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General discussion

Need Advice on Windows 8 Desktop

Nov 26, 2012 11:06PM PST

I am in the process of researching a new desktop computer. I will be using it mostly for the internet, word processing and occasionally games (Diablo 3, Witcher 2 etc) I would like to use my 42 inch Panasonic 1080 TV for the display. I also will be using a Logitech wireless track pad for Windows 8. I want to get good performance for games and other graphics.

I have listed following what I might purchase. I would appreciate opinions and suggestions. Also which of the two graphics cards would be the better choice.

XPS 8500

Dell Price $1,274.99


Chassis:
Black w/19:1 Media Card Reader

Processors:
3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3770 processor (up to 3.90 GHz)

Operating System:
Windows 8, 64-bit, English

Memory:
12GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz - 4 DIMMs


Optical Drive:
16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW), write to CD/DVD 16XDVDR

Hard Drive:
2TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive 6.0 Gb/s 2TBS 1 [342-4107] 8


Video Card:
Nvidia GTX 660 1.5 gb or Radeon HD 7870 2 gb


Wireless:
Dell Wireless 1703 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0+LE

Sound:
Integrated 7.1 with WAVE MAXXAudio 4


Network Card:
Integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet

P.S. I am also looking at the XPS 8500 Special Edition which would cost more but gives be better options for the video cards.

Thank you

Discussion is locked

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IMO, Win8...
Nov 27, 2012 12:52AM PST

Can provide its full benefits to a tablet or AIO type PC provided it has touchscreen. More and more, what runs good in non-desktop setups lend themselves to Win8. Yes, you can install and run Win8 but you need some getting used to it, from the git. It's not from scratch until customize or finding what works best for you on desktop how it works for you. So, expect a learning curve of sorts, whether you like it or not.

From my handle on things, I haven't seen the big jump to Win8. Yes for new PCs being sold but old user PCs with Win7 seem to be very happy as is. While, i can't say how you'll be effected consider anyone around you of their experiences and how Win8 was provided to them. Get a feel of the user response and their environment(needs).

tada ------Willy Happy

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My pick
Nov 27, 2012 8:38AM PST

Hd7870.

If Dell offers Windows 7 as an option......go there.
W8 is new.....there will be growing pains.