Need to Replace

My Dell (I know, please no snickers) bit the dust and I need to replace it. I was wondering if either Velocity Micro or Xidax are any good?  Or, I'm open if you have any other suggestions for a decent, but not top of the line computer for gaming and other graphic work & web development work.

It must be true that Dell uses low end components, as how can this be so cheap?

Thanks much!

I have to wonder how old that is now.  Do you perhaps have a warranty or something on it?  It doesn't look like it is a very old computer model.
That said, I have previously had a brand new computer blow a power supply on day 1.  It got fixed ASAP for me, but it does happen that something goes wrong.  If you know what part went wrong, there may be other ways to deal with this.

If none of that is possible, then I will be more inclined to talk about other brands.

Oh I'm sorry that I didn't clarify. My Dell was purchased in 2011, it's the XPS Studio 8300. The link I posted is current on a XPS 8700. My conclusion was that an Intel i7, with 32 GB RAM and a 4GB Graphic card HAS to be built with low end components for it to be priced at $1,000. I really don't want to purchase another Dell and so I have been looking to purchase something of better quality.

Please do talk about the other brands!

Not entirely sure on new ones.  I have to admit going shopping in stores to actually look at them led to finding out stores are all about the mobile end now, but online there is a slew of stuff to look at.  Problem is there is a slew of stuff to look at.  ::chuckles::  I wound up doing an upgrade this year instead of a new one even if in the end we even changed out the case to fit the upgrade.

There are tons of people that know this stuff better and can point at good things.  I'm not one to know the all in one complete setup that is the better to go with these days, but have some clue on what parts are better for building.  If I can even remember what we put in this thing.  LOL!

Thanks for the reply Briseadh, and it is most certainly overwhelming with all the choices to make, even in configuration. I ended up getting a decent machine at Velocity Micro that didn't break the bank. Now I just have to wait until around the 23rd to receive it! Oh well, I could have gone with "now" by buying the Dell at Costco, but decided quality trumped "quick". Just won't be able to play until then. :-(

For non 'gaming site' computers, Asus, Gateway, and Lenovo have pretty solid overall ratings.  They tend to need repair far less than many of the other companies (it looked like Dell was around 40% repair require ratings within 3 years!  Ouch!)
Looking a little, both Velocity and Xidax have very solid reviews and quality notes.  However, I always find that the products are just far too costly for what they do, unless you really want a super-beast of a computer.

Where I would avoid dell, unless you are going for a dual-gpu super monster of a computer, you can probably just get a nice modern CPU version from a better brand, and upgrade some memory/gpu as you desire.  *Personally, that is what I tend to do if not custom building.*  If you really want the super-ultra graphics and a PC that will game in 10 years, you can bet on the specialty sites though.

(This is my personal take.  Feel free to check with others.  ~$1000 for the spec on that Dell is indeed a little cheap, but you aren't too far behind that with a decent choice from many places.)

I have a pretty nice Dell tower that I got at Costco (or was it BJs?) for a far better deal than at other stores (as in several hundred dollars cheaper than Best Buy, MicroCenter etc had for equal specs). If you have a membership to either (or have a friend who does), it is definitely worth scoping out what they have in stock. 

I looked into that Dell computer you listed and with its specs I could build something with near identical performance including windows for $870. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/PNbDsY

The big catch is that the 4GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745 Graphics card is specially made for Dell and its performance is on par with mid range cards that came out in 2012 despite the 4gb. So GPU would be a major bottleneck for this rig, which for normal computer would be fine but the worst thing you can have for gaming and graphic rendering.

Because at this point I build them myself rather than buy prebuilt I don't have a good suggestion for where to buy prebuilt, but places sites that build custom gaming computers allowing you to specifically pick each part (including cooling, case, power supply, etc.), such at the one you used, is probably your best choice.

I hope the one you decided to buy and will get on the 23rd works out well for you.  =)

@Gaspara112 I've not seen the PC Part Picker site before and appreciate you showing the break down in cost. I'm curious as to where you found both the power supply and motherboard info on the Dell XPS 8700. The Dell "configuration" site does not give those specifics, or at least I've not seen them. Another reason I went with who I did was that they gave many more options in configuration, they listed ALL of the components which they used and the real clincher for me was having Windows 7 rather than Win 8! My daughter recently got a laptop with Win 8 and it is so backwards user friendly in my opinion. Ugh.

Hey Alana, my tech guy added a nifty little program called Start Menu 8 which gives you a bar at the bottom of the screen with the wonderful start menu list like older systems have.  Why?  I told him even my hubby the non-computer wiz that types with one finger guy has to use the thing.  I really like this little addon for the desktop.  I actually like windows 8 though and for the laptop only I use, I did not bother putting this little gem of a program on it.  It's something to think about.

Now the fun thing to see is what really happens when Windows 10 comes out.  I just love how we are skipping 9.  ROFL!

Check out this 8 minute video of what's coming with Windows 10

I highly recommend Newegg.com also.  They sell great barebones boxes and make RMA (returns) a breeze.

Alana, I didn't find the Dell motherboard or power supply specs but doing so is not really necessary. Since motherboard and power supply are really about compatibility with the processor, ram and gfx cards you choose its more about getting a compatible part from a reliable brand, so I just picked ones that were compatible and at a bargain from companies I trust.