Option 4: None of the above. Build your own buddy. http://hardware.gotfrag.com/portal/story/30133/ ftw.
^What everybody else said: build your own. Dell sucks. Even by PC standards. Go for something with dual-core processors. They're the next big thing in the PC world it seems... *yawn*
option 3 is ----. it's overpried, uses unbranded generi ram(you know it's quality when a company WON'T put their name on it) uses proprietory parts and has bad case airflow, a mediocre powersupply, a mediocre motherboard, and a processor which intel claims to be about 20% behind it's competitors(albiet indirectly...) pretty much what every OEM does but in the last 2-5 years Dell became particularly notorious for it. http://www.google.com/search?hs=I8E&hl=en&...%22&btnG=Search ^says everything^
Said many a time in the thread, don't get a dell. I myself have one, lots of extra things added you don't want. Crappy tech support, hardware is free, software problems are £35 per problem. Hardware is locked so no overclocking etc. My PSU is only 250w so slim chance of getting a new card in there better than my current one. So yeah, stear clear unless your just using it for word and the internet, i wouldn't even recomend it for that.
your wattage of your psu doesnt matter as much as its quality and its voltages. the core 2 duos are going to be lower watts compared to the pentium 4 or pentium d that you have (assuming that as its a dell and they dont sell AMD's yet.) Would limit you on whether or not getting an expansion drive, new gfx card, etc. no matter anyway, its probably the cheapest ---- anyway
We could help you out. Your budget is $900, right? And building a computer seems like a daunting task at first, but once you actually start doing it, then you see how easy it is. But, you have to make sure you're willing to take the time to do it, and be willing to troubleshoot any problems you have yourself..you don't get tech support, unless you have a great friend, or you are using the internet.
$900, no problem for a build. Just wait for core 2 duo. what you do mostly, game? i think you said something about WoW. im not gonna go search tho.
wattage DOES matter. Or rather actual delevirder wattage on each rail. This is determined by the efficiency of the PSU(see quality) also, Dell does sell AMD chips... just in their high end 4+ CPU servers.
The one i suggested it perfect for him...The onboard GFX is enough to play COD2 on low settings... It is also a dual core cpu... 1 gig ram 250 gig hd