New computer, sound OK?

[movinup]

Specs:
Intel® Core™2 Quad Q6600
Chipset Intel® Viiv™ G965
Memory: 2048MB DDR2 667MHz (PC2-5300), expandable to 8GB

Video: Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3000, up to 256MB shared video memory, PCI express (PCIe x16) slot available for upgrade

Audio: 8-Channel (7.1) high-definition audio
Amplified stereo speakers (USB-powered)

Hard Drive: 400GB SATA II (7200rpm, 8MB Cache)2

Optical Drive: 18x DVD±R/RW Multiformat dual-layer optical drive featuring Labelflash™ technology3, Up to 8.5GB with dual-layer media, Write max: 18x DVD±R, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+RW, 8x DVD±R DL, 12x DVD-RAM, 48x CD-R, 32x CD-RW, Read max: 16x DVD-ROM, 48x CD-ROM

Also, It comes with Vista Home Premium, should I keep it or upgrade (downgrade??) to XP Pro.

 

[bullzi]

where are you buying this, and how much is it total?

 

[movinup]

It's a Gateway at Office Depot, everything but monitor= $599.00+tax

 

[jlm7315]

Thats a pretty good deal for the money. I would looking into something else graphics wise and I would recommend going with XP Pro because I wouldn't run Vista on anything less then 4gb of RAM.

 

[Juice1]

That's a great price.

Buy it, and do a few little upgrades.

First, get your monitor from newegg.com

Get a GPU (Graphics card) Depending on what kind of stuff you want to do. If you want to play Crysis, then get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150254

If you want to do light gaming, get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150229

Also, get a memory upgrade: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227124

 

[movinup]

OK, just a couple questions if you know.

I have XP Pro to wipe the HD and install. Will XP recognize a drive that big? And I have never had a DVD burner before. I would like to use it, but I am unsure of whether I can selectivly pick the DVD software off of the rescue disk.

 

[J03]

XP WIll recognise a drive that big, yes.

 

[Celegorm]

Yes, XP will recognize it, but why put XP on it? Vista is a lot better than people give it credit for. It's a lot more stable than XP ever was for me.

 

[movinup]

Thanks for all you info. I'll give Vista a try, I can always switch.

 

[Juice1]

Vista is good for the average user, but for me, XP is more familiar and easier to use. Vista looks good, but obviously you need to have a graphics card to run vista, or it will become incredibly slow.