One final piece of new computer advice needed

Bamber19

I've decided to go for this one from Gladiator after comparing it with the others they have:

http://www.gladiatorcomputers.com/ProductDetail.aspx?StockCode=PCSCENCB6300&CategoryId=5.18&Link=SpecialOffers

with an upgrade from the E6300 to the E6600, someone else has suggested it'd be better to go for the graphic card upgrade from ATi Radeon X1950XT 256MB to ATi Radeon X1950XTX 512MB DDR4? would this be a better move than the processor and also is it worth the extra £150 i mean i have games that are a few years old now and require 256 RAM so will that card end up unable to play top titles when they are needing 512 RAM or do these sort of recommended specs on the back of games refer to integrated graphics and in fact a good 256 could still handle one that said it required 512?

CHR15

The standard X1950XT is ample for playing the latest games. Pixel Shader 3 was supported from at least X1800XL (perhaps before).

IMHO £150 would be wasted on that upgrade. By the time the games are out which would benefit from the extra, the upgrade card would cost about £70.

The RAM is system ram they refer to. You will have no worries with the 256MB version.


I would go for the system Ram upgrade though. Vista is okay with 1GB but sits at about 40% useage even with the system idle.
The extra System ram is the best bang for buck upgrade in that list.

wolfman

Shame it doesn't show which motherboard you'd be getting. If it did (might be worth asking) and it's a decent overclocking motherboard, then you'd be best off going for the E6400. You should be able to overclock it to an E6700/6800 easily.

I'd also leave the graphics card for now. The RAM upgrade is a good idea. I've got an X1950GT and it plays all of my games (most intense I've got is Battlefield 2142 or Oblivion) without any problems. I generally have all the settings maxed out.

Bamber19

thanks for the advice, i'm going to contact them anyway to dscuss it (find out about the motherboard etc.) and then attempt to blag some discount on it based on the upgrade costs(for example the E6600 can be found on Scan for £80 more than a 6300 so i think there's some justification in trying to pay less than £125 for that upgrade, anyone know if Gladiator are open to negotiations much?

Bamber19

Hmm, looking at both th eupgrades i was interested it is strange, on their own website the price differences for both are lower than the cost of the upgrade and in my mind when the system costs 599 and someone upgrades the processor the first thing that should be done is the cost to them of the original processor should be taken off the 599 then they can add on the price they want to charge for the upgraded one(which i would expect to be lower thant he cost of buying thta component sperate

CHR15

I totally agree with you. Even the RAM upgrade isn't a particularly good deal as you could get another 1GB of RAM for less than the £70 odd it is to upgrade (although I still see it as the best upgrade in the list)

They could always say you are paying for the extra removal and fitting etc. Bit of a con I know.

They are obviously getting a fair markup on the system so you have nothing to lose by stating your concerns and trying for a discount.

Bamber19

yeah, i know that's exactly the line they'll come back with, saying they've pre built all the systems and can't re-sell the processor they take out. I'm sortof trying to take a leaf out of that "don;t get done get Dom" show that was on bbc1 in the mornings not too long ago where you go in with a very low offer at first(lower than you'd expect to get it for at least) to negotiate from. Ive only emailed them tho whereas i believe it may require phone negotiation as it's all too easy to give blunt answers in emails although obviously when they can smell a potential sale it's not likely they'll be too blunt. I'm really just looking to pay the price of the standard system and get the upgrades at or almost cost price to them of the components, they don;t lose anything by taking that offer.

Bamber19

Well i emailed them late yesterday afternoon so didn't expect a reply until today, got one at 11am, They've taken a nice chunk of cash off the price of the graphics upgrade which is handy and i'm now looking for a similarly minded approach towards the upgraded processor. I'd fully expect them to accept the offer as it represents a fair price for all involved.

Edit: Also now being told that with the upgrades in place it's unlikely the 380w power supply could run it, the manual for the graphics card demands 450w as a minimum