HELP! About to buy Dell XPS 8500, which video card?

[Grohlvana]

So I'm about to purchase the Dell XPS 8500 for the purpose of video editing and playing games (most games are going to be lower-end, but I want to do some modding in Skyrim) and I have a choice of keeping the default AMD Radeon™ HD 7570 1GB GDDR5 card or upgrading to the NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 640 1GB GDDR5 card for $75 more.

I'm fine with upgrading the card down the line as I know either one isn't the best option for gaming, but I was wondering if it was worth it to upgrade to the Nvidia in the mean time?

 

[mclovits]

If you're going to be using a system for something like gaming/editing, it might be better to build one yourself. If not, the 640 will perform better than the 7570 though neither will run Skyrim very well, it'd be best if you could just choose no GPU and install a stronger one.

 

[clutchc]

Go with the GT 640. (although that is a heck of a premium over the HD 7570) The GT 640 should run your games smooth at 720p. Maybe some at even 1080p with greatly reduced settings.

 

[Grohlvana]

If you're going to be using a system for something like gaming/editing, it might be better to build one yourself. If not, the 640 will perform better than the 7570 though neither will run Skyrim very well, it'd be best if you could just choose no GPU and install a stronger one.

I really don't want to make my own, I understand it's easy and it's worth it in the end, but I'm very lazy and absolutely terrible with computers.

If I bought the XPS, I should be able to upgrade the card easily enough if need be, right? And there's no option to not have a card, it's either/or.

 

[clutchc]

Depending on the processor/MB, you can go without a discrete card and use the on-die or on-board GPU if you desire. And upgrade to a better card for cheaper on your own when ready. Assuming the Dell in question is an Intel based PC, it will come with on-die graphics.

 

[mclovits]

If you're going to be using a system for something like gaming/editing, it might be better to build one yourself. If not, the 640 will perform better than the 7570 though neither will run Skyrim very well, it'd be best if you could just choose no GPU and install a stronger one.

I really don't want to make my own, I understand it's easy and it's worth it in the end, but I'm very lazy and absolutely terrible with computers.

If I bought the XPS, I should be able to upgrade the card easily enough if need be, right? And there's no option to not have a card, it's either/or.

I see, it's not too hard, but nontheless, yes you should be able to upgrade, though that PSU that comes with the XPS won't be very powerful/high quality, so you won't be able to put a high end card in there, but you could surely upgrade to something more powerful if need be.

 

[Grohlvana]

Ok well before I finish the purchase... is there any option other than making my own that would be better for gaming? Like a pre-made rig more suited to gaming (but without losing the power to edit videos etc)? I know there is, but I've been looking online all day and usually there's one thing wrong with each package.

 

[clutchc]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100019096%20600030537&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=RATING&PageSize=20

Where a lot of folks buy their pre-builts

If interested, I have one for sale. But it is an AMD based machine.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1713122/ebay-6300-gaming-gtx-650ti-ssc-8gb-corsair-case-650.html

 

[mclovits]

Ok well before I finish the purchase... is there any option other than making my own that would be better for gaming? Like a pre-made rig more suited to gaming (but without losing the power to edit videos etc)? I know there is, but I've been looking online all day and usually there's one thing wrong with each package.

Well what's your budget? Maybe you could get a custom config from Origin PC or somewhere else, there are a bunch of companies that will do that for you. Honestly though if you're doing light gaming you could just stick with that GT 640 for a while, it's not a terrible card, and if you lower the settings you'll probably be just fine.

 

[Grohlvana]

Ok well before I finish the purchase... is there any option other than making my own that would be better for gaming? Like a pre-made rig more suited to gaming (but without losing the power to edit videos etc)? I know there is, but I've been looking online all day and usually there's one thing wrong with each package.

Well what's your budget? Maybe you could get a custom config from Origin PC or somewhere else, there are a bunch of companies that will do that for you. Honestly though if you're doing light gaming you could just stick with that GT 640 for a while, it's not a terrible card, and if you lower the settings you'll probably be just fine.

My budget is around $1,000, and I have a YouTube channel with over 11,000 subs. I would like to record some modded Skyrim gameplay, that's probably the high-end of what I'm trying to do.

 

[mclovits]

Ok well before I finish the purchase... is there any option other than making my own that would be better for gaming? Like a pre-made rig more suited to gaming (but without losing the power to edit videos etc)? I know there is, but I've been looking online all day and usually there's one thing wrong with each package.

Well what's your budget? Maybe you could get a custom config from Origin PC or somewhere else, there are a bunch of companies that will do that for you. Honestly though if you're doing light gaming you could just stick with that GT 640 for a while, it's not a terrible card, and if you lower the settings you'll probably be just fine.

My budget is around $1,000, and I have a YouTube channel with over 11,000 subs. I would like to record some modded Skyrim gameplay, that's probably the high-end of what I'm trying to do.

I'll look around for a website with a machine at the right price, (unless you want to try building one yourself, it'll take just a few hours) one more question, do you plan on overclocking the CPU at all?

