Been thinking about upgrading my system. Currently I have a P4 Prescott 3.0 GHz cpu, 1GB generic RAM, MSI Neo2-P motherboard and ATI x1650 Pro AGP video card. The system I want to upgrade to is Core 2 Duo E6300 1.86GHz cpu, 2GB Corsair RAM, XFX nForce 680i LT SLI motherboard, and 2 nvidia GeForce 8400 GS 512MB PCIe video cards. I know the cpu's are different and don't know how to compare the 3.0 prescott to the 1.86 core 2 duo. Would the core 2 1.86 GHz give me better performance than the 3.0 prescott? Considering the upgrades would cost $500 would they be worth it? My system is starting to develop issues and socket 478 mobos with agp are getting scarce.

you could buy a dell configured like that one, along with a 19'' flat panel monitor for less money on ebay. check it out. dell is good stuff!!

Really? Post a link so I can read the specs.

"dell is good stuff!!" Really? That's news to me. IMO, Dell is for people who can't build their own. If you know how to build & know how to match hardware components so that they "compliment" one another, a home build is always superior to a pre-packaged OEM system. As for this proposed hardware configuration, it's not very good. SLi is a waste of money & you plan on pairing up two extremely low end cards? What's the point of that? There are dozens of single card solutions that will blow away 2 x 8400GS. Take this 8600GT for example...at $80 (after rebate), the cost is comparable to 2 x 8400GS but the performance is MUCH better: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... Here's the comparison between a single 8400GS vs 8600GT (in blue): http://www23.tomshardware.com/graph... The C2D E6300 (1.86GHz @ 1066MHz FSB) will kick the crap out of your Prescott, but for just $1 more, you could get the C2D E6550 (2.33GHz @ 1333MHz FSB) & THAT will kick the crap out of the E6300. Here's the E6300 vs the 3.0GHz Prescott (in red): http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2... Now here's the E6550 vs the E6300: http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2... And I suggest you choose a motherboard based on the Intel P35 or P965 chipset.

The issue here IMO is not so much about the machine that are available from Dell, but how much generous of a budget we are talking about. For anyone hoping to configure a moderately decent gaming machine at a conservative cost -- Dell is arguably going to be out of the picture. But they do have the XPS & Alienware line for deep pocket enthusiasts. On the other hand, it is very tough to beat Dell when looking for a decent non-enthusiast machine. Here recently, I had a relative that needed a contemporary $500 -- monitor included -- machine & was wondering if I could help him out. My only solution was to get him a Dell Vostro 200 to get him off my back without severing the technical relationship. He was extremely happy with the machine & he even got to save $20, plus he also got free next day shipping with the slim tower & LCD package ;-) The specs for the $480 rig is below: CPU: C2D E4500 (2.20GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800FSB) OS: Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic RAM: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz - 2DIMMs KBD: Dell USB Keyboard Monitor: Dell 19 inch Widescreen E198WFP Flat Panel Monitor GPU: Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 HDD: 160GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ Mouse: Dell Scroll Mouse Network: Integrated 10/100 Ethernet Optical Drives: 16X (DVD+/-RW) Burner Drive Sound: Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio Warranty & Service: 1 Year Ltd Warranty with Next Business Day On-Site Service Standard Vostro Services Tools 1 Year Dell Automated PC Tuneup Standard Vostro Services Tools Dell Network Assistant Vostro Desktop ExpressBuy Program