Dell Vostro 430, Core i7-860 (quad core), 3Gb DDR3 RAM, 500GB HD, 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4350, Windows 7 Professional £439.45 (possible £399.01 with topcashback)

http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/624842/d ... 60-quad-co

STARTS: 04/03/2010 EXPIRES: 09/03/2010

i7-860 is a Quad core with HyperThreading CPU (8 threads).

Great thing about this i7 860 processor is that it will automatically self overclock or throttle the speed of CPU - turbo mode. It can shut down individual cores and speed up remaining ones which can give better performance in some situations. Here are the possible speeds;

4 Core Active 2.93GHz
3 Core Active 2.93GHz
2 Core Active 3.33GHz
1 Core Active 3.46GHz

Specs;
English Genuine Windows® 7 Professional (32 or 64 BIT)
Intel® Core i7-860 (2.80GHz, 8MB)
3072MB (1x2048 + 1X1024) 1333MHz DDR3 Single Channel
Drive 500GB Serial ATA non Raid (7200 Rpm)
Graphics: 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4350 (DVI, VGA,HDMI)
16X DVD+/- RW Optical Drive for Win 7
UK/Irish (QWERTY) Dell Standard Quietkey USB Keyboard Black
Dell 2 Button USB Optical Mouse
19-in-1 Media Card Reader

E-value code D034303

Use Code XNWXGXR5HW4WCK for £90 off
Possible Topcashback (£18 + 6%) = £40.44

Tips
Windows 7 Pro 64-bit for £0 (Windows 7 32bit will only see around 3.3GB memory max)

For £90 coupon to kick in you need basket to be over £529 ex vat (default £70 off counts towards this)

For £439.45 price I added these two;
3072MB (1x2048 + 1X1024) 1333MHz DDR3 Single Channel [add £5.00]
19-in-1 Media Card Reader [add £20.00

but you could also add;
Kensington Slim Microsaver lock [£21.00]
or
Kensington Wireless Presenter Si600 [£24.67]

The default basket price is £509.00 but there is also a standard £70 off bringing basket down to £439.00. However to qualify for the £90 off, it is the £509 price that counts, and therefore only £21 extra needs to be added.

So the £5 memory and £20 card reader is enough. I listed the Kensington options as alternatives. Basically you can add any options so long as they >= £21.

If you want a screen then look at the next system up as this automatically qualifies for £90 off without having to add any options and it also has 1GB more memory and includes the card reader as standard, reducing the actual cost of getting the screen. Both the 22" and 23" are good value.

Note not all options seem to be working due to glitch in web site e.g. wireless keyboard+mouse.

For good entry level gaming I would swap card for a Radeon HD 4670 which will give good 1680 x 1050 performance in most games. Can be purchased separtely for around £55 (very easy to install) and you might get a few quid for the Radeon HD 4350
in this.

If you want to purchase a ATI HD 4670 from Dell here is the link;
http://accessories.euro.dell.com/sna/pr ... u=A2980588
Use code JH5T0BP6V8374D to get price down to £56.18 delivered.
topcashback at 6% could maybe get to down to £53.31
This is a nice quiet card with an impressive heatsink (no fan)

If you want this system with a monitor see E-value Code D034304. 21.5" for £516.09 or 23" for £527.24 (prices include topbackcash)

Useful Links

Specs and pictures (see tech specs tab)

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/produ ... &~lt=popup