Gaming PC for £500 - Self build, or Dell?

[jtfax]

I currently have on hold for me this Dell for £500.

i7 2600
6gb ram
1tb hd
radeon 6670

obviously already built, with case and all them little bits you forget about when building a pc, and a 1 year dell warranty. i think this is a stonking deal.

however, i cannot downgrade to a 2500k, my preferred processor. i would also prefer a better graphics card.

my budget really is stretched at £500, so do any of you reckon i could get a better deal if i self build?

 

[paulktreg]

I think you'll struggle with a £500 budget and the Dell does look like a good offer.

The 6670 doesn't need auxilliary power via 6 pin PCI-E connectors so keep in mind that Dell tend to fit power supplies just fit for the job so you may also end up replacing that as well if you want an high end GPU.

Have you considered buying used items?

 

[jtfax]

that theory does seem to make sense, as to upgrade to a 560ti with dell would be another £260, so to me that is an addition of more than just the card!

me and the family have never been fans of used goods haha

should i go with the dell? do you have an idea of how well it would perform with newish games?
thank you for replying!

 

[paulktreg]

Don't expect all the high candy but I'm sure you'll get playable frame rates at a reasonable resolution but with the quality settings at low.

What is the resolution of your monitor?

 

[LJx]

Buy the dell, the processor is a beast for that money, you can always buy a better graphics card at a later date and slot it in

 

[jtfax]

but will the mobo and psu be able to handle a better graphics card if i install one at a later date?

 

[eNxy]

Probably not. That's why there's such a hefty price tag on the upgrade to a 560Ti, because Dell will be charging for a change in PSU and maybe even motherboard.

Majority of the companies like Dell tend to churn out standard-built PC's (a preset specification) and their custom ones tend to be re-built from a standard one once an order comes through. Also they tend to use "bare minimum" components - I doubt there will be much if not any headroom for a new GFX card unless you upgrade the PSU as well.

I do agree that if that specification fits your needs, then it is value for money. A 2600 retails at around half that price. But personally I would stay away from that if you know you will want to plough more money into it on upgrades, I feel you'll just be spending a lot more money in the longer run.

Let us know which one you go for either way

 

[jtfax]

completely stuck!
my budget is £550 maximum, i really do think this is the best i am gonna get for this price...
the 6670 is solid for gaming though isn't it? not incredible but will it do me for a couple of years?

 

[LJx]

6670 is decent enough to play any games with lower settings eg. high or medium in some games.
Like I said you can just swap the graphics card out, they all use the same slot on the motherboard so that won't be a problem. And evcen if you needed a new PSU then that is only going to cost £40 for a good one.
I would normally never recommend buying a Dell computer for gaming as they are seriously overpriced and underpowered.

That CPU is a £230 part on it's own so I would suggest you buy it while you have the chance because the only way you can get something close to as good is if you build it yourself and even then you would only be able to afford an i5