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I know a guy who's selling a computer for pretty damn cheap, but I won't really have any need for it if it can't handle any newish games. I know it's a cheap build and a few years old, so I don't expect it to be able to play stuff at high settings, but I'm not sure if it can play any new stuff at all.

It's an HP Workstation xw6200.

It's designed as a server, I think. It has two processors, Xeon 3.6GHz.
Right now it only has 1GB of ram but I can upgrade that.

The video card is an Nvidea Quadro FX 3450. I know that this card isn't designed for games, but I'm not sure what it can handle.

I'm aware that a computer like this isn't exactly meant to be used as a gaming machine, but I'm still not sure if I could make due with it.

He's offering it to me for $300. Is this worth it? Can I get another computer for this cheap that could handle gaming better?

Superboy wrote:I know a guy who's selling a computer for pretty damn cheap, but I won't really have any need for it if it can't handle any newish games. I know it's a cheap build and a few years old, so I don't expect it to be able to play stuff at high settings, but I'm not sure if it can play any new stuff at all.

It's an HP Workstation xw6200.

It's designed as a server, I think. It has two processors, Xeon 3.6GHz.
Right now it only has 1GB of ram but I can upgrade that.

The video card is an Nvidea Quadro FX 3450. I know that this card isn't designed for games, but I'm not sure what it can handle.

The processors are fine. They'll be about the equivalent of an Intel 2.0 GHz to 2.2 GHz Core2 Duo. Definitely add RAM though.

The Quadro is good for doing lots of highly-detailed 3D rendering and CAD, but isn't architected for gaming. Fortunately, as the workstation has a modern PCI-E slot, you can buy a card that is suitable for gaming, like a mid-range GeForce card. Then sell the Quadro FX card, and that will probably pay for the gaming card you just bought.

I'm aware that a computer like this isn't exactly meant to be used as a gaming machine, but I'm still not sure if I could make due with it.

He's offering it to me for $300. Is this worth it? Can I get another computer for this cheap that could handle gaming better?

I'd say it's worth it for $300. It's not a bad machine by any stretch.

A little graphics card update and it wouldn't be a bad rig at all. But do check the power supply again, make sure it can handle the new card, my experience is that OEMs are really stingy with PSUs.

Short Answer: DO NOT BUY THIS MACHINE AT ANY PRICE.

Long Answer:

1) Those processors are based on the 90nm "Nocona" Xeon cores which are total power hogs for the performance they offer.

2) You could build/buy a machine that would draw 20% as much power and be a MUCH BETTER gaming machine for $500. Let me give you an example from New Egg:

• AMD Athlon II X2 245 "Regor" 2.9Ghz - $63
  Asus M4A78 Motherboard - $80
  4GB RAM - $80
  Radeon 5770 - $160
  500GB HD - $50
  Generic Case/PSU - $60

Here you have a machine with DX11, 5x the graphics horsepower, 4x the memory, faster CPU and (no doubt) more hard drive space. I know this is more expensive that the $300 you are getting this machine for, but you can also knock $150 off the price of this machine if you get an entry level video card and only 2GB of RAM. I only quoted this machine because it is a "sweet spot" price/performance wise.

do not want
You can do much better, as The Kernel says.

for future reference, Quadro FX 3450 = GeForce 6800 GS
= ollllld

Superboy wrote:It's an HP Workstation xw6200.

In addition to what Kernel said, that machine was first released over five years ago; I assume it must be at least four years old. At that point reliability starts to drop even with workstation-grade components.

Right now it only has 1GB of ram but I can upgrade that.

That would be expensive because (according to the spec sheet) that machine takes ECC memory only. You do not need ECC memory.

Looking over the what others have said, I do have to apologize for approving a bit too hastily. I had no real idea that a good rig could come at such a bargain price these days, though I should have known.