Not an expert, but Looking for opinions!

digitalbean

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Oct 28, 2009
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Hello board, long time reader first time poster! Names Lucas and ill basically give you the run down of my situation. We are in the midst of opening an internet gaming lounge, and i am now at the step where i need to get the computers purchased. The plan is 15 computers for now, i can go 2 ways, buy all the components individually and piece them together, or we can go to pre-built systems from dell and utilize the financing option for such a large buy.

From dell i have found:
Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q8300 (2.5)
Genuine Windows ® 7 Professional 32 bit
500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz - 4DIMMs
512MB ATI Radeon™ HD 4350
Single Drive: 16X (DVD+/-RW) Burner Drive
Integrated 5.1 Channel Audio
Dell USB Keyboard
Dell 23 inch Widescreen E2310H Analog Flat Panel Display CAD $949

And online there are just so much to choose from, i thought i had narrowed down a custom build untill i thought hey maybe i can finance through dell... but i just dont know if their computers will bottleneck for what we plan on using them for.


Any and all advice/opinions are greatly appreciated!
 

tortnotes

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Jul 31, 2009
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4350 is a really weak card. You might want to consider a higher-clocked Core 2 Duo and a higher spec video card, along with 64-bit Windows.
A 4350 will definitely bottleneck any quad-core CPU, and you can probably get more performance in the games you'll be running with a dual-core and a GPU like the 4770 or 4850.
 

digitalbean

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Oct 28, 2009
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i think we have narrowed down the video card : XFX HD-487A-ZWFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $155 @ newegg

as for the systems, this is something i just whipped up off newegg and tigerdirect.ca :

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $89
XFX HD-487A-ZWFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $155
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK - Retail $95
AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor Model HDZ720WFGIBOX - Retail 138
ULT33179 :: Ultra X-Blaster ATX Black Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Front USB, FireWire and Audio Ports (320 lbs) $59
T13-2027 :: Coolmax / V-500 / 500-Watt / ATX / 120mm Fan / SATA-Ready / 20/24 Pin / Power Supply (51 lbs) $26
TSD-160AS6 :: Seagate Barracuda ST3160813AS 160GB - 7200, 8MB, SATA-300, NCQ, OEM (15.2 lbs) $58
L49-W2242TQBF CA :: LG W2242TQ-BF 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 2ms, 8000:1 (DFC), 1680x1050 (WSXGA+), F-Engine, VGA, DVI (13 lbs) $189

no mouse, keyboard, OS
total price $809

and then something i found on dell:

Inspiron 545 Slim-Tower w/ Black Bezel, english
Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q8200 (4MB L2, 2.33GHz, 1333FSB)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Dell 23" Full HD 1080p Widescreen Flat Panel Display (S2309W)
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz- 2 DIMMs
500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Integrated Intel® GMA 3100 Graphics - we buy cards from newegg.ca
16X DVD+/-RW Drive
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Dell USB Entry Keyboard and mouse
Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year

$874

im looking at the 2 thinking... $874 with dell, financed, hold on to my capital and buy 15 video cards from new egg, and update as needed. i would hope this would be a strong enough base to start from, and should last for a few years of gaming. What do you think?