Gateway 550GR - Good Comp?

[Aeiis]

I am looking to buy a new computer and I think this is the one I want to get.
Here are the specs:

Specifications



Operating Systems Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition SP1


Platform Learn More PC


Form Factor Tower


PCI Slots (Total) Learn More 2


Expansion Slots 4


Processor Brand Intel®


Processor Class Pentium® 4


Processor Number 540


Processor Speed 3.20GHz


Additional Technologies HyperThreading Technology


Memory Type DDR


Total Memory 512MB


Interface SATA


Capacity 200GB


Optical Drive Type DVD±RW Dual Layer
CD-ROM


Audio Description Integrated Audio


Graphics Description PCI-Express Video Card


Video Memory 128MB Memory


Communications Description Integrated LAN Support
56Kbps PCI Modem


Data Transfer Rate 10Mbps
100Mbps


Power 305 Watt


Mouse Type Ball-Bearing


Buttons 3


Keyboard Type Multimedia


Keys 122


Front Speakers 2


Height 14.3"


Width 7.3"


Depth 16"

Does it look like a decent computer? It includes the mouse, keyboard, and speakers. I have to buy the monitor seperate. Which is another question I have, are monitors pretty much generalized so that any monitor should fit any computer? Sorry for such a obvious question, I'm new to the computing world. OH! Forgot to mention it is being sold for $600. Will I able to play games on it? Thanks for the help.

 

[Lac3y]

The processor is quite fast, RAM is ok.

Do you know the specific name of the graphics card? Otherwise I can't tell you whether it can play newish games.

I would recommend at least 1gig RAM to play all the new games, processor will be able to handle them, all I need is the graphics card name.

And yes, I think that's quite good for $600.

But, to be honest, I'm no expert. A tech wizard will probably come and contradict everything I said...

 

[Aeiis]

I just copied all the info from the graphics section:

Graphics Specifications


Graphics Description
PCI-Express Video Card

GPU/VPU
ATI RADEON X300SE

Video Memory
128MB Memory

Video Interface
S-Video
VGA

Maximum Resolution
2048 x 1536

Hope that helps.

 

[Lac3y]

That is a pretty old graphics card, ATI now have x1800's and such, so it will not be able to play new games, but will be able to play the old one's fine.

 

[TRDCorolla1]

It's a nice PC. I'm not going to say it's great or anything like that but it will do fine for the price.

 

[Aeiis]

I just searched ATI RADEON X300SE in google and it said it's release was in 2005, can't be that old...

So it's a good computer? good. But what about the monitor thing, should any monitor be able to hook up to it?

 

[TRDCorolla1]

It's got dual video out. One for DVI and one analog RGB. (at least on most models). I'm not sure exactly who manufacturers your video card, but it may only have a regular 15-pin RGB out. So yeah, any monitor will work with it. It has an S-video out too so if you want to transfer the image onto your TV screen.

 

[Aeiis]

alright, great!

The other poster said that the graphics card was old but I looked it up and it said the release date was 2005. Is that correct? What types of games will the comp be able to handle?

 

[Lac3y]

Sorry about that, didn't notice the second edition thing, found some benchmarks for you:

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=14473&PageId=0

As you can see, it will play Half life 2 at 36 fps on a decent resolution, but only 12.9 on doom 3.

So, it won't play new games well.

 

[TRDCorolla1]

You should be able to play every game with it. Important thing is the ability perform hardware transformation and lighting affects which that card will do. May not be able to play too well on high settings, but still, you can play it ok.