Windows Vista

[Wiglaf]

The xps 210 has the option of upgrading to the 256MB ATI Radeon X1300 Pro for only $100. That will let you run civ rather well though it is a low end card. As long as you do not want to impress girls and play the latest shooters and RTSes and **** then this will work fairly well I think.

[Lancer]

How about 265mb NVIDIA GForce 8600GT DDR3

That costs extra $100

Or...

265 mb NVIDIA GForce GTS

That's an extra $200

[Lancer]

Wiglaf, this changes things. The girls will be impressed with the size of my...card? I got maybe $20,000 I can spare...

[Wiglaf]

Steve Walton does not seem to like the 8600GT (http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=637&p=5). I have no experience with it. Depends on what kind of games you want to play.

[Lancer]

So you would go with the Raedon? Walton is Never mind , I missed your link, I'll read it.

[Wiglaf]

The Radeon I mentioned with the 210 is a decent low-end card; I owned a similar one for a while. It will not be able to play some top of the line games, like Supreme Commander or C&C3, well at all. It will work fine on medium settings with Company of Heroes, Doom, Civ4 etc.

[Lancer]

I would prefer something that doesn't slow down Civ4 at all and allows me to make any choices within that game that I wish. So I think that lets out the 1300 and therefore the Dell 210 that would fit in my suitcase so nicely. So I'll have to get one that doesn't fit so nice. The other XPS that starts at $999 is the 410 and we've already shot down its card upgrade with the help of Mr Walton.

So, any suggestions Wiglaf?

[Kuciwalker]

The 8600 is DX10, but may not be powerful enough to play future DX10 games except on low settings.

[Lancer]

Yes, I'd rather get the earlier one (7600?) but it's not an option.

[Wiglaf]

Originally posted by Lancer
I would prefer something that doesn't slow down Civ4 at all and allows me to make any choices within that game that I wish. So I think that lets out the 1300 and therefore the Dell 210 that would fit in my suitcase so nicely. So I'll have to get one that doesn't fit so nice. The other XPS that starts at $999 is the 410 and we've already shot down its card upgrade with the help of Mr Walton.

So, any suggestions Wiglaf?

The 8600GT isn't a bad card. I only skimmed the review, but as best I could tell, the reviewer thought the card was bad only as compared to the older model, the 7600, and as a DX10 card. Most DX10 cards aren't going to be worth the price since few games take advantage of them at present..but that does not mean they are bad cards in general, only that their dx10 features are unnecessary.

Other reviews of the card are quite positive...(http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/reviews/g.../msi-8600gt/7/)

Based on what Dell is offering, I'd say that it's actually your best bet (given a ~$1300 budget). The 410 is also available with XP.

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor E6320 (4MB L2 cache,1.86GHz,1066FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition with re-installation CD
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs
320GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cacheâ„¢
Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
22 inch E228WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT-DDR3
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Dell USB Keyboard
Dell Optical USB Mouse
13 in 1 Media Card Reader
56K PCI Data Fax Modem


I think this is a good deal. It will run Civ4 and most games at all settings quite well. I'd recommend getting it with XP, though this is up to you..

[Lancer]

Yes I see. I was considering that configuration and the good reviews are a help, thank you. I agree with your XP evaluation.

One thing I'm wondering though Wiglaf, the 8600 'GT DDR3' designation on the vidoe card for $100 extra vs the 8600 'GTS' for $200 extra. At twice the dough, what could the difference be and would it apply to my civvin needs? Any ideas?

[Lancer]

I was even thinking of going with that bigger monitor.

[Wiglaf]

The GTS, as you might imagine, is a better card by a good bit. Still, as far as Civ4, both cards are more than enough, especially with 2GB of RAM and the Core 2 Duo. Civ eats up RAM and takes a good processor...video card isn't as important.

Here's a comparison of 8600GTS vs. GT cards:

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/nvidia_geforce_8600_gts_preview/page2.asp

The GTS is 2x the price on Dell's site but it isn't 2x the card. I'd go with the cheaper option and, in a few years once Directx10 cards become cheaper and more relevant, upgrade then.

[Lancer]

Thank you Wiglaf!

[Wiglaf]

sure thing.

Originally posted by Lancer
Yes I see. I was considering that configuration and the good reviews are a help, thank you. I agree with your XP evaluation.

Keep in mind Vista is necessary if you want to take advantage of the 8600GT's DirectX10 capabilities. So it's something to consider if you want to run DX10 exclusive stuff... Though most games are not DX10-exclusive, and it will stay that way for a while.