PCI video cards help

If the OP means the old plain PCI, from before AGP, it's a waste of money to put more than 64 MB on one, since it's so slow it is limited to 32 MB blocks (33 MHz bus speed). We are on a gaming web site here, and we discuss game-capable hardware here in the hardware forum. Plain PCI isn't game-capable. Simple. Kiwi_1

Hmm. Guess I'll have to wait till I can afford an XPS.Izzybk

For aregular user or for somebody who doesnt have any kind of thoughts about OCing or to get more from their PCs then Dell could be agood apart from their cra**y PSU

Actually, while Compaq, HP, Sony, and others have shortchanged their buyers on power supplies throughout their history, plus the various non-standard sizes they use cause problems, Dell has generally offered more power supply quality than the rest, though quite admittedly, equally non-standard wiring in many cases.

Getting back to the heart of the question, either a white box system or a self-built one offers better value because it's priced lower than anything with a brand name, and in both of those cases, you get your own choice of parts, not the seller's choice. There was a time when Dell's service was so good that they could be recommended on that basis alone. That stopped being true a long while back.

Actually, while Compaq, HP, Sony, and others have shortchanged their buyers on power supplies throughout their history, plus the various non-standard sizes they use cause problems, Dell has generally offered more power supply quality than the rest, though quite admittedly, equally non-standard wiring in many cases.

Getting back to the heart of the question, either a white box system or a self-built one offers better value because it's priced lower than anything with a brand name, and in both of those cases, you get your own choice of parts, not the seller's choice. There was a time when Dell's service was so good that they could be recommended on that basis alone. That stopped being true a long while back.

Kiwi_1

Just to be clear, "self-built" means buying each component separately, not going to Dell's or Alienware's website and choosing "configure", am I right?