However, it's advisable to fill only two of these, as the third, which sits by the AGP slot, is best left free to help cool the powerful graphics card. The motherboard has five PCI slots, three of which are free. Two optical drives were installed in the reviewed system: a 12-speed NEC DV-5700A DVD-ROM and a 32-speed read, 12-speed write, 8-speed rewrite Sony CRX160E CD-RW.
Another slight disappointment is that the expansion plates are still secured by screws. Once undone, the cradle swings out to allow access to the hard drive, which in this case is a 40GB Ultra-ATA/100 Western Digital WD400, support for which is supplied by Intel's new 850 chipset. bays are in a cradle that is held in place by a normal screw - a thumb-screw would have been better to carry through the tool-free design. drive bays have screw-less drive mounts, while the two 3.5in. There's no need for a screwdriver - you just push a button on the lower front panel to release the combined side and top panels, while another button beneath the top panel releases the front fascia. Although it runs mainstream applications fast enough, it's no quicker than a 1GHz Pentium III overall.įirst thing to notice about the Dimension 8100 is the new black and silver easy-access case, which replaces the familiar beige Dimension box. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this formĭell's new Dimension 8100 is powered by a 1.5GHz Pentium 4 processor supported by 128MB of PC800 Rambus memory. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. ZDNet's editorial team writes on behalf of YOU, our reader. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers. Neither ZDNet nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews.
This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. ZDNet’s recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. With your stock CPU, you will not get any more FPS from a 390/970 over a 290 on that system, so why spend the extra $?Īlso, even with a very fast CPU, after the $240 R9 290, there are seriously diminishing returns for performance per each extra $ spent.‘ZDNet Recommends’ What exactly does that mean?
Based on your non-overclocked CPU and based on what you described that the PC won't be used for hardcore gaming, I don't see the justification of spending around $300 for an R9 390 or GTX970. Right now we have such a case = an after-market R9 290 for $240 with lifetime warranty is a solid choice too. #2 When considering $300+ card, always look in the price range to see if something is almost as fast for way less.
By the sound of it if your kids were OK with a 5800 series card for so long (that series came out in 2009), they probably don't need the fastest $300 card like a GTX970/390.
#1 GTX950/960/R9 380 are a very solid upgrade and could be enough for your kids. Click to expand.Before you even upgrade, what is the problem with the HD5800? Is it broken or the kids have complained that it doesn't perform to their liking? I mean do you want to spend $ for no reason? With that out of the way, before going all the way up to a $300 videocard consider some other options: