So I'm in the market for a new PC and I just had what appears to be an incredible deal fall in my lap, but I've been out of the hardware loop for quite a while, so I'm not certain that it is as good a deal as I think it is. First off, this is a Dell Studio XPS machine and I'm not looking for it to be a top-of-the-line machine, but rather something that is good enough for now, with the capability to upgrade it later as my hardware needs change. Now for the good stuff:
Studio XPS 8000, Intel Core™ i5-750 processor(8MB Cache, 2.66GHz)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English
6GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz
750GB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
16X DVD+/-RW Drive
nVidia GeForce GTS240 1024MB GDDR3
Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
I can get the whole package for about $950, free shipping. Is this really as good a deal as it sounds?
EDIT - Just for the sake of comparison, this what I would be upgrading from, which I am still perfectly happy with:
Frankenputer, built it myself, Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz HT
Genuine Windows XP Home Editions SP3
2GB PC3200 SDRAM at 800MHz
2X 120GB - 7200RPM, EIDE, 8MB cache
16X DVD+/-RW Lightscribe Drive
nVidia GeForce 7600GS 256MB
Soundblaster Audigy LS

Good deal, but try to upgrade the graphics card.

Might you be able to cut back on RAM? 4GB does the job nicely.

6GB is the least they offer for this machine through the deal program.

Onboard audio should be the best way to get your hands on a 260 (the 240 is too little for games even if it has 1GB of RAM), but if it's possible I'd say risk going over the budget by a little bit, or try and upgrade to a better video card in the future (if Dell even lets you upgrade components).

Does it make any sense to buy 750 GB hard drives anymore? I don't know about US prices, but here in Denmark, you can get a 1 TB drive for an extra $10 compared to the price of a 750 GB drive.

Cut the sound card, onboard is fairly decent now (at least for games, if you do actual audio work you wouldn't have even suggested it or use that card anyways). Also look at it this way, in the future to upgrade the sound you just buy a board and add it, if you upgrade the gpu later you have to replace your current and you end up eating the cost of the old one.

That was my thought (upgrade at a later date). From what I've read, the GT240 is basically a 9800GT with a faster clock speed, which is more than enough for any games I currently own and I don't really buy new games (just GOG and bargain bin on Steam), so I figure I could probably get a couple of years out of it, then upgrade. Yes, Dells can be upgraded, just don't even buy one of their slim form factor machines, they use odd shaped low-profile hardware and you can almost never get off the shelf parts for them.
The 1TB is an extra $50 here.
I hadn't even considered that. Also It is certainly a lot cheaper to upgrade to a sound card than it would be to upgrade the video card. Great idea!
Whoa! adding the GTX260 and dropping the sound card takes the price to $990 (within budget!), but more importantly, the GTX260 has 1792MB of GDDR3 VRAM!

Don't forget to add blue LEDs to all of the fan vents and openings. They make the computer go faster you know.

edit: sorryt for retarded post...
i think this machine sounds great, Dells are crazy good... my only issue was with a memory chip on my GPU they gave me. Since then Ive upgraded the graphics twice but its still running every game there is and its 3 years old.
with that rig the only thing you'll ever need to do in the next 3-5 years is graphics upgrades that's it.

My opinion is to cut the soundcard and stay with onboard sound, and 4gb is enough. I would advice to get a better GPU, like a GTX280 (better than an underpowered GTS; and in the future you can do some SLI to upgrade, but remind that you have to buy a second IDENTICAL card to work).
And if you want WinXP compatibility mode, get Win7 professional.
Also, look for some discount coupons in the internet. ;)

Would it be cheaper if you assembled a brand new PC?
Also, the lack of specs on the Mainboard scares me.

cogadh, This is the XPS desktop with or without monitor? Can you post the direct link?

I would rather choose an older graphics card and have the money to buy something new when it comes out, plus you said yourself, that you don't really play new games, and I've yet to find any game which does not look good on my 9800 GTX, of course I don't use that high of a resolution..