Is this a good PC (yes another one of those threads)

[VALIS]

Hi folks, in my quest to find a nice cheap yet powerful PC I came across this:

NVIDIA Geforce 8400 GS TurboCache (256 mbs)
320GB Hard Drive
2GB of RAM
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
(Vista....grrr)

http://www.johnlewis.com/Computing/C...3/Product.aspx

Ideally, I want a PC that could run games like Crysis/Bioshock at pretty much the maximum settings. And even some new games to run at those settings also for the next year (minimum)
Is this PC capable of doing that?

From my very limited knowledge the first stumbling block I see is the graphics card.
Apart from that......how is everything else?

[Quinctius Cincinnatus]

I am no expert lol but the Processor and Ram seem very fine to me.
For next year you can put 2 gigs card of Ram extra in I think.

[Reidy]

That gpu is trash and will severely bottleneck the whole system. As you want to play Crysis etc you should probably look no lower than an 8800gts 320mb, which would be an extra £200.

The processor is good though and I suppose the ram will be ok.

[Freddie]

Hi folks, in my quest to find a nice cheap yet powerful PC I came across this:

NVIDIA Geforce 8400 GS TurboCache (256 mbs)
320GB Hard Drive
2GB of RAM
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
(Vista....grrr)

http://www.johnlewis.com/Computing/C...3/Product.aspx

Ideally, I want a PC that could run games like Crysis/Bioshock at pretty much the maximum settings. And even some new games to run at those settings also for the next year (minimum)
Is this PC capable of doing that?

From my very limited knowledge the first stumbling block I see is the graphics card.
Apart from that......how is everything else?

The best store I could find was this one. If you want to game for around £650-£700 your going to need the best video card you can get for your budget, I selected the 8800 GTS 320MB which took the price up to around £675. If you afford to get 2Gb of ram instead of 1Gb it would be even better.

Anyway, I thought you preferred console gaming?

[VALIS]

Well, My original love was PC gaming. I didn't even touch consoles. But around 2003/2004 the price was getting ridiculous, needing to constantly upgrade and having games that won't work on my PC pissed me off, so I just gave up on PC gaming.
I have little technical knowledge so all the technological talk just confused me and I couldn't make heads or tails of it.

So I went to the consoles for the security and the safety knowing that all the games will work on that specific console for at least 5 years. I still love the KB+M setup, its just the ridiculous prices and the need for constant upgrades yearly(or sooner). Not to mention the threat from viruses/worms/spyware that plagues us.

If I get a good PC my enthusiasm for PC gaming will grow again.

EDIT: Thats an interesting site Freddie, thanks for the link, but I have to say that the VAT on the website is a total rip-off somtimes it adds in £150 of VAT. That can't be right.

[Freddie]

Well, My original love was PC gaming. I didn't even touch consoles. But around 2003/2004 the price was getting ridiculous, needing to constantly upgrade and having games that won't work on my PC pissed me off, so I just gave up on PC gaming.
I have little technical knowledge so all the technological talk just confused me and I couldn't make heads or tails of it.

So I went to the consoles for the security and the safety knowing that all the games will work on that specific console for at least 5 years. I still love the KB+M setup, its just the ridiculous prices and the need for constant upgrades yearly(or sooner). Not to mention the threat from viruses/worms/spyware that plagues us.

If I get a good PC my enthusiasm for PC gaming will grow again.

EDIT: Thats an interesting site Freddie, thanks for the link, but I have to say that the VAT on the website is a total rip-off somtimes it adds in £150 of VAT. That can't be right.

I don’t worry about spyware and adware that much even viruses don’t concern me, as long as my computer works I’m happy.

The upgrades are quoted at ex-vat, so if an upgrade is £100 your going to be paying another £17.50 (17.5% VAT) on top. I don’t know why a site like that shows everything ex vat anyway, most of its computers must be for personal use, and brought by people who can’t claim the VAT back.