Vista - New gaming computer any thoughts?

Hi guys, I'm new to the forums as you can tell by my post count, and was wondering if anybody had any suggestions on a decent gaming computer, to run games such as C&C 3 ( and 4 in 2010) CS:S, and maybe even FO3.

I have around £500 to spend ( monitor is not needed ), I have found a pretty decent looking computer from Staples:
Staples.co.uk Your business partner for Office Supplies, furniture and technology.

Just wondering if this comptuer is decent enough to handle these games, and maybe future releases.
Also could someone please explain what is the difference between Intergrated graphics and dedicated graphics.

I don't have too much experience with the hardware of computers, so building one is off the question.

Thanks QuikR

lol i'm not sure but i saw a gaming pc for £999

This is a decent system, but don't expect any wonders. The processor is 2.4 GHz (which is midrange) and the graphics is a low-end dedicated card with 256MB of dedicated memory. That , at least, is a lot better than an integrated graphics which takes main memory which is a lot slower.
The system is probably OK for low-end games. But a real gaming system that can play the most recent games would probably be twice as much money.

Yeah some seem very exspensive, but I just want a reliable computer that I can play counterstrike and Kane's Wrath on.

QuikR

hmm, i found a good website Gaming pc, custom pc, gaming system, custom gaming pc, gaming pcs on there , there is 2 pc's under your budget

Thankyou very much PoolWizard, the prices on this site look very good for what you seem to be getting, are these sorts of sites trustworthy though?

Hello QuiKR,
In simple terms, (more for my benefit than yours).
First the graphics.
Integrated means that the graphics card is part of the motherboard and shares it's memory with the system memory. Because of this they tend to be less able, and are not so good for gaming. (although they have come a long way in the last few years).

Dedicated graphics means more or less what the name says. They are for graphics and graphics only, they have their own on board memory and their own GPU. Because of this they are better suited for gaming.

It's a coin flip as to whether this PC will be able to run these games in high res and with the eye candy you want, what they say they can do is often different to what you can achieve.
Theres only one way to find out unfortunately. It's not going to be future proof though.
Have you considered a used PC ?, for the same money you would get a better system and one that can be possibly upgraded later.
I have included a review of the CPU for you to look at.

AMD Phenom X4 9750 Quad Core CPU Review

Bottom line, for the money, it's not bad at all.
Hope this helps, but i have the feeling it will generate more questions than answers.
Good luck and let us know if you get it, and how it performs.

Exactly as Stoney-Nutz said. You could also take a look at having a system built. If you want a relatively cheap future proof system, these are the sort of specs you could be looking at, at least until Core i7 becomes more mainstream:

CPU: E8400 @ 3.0GHz
GPU: Nvidia GTS 250
HARD DRIVE: 500GB
MOBO: EP45 type
RAM: 4GB DDR2 800MHz
CASE: Your choice
PSU: 750w

That would be enough for gaming at about 1680x1050 at high settings, maybe a bit of Anti-Aliasing.

Thanks very much for all your replies, I think I might save up and get a high spec used/refurbished pc as stoney said, the alienware Aurora looks very decent for its pricew tag so I may look into that.

Anyway thanks for all your replies
QuikR