here, but a comparable build cost quite a bit more without getting you anything(actually, you lose out on the NF2 on board sound which is significantly better then Intel's offering).

I was told that the 4600 could NOT take an AGP card, which has since been proven false.

Are you certain it can take an AGP board? If it can't take an AGP card I would say it is a bad deal for a gaming rig, you can't get a decent card in PCI form anymore and those that are available are castrated compared to their AGP counterparts. I'm not saying it can't, but I haven't ever seen a Dell that shipped with integrated graphics that had an AGP slot.

If your main concern is DooM3 or DooM3 powered games in general a GeForceFX board with 512MB and a reasonably decent processor is your best bet, the 5900XT/SEs in particular being the sweet spot right now for DooM3 performance versus dollars spent. I've been following the engine development of DooM3 quite closely for the last few years and I would wager heavily that your primary concern should be on vid card first, enough RAM second with processor third. The Dell you are looking at appears to be an excellent deal, it will simply suck at playing DooM3 without some key changes. If you are certain the Dell can have an AGP card added, then you could pick that up and toss in a FX5900SE/XT and some RAM and have a solid system for D3, it's just you would be adding almost the entire systems cost to get it up to par for the game.

 

[Ornery]

Thanks, Ben. Yes it ABSOLUTELY has an AGP slot. But, now I'm more interested in the possibilities of upgrading the current rig. The Pentium III 1.13GHz sounds like a winner at less than $60.00, but OUCH on that $200.00 video card! I've never spent over $75.00 for a video card, let alone $200.00!

 

[DAPUNISHER]

That's a Hot Deal Ornery, go ahead and get it is my advice. There has been so much FUD in this thread it's unbelievable

You think an AMD chip will die without a fan? That's not true either, even though TomsHardware guide made a big deal about it, and everyone has believed that. I know this from personal experience, with one 1600+ surviving 12 hours without a fan.

Yes, if the entire heatsink falls off an AMD chip will die. With 6 prongs holding the heatsink down, how likely is that??? Not very.

No, a modern AMD CPU won't die if the heatsink falls off at least not in the latest gen boards for sktA or A64. AMD has parity with Intel in thermal shutdown protection now. Also, as Ornery pointed out, there is an AGP slot, Dell includes 1yr warranty and a copy of winXP, he can sell the PDA/Digicam and get some additional cash back, he doesn't have to spend time playing catch up so he can build it himself, and potentially end up troubleshooting issues he has no experience with, which would then result in even more time spent researching the issue or asking for help, waiting for answers and trying to resolve the problem.

There is a very elitist attitude among many enthusiasts that results in a form of tunnel vision which prevents them from realizing that DIY isn't for everyone. Certainly most of us here could build and overclock a system that would be superior for about the same money, but if you had been out of things for years like Ornery, the time, effort, learning curve, and potential fustrations should all be weighed against getting a Hot Deal Dell. I've done it and given the deal he can get, I say "Dude! You're gettin' a Dell!"

 

[BenSkywalker]

But, now I'm more interested in the possibilities of upgrading the current rig. The Pentium III 1.13GHz sounds like a winner at less than $60.00

You can do cheaper then what I listed before going with a new mobo/processor too. You can pick up an Asus A7N266 for $58 and pair that with a Duron 1.6GHZ for $39(although you would need a HS/F) for about $100 that will outperform the 1.13GHZ P3 by a considerable margin.

but OUCH on that $200.00 video card! I've never spent over $75.00 for a video card, let alone $200.00!

Hehehe... I consider $200 to be mainstream/budget for typical gamers

Seriously though, take a look at the Duron 1.6GHZ and compare it to the fastest chips out now and you are looking at maybe a 2.5x difference in performance and closet to 30x difference in price, things are a lot different on the vid card side of the market.

Take a look right here. The board we are talking about(5900SE/XT) should be on par with the top two parts, maybe slightly behind. Roughly 100FPS give or take. Now look down at the bottom of the charts, there you see the $75 parts. Here(compared to the 9100 anyway) you are looking at a 500% performance rift with a 250% price difference, and that isn't even running high quality(which the 9100 is not capable of running btw). Right now the board most members seem to have pointed you towards is the 9600Pro- I have NewEgg open right now and the cheapest they have on that board is $132. Looking back at the AT numbers that is 40FPS vs 100FPS for a difference of 50% in terms of price. Going much over the $200 mark lands you in to the 'not a good deal' range, but right now the $200 mark is by far the sweet spot for vid cards.

Also, I pointed you towards the MSI board in particular as it comes with a few decent games for that price point which your son may enjoy.

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: Elcs
As I said before, your best bet is to wait unti Doom3 is out and THEN buy.

If you are on a budget, you still have at least 1 month to wait until doom 3 comes out, so perhaps the prices will drop significantly on the videocards again due to upcoming previews/benchmarks of the new generation videocards. By then Radeon 9600Pro will definately dip below $100 and perhaps Radeon 9700 will be around $150 or 5900xt around same price.

In essence, the dell is not a bad computer, but that conclusion is reached when a particular configuration is based around your needs. The computer you have built is excellent for everyday work, but not for videogaming since it comes with an intergrated graphics card.

My honest recommendation would be to wait until doom 3 comes out, go on the forums and read reviews of what the minimum computer should be to achieve 'decent' 30-50 frames at 1024x768. Hopefully this will give you an indication regarding what components you will require to buy then.

As it stands right now, like others have recommended I would get AXP 2500+, Biostar or Shuttle cheap Nforce 2 mobo, 1 stick of 512mb, and I would probably get Geforce 4 4200 instead of 9600Pro until the Pro drops in price. The reason why I somewhat do not agree with Ben's recommendation on a slower CPU is because I highly doubt your son will only play doom 3, and not HL2 or any other great game, where cpu speed will become more relevant.

Either way, I do agree with BenSkywalker that sometimes it's better to spend more for signficiantly faster performance and futureproof. Radeon 9600Pro might be OOK now, but I have a feeling at least 5900xt is worth buying. In fact, in 1 month if prices come down radeon 9800Pro might be worth it (it already is for most!).

If you need a system now:
I say get the dell rig and upgrade to 512 ram (you said it's extra $40 only). Then in 1 month just get the videocard you think will suit your needs after reading the reviews.

 

[Ornery]

Thanks Punisher, but that deal's dead, and I missed it. Hell of it is, I send out a heads up about hot Dell deals to people that may need a new PC, all the time, and missed it when I needed it!

You're all killing me with this $200.00 video card stuff! This reminds me of why I coughed up the money for our consoles. We haven't felt the need to upgrade the PCs, thanks to the PS2 and Game Cube here. Maybe I ought to get him an Xbox for his birthday instead. He's still able to run WarCraft on his PC, so this might not be such a great idea after all...

 

[BenSkywalker]

Maybe I ought to get him an Xbox for his birthday instead.

DooM3 is heading to the Box.

 

[RussianSensation]

It seems to me that your son is looking forward towards doom 3 and nothing else that will come out on the PC, which is fine since I am sure it will be a great game.

However, your greatest problem is the lack of confirmation for the release date of the game in question.

Doom 3 Release Date Still Unclear

What if doom 3 does not come out on April 15th, what if it does not come out in June or until September? In all due respect to everyone who has recommended something to you, I have to say why upgrade until you need to? Doom 3 or HL2 are not here, and your computer suits you fine => no need to upgrade. I am sure more Dell deals will come along.