 

[Grohlvana]

Ok well before I finish the purchase... is there any option other than making my own that would be better for gaming? Like a pre-made rig more suited to gaming (but without losing the power to edit videos etc)? I know there is, but I've been looking online all day and usually there's one thing wrong with each package.

Well what's your budget? Maybe you could get a custom config from Origin PC or somewhere else, there are a bunch of companies that will do that for you. Honestly though if you're doing light gaming you could just stick with that GT 640 for a while, it's not a terrible card, and if you lower the settings you'll probably be just fine.

My budget is around $1,000, and I have a YouTube channel with over 11,000 subs. I would like to record some modded Skyrim gameplay, that's probably the high-end of what I'm trying to do.

I'll look around for a website with a machine at the right price, (unless you want to try building one yourself, it'll take just a few hours) one more question, do you plan on overclocking the CPU at all?

Thanks so much for your help, and I don't even know what overclocking is exactly.

 

[mclovits]

Ok well before I finish the purchase... is there any option other than making my own that would be better for gaming? Like a pre-made rig more suited to gaming (but without losing the power to edit videos etc)? I know there is, but I've been looking online all day and usually there's one thing wrong with each package.

Well what's your budget? Maybe you could get a custom config from Origin PC or somewhere else, there are a bunch of companies that will do that for you. Honestly though if you're doing light gaming you could just stick with that GT 640 for a while, it's not a terrible card, and if you lower the settings you'll probably be just fine.

My budget is around $1,000, and I have a YouTube channel with over 11,000 subs. I would like to record some modded Skyrim gameplay, that's probably the high-end of what I'm trying to do.

I'll look around for a website with a machine at the right price, (unless you want to try building one yourself, it'll take just a few hours) one more question, do you plan on overclocking the CPU at all?

Thanks so much for your help, and I don't even know what overclocking is exactly.

It's basically increasing the clockspeed of a CPU or GPU core to yield more performance (and faster speed obviously). It's not super difficult, but for a beginner it might be best to avoid it unless you really want to squeeze some performance out of your machine.

I found a decent prebuilt system on CyberpowerPC, do you need peripherals too (mouse, monitor, keyboard)

 

[Grohlvana]

No, I have a mouse, keyboard, and an HD TV.

 

[mclovits]

No, I have a mouse, keyboard, and an HD TV.

All right, give me one moment to configure a partpicker that you can then transfer to any website you want to build you pc...

 

[Grohlvana]

No, I have a mouse, keyboard, and an HD TV.

All right, give me one moment to configure a partpicker that you can then transfer to any website you want to build you pc...

Take as much time as you need man, thanks. What website do you recommend? This is my first time.

 

[mclovits]

Here, I would use this as a basis: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/19Z5E

That's a strong configuration, capable of running almost any game out right now on Ultra @1080p, with plenty of power for photo/video editing and some 3D rendering.

I would go to Cyberpower PC ASAP and use this link: http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Gamer_Xtreme_2000/

They are having a huge sale, you can choose what components you want and still have some money left over for maybe an SSD or a better case. Remember, since you are not overclocking, don't get a K-series CPU and stick with the stock Intel cooler to save money. Good luck! Feel free to ask questions

 

[Grohlvana]

So just to get this straight, you picked out all of the parts on one site, then transferred them to another site which takes discounts into effect, now when I buy it from the second site they will put the computer together, and when I get it it will be able to run? Also, I'm going to need a wireless network card right? I don't have access to a line as it's in the other room.

 

[mclovits]

So just to get this straight, you picked out all of the parts on one site, then transferred them to another site which takes discounts into effect, now when I buy it from the second site they will put the computer together, and when I get it it will be able to run? Also, I'm going to need a wireless network card right? I don't have access to a line as it's in the other room.

I just gave you a list of parts you could order on CyberpowerPC, you have to configure the system with the link I provided on their website, there you can add the wireless card as well.

 

[Grohlvana]

So just to get this straight, you picked out all of the parts on one site, then transferred them to another site which takes discounts into effect, now when I buy it from the second site they will put the computer together, and when I get it it will be able to run? Also, I'm going to need a wireless network card right? I don't have access to a line as it's in the other room.

I just gave you a list of parts you could order on CyberpowerPC, you have to configure the system with the link I provided on their website, there you can add the wireless card as well.

Ok well I'll give it a go, thanks for taking the time to help out a complete PC noob man, I really appreciate it.

 

[mclovits]

So just to get this straight, you picked out all of the parts on one site, then transferred them to another site which takes discounts into effect, now when I buy it from the second site they will put the computer together, and when I get it it will be able to run? Also, I'm going to need a wireless network card right? I don't have access to a line as it's in the other room.

I just gave you a list of parts you could order on CyberpowerPC, you have to configure the system with the link I provided on their website, there you can add the wireless card as well.

Ok well I'll give it a go, thanks for taking the time to help out a complete PC noob man, I really appreciate it.

No problem, if I could just link you to a build on Cyberpower I would but I can't find a way to do that