need advice on new computer

[michael90212]

Had considered ordering a custom build from a site like cyberpowerpc but have heard too many negative stories about the company. Also not in a position where I can build my own so I'm going to buy.

I plan on using it mainly for casual gaming. That is, I don't plan on running Crysis at the highest possible settings but I'd like a system that will be able to play most games at playable settings.

I also plan on using a 24" monitor.

I'm considering a Dell studio xps 8100. For $1049 it comes with an i7-860 and 8 GB of DDR3, a 1TB drive and a radeon 5770. My only concern is that the PSU is only 350 watts and from what I've read that's not a lot. Will that be an issue because of the video card?

For an extra $250 I can buy a gateway with similar specs, but a larger harddrive and a radeon 5850. The psu for that unit is 750 watts.

Thoughts on these systems??

 

[M0RPH]

Dell sometimes underclocks the higher end video cards, and their power supplies are also rated conservatively. In any case, they know what they're doing and how much power their systems need. That XPS 8100 will likely never draw more than 250W. But if you wanted to upgrade to a more powerful video card at some point you'd need to upgrade the psu as well.

 

[M0RPH]

As for the different systems, I think the 5850 will get you about 50% more fps in games, so if you're big on gaming it may be worth the $250 to you. If you're not a big gamer then get the Dell.

 

[Slugbait]

Dell sometimes underclocks the higher end video cards...

I found this hard to believe, so I searched around and...omfg. You're right. I used to think the XPS series were performance-oriented, and now I know better.

This is kinda worse than the old days, when you bought a box advertised with a fast CPU, but it was a slower proc that was overclocked. Now it's "Hey, pay us for this high performance card...but without the performance!"

 

[michael90212]

I found this hard to believe, so I searched around and...omfg. You're right. I used to think the XPS series were performance-oriented, and now I know better.

This is kinda worse than the old days, when you bought a box advertised with a fast CPU, but it was a slower proc that was overclocked. Now it's "Hey, pay us for this high performance card...but without the performance!"

Thank you both for the info. Interesting that Dell underclocks their video cards. I wonder what the rationale is behind that? Does it save on production costs??

 

[Fayd]

Thank you both for the info. Interesting that Dell underclocks their video cards. I wonder what the rationale is behind that? Does it save on production costs??

lowers the thermal specs of the card, allows them to make do with a less-than-adequate airflow arrangement.

 

[Blain]

Thank you both for the info. Interesting that Dell underclocks their video cards.
I wonder what the rationale is behind that?
Does it save on production costs??

* Typical Dell customers aren't tweakers for max performance
* Premium upgrade price
* Less support calls (due to heat) = support cost savings

 

[M0RPH]

To add another reason I think lowering power consumption at load and ensuring the higher end cards don't tax these lower wattage psu's, like the 350W in this case. Dell doesn't seem to like having to use a different psu in the system based on which video card you choose.

To be clear, though, I really don't know if they are underclocking the 5770. I think they could run it at stock and it would still probably be fine with their 350W psu. So don't base your purchase decision on my comments.