New Vs. Refurbished Gaming Rigs (Dual Vs. Quad) - Need Help Choosing!

Hi, My local PC store is having another clearout again, and I poped in there to check a few things out, and found the following:

1) Refurbished [£169.99 Inc. V.A.T + Postage] - 3 months parts warrenty + 1 year labour warrenty.

CPU: E7400 - 2.8Ghz 3MB Cache 1333Mhz FSB. (OC'd to 3.2Ghz)
RAM: 4GB DDR2 800Mhz (Ranges From Crucial, Corsair, Kingston.)
GPU: 9800GT 512MB OC'd Edition (Ranges From Different Brands)
HDD: 250GB Sata II
PSU: 550W And Above (Ranges From OCZ, Corsair, Antec.)
MoB: Asus P5QL

2) Brand New [£259.99 Inc. V.A.T + Postage] - 1 Years parts warrenty + 1 year labour warrenty.

CPU: Q6600 - 2.4Ghz 8MB Cache - 1066Mhz FSB
RAM: 4GB DDR2 800Mhz (Ranges From Crucial, Corsair, Kingston.)
GPU: GTS250 (Ranges From Different Brands)
HDD: 250GB Sata II
PSU: 550W And Above (Ranges From OCZ, Corsair, Antec.)
MoB: Gigabyte G31 Motherboard

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know some may suggest the Quad, which is what I was looking at myself, but I am so broke I can't afford food! (figure of speach.) I went in there becuase I saw the Quad advertisment, but I looked over and saw the Dual Core rig. Which is more WORTH it in the long run, I know most will say quad, but how long will THAT dual core last in the next 3 years? Medium gaming maybe?

Put it this way, is it worth paying the extra for a Quad? Will the prices drop for the Q6600 in the upcoming year? In the U.S.A there falling like hot cakes, but here... In the U.K the prices have slightly risen My idea was to purchase a Quad down the line somwhere in the future when I had the $$.

Regards.

Ever heard of 'figure of speach.'

I was thinking the same thing, I just want loads of man love to convince me to go for it. I have around 150 to blow on an upgrade anyway. Hmm.

I guess it depends on which games you are going to play - and what resolution you want to play at.

The E7400 system offers you the best chance to do what you want. You'll have the option to upgrade the video card which is all you'll need to enjoy games into the next few years too.

People are buying new systems with that CPU (or one less powerful) for gaming now.
With a new video card when you can afford one that system could last you 3 years or more. There might be some games out there you'll have to dial back on top quality settings but you should get a good gaming experience over that length of time - IMO.

Be sure to let us know how things work out.

Well, I just got back from the store, I found out it comes with a "500W "Eagle" Power Supply, and not a decent one.

But another thing I found out is that it comes with Vista Home Premium disc and key.

Overall, what do you say about the PSU? If its crappy, how much do you think I can get for a Vista Home Premium if I where to sell it?

Thanks.

Not sure, it was what came with the system. O and the ebay site wasn't working. Any help? Do you think I can get 50 quid for it?

Used copies are being flogged on Ebay for £0.99
Plus there is the problem that shortstuff mentioned if your copy of is OEM version. If it's a retail version you can resell it