Looking at 2 Used deskstops - which sucks less

A

atljogger

New Member
Hi -
I am looking at two cheap desktop computers on CraigsList - I need one to do music recording ASAP and have a budget of only $300. I am not too interested in Gaming, but do want strong performance in recording with no latency (I will be using a Firewire interface). I am comparing an AMD 4600 to a Core Duo E4400 - any feedback on why I should choose one over the other is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
R

Option 1:
Gateway AMD Dual Core 4600+
# 2GB RAM
# 400GB 7,200RPM Hard Drive
# Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition
# 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Graphics
# 16X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive
# 48X DVD-ROM Drive
# 9-in-1 Media Reader
# Two firewire ports
# 2 PCI Slots

Option 2:
DELL INSPIRON 530S (slim-design Dell)

Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 Dual Core Processor
# 3GB PC2-5300 Dual Channel Memory
# 320GB SATA2 Hard Drive
# Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition
# Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
# 16X SATA DVD+/-RW Drive
# 7.1 Channel High Definition Audio
# No Media Card Reader
# No Firewire (will have to buy separate)
 
Hmmm...well, I'm an Intel guy, but given the choice, I may actually go with the AMD. Less RAM, but really 2 Gigs is all the average-to-slightly-above-average user needs, plus it has a separate GPU, larger HDD (if that's your thing), and two optical drives and a media card reader (both of which come in handy at times).
 
atljogger said:
Thanks Daisymtc - any particular reason why you would prefer the Dell?
Click to expand...

As you say recording, I assume you talking about music??
So GPU not important.
E4400 and AMD x2 4600 have similar performance in benchmark at stock.
Then, 3GB RAM vs 2GB RAM. 3Gb win
Just checked on internet, Dell one with a G33 chipset MB, which basiclly mean when you looking for upgrade in future, you'll have a lot more opinion than Gateway. What you need is just a new PSU + CPU.
 
why intel guys? the gateway has everything he needs and if you didn't read his post he meant recording by singing (atleast thats what I got out of it)
 
Thanks guys. By recording, I mean recording music with microphones through a firewire recording interface (singing, instruments, etc). I will using several microphones and recording several tracks at once so I need something with the processing power to handle. Also, I mistakenly said that #2 DELL INSPIRON 530S had XP Media. Actually it has Vista Home Premium - does this change anything?

Thanks again.
 
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